Dishonest / inconsistent album pricing (no economics lectures, please)

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The Zappas are having a field day living off Frank's albums. Their pricing also makes NO SENSE.

The MOI stuff is generally $12.99 in stores, except for certain ones which are apparently "better" and those jump up to $17.99. BUT, if you order directly from the Zappa website, you get to pay $20!!! Um... shouldn't it be cheaper direct from them?

WTF?

Also, most of the double CDs are $19.99 ... until you get to the most critically acclaimed Best Band You Never Heard! Then, the price somehow jumps from $19.99 to $33.00!! For 2 fuckin' CDs of an equivalent length. Yet, Uncle Meat is only $19.99. LÄTHER is 3 cds that have been previously released, but somehow that is worth $45 (because they know completists will want it).

Wildly inconsistent pricing based seemingly on how good the album is rather than how much it costs to produce, which is a slap in the face to the fanbase and a tad greedy... ESPECIALLY SINCE THE PACKAGING SUCKS!!!!! Is Dweezil scanning these covers in on his home laptop or something and reformatting them? The printing is horrendous and the jewelpacks are cheap, too (green tint with ill-fitting centerpiece?! FUCK YOOU!!)

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 20:42 (nineteen years ago)

haha

― senseiDancer (sexyDancer), Thursday, 2 February 2006 20:44 (nineteen years ago)

Hopefully one of those legacy leeches is a Googler.

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:05 (nineteen years ago)

That'll teach people to buy Zappa records.

― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:11 (nineteen years ago)

...used.

You forgot to finish your sentence.

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:12 (nineteen years ago)

www.emusic.com

― älänbänänä (alanbanana), Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:15 (nineteen years ago)

Most albums ordered online directly from bands are more expensive than the same CDs in stores. Postage/etc for small quantities obviously not being very efficient & all.

― Siegbran (eofor), Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:24 (nineteen years ago)

Well, less postage and more manufacturing, but yeah.

― Eppy (Eppy), Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:26 (nineteen years ago)

Most albums ordered online directly from bands are more expensive than the same CDs in stores.

Whaaat? I've never found that, even if it does make some sense.

― sean gramophone (Sean M), Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:30 (nineteen years ago)

ESP-Disk to thread.

― Beta (abeta), Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:45 (nineteen years ago)

Is somebody from the Zappa estate forcing you to buy the CDs at gunpoint?

― The Man in the Iron-On Mask (noodle vague), Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:47 (nineteen years ago)

If I jumped off a bridge would everybody else?

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:48 (nineteen years ago)

How much does the bridge cost?

― senseiDancer (sexyDancer), Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:49 (nineteen years ago)

You want to buy it? The Zappas are charging 3x what it's worth. And they don't even own it!

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 21:52 (nineteen years ago)

Imagine if movie theaters charged double for certain movies that were really good.

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 22:00 (nineteen years ago)

älänbänänä OTM, you could subscribe to eMusic for a month & grab every Zappa album

― Thomas Tallis (Tommy), Thursday, 2 February 2006 22:04 (nineteen years ago)

I tried to tell the guy I bought the Sir Lord Baltimore CD from on eBay that the disc and jewel case itself were the same materials that can be bought for a fraction of the $50 he wanted when it's a Bryan Adams CD on St. Mark's Avenue. He didn't buy it.

― Brian O'Neill (NYCNative), Thursday, 2 February 2006 22:06 (nineteen years ago)

What bitrate quality does eMusic provide? I have all the Zappa I need, anyway. I was just looking out of curiosity in the store. But, now I've also looked at eMusic out of curiosity and it looks like a great deal unless the mp3s are below 192.

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 22:12 (nineteen years ago)

> Most albums ordered online directly from bands are more expensive than the same CDs in stores.

> Whaaat? I've never found that, even if it does make some sense.

Can be true - the most expensive place you can buy a Kate Rusby CD is the lady's own website.

― Niall, Thursday, 2 February 2006 22:16 (nineteen years ago)

Imagine if movie theaters charged double for certain movies that were really good.

If Hollywood did implement such a system I don't think they've gotten many (any?) chances to do it yet.

― Cunga (Cunga), Thursday, 2 February 2006 22:17 (nineteen years ago)

Mariiiisa, they're calling you!

― senseiDancer (sexyDancer), Thursday, 2 February 2006 22:42 (nineteen years ago)

In Moscow, tickets for the last Harry Potter movie were about $35 for the first week or so after opening. And that's not scalping, that's the regular price. (I should add that you buy a specific seat in cinemas and so there were ways to see it for regular price (say, $10) -- "bad" seats or weird showtimes or whatever.

I'm a little surprised that kind of gouging behavior hasn't come to the US yet.

― Mitya (mitya), Thursday, 2 February 2006 23:01 (nineteen years ago)

What kind of name is Zappa, anyway? Sounds like a communist. BTW, I thought this was going to be another one of those Yakov Smirnov(ff?) jokes.

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 23:03 (nineteen years ago)

I don't get what's "dishonest" about their pricing. If you don't want to pay $20 you can just buy it somewhere else.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Thursday, 2 February 2006 23:06 (nineteen years ago)

I honestly don't want to and they are dissing me on that. Now do you get it?

― For Zealots, Thursday, 2 February 2006 23:08 (nineteen years ago)

i'm surprised ticketing for highly anticipated small venue concerts or sporting events hasnt turned into eBay style bidding systems yet. considering thats where the tickets end up eventually..

― ziti sanskrit (sanskrit), Saturday, 4 February 2006 21:22 (nineteen years ago)

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