Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime - Page 4

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

Everyone realizes that and I haven't seen anyone say anything to the contrary of that (and if anyone has, they're wrong) but what does that have to do with anything?
Why would they be doing that when spending is down on DVDs and DVDs sell better? What is their reason for doing that? Do they want more shelf space for a product that doesn't sell as well as DVD?

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

Ok, I'm officially pulling out of this thread. It's driving me crazy to see two sides talking above one another and just arguing for arguing sake. Some of you don't realize that what you are saying makes no sense at all. Bottom line - if BB cuts back on shelf space that used to be devoted to older TV on DVD shows (b-product stuff) then how in the world can that NOT adversely affect the entire vintage market? You guys seem to agree with this premise, yet you want to keep arguing as well. And we can argue chicken and egg too. I personally think it's not necessarily either/or in this case.

Not everyone is arguing unnecessarily (and being down right rude to boot), but some are and there's no reason for it. Well, have at it. But I'm not going to waste my time in this thread any more.

Gary "back to the vintage threads for me" O.

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

I think it's a perfectly valid topic for discussion in this forum to talk about Best Buy and other B&M phasing out DVDs, and particularly Classic TV DVDs. No one says they're eliminating them (though Borders now is in many stores), but it is obviously the incredible shrinking market. And a natural result of Blu-rays now taking up more and more of a limited shelf space for media.

I used to easily find classic TVs at the 4 Best Buys in my area; stuff like The Outer Limits, The Rockford Files, The Mod Squad, etc. And I often look up the item on the website to see if it is available for pick up in my local stores. Most recently, with The Invaders, only 1 store in my area now carries it, whereas all 4 carried the first release. This is happening across the board with any older catalog.

The newer Barnes & Noble stores dropped CDs except for the top sellers. They have a kiosk now to order any deeper catalog. It just seems obvious this is where the B&M stores are going. Top sellers only; anything else, order it from our website. I think that's where Best Buy is headed, too. But that would be a big mistake, particularly when so many other B&Ms are dropping out of media.

The jury is still out on how fast Blu-ray will take over the market. It's obvious the studios and retailers want everyone to keep spending and replace everything they currently own in SD DVD on Blu-ray. Many of us are already doing that selectively with our favorite films. But what about TV shows? Older 4:3 shows obviously don't benefit from the treatment as much as shows that aired in HD Widescreen. They don't get any advertising. And sales probably drop precipitously after the initial release, as those who actually targeted it, ran out and picked it up. And the B&Ms are no longer going to just leave them on a shelf for you to find or impulse buy when there's too much competition for that space. That's sad. I think there are now more Classic TV DVDs on the rack at my local Cracker Barrel.

Just some random thoughts.

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

WARNING! Their DVDs are OVERPRICED! you can get any of them from DeeDees or "The Big River" for only a FRACTION of what they charge!

However their "Country Boy" Breakfasts and their Southern Fried Steaks are SECOND TO NONE!!!

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

I'm down with the Saturday Chicken and Rice special.

And what's wrong with the Best of Branded for $9.99?

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I haven't seen that one there, so I don't know how many episodes you get, however The one "The Big River" sells only has a handful of episodes in it. For about $45 you can get the completed series!

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

I admit to having read the thread in fast-scan mode so I probably missed where it was proposed that B&M's removal of older TV/DVD sets wouldn't affect that mkt shares' sales #'s. As Gary said, it would definitely have an adverse impact on sales since that effectively eliminates the impulse buyer #'s of weekend "Joe Six-Packs" & "Joan Hockey Mom's" (or little league mom's ). As few B&M buys as I've made being a solid 99% online buyer, even I've walked by the DVD section at Walmart & BB when I'm in the store for other items.

As stated by another poster, the 'net buyers are a small # of sales. I agree with that opinion while admitting that I don't have access to the #'s. We who know what we're buying before clicking the "Cart" buttons, and have read reviews here at HTF or DVDTalk regarding edited eps, removed scores , etc, have to represent a very small blip on the studios' radars. If anyone out there has #'s to show otherwise, "ante up" here I'd love to see that data.

Of course, there's on piece of possible contrary evidence that may indicate that us 'net-er's have a voice given the recent CBS/P partial restoration of the Fugitive S2V1. I'd guess that it was primarily due to Gord & Dave's giant voices on our behalf that helped bring about that result.

Jeff "Don't throw in the towel yet, Gary....after all, that's more my speed on this Bd " W. "Round 3 coming up.....Judges have it B&M 1, 'Net 1"

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

Mark: I normally hate to break up a post to go through it point-by-point, but I'm afraid I don't see any other way to do it here.


I think we can all agree with that.


Here's where anecdotal arguments get sticky. In paragraph #1 internet purchases make up a "small percentage" of internet sales and in 'graph #2 "a lot of consumers" purchase through the internet.

My biggest issue here--and with this entire thread--is: where's the proof that Best Buy is cutting back DVDs (outside of some anime titles in some of its stores?)

Am I denying this is true? No. I am simply asking what is the basis for all this speculation about BB cutting back it's DVD inventory?

I am painfully aware that CC is gone and that some Borders stores are eliminating their media sections. But besides FYE & B&N you cannot ignore Wal-Mart, Target, K-Mart, Costco, BJ's Wholesale Club, Meiers, Fry's, etc.

IF Best Buy announced cutbacks in DVD inventory, THAT WOULD be a significant event and warrant discussions in which I would be glad to take part. But I have yet to see/hear that announcement or have anyone here give me anything better than "yeah, but if they did..." And therein lies my frustration.


Again, IF Best Buy were to cut back its DVD inventory for ANY reason, that would likely have an impact on DVD production. They are a big retailer. But on what information are you saying BB is paring back its DVD supply to make room for more Blu-ray? Does it just look that way to you based on something you see at your local store? Are you simply foretelling the eventual demise of DVD as the preferred movie media? Or, is there some news report which indicates that BBis taking that step?


And that would also mean Best Buy would likely be going out of business soon as customers would be ticked-off that they were unable to get a copy of the latest season of one of the most popular shows on TV & DVD.

That particular hypothetical is indicative of my problem with this greater discussion. The argument is based on feelings & speculation rather than fact.

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To Gary OS (if you are still reading this thread): If you thought my tone to you was rude, I apologize. It is never my intent to be rude.


As I explained above: On what information are you basing your suggestion that Best Buy is cutting back shelf space for Classic TV on DVD? I'll be glad to have this discussion when some authoritative information is presented, but until then this is just "the sky is falling."

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Unless someone's got other information, Best Buy is simply cutting back (not eliminating) it's anime inventory at some of its stores. In fact, the Anime News Network has pulled its list of Best Buy stores involved...saying it was "preliminary." If there IS contrary evidence that there is more to this story than that, I would love to hear about it.

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

Well, Best Buy IS reducing DVD inventory in favor of Blu-ray. This was obvious just walking into the store today when I picked up the new Futurama Blu-ray compared to the shelf space a year ago. Having to carry double inventory on most new release titles does take up space and Blu-ray probably has a significantly larger profit margin judging by the prices.

97,000 DVD titles and 1200 Blu-ray titles, with the number growing every week. With new DVDs and Blu-rays coming out every week and a finite retail space, something has to go.

The question is, what DVD inventory are they eliminating?

The answer is obvious...eliminate what doesn't sell. I'm not so sure it'll impact any particular genre of purchase beyond the anime announcements, except perhaps DVDs that have release dates in the 1990s or earlier this decade and just plain lousy titles. I mean really, a title that's out of print for a decade but they can't even sell it for $5.99 and have 10 of them on the shelf?

Waste of retail space.

I don't think there should be a panic regarding new release products of any sort, even for classic TV programming. New releases are what sells. Not every store will have everything on release day, but that's an issue of order management.

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

You want it direct from the The New York Times business page? Here it is ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/bu...gewanted=print

"And Best Buy, to limit the damage, is not just cutting prices. It is trimming inventory and advertising, promoting higher-margin, private-label lines and pushing exclusive products...". Inventory. That includes DVDs.

And I think this info was already posted ....

"The restructuring of Best Buy's DVD sales is not limited only to their anime products. In January Mosaic Sales Solutions informed Best Buy suppliers that they would be returning 5.5 million DVDs on behalf of Best Buy. The average number of DVDs returned per store was 5,505 across on average of 1,857 skus per store."

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

But Joe, that's my point.

My Best Buy hasn't reduced DVD space yet although the Blu-ray section has been expanding. (That could certainly change if I were to walk into my local BB this afternoon, of course.)

It's an obvious progression. We all saw it happen when DVD supplanted VHS at retailers and rental outlets. But the main difference is...Blu is not expected to supplant DVD anytime soon, if at all. I can only imagine what the ratio of BD Players to DVD Players is in the US right now.

Point is, there hasn't been any announcement or leak from BB that things are changing.

Stores will stock what sells. Or, go out of business.

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

Well...that includes everything, Wayne. Including Blu-ray discs, I guess.

That's a very interesting article. Thanks for posting it. My take-away from it is that Best Buy is being extremely careful--in the face of the economic downturn--to avoid the extreme problems which have walloped some of their competitors.

From later in the article:


It's smart business for a company to "run lean" in a tight economy. But I don't think this article is quite the linchpin on which to base a "Best Buy is phasing out DVDs" argument. If it was, I guess someone would also be able to make the claim that Best Buy is also phasing out flat screen TVs and computers.

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I especially enjoyed the section near the end which speaks of BB's "potent weapon" against online sellers and discounters: the "blue shirts."

I especially liked this quote from an Upper East Side customer:

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

really no issue that we would do something like rid ourselves of dvds since you guys and gals are half the customers that walk in day to day. imagine losing half your foot traffic in every store, and you people are the ones that look at other things to buy. lot of the stuff that was sent back was new releases at one point that failed to sell or straight to video product that failed. just need to refresh the stock from time to time.

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

Hey Robert, how is life?

Anyway, i know i have not gone into BB as much as i used to. Not much to buy, that i dont already have. And like i said before, i dont really buy any Blu-rays from BB. They cost to much. Amazon is my Blu friend.

And like Robert said, i was in all the time. Every Tuesday, was my day off. Now i work them, but even after work i still dont go in.
If the guys know who you are, you shop way to much.

Robert, do you still see many of the frequent flyers?

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

hey rick! might be going back to the east store soon. things are kind of screwed there. so amazon is your best bud for blu-ray? just think of the support you would be giving to tulsa and our state government. actually did see some good prices on amazon and some of the sale items were couple bucks cheaper than us. i can't see paying 29.99 for new releases or even regular product when an upconvert player can handle the mediocre-warm titles and buy the cream of the crop action-scifi on blu-ray. need to change the name of blu-ray to something that denotes hidef to educate future converts.


by the way anyone know when 3rd season ironside might be released?

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

It's the horror titles too. Aside from your mainstream Halloween remakes and Saw VIIs and the like, it's getting harder and harder to get the smaller, independent and cult films at Worst Buy. There's some discussion over at DVDManiacs, and pretty universally, the horror section is getting (pardon the phrase) slashed.

Which is too bad. While I usually buy on-line (usually saving up for the semi-annual DDD sale), I've been known to pick up the occasional impulse buy if it's cheap enough. Oh sure I could get that 5.99 title for 4.59, but I'm not going to sweat over the buck I lose when I'm caught up in the "Oooh! Blood Kill! I remember that as a kid! Sweet!" moment.

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

And as such, you are probably not the kind of customer Best Buy b&m stores are really worried about losing. Two of those three, at least, basically stay in business on the principle of splitting the difference with you with regard to the difference in costs between maintaining a b&m business and maintaining a mail-order business. In stores, they're competing for customers against Cambridge Soundwo -- uh -- against Tweet -- uh -- against Circuit -- uh -- (get the point?)

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Then why wouldn't you take advantage of the better prices you can get from a source that doesn't have to pay the overhead of B&M sales? Sounds like you aren't a very typical shopper if you fail to take advantage of such logical cost-saving opportunities.

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And I thought I was BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!

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I like that too but I like saving money more. Why would I pay $35 for The Fugitive at Best Buy when I can save $5 or $10 at Amazon for the same thing? If get a loose disc or a damaged package, I can return it.

Then shop with one that you can trust. I've been buying things from Amazon for about a decade and have bought hundreds of DVDs, CDs, books and Blu-rays and out of all those items, I've had a problem two times. Each of those times, Amazon had a replacement DVD out to me in 2 days with no further problems.

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Yes, you're very unique.

Most of who? No, Mark. The market reflects what most people are like, and it isn't like you suggest. I think you really think way too much of yourself, and way too little of anyone who isn't like you, which perhaps prompts you to fail to see how unique you are.

And year-over-year online retail sales figures shows just how far away you are from most people.

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Mark, do you have a split personality? The last time I looked, Right Stuf and Overstock are online...

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Mark, i thought you once said on the forum, that you work for Target? Am i wrong?

Re: Best Buy to Eliminate DVD Inventory & Anime

Interesting read, thanks for posting this.

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All I can say is that there must be two internets, the one you use and the one the rest of us use, because absolutely none of what you said makes a bit of sense to me. The internet is just a tool like many tools that have come before it. Some generations have difficulty adopting new technologies, that is understandable, but that doesn't make the technology bad. No one is forcing you to use it, but for those that understand it and use it wisely it can provide a wealth of capability.