The Complete Criterion Collection on DVD (1 Viewer)

[Sam R. Aucoin]

I have finally amassed the entire Criterion Collection on DVD (I do not say this in a bragging way - you will understand my question later). As I am in the process of attempting to accurately insure the contents of my home, do any of you have any idea of what that collection alone is worth (I have about another 600 DVDs, which I assume are valued at close to, if not, their retail value)?
My question pertains ONLY to the Criterion Collection.
Thanks for your responses.
Regards,
Sam

 

[Duane Robinson]

All I can say is: A whole lotta money. Especially when certain CC's like The Killer and Hard Boiled go for over a hundred dollars on Ebay.
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[Jeff Ulmer]

It will also depend whether you have the first Seven Samurai disc or not. Do a search on ebay and look at cloed auction prices for the rare discs like Salo, etc.
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[Sam R. Aucoin]

Jeff:
I thought about that, but then re-thought the idea and concluded that a COMPLETE collection must surely be worth more than the face-value of individual titles combined(regardless of whether they are the $39.95 for a non-OOP title or a $300 Salo title).
Do you agree?

 

[Keith Mickunas]

But isn't the insurance company going to want the cost to replace it? I see what you mean about having the complete set and having it worth more, but that would only be if you were selling it off that way. Since these aren't sold as a set, and more will always be coming out, the insurance company will want the cost for each individual one. Think about this, if the day after your house burns down a new Criterion is released, you no longer had a complete set. My guess is you're going to have to do a lot of work in calculating the value of your DVDs.

 

[Sam R. Aucoin]

I thought I saw that someone had sold a complete collection on Ebay, but it must have been more than 90 days ago, as I could not find it using the search feature. I think that could be used as "proof" of the replacement-value of my entire set, i.e., what it would cost me to purchase an entire set at one time.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

The insurance company is interested in the least expensive replacement cost, not what you could sell it for at auction. You could always overinsure it, but you are just wasting your money.
I'd do list for everything except rarities.
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[Dmitry]

I thought I saw that someone had sold a complete collection on Ebay

I saw one on eBay about a year ago and it was well over $2,000.

 

[Johnny G]

Sam,
You say the ebay completed Items search goes back 90 days but when I try to search something I saw last month, it only goes back a couple of weeks, what am I doing wrong?

 

[GerardC]

How much did YOU pay for everything? That would be a good indication on what it's really worth (at least that's how I value my collection).
Ebay is hardly an indication of the real world market value, you wouldn't believe the amount of auctions that end up at enormous prices but where the actual transaction falls through (the 'deadbeat' bidders). This is especially true with those expensive out of print items.
You can check DVD Journal for regular reports on those Ebay auctions (they keep a top 10 of the most expensive dvd items each week with comments).

 

[Gary Case]

This is another great use for DVD Profiler. You can export your DVD database in CSV format, read it into Excel or another spreadsheet program, and total up the column with the prices in it. I'm just not sure whether to use the MSRP or the actual price paid for the insurance value. And rare discs like some of yours can be a sticky issue. Maybe your insurance agent can help with the value of those.
-Gary

 

[Sam R. Aucoin]

I checked the DVD Journal website and, using their posted figures at the time I checked, the Criterions alone were being auctioned (counted individually) for almost $1,700 total!!!!
I would think that an entire, intact set (and yes, for an earlier poster to this thread, I own the first pressing of The Seven Samurai) would be worth at least $4,000-$5,000.
Of course, I did not spend NEARLY that much for the set, as I began buying them as soon as they were released. Back then, even the Criterions were reduced quite a bit by online retailers.
Perhaps I should put them in a fire-proof vault.

 

[Fred B]

Well The MSRP of all the Criterions released so far is $4,099.51. Of course this counts Salo at $29.95 and Killer at $39.95
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[Jeff Ulmer]

What it comes down to is what you want to insure it for. If you want it high valued, you will pay premiums accordingly, which is just ripping yourself off, unless you plan to have a claim filed.
Keep in mind that unless you suffer a total loss, you will never need full replacement value for everything you own. All you are doing is helping the insurance company stay in busines by paying them for a service they will never provide for you.
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[John Thomas]

One question: Why would the complete collection be worth more than the titles individually? As if collecting them all inthe same room makes them more valuable? If I were interested in purchasing all the Criterions, I definately wouldn't pay more for the whole collection because it were one big bundle...if anything, I'd be inclined to pay a bit less.
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[Edited last by John Thomas on August 15, 2001 at 05:47 AM]

 

[Sam R. Aucoin]

Answer: Because someone has gone through the "trouble" of putting together the collection. Can you imagine what it would take, in the market today, to put together a COMPLETE set of Criterion DVDs, considering the number that are out of print, with some selling for almost $400 EACH?
In addition, many of the early Criterions (as were all DVDs when the format was introduced) were discounted heavily by online merchants in an attempt to "get you" as a customer for life. It is that exact reason why some went bankrupt.
Generally, regarding collector's items, a complete set of anything is usually worth more than the total of the individual items that comprise the complete set.

 

[James_A]

Wow! The whole Criterion? Geesh! That's awsome,,,
Anyway, I'd probably use the MSRP for most of the discs, because that's a fair market value. Then for Salo, Seven Samerui {sic}, and any other rare or OOP movies.
As far as collections go, it is very common for those who want to posess the entire collection but don't want to go through with collecting it all, to pay a bit more because of the effort that the person who collected it put into it.
at least as far as other collecting goes... like Baseball cards, and other collectables.
Jim
PS. hehe.... guess I posted right after Sam... whoops
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Want to hold up a bank in Latin?
"Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam."
(I have a catapult. Give me all the money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.)
[Edited last by James_A on August 15, 2001 at 10:15 PM]

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I'm still not seeing why you are wanting the value of this collection to be higher than what each title is individually worth.
As for being a complete collection, I can assure you that it is not. I am most certain that I have Criterion titles in my collection that are not in yours, and I know others do as well, since we get them well ahead of the release date. Therefore, while you may own every title released, you do not actually have the entire collection, as it hasn't been released yet.
As for why this should be worth more for your insurance company, I don't know, again unless you are planning on submitting a claim, and have the replacement cost as your policy.
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[Justin Lane]

With any collection, the value the collection holds is only as great as another individual is willing to pay. I suppose MSRP would be a fair value to insure the collection for all discs except the OOP titles which should be insured at a higher value.
If using a baseball card analogy, most of the time a complete collection is valued at less then if you were to sell each card individually, so I am not sure if you want to take this into account here.
The main issue is to determine how likely a total loss would be. Are you in a high crime area? etc. As Jeff said it does not make sense to pay extra for coverage you may never need.
J

 

[Ken Situ]

From the Insurance company's point of view, your set is not complete, and will never be complete since Criterion is continuesly producing more DVD titles.
Of course, if Criterion were to go belly up...
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