I really don't understand why these are being kept under wraps. I know that they were a "limited" release, but I think that it'd be worth owning the Silly Symphonies disc, and there are a couple cartoons on Mickey vol. 1 that I'd like as well. Since I didn't know what these really were when they first came out, I missed out on them the first time around. The problem now is that the only people who seem to be benefiting from this "limited" run are the people selling bootlegs, and the hoarders who put these up on Ebay. How does Disney benefit from keeping these discs under lock and key?
Chris- While I do not like the approach of limiting a DVD so some true fans have to pay through the nose at eBay, the one good thing this whole "Walt Disney Treasures" series does is ackwnowledge that maybe some of these items (most actually) are not well suited for a mass-market blitz that would target The Lion King viewer as the main consumer. The Walt Disney Treasures line is, instead, geared towards older, long-time admirers of Disney's work. By limiting the run, Buena Vista gets to sell these out rather quickly (because of immediate sense of urgency over fear that a title will be unavailable shortly) and call the product line a "success" when they have "only" sold aprox 145,000 copies on DVD in some cases. (Per some comments, I believe at thedigitalbits.com, when Disney released "Mickey Mouse in Black and White" on LD, it did not sell well.) That these are limited does get most people who are inclined to buy them out there to get them ASAP. As great as many of these are, honestly, I can see why these would have limited appeal to today's kids, and even Buena Vista is playing up the nostaligia factor with these, as they should. With the DVDs having higher selling points on the secondary market (actually, after initial "sold out" inflation, they seem to level off for the most part), they take on a Criterion-like "pride of ownership" quality that most DVDs out there do not instill in their owners. There are many of these available without the tin, and I would imagine, based on how many tinless boxed set of all of Wave 1 and Wave 2 I saw at Costco, you could find a seller of any one in particular for less than $45.
With Disney you have to understand "gone forever" actually means "we just haven't decided yet when we are going to sell this again." The only people who overpay for Disney home video nowadays are those who don't keep track of how they operate - the web has been a major help in this area thankfully. As a previous poster noted, the first and second waves of the series (minus the tins and postcard-sized lithos) could be purchased at Costco and I noted in another thread that they were spotted at a few other retailers like Amoeba here in L.A. Now Disney is offering the same box set, come one or come all, on their website. Here's the direct link: http://disney.store.go.com/DSSection...11776_HPL3_TXT I just wish the company was more honest with their customers about the limited availability/collector status of these releases.
Limited Availability is a two way street. As a collector, I like having things that are special and that many other people dont have. For example, if I buy an item that I am told will not be made again, it is not fair to those who bought it to see it on shelves again after being told it would no longer exist. Once everyone in the world owns it, it just doesnt seem so special anymore. Once things become too mass produced, it will also kill the market for that specific thing in a collectors field. Most people dont care about about owning baseball cards, barbies, beanies, for example anymore. Too much mass production and way too many products basically killed them all. This in the long run will also hurt the companies making the products when no one buys them anymore. The Barbie market went to hell for example. Thats why they did that ridiculous story on the news about Barbie and Ken breaking up. To try and drive up sales again.
This is what I'm talking about-the only "market" for DVD collectors is Ebay, which Disney doesn't see a nickel of. For the speculator, this is a great deal, since they can buy up all of a limited release and then turn a profit on ebay, but for the issuing company the only thing this serves is to alienate the people who want to just enjoy your product. Reissuing these tins wouldn't really make them that much less collectable. For example, what is (or was) often done in comics is to release a "second printing", which is marked as such, and designed to meet demand for a particular book. This way, those that want the "collectable" first printing can have it, and those that missed out don't have to pay a ridiculous price if they just want to read the comics. If these tins were to be re-released and stamped with a "second issue" label, I'd have no problem with that. The reason that the "collectable" market went to hell was that everyone and their brother decided that "collectables" were to be hoarded since they might go up in value. This created a ridiculous demand, as well as artificially inflated prices for almost everything. Once people realized that none of their precious "collectables" were wroth anything, they left in droves, and almost killed the comics market. Regardless, I can understand how these discs are more of a "niche" item than most mainstream stuff, but I'd still like to be able to pick up the ones I want (and without having to buy a $200 set of all seven previous releases). Is that too much to ask?
How could you not know what they were? You were a member here at that time, and they were discussed in-depth. Plus the Wave 1 titles were still available in some stores when Wave 2 was released. You snooze, you lose!
I always buy Disney DVDs of substantive value the day they come out - for instance, the only Disney animated features I don't have on DVD are Bambi, Cinderella, and Aladdin (and Home on the Range). By Fall 2005, I should have a complete DVD collection of the Disney animated features. George Lucas takes his films off the market to build up demand again. The James Bond films are available only for a limited time, and sometimes only in box sets. When I was growing up, the Disney films were not available on home video save for a handful of titles. When a Disney film like Pinocchio or Bambi or Fantasia was re-released in the theaters, it was an event. They played for a few months, then you had to wait another several years to see them again, but meanwhile another film was being re-released, so you didn't mind so much. Now, you've got the opportunity to own these films. In most cases, you have plenty of time to buy them before they go OOP. The Treasures sets are limited runs because they are specialized items, not mass-market titles, and Disney is trying to create an urgency and ensure that the units are sold. If you just buy the titles you're interested in when they come out, then you don't have to worry about paying $60 for The Little Mermaid on e*bay.
Maybe only interesting to some, but some Disney Treasures have been released "unlimited" in R2 territories.I thought this was to "dispose" of dvds with damaged tins. And that these many damaged tins is also the reason why Disney has stopped numbering the tins themselves - making them "replaceable".
169$...thats a lot to spend in one purchase...if they could split this in wave 1 and 2 this it will be cool. And yes... i didn't know when the Wave 1 came out... well... have a nice day.
I just bought Silly Symphonies the other day off Ebay without the tin for $25. The seller has a lot of them on buy it now for that price in his Ebay store. (no, it's not me)
I was lucky enough to have bought Mickey Mouse In Living Color Vol.1 with an almost mint-condition tin for $10 at a used CD Store in our area. I've also seen the Costco boxed sets around here.
For anyone who missed out on the first two waves of the Walt Disney Treasures, there is a way you can still get them in the limited edition tins without going to eBay. The Disney Movie Club is currently offering wave 1 and wave 2 releases in tins to their members. You have two options to buy: 1) Buy all 4 releases of Wave 1 together in a multipack for $119.80 ($29.95/each) which includes: -Mickey Mouse in Living Color (Vol 1) -Silly Symphonies -Disneyland USA -Davy Crockett: The Complete Televised Series OR 2) Buy all 3 releases of Wave 2 together in a multipack for $99 ($33.00/each) which includes: -Mickey Mouse in Black & White -The Complete Goofy -Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studio As I said, you can only buy them in the multipacks. Currently, they are not offering any of them as single releases. Also, you won't see the 'multipacks' section of the Disney Movie Club website until you sign up. If you're not a member of the Disney Movie Club, here's how it works: You get 3 titles for FREE (plus $1 shipping) which you select from the Disney Movie Club website when you join (sorry, you can't get the Disney Treasures for free ). In exchange, you agree to purchase at least 5 titles at regular price ($19.95 for DVDs) in the next 12 months. It may not be worth it to some of you guys, but I think it is if you really want the tins. The site only says the Treasures are available "for a limited time only." By the way, if anyone wants to join, please email me your email address and I will gladly send you a link. I can get the chance at a free title for people I help sign up. I check my email all the time, so you wouldn't have to wait long and I would really be greatful!!!
If it is a Chinese pirate copy, it is certaibly a good enough pirate copy to fool me... I'm pretty sure the guy just bought a bunch of the multipacks and split them up.. it's the 2 discs and it has a booklet inside... no lithograph, no tin, but it's definately the real deal as far as I can tell. And even if it isn't, everything that's supposed to be on the discs is there, it looks great, it plays perfectly in all my DVD players. I don't plan on reselling it, so other than the fact that I would be supporting piracy, I'd have no problem with having it in my collection.
It kinda sucks that these aren't available, and for Wave 3 I bought 2 sets of the four. One to open, and one to keep for the future to maybe trade a set of sealed Wave 3 for a sealed Wave 2 or 1. And if not, then at least I know I can get my money back plus more for a set sealed. Just my take. Yell at me for being a "hoader" but its just one extra set, and it just made sense to me. BTW, I was just at my local walmart and they still have like 8 sets of these four new Wave 3 ones. So if you're looking, check walmart! Mike
They've been released in r4 as well. If you can play PAL (which you probably can't) then its a possibility. But they seem to be limiting themselves to the obvious titles - the animated ones.
I bought the Costco box set and sold my unopened copy of Silly Symphonies on ebay a few months ago. So, real ones do get sold. Just by looking at the listings, I'd say about 50% are legit copies - which is much better than Lady and the Tramp. -Reagan
