Long out of print VHS top sales on Amazon

[Jake Lipson]

Okay, it boggles my mind why anyone would want to bother with VHS anymore anyway, but out of curiosity I wandered over to the VHS section of Amazon to check on how the new VHS of Bambi was selling (it will be released on VHS for its third time silmiltaneously with the DVD), since I know that, especially with the advent of DVD, the vast majority of VHS sellers are family movies and children's entertainment.

The new SE VHS is listed as having a sales rank of #7,501 -- which is suprising, since it's a major new Disney release so it should be doing a bit better than that, even with Amazon's steep-ish $24.99 retail pricepoint.

Then I went to look at the sales rank of the 55th Anniversary Edition VHS released in 1997, which of course Amazon themselves are not selling anymore, but there are lots of Marketplace copies up for grabs, and they figure these into sales as well. These copies are starting at a dirt cheap $2.49 (I got mine last summer on eBay for around $10), and the sales rank was #28 (yes, #28.) Now, I do know that $2.49 can be awfully appealing, but it boggles my mind why a copies of a used 1997 release are selling in that huge number while the new re-release, which is of course re-remastered and all that, is stuck in the #7,000 range. I can definately understand that people don't want to pay Amazon's steep $25, but wouldn't they figure that the title will be in store for around $15 release week? Personally, if it were me I'd wait 8 days and buy a new copy for $15ish rather than go through the trouble of dealing with a Marketplace seller, especiallly considering that when you factor in the time it will take them to ship the item to you, you'd probably get it in the mail around the same time -- or LATER -- than the 8 day wait between now and March 1 to get a new one (and the new one, with its new restoration, will look better, too.)

Heck, even the original 1980s Black Diamond VHS is outselling the SE (its sales rank is #3,941); Marketplace copies of this one start from $2.50, but STILL. Is Disney not getting the message out to people that this thing is going to be reissued in EIGHT DAYS? Why go through all the heck involved with hunting for one when it will come out in just over a week?

And then there's the 1995 VHS of Cinderella at #2 (yes, #2!) All of these secondhand sales are going to be damage to Disney because none of these people will be in a hurry to upgrade to the new VHS or DVD so quickly...

Why on earth are these things selling in such high number when re-releases are SO close?!

[Luke]

It's surprising, but I'd guess the rationale for some people must be "Oh, Bambi's coming out, let's get the VHS now, instead of waiting." That low-priced '97 VHS looks appealing to anyone with this thought process. I guess it's the same thing for Cinderella. If you're buying VHS in 2005, I'm guessing there's a good chance you don't care about whether something's remastered or has some extra features (which even the cassettes do nowadays, I believe).

[RJKD23]

And then there's the 1995 VHS of Cinderella at #2 (yes, #2!) All of these secondhand sales are going to be damage to Disney because none of these people will be in a hurry to upgrade to the new VHS or DVD so quickly...

Why on earth are these things selling in such high number when re-releases are SO close?!

You know I'm such a fan of Cinderella. If it wasn't for UD telling me that it was coming out on DVD before 2010, I would've spent loads just for an illegal copy! I treasure the VHS soo much, I've been offered more than what I paid for!

But in answer to your question, there are people out there who are "ignorant" when it comes to DVD releases. Unlike us lucky few, we actually know when Cinderella is coming out!