i remember when DVD first came out and they were $30 a movies. now they can be had for $15. how long after DVD came out did the prices drop to $19.99? when will blu ray hit that mark?

You can buy them now for $9.95. I am frankly shocked that Blu-ray is running so many sales this early in the game. My cost for last 30-40 catalog titles in Blu-ray through various sales has been ~$13-14 each including shipping.

Fry's Walmart and even Target stores are already hitting the $20 dollar range. In addition Best But and Fry's are typically having sales where you get certain titles at $13.50 every other month it seems now.

the question you should be asking is 'how long till greedy FOX movies price drop?'

Initial DVDs were $24.99 MSRP at launch (1997)... so that's about $32 in 2007 (inflated). Store discounts were far more rare, of course... since they didn't need to be discounted.

If we're talking "new" non-catalog movies...

Surf's Up DVD = $28.95 MSRP, $15.99 discount sale
Transformers (1 disc) DVD = $29.99 MSRP, $16.99 discount sale
Ratatouille DVD = $29.99 MSRP (2007), $15.99 discount sale
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (1 disc) DVD = $29.99 MSRP, $15.99 discount sale

So, new release DVD MSRPs are only slightly less than they were in 1998... but, obviously, we have more competition and retail discounting today.

High-def BD & HD titles, thanks to both customer apathy and the "format war", are not much more today than DVD was initially. If you count in all the catalog titles & promos (FOX excluded, heh), it's notably cheaper!

Initial DVDs were $24.99 MSRP at launch (1997)... so that's about $32 in 2007 (inflated). Store discounts were far more rare, of course... since they didn't need to be discounted.

If we're talking "new" non-catalog movies...

Surf's Up DVD = $28.95 MSRP, $15.99 discount sale
Transformers (1 disc) DVD = $29.99 MSRP, $16.99 discount sale
Ratatouille DVD = $29.99 MSRP (2007), $15.99 discount sale
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (1 disc) DVD = $29.99 MSRP, $15.99 discount sale

So, new release DVD MSRPs are only slightly less than they were in 1998... but, obviously, we have more competition and retail discounting today.

High-def BD & HD titles, thanks to both customer apathy and the "format war", are not much more today than DVD was initially. If you count in all the catalog titles & promos (FOX excluded, heh), it's notably cheaper!

great breakdown man...good job.

Actually there is a nice group of Sony titles available through Fry's Electronics for about ten bucks this weekend. Plus warner Bros. online often has discount codes which brin their disc prices down to roughly $15-$20

Initial DVDs were $24.99 MSRP at launch (1997)... so that's about $32 in 2007 (inflated). Store discounts were far more rare, of course... since they didn't need to be discounted.

If we're talking "new" non-catalog movies...

Surf's Up DVD = $28.95 MSRP, $15.99 discount sale
Transformers (1 disc) DVD = $29.99 MSRP, $16.99 discount sale
Ratatouille DVD = $29.99 MSRP (2007), $15.99 discount sale
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (1 disc) DVD = $29.99 MSRP, $15.99 discount sale

So, new release DVD MSRPs are only slightly less than they were in 1998... but, obviously, we have more competition and retail discounting today.

High-def BD & HD titles, thanks to both customer apathy and the "format war", are not much more today than DVD was initially. If you count in all the catalog titles & promos (FOX excluded, heh), it's notably cheaper!

In all honesty I don't think the inflation has been that much...a $25K car in 1997 cost maybe $28K today. At least for non-energy consumer goods, prices haven't been that different over the past 10 years but I digress.

$25 was basically your standard price for DVD at launch. Some were $20, some $30 just like now really. "US Marshalls" was the first title launched at the "experimental" price of $15 and I think lots of DVD fans bought it to make a point. After that point DVDs started slowly becoming affordable.

Store discounts were far more rare, of course... since they didn't need to be discounted.
Maybe B&M discounts were rare, but I was getting DVDs online for really cheap. Many big titles were between $10-12. I still remember getting The Matrix when it was brand new for $9.99 plus a couple bucks shipping.

In all honesty I don't think the inflation has been that much...a $25K car in 1997 cost maybe $28K today. At least for non-energy consumer goods, prices haven't been that different over the past 10 years but I digress.


How about house prices? :)

I think the most consistent pricing has been games for PC and consoles. Back in the 80s, games cost 39.99-49.99 for top titles. Not counting N64's 79.99 cartridges, game prices have been fairly consistent for over 20 years. Development costs are way higher, but there's a bigger audience for games now than there was 20 yrs ago which is how they keep the prices _fairly_ low.

the question you should be asking is 'how long till greedy FOX movies price drop?'

I agree, Fox has to drop the price of their movies.

I would love to see an overall price drop on Blu ray but i don't anticipate that. That's why if you take a little time to scour the net, you will find a lot of great deals. As mentioned, the WHV codes were great, the Fry's deal, Best Buy has a BOGO on Buena Vista titles this week. Always something around. I never buy a title until it's as low as i can possibly find it. Start with www.dvdpricesearch.com They list all current best deals on any title and they also list what websites have deals going on. Check with :
Amazon
Deepdiscount.com
CDUniverse.com
DVDPlanet.com
Add in factors like shipping and tax and see who has the best deal. I just ordered Halloween, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead from DVDPlanet for $17.95 each, no tax, no shipping.
Also, don't forget Ebay. I found deals there too.