Why do prices for complete seasons vary so much? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff_P]

I just pre-ordered the first season od Buffy for my wife and noticed how the range in price of some shows costs. To name a few:

*the price listed is MSRP

Sopranos: The Complete First Season $ 99.98

Sopranos: The Complete Second Season $ 99.98

Queer As Folk: The Complete First Season $119.95

Stargate SG-1: Season #1 $ 89.96

X-Files Season #2 $149.98

Simpsons: The Complete First Season $ 39.98

Sex And The City-Season One $ 39.98

Sex And The City: Second Season $ 49.98

Buffy The Vampire Slayer:First Season $ 39.98

Now I know some disc include more extras than others which would boost the price up. But comparing Buffy(one hour show) to X-Files(one hour show) which both DVD's have a nice amount of extras the price is noticable different. I also know a show like "Sex And The City" is a half hour show compared to "The Sopranos" which is an hour, so we are talking more disc space.

I did not start this thread so people can say "Sopranos can't be compared to Sex And The City. Sopranos is great and Sex and the City sucks" because I already received that comment from someone I know.

Jeff_P

 

[Rob T]

it's basically all about the production costs and marketability.

sometimes the video/audio transfers, extras and salaries for the cast and crew cost more for some season box sets then they do for others.

then there's also the question: how much will the fans be willing to pay for these box sets?

usually the price is fair for each season box set, but sometimes they're too expensive.

 

[Brian E]

The first season of Buffy is only 13 Episodes, X-Files is 23.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Actually, the first season of Buffy was even less than 13. It has only 12 episodes.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

It has to do with contractual obligations, episode count, extras, all kinds of factors. Whether they have to make new masters, or can use existing ones. MGM doesn't have extra fingers in their SG-1 pie, so they can charge $89 for the full season. However Buffy has 2-3 different groups in that pie, and Farscape has about 4-6.

Personally, I think we'll start to see full-season sets settle in around $89-99 SRP for the standard 22 ep season in a couple of years. If Buffy Season 1 is $39.99, stands to reason that Season 2 (which is a full season) will top out at that range.

In the case of Buffy, the low price is also an apology for the fans being screwed for an entire year by FX's syndication contract. Original SRP on the set was $69.95. I think in this way they're trying to keep importation down somewhat by lower prices.

 

[Adam Tyner]

Supposedly the delay for Buffy was to give each episode of the first season a chance to air in syndication. That took much longer than it did for the first season to air on FX.