Problems ordering walk the line/king kong????

[sungifts]

I place my orders with Waxworks one month at a time - one month in advance.  My February and March buyers guide did not list Walk the Line, King Kong or even Your Mine & Ours.

I know the studios are causing problems with short notices on dvd release dates - but, were others able to order these 3 from their distributors?  It's a good thing I supplement from Walmart - otherwise, I wouldn't be carrying these 3 titles!

I have been wanting to change distributors for some time now & want to know if someone with VPD or Ingram experienced this problem.  

I suppose I am somewhat to blame - I must admit I don't keep up with release dates as I should and usually rely solely on the buyer's guide I get from Waxworks - but, I also feel like the rep should have contacted me or even just went ahead and preordered these titles for me since it is well known that I always order the big titles.

[videovault]

Misty are you tring to order from Waxworks on line or talking to a rep?
 
You might be having a problem with ordering "Walk the Line" with waxworks due to the fact that they shoved it in at the last moment.  I know that Rentrak called me one day last month and said We need to prebook "Walk the Line" TODAY!!  Rep told me that the studio wanted prebook numbers in one day!! The same might have happened with waxworks.

As far as "King Kong" it has a prebook date of March 6th you should have no problem with that one.  

If you are having problems on line,  which I know I have experienced with Waxworks, I would suggest calling ur rep or popping them off a email. Also do you get updates via email from your rep?  Mine does it and comes in handy.

Dan

[sungifts]

The rep emails me the buyers guide for the next month and I email her my order.  

When I heard of the release dates on the 3 titles, I went to the WW website to see if I could place an order - the prebook dates have already passed.  I haven't yet called the rep as I was wanting to see if others had this problem with different distributors.

I understand the short prebook time - but still feel like my rep could have done a mass email if she couldn't call each of her customers.  I'm just disappointed, I guess.

Thanks for the reply

[videovault]

No problem I would feel the same way.  Maybe you should  try a different rep.  I use Blaise and he is great!!!  On top of everything and nice guy to boot.  I dont know if you can switch but I would tell your rep that she/he dropped the ball on this one.

Dan

[Mick]

Hi Misty,

Unfortunately, it is probable that you would run into the problem no matter who your distributor was.  Fox and Universal put everyone in a very precarious position with these titles.  Distribution was told NOT to announce the titles and NOT to sell them, nor were they permitted to put them on their websites OR their mail publications.

The reality is that there was NO solicitation period.  In fact, the "announce date" (the date that a distributor can "officially" start selling a title) on at least one title was AFTER the studio imposed prebook date.

In the case of Wax Works, it was even more problematic because Universal refuses to sell to them directly.  WW has to buy their UNI product from another distributor, so they are not in the same "loop" when it comes to this information as the 2 "approved" distributors are.

The distributors did try to "leak" the information as best as they could, but the real problem was the studios, themselves.  This was not the fault of any of the distributors...so switching reps or distributors would probably not fix the problem.

And, for what it is worth (in case you are unaware of it), you should be talking to your distributor NOW about "Brokeback Mountain" because this title is probably going experience the same problem.

FWIW

Mick

[Mick]

As far as "King Kong" it has a prebook date of March 6th you should have no problem with that one.

Hi Dan,

Actually, the official prebook date for "Kong" was 1-24-06....so I would be getting my orders in ASAP.

There is a "King Kong" that prebooks on March 6th, but that is an older version from New Line (that is being repriced) and not the new Universal version.

Mick

[Thomas]

Mick,

Are the studio's trying some new strategy that I haven't heard about to try and prevent pre-orders through distribution?  Are the retailers charged more if pre-orders aren't placed in time or is it just more of an issue of not guaranteeing availability by street?

[videovault]

Thanks Mick   I didnt realize that. I just went on to the Website and saw King Kong march 6th didnt realize it was the older version  :oops:  

So sooo sorry for the bad intell Misty  

As far As mine I pre-booked it awhile ago so Im ok but thanks  

[IVR]

This problem is not going to go away anytime soon due to the agreements that are in place with the theater owners. The theater owners feel they will lose ticket sales once the consumer know the street date for the video release.

[Mick]

Hi Thomas,

The problem is that the studios promised theater owners a window on these titles.  But then, because of the popularity and exposure that these titles received at award ceremonies (Golden Globes, Oscars, etc.) decided to bring them all to Home Video faster than originally planned.

So...the result was the creation of "order dates" that were actually PRIOR to the solicitation windows that had been promised to the theaters.

Accounts that have dedicated studio representation (like Walmart, Amazon, etc.) were better informed than those who don't really see a studio rep too often.

Having said all of that....I don't believe the intent was to create a problem for us....but, then again, in the eyes of several studios, we don't account for much of their business, anyhow, so it was not perceived as a problem to worry about.

Mick

[sungifts]

Thanks for the replies.  After what I had read and heard on short order dates, I figured it was not WWs fault - but still feel that my rep could have ordered for me or made an effort to inform me.

Mick, thanks for the heads up on Brokeback Mountain.  Any other advice on what I should be doing/watching to make sure I meet the prebook dates?  

And, what about people that don't meet the deadlines?  Are they not just stuck out there, forced to seek other avenues to have the movie by street date?

[IVR]

If you don't get your orders in before prebook 1 you should still be able to get the product you want. Just contact your rep directly and they should be able to confirm what they have on order and if they will be able to cover your order.

[IVR]

BTW - accessingram has the 48pk of Brokeback Mountain listed with a release date of 4/4.

Update - I just confirmed with Ingram that Brokeback is releasing 4/4 and prebook cutoff is 2/27!

[Leodesign]

Chronicles of Narnia prebooked yesterday and I just found out about it too!

[sungifts]

Narnia was included in the "early cut-off" section of my March list

I searched WW site for Brokeback and came up with nothing -