Star Trek Voyager Sales (1 Viewer)

Just wonderin'. I've been watching what I believe is the same set of 6 copies of the first season of Voyager sit on the shelf at my local B'J's for a few weeks now. Is anyone buying this over-priced bag of you know what? I am a Star Trek fan but refuse to pay this kind of money for easily what most believe is the worst example of the franchise. Any industry figures on sales? Perhaps Paramount might finally come to it's senses and release this series at a decent price.

I don't think you'd be able to find these numbers.

But if we can agree that Voyager probably would not sell better than Next Generation or DS9 on DVD, it's unlikely that Voyager: Season 1 has sold (or will sell) more than 60,000 copies.

That's based on conjecture from Video Business' year-end data for TV shows on DVD in 2003.

Randy- That's interesting data you've posted from Video Business. It makes sense that this series is likely to do the same kind of business as TNG and DS9, and no better. It's also interesting to know that the 60,000 sales figure is based on how those two series sold, if I read it right.

Although I too think Star Trek should've gone on hiatus after DS9, I still think the sets will sell more than DS9. It was way more popular.

(But then, it's the fans that buy this stuf, not the general public.)

Hm...

I purchased all of DS9 (and felt like I got my money's worth on that series), but refuse to pay $100.00 for the 15 episode Voyager Season One box. My local Suncoast actually has about 7 boxes up on the shelf with a $139.95 sticker attached to them! lol!! (In fairness to Suncoast, they were selling these boxes for $99.95 on release day. That was still way too rich for my blood for just 15 episodes of a mediocre representation of the franchise.)

I have been cruising the used DVD stores (in my area they're called Replay); and, about three weeks ago, found a Voyager box for sale for $79.95. I offered the proprietor $64.95 (which is what I felt Paramount should have been selling them for from the beginning) and he declined. Since then, I've made a point of going back to his shop at least once a week. The same box is still there at the same price.

Oh well ...

I see where Paramount will soon be offering "Theme" sets of the Star Trek TV shows at much more reasonable prices. The first, a two-disc set of popular Picard episodes from ST: TNG, will be released this Summer with a MSRP of just $29.95. (This means it will probably "street" for $19.95 the first week.) I suspect that these sets will sell in far greater numbers than the overpriced Season boxes.

As for me ... I'm saving up for the TOS season boxes, rumored to be coming as early as the end of August.
And, yes, I'll continue to make the weekly "trek" to the local Replay until the Voyager Season One box is gone.

It's an educated guess based on solid data.

According to Video Business' 2003 data, ST:TNG Season 7 sold about 82,000 copies. So figure that the rest of that series sold around the same numbers, based on the reliable theory that sales of a TV show on DVD tend to be consistent from season to season.

No data is available for DS9, because no season set of it sold well enough to rank among the top 52 TV DVDs for 2003, according to VB. To make that list, it would have had to have total revenue of $6 million, or about 60,000 copies--based on VB's ~$101 average sale price for TNG.

I just assumed that Voyager was less popular with fans than DS9, but I'm pretty convinced that TNG is the most popular. So I think from this data, one could guess that Voyager S1 probably has sold no more than 60,000 (if it not's more popular than DS9) but almost definitely not more than about 80,000 copies (because it's not more popular than TNG).

But that's just my guess.

Hey, I just realized that this thread should be in the TV show forum...

Noticed that there are a large number of new copies being sold on Ebay for around $70.

May be a case where retail locations aren't moving many units and excess supply is leaking through to 'wholesalers' who sell online.

I waited a bit and bought a used copy of S1 for $46.

I don't think $100 was an unreasonable price at all. The video quality is astounding (my local UPN station during Voyager's early years was awful, w/ even worse sound quality). Also, the extras are very nifty. I'm eagerly awaiting to own the entire awesome series.

I looked on the top selling DVDs at Amazon and shows like Freaks and Geeks are on there (which is a good thing) but Voyager is no where to be found in the Top 50. Hopefully Paramount will finally get the message and lower the prices. It is rumored that TOS will come out this year so I am hoping this is not priced at over $100.00 like the newer shows.

Thanks Randy! As someone who is an industry insider then, you have access to the data from Video Business that we can't see.

What I would be interested to understand is whether the numbers for TNG were outstanding compared to other "hot" TV DVD products. Considering that TNG sold some 80K copies per season, what does a show like "Friends" or "X-Files" do? I would guess that it's similar or higher, but do the numbers trail off over the later seasons? And if those "hot" shows sell more then 80K copies, then what does that mean? Is it in an average place for hot selling discs?

Where I am going with this is I have to wonder how well all the TV stuff is doing. As someone said, the majority of people who buy the "Star Trek" products are fans first. The casual person may not. "Friends" likely has a larger fan base, so it could sell higher numbers. I am a Star Trek fan, so I plan to own all the series and I may or may not double dip on the TOS sets. But I do not plan to buy "Gilligan's Island" or "Green Acres". So those series I am betting is selling to fans mostly. And I would further guess the fan base is much lower for those. And I would then further guess that the current pressing might go OOP when they're gone.

So in regard to "Star Trek Voyager", there is a fan base for it amongst the Trek fans. If it does sell in the 60K range of copies, how does that compare to "Green Acres" or "Friends"? If "Voyager" stays in the 60K copies sold, I would think it's a minor hit compared to TNG.

Then what about DS9? It's obviously highly praised by the members here and Star Trek fans. But the general buying public and viewing audience does not have the same regard for DS9, but did the sales figures defy that? (of course Randy's information does not have sales figures because it's revenue fell below the threshold of $6 million dollars)

As for numbers that trail as season sets are released of later seasons, based on my own buying habits and level of interest failing off, I only have 2 seasons of "M*A*S*H" and the "Simspons". Hypothetically, the buying public could have similar buying habits as myself, more for "MA*S*H" I would think. So for long running shows, it could be a problem.

To wrap up, it sounds like "Star Trek Voyager" could be a great seller for Paramount if the numbers stay as they are. I hope DS9 did the same kind of business. If so, then Voyager is on track so far. (And I don’t want to mention the price issue here, it is a factor that determines a sale, I know that. And many here have made their feelings very clear. But it is a consistent figure with past Star Trek series.) Oh yes, I have seen copies of Voyager on shelves at Best Buy, but then I see lots of copies of other shows too like TNG and DS9, MASH, Alias, X-Files, Simpsons, etc.

Nah, you just have to know where to look. Many of the questions you have are answered there.

Two caveats:

1) The list is ranked by revenue, which is a lousy way to track TV-on-DVD sales, especially since it gives an advantage to high-priced sets. Look at the units-sold data to get a real feel for a show's popularity.
2) The list is only for 2003, the first year TV shows sold well enough to merit their own list. Note, though, that the biggest TV show sold just a fraction of the lowest-selling movie on DVD.

There goes my "secret" ...

Thanks for the tip Randy. I've tried to look at stuff at that site before but it required registration and since I have nothing to do with the business, I passed.

Definitely revealing to see those listings of both the top TV and movie product. It does look like season sets do suffer a little over time, but not in the way I thought, Friends does decline as they release later seasons, but S1 did worse then S3, 4 and 5. But I bet that could be due to the later sets being available when DVD TV product becomes more mainstream and normal to collect.

I hope they do a list for the first or second quarter of 2004. And someone does a list of all DVD TV product. It would be interesting to see where our favorites are and how that affects a studio's decision to keep releasing later seasons. Since this is a Star Trek thread, I'd be interested in how all the series do or did. Maybe it's all moot, as long as Paramount is making money, they'll release them. And the upcoming Picard themed Star Trek set should see a slight spike in sales as the price is good. That's about $4 or $5 an episode if they have 5 or 6 shows in the set.

I think Paramount, if they were smart, would sell much better if they lowered the price.
How many people on this thread who havent bought it yet would purchase it if it were cheaper? I would. Voyager was more miss than hit and certainly not as good as TNG or DS9 but I would purchase the sets if they were half the price. DS9 I love a lot more but I cant afford $700.00. How many people can?



From the looks on that sales chart, it doesnt look like Trek is holding it's own in sales. Look at the difference in sales just in units between Season 7 of TNG and say Smallville. Smaville is less than half the price. And it's not even showing Voyager or DS9 on the chart.

I'm willing to buy the sets, but not at $100 bucks!! The local BJ's wholesale club has them for $85, and that seems like it may be worth it, but not a penny more.

These, like every other Star Trek set, are remarkably overpriced.
I was willing to turn my head and cough for TNG. I won't do the same for DS9 or Voyager. I hope they readdress the prices at some point in the future.
Surely Star Trek could generate better numbers than it is.

I'll buy Voyager, in a package deal. All 7 Seasons for $69.95 total! Otherwise, forget it.

i love Voyager myself.
and yall are just to picky about the price.
i remember when you had to pay about $3000 for a set like voager now it only cost about $700.
id say thats a fare price.
and on top of that the $3000 price was for tapes...
yes, Season 1 was a short Season but i can live it being full price with just that one Season only being short.
if all of them was short like that then i would say something.

I wish the Trek sets were cheaper. I think paramount would move more copies of each series.

John - that sounds about right. $69.95. Do you think that is anywhere near what the actual cost was? Sounds close to me.

At any rate - all of the ST series have been way overpriced. How many other season sets out there are priced that high? I'll bet that it is few, if any.

Glenn

Looking at that list I now think that Paramount's price strategy is pretty smart:

ST:TNG Season 7 brought in more revenue than Buffy Season 5 despite the fact that Buffy sold more than twice the number of units. Buffy is already pretty cheap so I'm willing to bet that not many people avoided it because of its price. Now look at the number of people in just this thread who avoided ST because of price. In a year or two when Paramount finally drops the price on these sets there will likely be a second wind of sales for all of those who passed initially. Buffy will likely never see such a second wind.

Star Trek sells at the extremely high price point to really devoted fans with sufficient disposable income. Once that market has been sufficiently exploited, Paramount can keep lowering the price in iterations. In the long run I'd imagine this practice to generate more revenue.

This certainly won't work with every property but it seems to be a bit of a no-brainer for Star Trek. All of the Star Trek franchises except Enterprise have been off of the air for several years so there's no need to try and get mass market penetration quickly to help boost ratings like the sets for Alias and 24 or to strike while the iron is still hot like with Friends. I imagine the Trek sets will be a reliable income source for Paramount in years to come.