The market doesn't set prices at where you want to pay; it sets prices at where enough people will buy the product to provide the producer a level of satisfaction. I personally think $70 bucks or so for a TV show on DVD is really stupid, but it's obviously a decent enough price for enough people in the market, because people are paying for it. If too few people were paying for it, the price would be lowered. Now, I'd willingly pay less than $20 bucks, because I feel that I get a surplus of satisfaction for that price, and that if I paid less than $20 bucks on other products I might not get the same quantity of satisfaction. That's my personal zone, but others differ. So on Black Friday I like to go out and get DVDs, because that way I feel I can maximize my utility for a price I am comfortable with.
The market isn't perfect though, far from it. Sometimes competing companies could all afford to sell their products cheaper and still get enough revenue to stay content, but they hold back for fear of getting into a very painful price war. So in some industries (sadly, this happens in the food industry quite a bit), competing companies will keep their prices at their current levels and hope that the others don't lower their prices first. This is why food is not getting cheaper, even though the cost of transportation has dropped significantly in the last 6 months.
Sometimes companies sell products really cheap too, just to ensure future dedication to a product or company. This is commonly seen in video games. Sony lost millions of dollars with the release of the PS3, because the wholesale prices was hundreds less than the manufacturing price. But this was seen as an investment, because when there are more PS3 owners, there are going to be more game sales in the future, which should hopefully make up for lost profits.
That's illegal, isn't it? And how many people have the tools and knowledge to rip a movie from cable and burn it onto a DVD?
And what about video games?
I ment more that people would tape themselves movies than start underground bootleging businesses. :P
And video games would be an interesting case. Initially I was going to say that the entire market would fail (much like the period after the atari and before the nintendo.) But the industry seems to learn from earlier mistakes, so they actually might drop the prices before it's too late.
I think one of the main reasons for the Video Game market crash of '83 was that there were so many bad games being produced, largely unofficial ones by third parties.
Yeah, but the only reason you were able to purchase those DVDs in the first place, Jeff, was because someone else did. You're benefiting because someone else went along with the system. If we were to try to actually reform the system by boycotting all DVDs, there wouldn't be that access point, so we need to ask ourselves if we can go without DVDs for a few years.
I didn't even really need them, it was just because they were there mostly. Normally I just download anything I want.
I am an unrepentant pirate. The only CD I've ever bought new was They Might Be Giant's The Else, because it was a free concert and I wanted to do something for them. Only thing lately that's gotten me to break my seven or eight year long streak of not buying software is how freaking easy Steam makes it to buy games. I'd buy Left4Dead but I'm broke.
I don't pay for PC games, don't pay for DS games, and I don't buy CDs or DVDs.
Eh, I support supporting the people who are trying to support themselves with this work.
Am I paying a lot? Perhaps. Is my money going (even indirectly) to the people who put their sweat and blood into these products? Yes. That's what I care about the most.
But the better portion goes to people who produce it, meaning not that they actually produce a product, but that they sit on their asses and watch their money grow. In the case of new movies the cast and crew have long since been paid. As for musicians, yeah I'm sure they need another solid gold suv, and a couple diamond studed swiming pools. That said, I can't really refute what any of you were talking about. It's just the sad truth. But still I'ld just rather not have anything to do with black friday, It's really just all about money. Christmas (or <insert holiday>) is just a step away from that, thank god people will still let you squeak by with a drawn card or some art.
What's so sad about it? Producers and distributors have found a way to provide a form of entertainment in a manner that is cheap and convenient. Musicians that aren't that big named don't have access to record labels or their channels of distribution. So they try to distribute their music by themselves. They make little money. Those that do get signed to record labels do end up paying a lot of money to agents, producers, etc, but they're still making way more money than they were before. Not only that, but their music is being heard by a much wider audience than they could have done by themselves. And the producers get lots of money. And more people get to hear new music. Win-win-win.
What's so sad about it? Producers and distributors have found a way to provide a form of entertainment in a manner that is cheap and convenient. Musicians that aren't that big named don't have access to record labels or their channels of distribution. So they try to distribute their music by themselves. They make little money. Those that do get signed to record labels do end up paying a lot of money to agents, producers, etc, but they're still making way more money than they were before. Not only that, but their music is being heard by a much wider audience than they could have done by themselves. And the producers get lots of money. And more people get to hear new music. Win-win-win.
The problem is that rich people who contributed nothing are getting richer off this. What I was saying is sad in my last post is that Black Friday is a holiday all about greed.
Well.... calling it a holiday is a loaded move. By labeling it thus, you're opening it up to all kinds of scrutiny that may not be relevant. I don't really think Black Friday is a holiday like the rest of our holidays. Holidays are generally meant to be days where we celebrate something. Black Friday is an arbitrary day when stores decided to all have major sales to start the Christmas season. No one is celebrating anything really. If stores had these types of sales on other days, I'd probably scope them out to save myself some money in the long run.
And what particular rich people who did nothing are getting money from this?
...In the case of new movies the cast and crew have long since been paid. As for musicians, yeah I'm sure they need another solid gold suv, and a couple diamond studed swiming pools.
Buh-whaaa??
A whole bunch of my friends are trying to go for careers in acting and music, and none of them "sit on their ass" and watch the money roll in. I'm pretty sure the people rolling in the dough haven't just been sitting on their ass doing nothing (unless they came by it from inheritance; in that case, I agree, that's lame).
Yeah, producers work pretty damn hard. They may no have had a hand in the "creation" of the product, but if they weren't there, nothing would have been created at all. they're in charge of managing all the little details that allow an industry to flow. They act as go-between for each part of the album/movie. They coordinate travel, studio time, engineering, etc. They are the ones who actually do all of the footwork to bring the right people in to create that product.
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The market isn't perfect though, far from it. Sometimes competing companies could all afford to sell their products cheaper and still get enough revenue to stay content, but they hold back for fear of getting into a very painful price war. So in some industries (sadly, this happens in the food industry quite a bit), competing companies will keep their prices at their current levels and hope that the others don't lower their prices first. This is why food is not getting cheaper, even though the cost of transportation has dropped significantly in the last 6 months.
Sometimes companies sell products really cheap too, just to ensure future dedication to a product or company. This is commonly seen in video games. Sony lost millions of dollars with the release of the PS3, because the wholesale prices was hundreds less than the manufacturing price. But this was seen as an investment, because when there are more PS3 owners, there are going to be more game sales in the future, which should hopefully make up for lost profits.
So... yeah. Go economics.
I ment more that people would tape themselves movies than start underground bootleging businesses. :P
And video games would be an interesting case. Initially I was going to say that the entire market would fail (much like the period after the atari and before the nintendo.) But the industry seems to learn from earlier mistakes, so they actually might drop the prices before it's too late.
(100th post)!!!!!
I am an unrepentant pirate. The only CD I've ever bought new was They Might Be Giant's The Else, because it was a free concert and I wanted to do something for them. Only thing lately that's gotten me to break my seven or eight year long streak of not buying software is how freaking easy Steam makes it to buy games. I'd buy Left4Dead but I'm broke.
I don't pay for PC games, don't pay for DS games, and I don't buy CDs or DVDs.
...You mean Super Mario Bros., right?
Am I paying a lot? Perhaps. Is my money going (even indirectly) to the people who put their sweat and blood into these products? Yes. That's what I care about the most.
The problem is that rich people who contributed nothing are getting richer off this. What I was saying is sad in my last post is that Black Friday is a holiday all about greed.
And what particular rich people who did nothing are getting money from this?
Buh-whaaa??
A whole bunch of my friends are trying to go for careers in acting and music, and none of them "sit on their ass" and watch the money roll in. I'm pretty sure the people rolling in the dough haven't just been sitting on their ass doing nothing (unless they came by it from inheritance; in that case, I agree, that's lame).
Besides, money makes the world go 'round.