We went to a big outlet mall near where we live after church today. My wife was shopping for quilting fabric and I was going around the mall with my daughter. One of the center kiosks had used DVDs for sale. The three prices for the DVDs were $8.50, $5.00, and $3.00, from most recent release to older releases.
I did a quick price check for Man of the Year on eBay, which was one of the $8.50 DVDs. None of the Buy It Now prices were any cheaper than this (including shipping). I could possibly win an auction for one cheaper (and people had recently) but that's not guaranteed. Basically, the price for that DVD was pretty competitive at the mall kiosk.
It looked like he had a source of overstock from big chains like Blockbuster that he got for a great price ($1 each? I didn't ask), marked them up, and went to town.
What I didn't get, though, was one response to the products. (I didn't really need the DVD but there wasn't anything wrong with them that I could guess.) One couple was walking by, and the guy was checking out some of the titles. His companion said, “Yeah, but they've already been watched!” I just didn't get that. Who cares? If you're going to watch the movie, why does it matter that someone watched it before? Digital media like CDs and DVDs don't degrade the way VHS tapes do. If it's taken care of, the first viewing is probably going to look the same as the thousandth. Not sure if the DVD is in good shape? Checking the surface of the DVD is allowed because the case is already opened.
There might be a risk if the return policy is too restrictive or if you're buying the DVDs as-is. But otherwise I don't really see anything wrong with a used DVD. If you're a serious movie buff and want to own, then this is a perfectly good way to buy.
There's nothing wrong with "used" DVDs at all.
I'm collecting the Harry Potter series by buying them second hand from a video rental store as soon as they become surplus (about 4 weeks after a film is released to the rental market). I've bought them for about 1/4 the price I'd have to pay in Target or K-Mart, and the store promises to exchange them if there's a problem (unlikely if you can't see any serious scratches on them).
However, even the price of a "used" DVD is more than the cost of renting it overnight, so I only buy ones that I'm sure we'll want to watch several times over. No point collecting junk that you only watch once before it starts gathering dust. Then again…. after watching them you could probably resell them for what you paid at a yard sale.
Regards
http://enoughwealth.com
Are we observing a misunderstanding of the quality of used DVDs, or a reaction to second hand merchandise in general? There are few reasons why you would want to buy something new. One of them is convenience, another is sanitary (used bedsheets would certainly be off my list). But what convinces Americans to spend hundreds of dollars on children's toys when they could buy them at a yard sale instead? Why buy a brand new car when you know full well it will depreciate dramatically as soon as you sign on the dotted line? Buying something "new", I think, fills us with more pride than if it were used, because we think then that no one else has touched it. It's ours alone.