Will any DVDs appreciate in value?

faust-yusov

DVDs have rapidly depreciated in value over the last few years. Anything short of a boxset will now fetch little more than a few pounds on eBay or Amazon, regardless of condition.

But has anyone noticed any exceptions? Do people think that certain cult franchises might prop up the value of unique or discontinued DVD releases? Maybe even make them worth hanging on to, in anticipation of "collectable" status in the future?

The original Star Wars Trilogy boxset, for example, now abandoned as a product, fetches a pretty consistent £15 on eBay. This compares favorably with franchises with traditionally less acolytes, like The Godfather or Indiana Jones, whose trilogy box sets often sell for around £5-10.

And what do people make of the lifespan of Blu-Ray? Is a Blu-Ray collection perhaps a frivolous investment given the gradual conversion to digital media?

porto_bello

faust-yusov wrote: »

DVDs have rapidly depreciated in value over the last few years. But has anyone noticed any exceptions?

Yes there are some that have been released only briefly or in small numbers. Now rare, they attract a premium price. I bought a box set of Hammer Mystery & Suspense as a bit of nostalgia for something like £25-£30 new. Now they are £90 used and £250 new - barking! :eek:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hammer-House-Mystery-Suspense-Collection/dp/B000ERVFXA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1296407791&sr=1-1

lulu650

porto_bello wrote: »

......I bought a box set of Hammer Mystery & Suspense as a bit of nostalgia for something like £25-£30 new. Now they are £90 used and £250 new - barking! :eek:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hammer-House-Mystery-Suspense-Collection/dp/B000ERVFXA/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1296407791&sr=1-1

The last boxed set on ebay sold for £60 a couple of days ago. The price is whatever someone is prepared to pay at the end of the day. Certainly sellers on Amazon can choose any price to sell once something is out of print. That doesn't mean it's going to reach that price.

£60 is still a 100% profit though!

porto_bello

lulu650 wrote: »

The last boxed set on ebay sold for £60 a couple of days ago. The price is whatever someone is prepared to pay at the end of the day. Certainly sellers on Amazon can choose any price to sell once something is out of print. That doesn't mean it's going to reach that price.

£60 is still a 100% profit though!

True - but also bear in mind some people look for books and DVDs on Amazon rather than ebay and will pay a premium. I've sold one or two rare specialist books on Amazon to people with titles, who I doubt would ever look on ebay.

Crowqueen

Digital media is always going to have issues with licensing. DVD sets that are widely and freely available in the UK, such as Star Trek TV series, are less widely available legally online because the TV companies that own them won't pay for a UK distribution licence. Digital sites dealing with film and TV to stream online (as opposed to rent on DVD or Blu-Ray) are really lacking in content right now, compared to their US equivalents, which are groaning with mainstream and niche programmes. I am a member of a few sites, but really, the content is abysmal, or like the iPlayer, programmes are available for a very short time only and then yanked.

Also bear in mind that people's disposable income has contracted over the past few years, which means in a free auction, people are likely to be more conservative when bidding across the board. A contraction in prices doesn't just mean that people are abandoning that format. When the economy picks up, we will see what people are still prepared to buy.

You can still get fairly consistently good prices for secondhand media on both Amazon and eBay.

Kite2010

Some of the Disney re-releases which are only on sale for a couple months tend to keep their prices up, as do limited edition special editions of films.

Azari

You need to keep in mind that just because some DVD may appear to be appreciating at the moment, because of rarity, there is nothing to say that it may not be re-released in the future causing all current copies to drop dramatically in value.

Myyrrddyn

If you can get some Audie Murphy DVD's these sell at silly prices.
I sold one last week although it was a Video and not DVD for well over £30. One DVD I sold went for £18.

mobile48

Yes - the pre-1998 DVDs should go up in value - this is the only area I collect in and have a nice one from the BBC picked at in a boot sale for a few pence.

Other DVDs may increase due to unavailability - but if re-issued prices will die. For example I very recently quickly sold videos for £20 that I would not classify as collectable but had very good public appeal and were unavailable. A re-issue would make them worthless.

Sparkle80

I just sold a Dirty Dancing DVD for £5 odd which I only paid about £3 for new

Myyrrddyn

Years ago Blade Runner original DVD sold for well over £20 the when re released you could buy in the shops for less than a fiver