EXCLUSIVE HTF ANNOUNCEMENT: Twilight Time May/June Releases (You will want to read this!) (1 Viewer)

[dpippel]

Originally Posted by haineshisway /t/318832/exclusive-htf-announcement-twilight-time-may-june-releases-you-will-want-to-read-this/210#post_3916513
I didn't fail to factor it in - I'm sure it helped the initial crash of the site. But there were only 100 of those and maybe there were another 900 folks who wanted it and kept coming back over and over and over and over and posting how they couldn't get on, which caused panic, which caused more people to join the fray - this is what panic does. At the end of the day, the 100 copies were gone, and I'm sure the preorders were nice but not near a sellout. Take the autograph copies out of the equation and you most likely would not have had quite the crash they had. I've watched this kind of thing happen over and over again in the soundtrack world. But it's not really necessary in the Blu-ray world - if I were Twilight Time I would almost dispense with the signed copies

Better yet, spend the money and buy some extra server capacity from Amazon when you debut a pre-order like this so your site can scale and handle the traffic. SAE must have the absolute cheapest hosting package that Amazon Web Services offer to suffer this kind of problem.

 

[haineshisway]

Better yet, spend the money and buy some extra server capacity from Amazon when you debut a pre-order like this so your site can scale and handle the traffic. SAE must have the absolute cheapest hosting package that Amazon Web Services offer to suffer this kind of problem.
 

On this we agree fully

 

[lukejosephchung]

Whatever the reasons were for SAE's website crash yesterday, I'm sure that the herd mentality of trying to buy a hard-to-get collector's item, namely the autographed copies of "Journey" was only a minor factor. Fortunately, at about 5:30 PDT yesterday, I was able to access the website and transact my purchase of this title and "The Big Heat" on BD, so I'm a happy camper. Those who were discouraged by yesterday's debacle should try again today, as it was a relatively painless process.

 

[JoHud]

What I find odd is these released are 3000 per. Can there be that many people wanting them? How many hits does it take to slow them down, a thousand?

I doubt there were that many. Maybe 500 but even that's a stretch. TT sales through SAE are generally pretty modest and steady even on pre-order launches. My guess is that their limit is a few hundred before it starts to strain. Perhaps SAE considers these sorts of crashes rare enough to not bother in investing in something that can handle more users?

 

[Johnny Angell]

Where they charging extra for the autographed copies or was just the first 100 orders got them?

 

[John Hermes]

Where they charging extra for the autographed copies or was just the first 100 orders got them?

First 100 who got 'em.

 

[kagemusha98]

I was one of the 100 ,,,it was in my cart...until I was knocked out of their site.

 

[David_B_K]

Another solution would be to add, say, $5.00 to the selling price for autographed copies.

 

[TonyD]

Where they charging extra for the autographed copies or was just the first 100 orders got them?

First 100 who got 'em.

There was a seperate listing for it away from the nonautographed version so if you got in you could choose one or the other.

 

[MichaelEl]

As we all keep saying, Mysterious Island is nowhere near sold out nor are any other titles save for Fright Night.

How do you know this? TT doesn't list how many copies of each title are left.

 

[haineshisway]

How do you know this? TT doesn't list how many copies of each title are left.

How do I know this? Oh, I don't know - perhaps one of the owners of the company is one of my best friends?
Also, and this is important for folks to know, when something gets down to only three hundred copies left, be assured SAE will most likely put that up on their site - this is done with limited edition soundtracks all the time.

 

[RolandL]

How do I know this? Oh, I don't know - perhaps one of the owners of the company is one of my best friends?
Also, and this is important for folks to know, when something gets down to only three hundred copies left, be assured SAE will most likely put that up on their site - this is done with limited edition soundtracks all the time.

That's good to know. I'm waiting for the reviews of Journey before I buy. Hopefully they will be before May 10 so I can get the free DVD if I spend $85.

 

[Jacksmyname]

Another solution would be to add, say, $5.00 to the selling price for autographed copies.

Agreed.
I was surprised that the signed copy was the same price.
I managed to get a signed copy, so I'm not complaining.

 

[TheVid]

Well, after this minor SAE Friday-the-13th fiasco, I wonder what they'll do if Twilight Time gets Jack or Helen to sign a hundred or so copies of AS GOOD AS IT GETS? I'm pretty surprised there was a rush on the Pat Boone autograph (I was hoping he'd fall into the endless pit the minute he got lost in JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH). I certainly would have hacked my way into SAE's server if they could have convinced Arlene Dahl to sit and sign, though!
I'll be curious how well a 30-buck blu-ray of AS GOOD AS GETS sells without an incentive scheme. I suspect it doesn't have the fringe fans that FRIGHT NIGHT had.

 

[Yorkshire]

Thanks to everyone for an interesting read.
A couple of questions.
1 - Are Twilight Time completely commited to 3,000 copies, or might they press more if those go quickly?
2 - What about elsewhere? Could Sony still release As Good As It Gets in Europe?
Steve W

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

According to the interviews with TT's people (here and other places)
1. No, 3000 is TT's limit.
2. Yes, TT's license is exclusive to US only.

 

[ahollis]

Originally Posted by TheVid /t/318832/exclusive-htf-announcement-twilight-time-may-june-releases-you-will-want-to-read-this/240#post_3916808
Well, after this minor SAE Friday-the-13th fiasco, I wonder what they'll do if Twilight Time gets Jack or Helen to sign a hundred or so copies of AS GOOD AS IT GETS? I'm pretty surprised there was a rush on the Pat Boone autograph (I was hoping he'd fall into the endless pit the minute he got lost in JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH). I certainly would have hacked my way into SAE's server if they could have convinced Arlene Dahl to sit and sign, though!
I'll be curious how well a 30-buck blu-ray of AS GOOD AS GETS sells without an incentive scheme. I suspect it doesn't have the fringe fans that FRIGHT NIGHT had.

The Pat Boone autograph rush was really no surprise to me. WAC has quickly sold out the Clint Walker, Angie Dickerson (sigh!), and Micky Rooney signed releases. Any fan of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH would like to have Pat Boone's autograph on it,. It was a smart marketing tool for Twilight Time. I say that more people now know about Twilight Time than before. TT just needs to get SAE to get a handle on their server issues.

I also will make a prediction that AS GOOD AS IT GETS will not sell out before it's release date and will take a few months to do so, but will eventually sell out.

 

[bgart13]

According to the interviews with TT's people (here and other places)
1. No, 3000 is TT's limit.
2. Yes, TT's license is exclusive to US only.

However, yes -- Sony could release and/or license these same movies outside of the US.

 

[lukejosephchung]

I have a suggestion for fans of "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Another surviving cast member, Diane Baker, is a Dramatic Arts Professor here at the Academy Of Arts University in downtown SF. I'm thinking of contacting Prof. Baker and possibly asking her to autograph my blu-ray copy when it arrives next month...

 

[Timothy E]

Twilight Time could restore a lot of goodwill squandered by SAE's server crash by fulfilling all orders placed on April 13 with autographed copies. They probably sold fewer than 200 copies that first day. It is very frustrating, let me tell you, to select an autographed copy for your virtual cart and then be kicked off the website until after the autographed version is sold out.