Is there any pattern to when DVD and CD prices increase or decrease?

rebeccak

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking at buying a couple of items (a CD and a DVD boxset) online but decided to wait a couple of weeks as I was going on holiday and didn't want the parcels delivered while I was away. Prior to my holiday, Amazon was the cheapest place to buy them. When I got back, the CD had gone up about 3 or 4 pounds in price (but I've since found it for less on the artist's own website with autograph included so no problem there).

The DVD boxset though has more than doubled in cost (from about £16/17 to £35). It's a fairly recent release (August last year) and I've noticed that the previous seasons of the show have also more than doubled in price from when I bought them a couple of months ago. From a quick search, other websites seems to selling it for around £20 - £27. (I can't remember if these prices are higher than when I checked a couple of weeks ago, except that Amazon was the cheapest back then.)

My questions are:

Why do prices increase and is there any pattern to it (so that I can buy stuff at the best time)?

Do all websites follow the same pattern? e.g. if Amazon are having to buy their DVDs from a more expensive source, will the other websites also be increasing their prices once their current stock is exhausted, meaning I'm best buying it now - or are prices likely to go down again?

(Sorry if this is already covered somewhere on the main website but I couldn't see it).

browneyedbazzi

Prices tend to shift on Amazon as demand changes - if an item is cheap and loads of people start buying it then the price will often creep up. It'll get to a point where few people are willing to pay the price (demand falls) and then the price will start coming down again. I tend to put things on my 'wishlist' and monitor the price for a while to see what direction it's going in. Once you buy accept that you bought at a price you were willing to pay and just stop looking or you'll annoy yourself if it drops a little further!

In addition to supply/demand, they also have to offer a product for sale at the 'regular price' for at least 28 days every six months in order to be able to advertise the lower price as a discount so that influences some changes in price.

Helix

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

In addition to supply/demand, they also have to offer a product for sale at the 'regular price' for at least 28 days every six months in order to be able to advertise the lower price as a discount so that influences some changes in price.

Amazon don't advertise CD and DVDs as having a discount. They do for books as they can show the cover price, but you will notice for CDs and DVDs they just show the current price.

browneyedbazzi

It's been a while since I bought CDs/DVDs from amazon - I remember seeing discount % on boxsets in particular in the past but perhaps they've stopped with those products so they can be more fluid with their pricing in response to changes in demand?

They show 'regular' prices and 'savings' % on most other products.