I wandered into Xtra-vision yesterday evening to pick up a DVD to find they had put up the price on rentals again.
I do not think they can justify these price increases, but it’s a free world etc., so I can simply vote with my wallet and go elsewhere… Or can I?
Xtravision’s pricing policies have fascinated me for a good while.
They are a prime example of monopoly at work.
In a town or city where there are competing video stores Xtravision’s pricing per night will remain competitive, or close enough to it.
When they know that they have little to fear from competitors they push the price up.
In the past these price increases were only applied to new releases from the date of the price increase onwards ie. if they had introduced the price increase this week, then only the new releases for this week would be affected, with any older stock still retaining the previous pricing.
This time they have decided to buck that trend entirely and apply the new pricing of €5.25 per DVD per night to ALL stock in what they consider to be the “new” releases section.
The fact that a large portion of those DVDs have been gracing the shelves for 6 months is obviously not something they particularly care about.
Now don’t get me wrong.
Competition, pricing, making money etc., are all good things in their own way, but my problem with Xtravision is not limited to the pricing.
What I find really annoying about them is their total lack of choice.
If you want to get the latest releases then you will be happy, but what if you don’t?
What if you would like to see a slightly older film?
What about arthouse cinema?
What about foreign language films?
Even the films on sale reflect a narrow view of the titles currently available and you will usually find that Golden Discs will have a better choice and probably a better price.
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