this makes sense to me. helps them clear out old inventory they may not need to carry as many titles of.
a friend who was a manager at a hollywood video told me they make more profit on used dvd sales than new ones. new ones the studios ask for more of a cut. used ones, they rent out like 20x, then make an absurd amount per dvd when they sell them (they pay something like $.60 per copy i believe).
so you rent a dvd 10x ($3.95 a pop = $39.50)+ sell it for $9.99, so you’ve just generated $49.49 revenue off of the $.6 material cost…..
sorry for rambling.
Darrel
01 Nov 05
The last two times we went to the video store, the price difference between buying and renting was so close that we just decided to buy them outright.
Well, seeing as how Netflix guarantees them, it would be in their own best interest to sell only playable copies. Otherwise, they’ll be paying for a lot of returned copies.
Ed
01 Nov 05
But unlike buying used DVDs at Blockbuster, you can’t open up the case and check for scratches or damage before you buy it.
8 comments so far (Jump to latest)
Spike 01 Nov 05
If only iTMS did the same.
Jamie Tibbetts 01 Nov 05
Netflix used to do this a long time ago. I’m not sure why they stopped. Good to see that they’re doing it again though. Smart move indeed.
Brady 01 Nov 05
It always makes sense for a firm to sell its trash if someone is willing to buy.
Brian Breslin 01 Nov 05
this makes sense to me. helps them clear out old inventory they may not need to carry as many titles of.
a friend who was a manager at a hollywood video told me they make more profit on used dvd sales than new ones. new ones the studios ask for more of a cut. used ones, they rent out like 20x, then make an absurd amount per dvd when they sell them (they pay something like $.60 per copy i believe).
so you rent a dvd 10x ($3.95 a pop = $39.50)+ sell it for $9.99, so you’ve just generated $49.49 revenue off of the $.6 material cost…..
sorry for rambling.
Darrel 01 Nov 05
The last two times we went to the video store, the price difference between buying and renting was so close that we just decided to buy them outright.
Adam DuVander 01 Nov 05
I’m pretty sure video stores pay about $100 per copy. At least that’s how it was in the olden days.
And I’ve seen some pretty bad Netflix DVDs that are still in circulation. I wouldn’t pay for the ones they take out to sell.
What a downer I am!
Warren 01 Nov 05
Well, seeing as how Netflix guarantees them, it would be in their own best interest to sell only playable copies. Otherwise, they’ll be paying for a lot of returned copies.
Ed 01 Nov 05
But unlike buying used DVDs at Blockbuster, you can’t open up the case and check for scratches or damage before you buy it.