After the format war was ended many demanded a lower price for Blu-ray drives, players and movies. To make a statement Trans World Entertainment's subsidiary F.Y.E. is now offering a few new Blu-ray movies at a price that's more than 30% lower than its competitors. Before you start celebrating remember that every news announcement has a catch... Discounts depend on consumers being members of F.Y.E.'s Backstage Pass frequent buyer program. In other words, you might just pay the usual price. Or not?
One of the titles that are introduced at a lower price by F.Y.E. is Walt Disney's Enchanted, which is listed at $17 at its March 18 street date, compared to $23/24 at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Amazon... But now, Enchanted's price at F.Y.E. is $23,39 for Backstage Members. Huh? This starts to get pretty complicated, anyone has an idea? Is this the discount we have to be happy with? It's true that the regular price is around thirty-five bucks, but compared to other retailers (like Amazon) F.Y.E.'s price is only a few cents (!) lower. Some think this makes us happy...
"Now that the format war is over, pricing and promotion will be one of the strategies we will use going forward," said Barry Burmaster, director of marketing with Albany, New York-based Trans World.
Many retailers already sold-out (or not) their HD DVD inventory at a 50% discount. In the future we might have to pay prices like that for Blu-ray movies, but this is in the very far future. Personally I don't have a clue on what F.Y.E. is currently doing... Their price is lower than the original price, but compared to their competitors the only difference is a few cents.
Tell me what you think, because I don't have a clue. If I am wrong, please explain.
