Purchasing Region 2 DVD's directly from Network DVD (1 Viewer)

[smithb]

Do many here ever order British TV shows directly from Network DVD based on price?


I ask because I normally frequent Amazon UK or BlahDVD when making purchases of PAL versions of British shows, figuring they would have the better prices. Usually, I find that the small producers of these releases have higher, if not SRP on their sites.


However, I ended up on the Network site today and found most (if not all) releases discounted to various degrees. Many that I was looking at for with decent reductions, even lower then Amazon UK.


No sale is mentioned on their site, so I am trying to figure out from those familar with their site and pricing if this is standard practice for them. I have about 10 items on my wish list but would prefer to spread out my purchases. If this is normal practice I can do that, but if not I may want to jump on a few more now instead of waiting.

 

[Jeff Willis]

^^


Brad,


I purchased the complete "Saint" B/W set from them a while back and I also remember their price being considerably lower than Amazon UK's price at the time.


That's the only set I've bought from Network but my experience with them was good, fast shipping.

 

[WaveCrest]

I've found Network dvd to be very good sellers. Quick shipping and good prices at times, compared to Amazon.co.uk and Play.com. Some of the titles you will only be able to buy on Network dvd (their web exclusives).

 

[Bob Gu]

I think AmazonUK's lower postage might equalize Network's lower pricing in some cases.


The last time I ordered direct from Network my only shipping option was some kind of international express which I think was $11.00 or $16.00. It was fast though! My order shipped on a Friday and I received it at 8:30 A.M. the following Monday.


I actually can't get into Network's site anymore. I can access a Network product page from a title search from my search engine, but if I try to order or go to another page I get sent to the log in page. I can't log in. I can't even email them to find out what's wrong. They have a notation on the page about enabling cookies or something but since this is the only website that this happens on, I am reluctant to change my settings. But if anyone has a specific tip on what I can do at my end, to unblock the Network site, I'd appreciate it.

 

[smithb]

All good comments, thanks. So it may just be the norm for them to discount most items.


I did put a few things in my basket to see what shipping comes to and it wasn't too bad, but does seem to be a bit higher then Amazon. From past orders on Amazon UK I would say it was a couple of dollars more. Interestingly, it appears to be best to break up orders based on the carrier they use. When I managed to stay just under 1.0 kg the shipping was $7+, but if I went over it skyrocketed to $40. No matter what I added it stayed at $40, so it must be their standard for larger shipments of various sizes. I guess if you order around 15 titles going over 7 kg it might be worth on order. Otherwise, breaking it up makes more sense.


But I am curious as to why more smaller outfits don't take the same approach. From what I've seen most charge SRP, except for the every once in a while sale. Doesn't make much sense to me when you consider:


1. They sell at low volume based on a niche market so they don't need a large infrastructure. If they are only going to sell but so many they might as well promote people to want to make a purchase and return in the future.


2. They can obviously sell lower then others since they won't have to share the profits.


3. It gets people to return to their site allowing them to promote other titles and advertise future releases. I know I found another 10+ items I was interested just by browsing their site that I never would have found trying to browse all the titles available on the Amazon types.


4. They can still use the Amazon types for people who don't have a clue who is producing these titles and wouldn't find the site anyway.


I think others like Timeless and Shout! should take the lead of Network and promote competitive pricing. All I know is that Network is the only one of these sites I have a link saved for their homepage just for browsing with a mind to purchase. All the others I just assume to check Amazon.