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Video Business' Sales Chart No Longer Differentiating WS/P&S? (1 Viewer)

WillG

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I was looking at last weeks DVD sales chart on www.videobusiness.com It was a good chart because they would treat WS and P&S releases as different entries so you could see which version was selling better. Now with the latest chart, they don't seem to be doing this anymore. Some new released that aren't broken out by WS/P&S include "The Incredibles" "Ladder 49" "The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie" "Flight of the Phoenix" "Alfie" "Ray" "The Exorcist: The Beginning" "Alien vs. Predator" "Saw" and "Taxi" Anyone have any info on this, or is there another chart that treates WS/P&S as different entries?
 

Malcolm R

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Don't know, but Entertainment Weekly usually prints the Top 10 from that chart and they're still indicating WS and FS as far as I know.

Usually the WS is in the top 10 and the FS version is nowhere to be seen.
 

dave bula

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You can still track the sales of the separate versions with the Billboard Magazine top 50 chart. Only the top 10 is available at their website without a subscription.

As has previously been mentioned, the WS editions consistently outsell the FS editions on the vast majority of titles. I wish that the corporate buyers for Target and Wal-Mart would pay better attention to these charts, because both stores tend to stock 10 copies of FS for every 1 copy of WS, at least in this market, even with new titles. Target is especially bad, they often don't carry WS at all, especially for catalog titles where the prices have recently dropped.

Twice I have complained about this to local Target management, and without even looking anything up, the arrogant employees will patronizingly state that FS always outsells WS. If that's true, it's only because some people don't care, or pay any attention to which edition they are getting, and when only FS is stocked.........well, you get the picture.

Of course, this is the same Target that advertised the 2-disc edition of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on sale for $7.50 a couple of weeks ago. Of course, all they had in stock was the old single disc version with a completely different cover than the one shown in the ad. Talk about a blatant bait-and-switch!! Where's the state AG office when you need them? So I guess that their attitudes and ignorance about the WS & FS issue shouldn't be that surprising.

I'd be curious to know if anyone else has had similar problems with Target stores in other areas.
 

Mark Philp

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I doubt it was really "bait & switch", more like stupidity. However, if the State of Washington's AG is like ours in New York, all it takes is one complaint from a consumer to start an investigation. Instead of just grousing about it on a forum, why not stand up and be that one person? You'll never know where it might lead and how many people will end up thanking you. Good luck.
 

dave bula

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Well, perhaps I didn't make my purpose in posting my comments clear enough. I'm already working on getting together a complaint for the AG's office. I only mentioned it on this forum in hopes of finding out if others had similar experiences either with this particular title and ad or with other instances at Target. If I could show a consistent pattern of deceit in their advertising over a longer period of time, or over a larger geographic area than just the state, it might inspire a thorough and serious investigation.

I guess you could rightfully say that I was "grousing" about the WS and FS stocking policies, but not about the bait and switch. I'm very serious about that.
 

Will_B

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Target employees are probably right, but only because Target usually runs sales where only the full screen versions are on discounted sale (at least the one near me does that often).
 

EricSchulz

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Dave Bula:

I work for Target (and used to work in the Entertainment area) and as a Home Theater enthusiast, I completely agree with you. I decided to take this straight to the top (well, close to it!). I have sent a copy of your post to headquarters for the DVD buyers to see. I hate when I go to buy a catalog title at a great price (Seabicuit, for example) and we only have it in fullscreen. I will post their reply here when I get it. I also address the issue with CCBB, as it also has happened with West Side Story and one other title that I can't recall right now.
 

Jesse Skeen

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I go by Target regularly for stuff like breakfast and cat food, and of course always check out the DVDs while I'm there. I've seen several titles stocked only in the foolscreen versions. When buying my other stuff though quite often I've gotten an invitation on the receipt for an online survey, so every time I've gotten one of those I've mentioned that I would have picked up some of those titles if they had stocked the correct version. The last time I got a survey I commented that I'd complained about this several times already and they don't seem to be paying attention, so why do they even bother having these surveys?
I still say having separate releases is one of the worst ideas in the history of the format- either put the foolscreen version on the same disc, or if it won't fit, don't include it at all.
 

AaronMK

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If it won't fit?! There is no possible way that foolscreen could ever fit. It always comes at the cost of presantation quality or extra features.

By the way, did you hear that Video Business doesn't consider WS and FS as different releases on their sales chart anymore? ;)
 

Malcolm R

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The latest issue of EW I have is dated April 1, 2003 (Star Wars covers), and prints the VB chart for the week ending March 13:

1 Ladder 49 (wide)
2 Bambi: PE
3 Friends: S9
4 The Notebook
5 Woman Thou Art Loosed
6 Spongebob Movie (wide)
7 Napoleon Dynamite
8 Flight of the Phoenix (wide)
9 Exorcist: The Beginning (wide)
10 Ray (wide)
 

Joshua Clinard

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This is bad news. I was just getting ready to update the sales tracker, now I have no source. If EW does the same thing, I'll really be up a creek. My sales data page is what draws most of my hits.
 

Joshua Clinard

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That would only work if they were just not labeling them anymore. But what they are doing is counting the sales of both items as one item. So it would be impossible to assume that the WS is doing better.

How much is this info worth to you guys? If 9 other people would donate 2 dollars a month, then Widescreen Advocate could get an account, so I would be able to continue to offer retail sales stats comparing the sales of WS vs. FS. Please reply if you would be willing to do so. If I get several responses, I will setup a paypal link.
 

TravisR

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Has any title ever sold more total copies in pan and scan than in widescreen? I'm sure it is a rare occurance so assuming the widescreen version is selling better isn't impossible. It's not 100% but it's a safe bet.
 

Joshua Clinard

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There are a few cases where the pan & scan versions sold better. It would be a lot of work, but you could navigate through the archives and find out.

Then again, I could always do a history on some of the hottest releases...
 

Malcolm R

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I'm not sure if cumulative totals have ever shown FS ahead of WS, but there have only been a few instances of FS titles debuting on the sales chart ahead of their WS versions. I can't remember any titles offhand, but I recall one of Adam Sandler's comedies did this, and probably a couple of kids flicks.
 

WillG

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The new chart for last week has come out and no differentiation between WS and P&S. Too bad, I used to follow the Video Business chart.
 

Joshua Clinard

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Thanks Will for the update. I was hoping last weeks chart was a mistake or something. Apparantly it's a new policy. I sure dont' like it. In light of this, I have added a history of past blockbusters to my sales tracker.
 

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