posted on November 23, 2000 06:09:38 AM new
I stopped by the local BestBuy to check out their new DVDs. Bought 'Gladiator' and 'X-Men'. One was $14.95 and the other was $15.95. Yet (when I checked last night on eBay), they were both going for $18 - $20 (plus shipping)!! Heck, I checked out some auction from a week or two ago - they were 'pre-sales', DVD would ship when released - they tended to go from $22 - $40.
posted on November 23, 2000 08:38:28 AM new
Yeah, those are some great prices on those DVD's. I just ordered them from their online site myself, and they had free shipping, too.
You must be aware that these are known as "loss leaders" and Best Buy offers them below cost to get people talking and into their stores in the hope of selling a big item at a profit.
Sadly, many consumers today take this kind of game playing to mean ALL their prices must be incredibly low, but of course this is not the case. There are several thousand other DVD's in their inventory and their prices are not very low at all.
I am a "cherry picker" which means I keep my eye out for loss leaders like these and snap them up, but would not blithely buy a new DVD player there: I do my homework first.
Sometimes the brand that is on sale at these discount stores may have problems with quality or reliability. When the Matrix came out, several models of DVD players locked up. They blamed the DVD of course, but were ultimately shown to have cut too many corners and were actually defective. These models all were the "loss leader" type promoted by these stores. Caveat emptor.
posted on November 23, 2000 08:52:39 AM new
bubbahyide- you are missing the point-duh! anyone selling something that is currently sold in the stores for more than the store prices is looking for suckers. the poster's point about loss leaders is generally true although some store just discount more aggressively across the board.
doesn't ebay have some sort of policy about selling current magazines or such that have retail prices on them for more than the publisher's price? once the next issue is out it becomes a "used" item or collectible and the price then becomes fair market.
posted on November 23, 2000 10:35:15 AM new
I've seen the same thing happen with power tools all the time. I very rarely buy anything "new" on eBay these days because I can almost always find a better deal elsewhere.
posted on November 23, 2000 11:35:22 AM new
For DVDs of newly released "blockbusters," YES, BestBuy is just about the cheapest source. For instance, I got the special ed. of "Terminator 2" there for $21.95, whereas other "brick & mortar" stores sell in for $34.95. I got "Fantasia 2000" there for $14.95, where others sell it for $19.95.
They also have weekly specials, where they take a handful of films and reduce them about $5 in price.
And, overall, their DVD collection sells for at least a couple of dollars less than other stores. Example: Star Trek films sell there for $24.95, but other stores usually charge $26.95-$29.95. "Mary Poppins" sells at Best Buy for $19.95, but goes for $24.95 elsewhere.
The drawback on BestBuy regarding DVDs, though, is that they usually only sell "popular" films. They are slow to get lesser known or older films (& never carry some films at all). In my area I have found that if I want these types of films on DVD Tower Records & Video is the place to go--though I try to buy there only if they are having a sale. I will only rarely pay more than $20 for a DVD!
posted on November 23, 2000 11:45:43 AM new
stusi ~ I've never seen anything on ebay concerning anything like that. But if they did have something like that, then unfortunately, it would have to apply most things that are currently "new"... such as toys, electronics, etc.
You've got to remember, just because something is easily available to you, doesn't mean it's easily available to everyone else. For many people, who live in very small towns, it's a major inconvenience to drive 50-100 miles just to get to the closest Best Buys. Walmart, which is 30 miles away, may have under ordered.
Not everyone has the luxury of having things w/in 10 miles of their house.. and/or they're way too busy to go fight traffic and crowds.. and finding things online is the easiest and most economical way... from their viewpoint.
I'd sure hate it if ebay had something that said you couldn't sell anything "new" for over market price.. that would cut a whole lot of people out of the picture.. and honestly, ebay would lose many of their bidders as well.
posted on November 23, 2000 03:23:26 PM new
^^ What Rosiebud said.^^
Plus, those discount prices on new releases are usually only good at BestBuy for the first few days of release. (Target has similar deals, sometimes a few pennies less than BestBuy.) Sometimes they're only two or three day specials.
"Gladiator" is $21.99 today on BestBuy's web site.
posted on November 23, 2000 03:25:58 PM new
rosiebud- your point about availability is well taken. magazines may be in a class by themselves because they are dated. there may be licensing laws that come into play. however, i personally have a problem with people selling new items for over list price. when certain cars first come out and are in high demand some dealers sell them over list and people get very upset. an exception would be if someone got a toy that listed at $10.00 for $7.00 and sold it for $10.00. just for the record i don't agree that ebay would lose many bidders if you couldn't buy things for over list-are there that many suckers out there? on second thought maybe you are right! it would certainly have put a damper on the beanie baby market.
posted on November 24, 2000 05:02:10 AM new
bunnicula ... if you're quoting US prices (around 1.5 X Canadian), you're getting hosed on the DVD's you listed ... I can buy those here at the same prices (some less), brand new, in Canadian dollars
posted on November 24, 2000 07:00:03 AM new
You want me not to be able to sell my 3 playstation 2s for over 299...? They are available at Best Buy for that. Thats where I got them.
Bet I get 3 grand apiece the week before Christmas.
Get real and stop listening to the Liberals. Gore should have promised entitlement to a PS2 for a vote. Its a free market- stop crying.
And Yes there are those with more money than sense... thank goodness.
posted on November 24, 2000 08:15:22 AM new
bubba-why must everything be political? i guess the many cities and states that have passed price-gouging laws to prevent selling water and flashlights over list before a hurricane are all liberal? thank goodness there are more people who have money and sense! buying a ps2 for $2701over what it can be bought for in a store the day after Christmas is something that only the very rich and very stupid would do. how many is "W" buying from you?
posted on November 24, 2000 10:20:05 AM newRB: Unfortunately, the cost of a trip to Canada would eat up any profit in buying my DVDs there. So, for me, BestBuy has the best brick-and-mortar prices--and believe me I check around at all the stores that carry DVDs.
posted on November 24, 2000 01:20:58 PM new
EBAY is an auction! Sellers can't control what price people want to pay for something unless they have a crazed sense of guilt about making money.
If someone does not want to bid on an item, they do not have to bid.
However, I quite often have people buy items off me that they could buy at retail for a cheaper price.
The reasons are many.
Some are in the country and do not have easy access to the big stores that use loss leaders.
Some are disabled and find it difficult to get out the stores to buy items.
Some are tired of ordering items from online merchants who don't really have what they want in stock and then they have to wait for weeks before it ships.
Some people just like the thrill of the auction and semm to only buy on EBAY because they can "win" the item instead of just buying it.
Some people just want what they want when they want it!
I have sold videos to people who have paid 3-4 times what they could have at retail. These people are usually so ecstatic that they have finally found the movie they always wanted. They paid what they wanted to pay for something they really wanted to own. Are they wrong? Am I wrong to sell it to them?
I sell on EBAY to make a profit, not to be the lowest price that you can possibly get anywhere. If Best Buy has a better price than I do, then the buyers can go and get their stuff there.
posted on November 24, 2000 01:45:38 PM new
stusi ~ what if that toy got listed for 10 and sold for $30? Is it the seller's fault that people overbid? No.. if someone pays too much for something, on ebay, than it is their own fault. But it's up the buyer to determine what is too much.
If we were debating about necessities, than I would have to be forced to agree with you........ but we're not, we're talking about luxuries.. things that people can live without, but choose not to. Who are we, the sellers, to determine how much their willing to pay for that luxury. If they feel that luxury (that $10 toy) is worth $35 because that means they don't have to get into their car drive X amount of miles to the store, fight traffic, find parking, fight the crowds, fight traffic again, and then drive home... than that is how much it is worth to them. To them, maybe that extra $25 meant that they could buy a christmas present for their wife w/out her knowing (because the buyer is handicapped and is unable to drive himself to the store). Maybe that extra $25 was worth it to them, just so they could spend that extra amount of time, with their child, because they have limited custody and don't have time during the week to get to the store.
We don't know their reasoning..... and I'm not going to ask 'why'. I'm not going to insult their intelligence *not implying you are* by questioning their spending habits. That's not my place.. nor is it any other seller's place.
posted on November 24, 2000 02:19:52 PM new
it may be true that there are some people who may actually bid on an item at auction for the thrill of the chase, regardless of whether they pay more than store prices. what word would properly describe these auction addict fools? rosiebud-some may pay a few dollars more for the convenience, tax saving etc. that is understandable. obviously if you buy an item for $7 that lists for $10 and you put it on auction for $10 and it sells for $30 then so be it. those who get upset at prices at the gas pump or cars being sold over list probably are the same ones who will sell PS2's for ten times the cost. it is after all a free enterprise system except during storms, floods etc. it is also true that there is a sucker born every minute(P.T.Barnum)
I can buy those here at the same prices (some less), brand new, in Canadian dollars