what's the deal with this rolling stones' four flicks at best buy? (1 Viewer)

[Mark Hamilton]

I really don't think that there is a place for "Mom and Pop" music/DVD stores at this point. Major chain retailers are working with razor-thin margin and really don't expect to generate much profit from this segment, they are primarily customer draws. So I'm not sure how a smaller, independant retailer will make it when they have to maintain a solid 30% GM to cover theft/overheard/staffing.

 

[David James]

The worlds most over rated rock and roll band. A gazillion songs and I like 2 of them (maybe). But, I tip my hat to the Stones for producing content for their fans. You don't like the way they are selling the DVD's, fine, don't buy them.

There are lots of other bands that I like that aren't putting out any DVD's or maybe have put out one. I wish they would follow the Stone's example.

I won't give them my money, but I will give them credit for giving their fans the option to buy their stuff.

 

[Dick]

Malcom: I could often be seen walking the long corridor between Zayre and my store carrying armloads of albums I'd purchased for $3.99. It did not help me much, unfortunately.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

imagine in the future, we'll have to travel to different stores just to get cds/dvds from different artists. Big corporate stores will start signing exclusivity with artists and they'll be owned by the stores as much as they are by studios.

...wouldn't that be fun.

Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is. We ALREADY have to travel to different stores for various items - it's not like any retailers carry EVERYTHING. And exclusives are NOT a new concept. Hell, toy collectors have been dealing with that crap for years, and to make things worse, those are usually limited editions at inflated prices.

We're getting a four-DVD set for $30 - I don't plan to complain about this...

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is. We ALREADY have to travel to different stores for various items - it's not like any retailers carry EVERYTHING. And exclusives are NOT a new concept. Hell, toy collectors have been dealing with that crap for years, and to make things worse, those are usually limited editions at inflated prices.

Colin Jacobson,

1."Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is".
Your post shows you completely miss the point.

2."We ALREADY have to travel to different stores for various items - it's not like any retailers carry EVERYTHING".
This is not about one store's ability to carry every title. It's about one, and only one store, being able to carry a specific title.

3."And exclusives are NOT a new concept".
So, that makes it OK?

4."Hell, toy collectors have been dealing with that crap for years, and to make things worse, those are usually limited editions at inflated prices".
So, now you want to get screwed like toy collectors???

 

[Colin Jacobson]

4."Hell, toy collectors have been dealing with that crap for years, and to make things worse, those are usually limited editions at inflated prices".
So, now you want to get screwed like toy collectors???

When did I say I WANT to "get screwed"? My point was that a) exclusives aren't new, and b) they often end up as a negative for the consumer.

In the case of Four Flicks, the exclusive is likely a POSITIVE. $30 for this sort of set is a great deal, and without the exclusivity, it might not have hit at that price point. In addition, it's not a limited deal, unlike the exclusives I mentioned. It's a good deal all around, as far as I see.

This is business, not a democracy. No one ever said that every product had to be available to every retailer. It seems absurd to turn this into some emotional David vs. Goliath thing when it's nothing of the sort.

Don't like it? Don't buy it...

 

[Steve K.H.]

Only in Dolby Surround. 8P

 

[Patrick Larkin]

i take it these shows are all recent grandpa shows?

 

[Kami]

HMV, here in Canada, has taken all Rolling Stones products off their shelves, including CDs. Many more are following in their footsteps!

I have a feeling this will be something that won't really happen again.

 

[Tom Tsai]

^ yeah, so has Music World.

 

[CraigF]

Was just going to say what Kami and Tom did... HMV has got very militant re this sort of thing lately, sometimes removing all product from a studio from their shelves (think it was Warner/WEA last time), but I think they're way over-reacting this time, in that you'd have to be a very unknowledgable consumer to buy any DVD from them. Even though it's a music DVD, I find it hard to believe they'd lose *that* many DVD sales to Best Buy or Future Shop...I guess it's the principle of the thing.

 

[TedT]

If anyone does not want to go to Best Buy to buy this, you can buy it from me. $75 a copy. I'll pay for shipping. I'll take as many orders as you want.

 

[Thomas Newton]

Newbury Comics is pulling most Rolling Stones albums from their shelves, and hiking the prices of the rest by $3, as a result of this.

Their position is that one or two exclusives a year wouldn't be a big deal, but that 100 exclusives a year like this would put some stores out of business.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Their position is that one or two exclusives a year wouldn't be a big deal, but that 100 exclusives a year like this would put some stores out of business.

And it's a reasonable position. Who are some of the biggest bands or artists still working? The Stones, U2, Dave Matthews Band, Bruce Springsteen, etc., etc. If only one store is able to carry a new release by a major artist, it will seriously wreck the competition beyond what is fair, and perhaps beyond what is legal.

Think of it this way: imagine Warners said they were only going to release their catalog titles to Best Buy. It's just wrong.

It's not the same as McDonald's not having the Whopper. Burger King and McDonald's are their own brands, and carry their product line. I wouldn't expect J Crew to start selling the Gap catalog. The Rolling Stones are not a brand that belong to Best Buy; they weren't developed by Best Buy. The Stones are not some store brand that you'd expect only to be sold at one store. They're a major band that's been popular for forty years, and up until Tuesday, you could buy a new Stones release at any store.

It ends up being bad for consumers in the end. Best Buy will do well with this, but other stores will lose money, and perhaps they would go out of business if this was a regular occurance. All it would take would be one huge release, a Finding Nemo type, to be branded as one store's exclusive, and everyone else is taking a major hit. When the other stores start falling, then the store with the exclusives suddenly has control of the marketplace and can jack up the prices since there is no more competition. That's exactly what Blockbuster did when they first started opening up in my neighborhood over ten years ago. They got a zillion copies of all the new titles, charged less, and let you keep them longer. Every single independent video store within a 30-45 minute drive of my house went out of business within a year or two; there used to be at least four different stores I had memberships to that were all within walking distance of my house, or at least, a short drive away. Then they were gone. Once that happened, Blockbuster's prices shot up, and the amount of time you were allowed to keep a rental was cut.

 

[Brian Kidd]

The fewer Mom and Pop stores there are, the smaller the selection of available titles. You can't walk into a BB and find anything but a gazillion copies of KANGAROO JACK and maybe if you're lucky one copy of a semi-obscure catalog title. Online stores are nice, but I doubt that they're enough to maintain support for these smaller titles forever. It's just like what's happened to the media. Fewer and fewer corporations own more and more outlets. Those few have the power to decide what everyone watches and listens to. That's not a "free market," that's an oligarchy.

 

[Dick]

There is a direct parallel here with the FCC attempts to deregulate radio station ownership limits. Fewer choices = more control of the public by the big boys, less diversity and choice for us all. Thankfully (so far) that idiocy is on hold. The STONES issue appears to be unnegotiable. I find any monopoly scary as hell, short duration or no.

 

[Charlie B. Ch.]

That's exactly what Blockbuster did when they first started opening up in my neighborhood over ten years ago. They got a zillion copies of all the new titles, charged less, and let you keep them longer. Every single independent video store within a 30-45 minute drive of my house went out of business within a year or two; there used to be at least four different stores I had memberships to that were all within walking distance of my house, or at least, a short drive away. Then they were gone. Once that happened, Blockbuster's prices shot up, and the amount of time you were allowed to keep a rental was cut.

That is classical "predatory pricing" and it is violative of antitrust law if the price that BB initially charged was below cost. However, courts are wary of holding the mega retailer liable because the scheme provides benefits to consumers in the short run.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Kami
Tom Tsai
CraigF
Thomas Newton
Josh Steinberg
Brian Kidd
Dick
Charlie B. Ch.,
I quess you fine folks didn't read what Colin Jacobson posted:

It seems absurd to turn this into some emotional David vs. Goliath thing when it's nothing of the sort.

So you see people, everything is all right!
Just ask Colin.
It's just Big Business as usually.
Nobody get's hurt.
Everything is all right!
As long as it's done in the name of Big Business.
It's not about the fans.
It's not about fair play, let alone legalities.
It's not about free enterprise, let alone free choice.
Thanks Colin,
I feel soooooooooooooooo much better now.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Thanks TedT,
Hope to be able too offer you a "favor" some day.
Soon!

 

[David Fisher]

That's exactly what Blockbuster did when they first started opening up in my neighborhood over ten years ago. They got a zillion copies of all the new titles, charged less, and let you keep them longer. Every single independent video store within a 30-45 minute drive of my house went out of business within a year or two; there used to be at least four different stores I had memberships to that were all within walking distance of my house, or at least, a short drive away. Then they were gone. Once that happened, Blockbuster's prices shot up, and the amount of time you were allowed to keep a rental was cut.

I'm glad that I live in a decent-sized city where I still have options. I still rent all of my movies from local-owned businesses, and the selection of "obscure" films is second-to-none. One of the stores, I Love Video, offers free rentals to anyone who brings in a Blockbuster card and lets them destroy it.


I hope that I'm not the only person here who is willing to pay up to $5 to support local businesses. It might make me appear to be a "stupid" consumer, but I value the relationship that I have with the locally owned music and video game stores. I know that I can sit and speak with an employee without feeling like a "bother". The music stores where I buy my vinyl often gives me promotional materials, discounts, and an all-around pleasant experience that is worth a couple extra bucks. Also, I know that if somebody at I Love Video or Alien Records offers a recommendation on an obscure title, they are doing so because they are learning my preferences.

I still haven't decided whether I'll buy the Stones DVD at Best Buy or wait four months. $30 is a great price-point, and I occasionally do go to Best Buy if I'm really impressed by a certain deal... If this prevents fans from having to pay $40-$50, then it is a good arrangement for the fans. It's just soooo crappy for other retailers, though. I was pissed that I had to go to Best Buy to purchase South Park Season 2 because it had the additional uncut version of the series pilot. Blech. I guess I'll probably buy one copy at Best Buy for my Dad's birthday in December, watch it at his house, and then buy my own copy from elsewhere.