Page 1 of Rip off DVD’s ??

Are we being ripped off when it come to buying our movies on DVD?

It happened with cd’s and mini-disc, and is happening with DVD’s, every time a new technology comes out is gives the music/movie companies a good excuse to bump up the prices. But are the extra prices charged valid, and is there such a variation in prices charged on the high street.

A good example of a large price variation is the region2 single-DVD for Shrek, this DVD has a recommended retail price of £22.99, but here’s examples of the prices different retailers are charging:-

W.H.Smiths £17.99
Play247 £15.99 (inc delivery) also sell region1 double-DVD for £15.99
Asda <£15

Also HMV has been running a promotion where you can buy 1 DVD and get 1 free, I bought both Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the double-DVD special edition of Seven for £20. Now how can HMV afford to sell DVD’s for the equivalent of £10 each, they must be making a profit for the promotion to work.

Now those who are selling Shrek at the recommended price must be making a massive profit, WH Smith is also quoting the RRP to make their price look like a bargain.

One way of trying make valid the higher prices is to quote the extras you get, but the vast majority of DVD’s contain what I call promotional extras, by this I mean the extras were original intended to promote the film when it was released at the cinema, and haven’t cost anything to the movie company to put on the DVD.

DVD’s are cheap to produce, you just need look at the DVD’s attached to movie/PC magazines to see that.

I believe DVD’s shouldn’t cost more than 10% more than videos.

What’s does everyone else think.

A lot of the HMV sale stock is I believe imported in from Germany hence some of the very cheap prices but I take your point. The best way to protest is to simply buy online or go with R1 discs

its all relative though, we are being ripped off on everything in this country (U.K) bu thtings are getting better. Computer games, cars mobile phones are all more expensive here so DVD`s are going to be as well.

Still the prices have come down since i brought my first dvd, and they will come down more and DVD becomes the excepted medium. Its the price we pay for being ahead of the rest of the country.. sigh...

No doubt there will be an EU investigation like with CDs. And I can see the result being the same ie nothing wrong with the prices.

This is why retailers call Britain `Treasure Island` . Of course it is also why entertainment piracy thrives more so here than any other major European country. The profit margins which pirates operate within are so much larger than elsewhere.
The only option is to vote with your feet.
I am refusing to buy any items from Virgin/HMV/MVC etc pre Xmas. I suspect their post Xmas sales will be so duff they won`t even tempt me.
Buy gift vouchers so others can get the cheaper prices after Xmas.
The top price for new single discs will be below £15 within the next two years. OLder discs will routinely sell for <£10. With the rare exception internet transactions are the only good value deal.

i know they should charge like £6-13 for dvds! i got the 2 disk special ed Se7en and Traffic at HMV for £19.99! they must be making money on them!

BoMb3R

I`m sure that DVD`s must be cheaper to produce than video tapes.

Firstly with video tapes you have got 2 parts of plastic that have to be screwed together with 5 screws. Inside the cassette you have both tape reels. Also you have a complex arrangment of metal springs and plastic guides for the tape to run through, then you have the tape itself. (and the label on the front of the cassette. All in a big chunky plastic case with a paper sleeve contained within.

DVD`s on the other hand a just like CD`s they have to be made in a protective atmosphere (just like video tapes) and then burned with the film. Sometimes the case is made of cardboard or maybe plastic.

After all the DVD itself must only cost the makers a few pence each when purchased in bulk.

Like you say - another great British con.

In comaprison to the US quite a few of our imports come close or beat their prices (and they should have cheaper prices as they don`t have addiitonal costs like 31 million subtitle tracks and languages).

The DVD of a film is extra profit to the studio`s/distributors!
They have already paid for the film to be made.
They have got the receipts.
They have sold the VHS
Then they sell the DVD
What about the Hire of VHS and DVD?
Then they release Special super fandango 2 disc special edition sets and make even more!

This is the same analogy as The Beatles stuff.
This was recorded in 1960`s sold on Vinyl, Cartridge 8 track, Cassette, CD, etc.


We have paid for the studio time 100 times over.
How much did it cost to make Sgt. Pepper on a 4 track tape!
I bet no more than about £10,000-00.
This must have made over £10,000,000-00. World wide.
Justify selling this on CD for £16-00 ish 34 years later!!!

Still, it is a work of art!

This item was edited on Saturday, 24th November 2001, 01:31

Sgt Pepper has sold around 30 million copies since 1967. £10 million is probably only 5 per cent of the revenue this album generated.
However the bottom line is a seller should charge whatever price maximises their profit. The problem is so many numpties in this country are willing to pay any price asked for. We are not a cost conscious country. If people did not buy then they would have to reduce the price until demand reached a sufficient level.
Why is the price of levis as cheap in Eastern Europe as USA? Well they dont have the money to pay £50 (GB rrp) for a pair of levis. However they cost a few pounds to make and so levis can sell them for £20 there and still make a tidy profit.
USA on the other hand refuse to pay a high price and so companies have to be careful that the consumers don`t feel cheated and then abandon the brand.
The people who should really be moaning in this country are the retailers. They lose billions each year between foreign purchases for booze, fags, cds, dvds etc.
Tesco has already started to moan very loudly in their recent case against Levis in the Euro court.
I personally object to having to buy so much stuff mail order and from abroad. I would rather be keeping a Britisher in a job than any other nationality. But the bottom line is I am not going to be stung for that privilege.