08-17-2004, 01:39 AM
The legality of the second-hand market is unquestionable. Prior to this phenomena, the respective industries had most consumers over a "buy-it-new" barrel. With the advent of the ready-availability of second-hand product, this has had to have led to a significant impact upon bottom lines and, I would submit, a much more severe impact than is acknowledged by the industries. There has been successful litigation concerning "price-fixing" practices on the distribution of new product. Perhaps, if the industries would engage in some "price-relaxation" they would actually see an increase in sales of new product.
Take DVDs, they currently cram them full of every "bell and whistle" they can possibly think-up, in order to convince you that $20.00+ is a "good-bargain". I am currently replacing a VCR library of a couple of hundred tapes w/DVDs, so I am more interested in simply a "good copy" of the movie and not all the "making-of" BS that they cram on those things. Maybe a "two-tiered" level of DVD product released concurrently? A "bargain" edition w/the movie (maybe full and widescreen, pref. wide if only one format) and then a "collector's" w/all the "fun stuff". What they appear to do now is, they release the "scaled down version" first and get $20.00+ a crack. A couple years later, comes the "collector's edition" at . . . $20.00+ a pop (couple of more bells). Then, a couple of years later, the "director's cut" or "special edition" at . . . yet ANOTHER $20.00+ (couple of more whistles), then there are "box-sets, etc. etc. etc. ad naseum. . . All I want is the frickin' movie, the way it was released, for cryin' out loud! So, I find myself avidly perusing used DVDs in order to obtain a DVD copy of a movie at the most reasonable cost (i.e. I paid 7.99 for Matrix Revolutions as used product - its "sale" price new averaged around $22.99 here!).
Take DVDs, they currently cram them full of every "bell and whistle" they can possibly think-up, in order to convince you that $20.00+ is a "good-bargain". I am currently replacing a VCR library of a couple of hundred tapes w/DVDs, so I am more interested in simply a "good copy" of the movie and not all the "making-of" BS that they cram on those things. Maybe a "two-tiered" level of DVD product released concurrently? A "bargain" edition w/the movie (maybe full and widescreen, pref. wide if only one format) and then a "collector's" w/all the "fun stuff". What they appear to do now is, they release the "scaled down version" first and get $20.00+ a crack. A couple years later, comes the "collector's edition" at . . . $20.00+ a pop (couple of more bells). Then, a couple of years later, the "director's cut" or "special edition" at . . . yet ANOTHER $20.00+ (couple of more whistles), then there are "box-sets, etc. etc. etc. ad naseum. . . All I want is the frickin' movie, the way it was released, for cryin' out loud! So, I find myself avidly perusing used DVDs in order to obtain a DVD copy of a movie at the most reasonable cost (i.e. I paid 7.99 for Matrix Revolutions as used product - its "sale" price new averaged around $22.99 here!).