Bluray Value Discrepancy - maybe I'm cheap but...

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phosfiend Posted: 10-30-2009 1:13 PM

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Howdy all,

I've been using Goozex as primary games acquiring mechanism to great effect, and I've nothing bad to say about it. Values seem fair, and the system is elegant (if a bit unclear to first time users). In short, I love it.

I have been compiling a list of BLURAY films I would like to acquire this holiday (both for myself and others) and in a moment of free time I sat down to queue a few up on goozex. What startled me was the value discrepancy between goozex's otherwise balanced DVD and GAMES worth. In short, very few blurays are worth it.

While I realize the goal of abstracting the functional currency of the system is to make the relationship between real money and Goozex points less tangible, the truth is there is a pretty clear link between the two. And even if we ignore that little tidbit, the value discrepancy between DVD's and BLURAY's is simply too vast.

With very little mental arithmetic, I can purchase a BLURAY from a certain monolithic online retailer at what amounts to an approximate $1-4 premium. Add the $1 value of the trade token required (which does have a linear relationship) and that gap becomes even narrower. And finally add to the fact that other said retailer will ship me that BRAND SPANKING NEW disc immediately for $1-3 more and goozex is left at quite a disadvantage.

I would much rather use Goozex for my BLURAY needs, but right now it just isn't competitive. I think the Goozex system designers need to take a good look at where BLURAYS sit in their economic system

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taintedzodiac replied on 10-30-2009 1:22 PM

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Since the Goozex system goes by MSRP as its main price point for newer releases, actual prices (Walmart, Best Buy) and online prices (Amazon) don't factor in as much as they would for DVD's that have a longer time on the market.

I personally feel that the BRD prices on Goozex are pretty fair as most of them sit between 400 and 500 points ($20-$25).

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digitaldragoon replied on 10-30-2009 1:57 PM

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I'd argue that since Blu Ray trading is fairly new to Goozex, the prices may be higher as an incentive to get people to list their Blu Rays up for trade.

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EggyToast replied on 10-30-2009 2:02 PM

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While it doesn't make much sense that a DVD that costs $10 should be 100 points while a Blu-Ray that costs $20 should be 350 points, it does make sense from a trading perspective.  Blu-Ray discs are more highly valued, are more rare, and people generally have less reason to get rid of them.

In other words, people who own Blu-Ray discs right now typically are paying a premium over the DVD, and the reasons behind it make those items more valuable within a trading community.

Yes, trading DVDs for Blu-Rays may seem like a bad deal, but trading Blu-Rays for Blu-Rays is rather equivalent -- movies that are more expensive are typically more points. I also think the fact that DVDs have been around forever and most everyone has some junky stuff sitting around is leading to a glut of DVDs -- after all, why would you want an old DVD for 100 points when you can get a nice new, hi def, blu-ray for 300 points?

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phosfiend replied on 10-30-2009 6:50 PM

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I hadn't considered this end of the transaction and I think you might be onto something here. While conducive to outgoing trades, it still doesn't offset the incoming trade value discrepancy. Maybe we'll see a drop in value once the stock/frequency of trades increases.

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phosfiend replied on 10-30-2009 7:01 PM

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I think the fact the Goozex system is based on MSRP is one of its greatest assets. I do not believe, however, that it is correctly calibrated for Bluray prices. Whether it's brick and mortar or online, it's rare to find Bluray at much over $20 (special editions excluded).

Maybe the MSRP is in fact 20-30% more than anyone, anywhere actually sells them for. But if Goozex is locked into this kind of erroneous value, it skews their system into "not-worth-it" territory.

I am a painfully annoying Goozex evangelist to my friends and peers whenever videogames come up, but I don't see that happening for Bluray recommendations.

Time will tell I guess.

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EggyToast replied on 10-30-2009 7:53 PM

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Well people don't "beat" movies, so people tend to hold on to them longer.  And for just seeing a movie, Netflix is probably cheaper.  But remember that Goozex isn't entirely based on MSRP -- rarity or demand will cause an item to go up in value here.  I'm trading away some GBA games because they're worth more than DS games!

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CoheedIV replied on 10-31-2009 6:44 AM

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One of Goozex biggest flaws is it's movie collection point values on Blu-ray AND DVD. Just look up the Battlestar Galactic Collection on Blu-ray. The point value is 1200 or $60. The set retails for $300 or 6000 points. Amazon sells the set for $200.

Goozex point value for this set should be at least 3000 points. No one will sell it for the current point value, which is why there is a "long wait" for the item. There are endless point values that do not make sense and/or follow Goozex own point value rules. In many instances Goozex does not go by the MSRP OR fair market value.

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kuliddar replied on 10-31-2009 6:57 AM

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Albeit I agree with most posts here, don't forget that movie trading is still in BETA and isn't old enough to adjust itself to all films yet. I'm sure that as Goozex keeps working on this, we should see better equivalances of the value of films.

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G-Nitro replied on 10-31-2009 8:03 AM

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CoheedIV:

One of Goozex biggest flaws is it's movie collection point values on Blu-ray AND DVD. Just look up the Battlestar Galactic Collection on Blu-ray. The point value is 1200 or $60. The set retails for $300 or 6000 points. Amazon sells the set for $200.

Goozex point value for this set should be at least 3000 points. No one will sell it for the current point value, which is why there is a "long wait" for the item. There are endless point values that do not make sense and/or follow Goozex own point value rules. In many instances Goozex does not go by the MSRP OR fair market value.

Goozex points are capped at 1200 points whether games or movies. 

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cheeznrice replied on 10-31-2009 10:09 AM

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G-Nitro:

Goozex points are capped at 1200 points whether games or movies. 

I wonder if that needs to be reconsidered for the movie trading.  Perhaps it would be beneficial to see the point cap increase for some of these TV series box sets.

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mietha replied on 10-31-2009 10:44 AM

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CoheedIV:

One of Goozex biggest flaws is it's movie collection point values on Blu-ray AND DVD. Just look up the Battlestar Galactic Collection on Blu-ray. The point value is 1200 or $60. The set retails for $300 or 6000 points. Amazon sells the set for $200.

Goozex point value for this set should be at least 3000 points. No one will sell it for the current point value, which is why there is a "long wait" for the item. There are endless point values that do not make sense and/or follow Goozex own point value rules. In many instances Goozex does not go by the MSRP OR fair market value.

I SERIOUSLY doubt anyone would trade the BG collection at any point value after dropping that much cash on it. I think I ended up paying $134 or something like that. Not to mention the shipping cost... As to the OP: In a way I agree, but in practice I do not. I've acquired quite a few BRs from here. Some stuff is overpriced, but most of it is pretty much in line.

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Wurms replied on 10-31-2009 1:39 PM

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I have no problem with the pricing. All I have done so far is trade blu-rays on here, the main reason I joined. I traded 5 blu-rays so far for a total of 1750pts ($87.50). I tried selling six blus (these 5 blu rays + another) on ebay for $70 and I got no buyers.

So, about $15 to ship off my 5 blu-rays so far. Plus I bought 5 tokens for $5.

$87.50 minus $20 = $67.50

Ive basically gotten what I wanted in the first place, and now I can just sit back and wait for other blu-rays to come to me without spending another dime :)

So far I was able to get one blu-ray in my requests. It was 350 points, but at the time, it was $19.99 at online retailers.

If anything, the bluray prices are at most higher by maybe 100pts. But then again, some are good values as well.

Used aka no shrink wrap makes no difference unless you are giving it as a gift :P IMO

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misoleet replied on 10-31-2009 2:59 PM

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I like the Blu-Ray trading. For people new to the Blu scene, one can easily start a small collection for only 100-150 points a piece here on Goozex which is a real fair value.

For me personally, it's really great because I'm the type to watch a movie once and never watch it again. It's great knowing that I can buy a Blu for $10-15 at a major retailer or Amazon, watch it, and then trade it here onto Goozex for 200 points minimum. That's just awesome. Purchased Slumdog Millionaire for $13 a couple months back, and I just traded in on here for 400 points. I actually made a small "profit" which is cool because I'm always strapped for points.

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CoheedIV replied on 10-31-2009 5:56 PM

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G-Nitro:

Goozex points are capped at 1200 points whether games or movies. 

That's part of the problem, why cap the points? All that does is limit peoples selection because higher point value items will not be listed. Many people watch or play something once and get rid of it no matter how much they paid for it.

I understand that some items are a tad lower or higher point values than they should be and thats fine. But many box sets or collection sets on Blu-ray and DVD are way off and/or should be higher than 1200 points which was my original point. I just would like that changed and/or get rid of the 1200 point value cap for movies.

I have had great success with this site and love using it. But I think there is room for small common sense improvements.