paul revere

A quick look on Amazon will reveal the fact that there is a serious market for second-hand video tapes of old, and not so old, films. Even films readily available on DVD appear to be commanding high prices. Why? It seems seriously odd that a great many films on sale for anything up to £20 each can just as easily be found at boot sales or in charity shops for a few pence.

Are the VHS releases of say Chasing the Deer, Among Giants, Titanic Town, Dancin' Thru the Dark and Best seriously worth more than 50p each?

GoggleboxUK

I don't think Dancing Thru the Dark has had a DVD releasese so that may well explain that particular title at least. I have it as a VHS transfer from my old tape.

"There's always something"

James Fox

Yeah, I don't understand this either, especially if the film is available on dvd (unless of course it's a shorter cut than the vhs version, or there are music rights issues).

I'd love to get a vhs copy of the old "Doctor Who" episode "The Time Monster" but I don't want to pay $50-$100 or whatever. Sadly when the episode comes out on dvd next year it'll part of a "Myths and Legends" dvd set with "Horns of Nimon" and "Underworld" so it'll probably still cost around $40 American.

torinfan

I was in a used video store a week ago and I could not believe some of the prices on them. Some of the titles I did not recognize at all. Are VHS videos that have not been released on DVD worth more?

He brings joy to me.

vincenzo

I have The Time Monster in The Master tin box VHS set, together with Colony In Space. I don't think it was sold separately.

CaptainWaggett

How do you know they are commanding high prices? You only know what the seller thinks they are worth, not whether they actually sell. If you look at the completed listings on eBay you'll see that not many videos (with the odd exception that hasn't had a dvd release)sell at all. Anyone who thinks they can really get someone to pay a tenner for a video of Casablanca is simply wasting their time and money on eBay (where the seller pays for listing). It's a different matter if the video is the only legitimate release. But if you can really find these titles at car boot sales and then sell them on Amazon for £15 profit, that doesn't seem something to complain about

You can get The Time Monster for

Rowdon

I haven't looked at the pages you're referring to, but with ebay you always have to think in terms of the 'reality gap' - the (economic) difference between what an item will fetch, and what the seller thinks it should fetch. Do those videos actually sell for those prices, or are they folornly hanging there with a ten pound price tag, but the chilling legend "No Bids" next to them?

Now that ebay exists, everybody thinks every one of their vinyl records, VHS tapes, cassettes or tatty comics is "vintage" and "rare" and "collectible" as opposed to "old" and "unwanted"...

Wolfgang

Some buyers don't like films in their original widescreen ratio either, especially if they released on VHS in open matte. Something like Pretty Baby on DVD actually cuts Brooke Shield's nudity in its proper widescreen ratio despite being released uncut.

James Fox

Thanks. I absolutely would but your tapes don't fit my machine LOL (Which is a shame because "Colony In Space" is a good one, too)

I'll get the dvd at some point, I've no doubt.

James Fox

Nice! I wish that had been the dvd release, too (I HATE "Underworld" LOL)

Hopefully "Colony" will get paired up with "Terror of the Autons," "Mind of Evil" or "The Daemons" for the dvd release.

Steve Crook

Exactly, just because people are offering these things for sale for £10 or £15 doesn't mean that anyone is buying them at that or at any other price.

With Amazon marketplace you can never see if anyone bought them at that price. If they are no longer offered for sale you don't know if it's because someone bought it or if the seller just decided to withdraw it from sale because they realised that nobody was going to buy it

Steve

Film Man

If you want it...you pay for it...can't see the problem?
Film Man.

frame69

I still collect video casettes from charity shops etc...Have huge shelving in spare rooms so plenty of room for library.

Steve Crook

They fit - unless they're on a different format tape like Betamax. All VHS tapes are the same physically

The difference is in what's recorded on them. But some American equipment can play PAL format tapes whereas nearly all the equipment in the rest of the world can play American NTSC format tapes as well as their own PAL tapes

Steve

James Fox

Thanks very much. I'll look into this.