AfterDawn: News

Wal-Mart to promote Blu-ray in June

Retail giant Wal-Mart is finally throwing their significant weight behind Blu-ray in a big way with the launch of a new ‘Hi-Def Blu-ray Experience Area' in 1200 stores where shoppers will find a bigger selection of both players and movies than were previously available.

In addition to the increased presence for the technology, Wal-Mart will be handing offering $100 gift cards with the purchase of a Blu-ray player between June 8 and June 14. During the same week they'll be featuring big discounts on select Blu-ray titles, including '3:10 to Yuma,' 'War,' 'Shooter,' '300' and 'The Fifth Element' for just $15 each.



“We are excited to be a destination for families looking to create a high quality, affordable home entertainment experience with our new, wider selection of high-def TVs, Blu-ray players and movies,” said Gary Severson, senior VP of home entertainment at Wal-Mart.

To go along with the focus on Blu-ray, the stores are also increasing their selection of HDTVs with the introduction of new models and brands.

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 3 Jun 2008 17:06

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• 20 comments

• iluvendo

  If Wal Mart can sell BD for $15, have we all been gouged ?

  3.6.2008 17:11 #1

• eatsushi

  Originally posted by iluvendo: If Wal Mart can sell BD for $15, have we all been gouged ?Nope. I have never paid full price for any BluRay disc. On average I can get new releases for $20 to $25, and catalog titles for $15 to $20. Like people have been saying: you just need to know where to look.

  3.6.2008 17:15 #2

• ydkjman

  Originally posted by iluvendo: If Wal Mart can sell BD for $15, have we all been gouged ?It's called a loss leader item. Take the loss on that one item to get people to buy the other item.

  3.6.2008 17:24 #3

• iluvendo

  Originally posted by ydkjman: Originally posted by iluvendo: If Wal Mart can sell BD for $15, have we all been gouged ?Quote:It's called a loss leader item. Take the loss on that one item to get people to buy the other item.
  
  Is that anything like "We cheat the other guy and pass the savings onto you ?"
  

  If it wasnt for bad luck, Id have no luck!
  "The flimsier the product,the higher the price"
  Ferengi 82nd rule of aquisition

  3.6.2008 17:36 #4

• 7thsinger

  Quote:Like people have been saying: you just need to know where to look.Agreed. I also have yet to pay full price for a BRD. Granted, my library is not that extensive. I'm just finicky about where i get them, and how much i'll pay.

  3.6.2008 18:14 #5

• Tecbot

  I only buy them on sale and ive been buying them every second week for like a year now...Im already adjusted to this price. Dont know where these people shop that say they cost $35 Ive never bought one above $25. The majority I bought were $14.99 to $19.99 or bogo.

  3.6.2008 19:02 #6

• JRude

  I've never lost a dollar on a Blu Ray disc. ;- )

  3.6.2008 19:07 #7

• NexGen76

  Originally posted by Tecbot: I only buy them on sale and ive been buying them every second week for like a year now...Im already adjusted to this price. Dont know where these people shop that say they cost $35 Ive never bought one above $25. The majority I bought were $14.99 to $19.99 or bogo.They got to be shopping at BestBuy there Blu-Ray prices are high as hell.I will either buy online if i find a great deal or if i need it right now & don't want to wait Wal-mart has the best price of any BM in my area.

  3.6.2008 19:47 #8

• fgamer

  Does anybody know if the PS3 is in that $100 deal between the June 8 and June 14 dates? I know they have a PS3 deal currently but it expires on June 7TH, but I'm wondering if the PS3 is going to be in this June 8-14th deal?

  3.6.2008 20:46 #9

• ydkjman

  Quote:
  Is that anything like "We cheat the other guy and pass the savings onto you ?"How is it cheating the other guy ? Who is there to cheat? They aren't cheating you if your going in and getting something for cheaper than what Wal-Mart paid for it.
  
  It probably should have been stated that with the price of some movies at $15 people are getting the chance to buy some that most would not have purchased.
  
  They aren't really trying to "get" you to buy the movies, the movies they are an after purchase of the player. The gift card is more of a motivator to buy the player knowing that your going to get the free $100 to then be able to turn around and buy the movies.

  3.6.2008 21:26 #10

• iluvendo

  Originally posted by ydkjman: Quote:
  Is that anything like "We cheat the other guy and pass the savings onto you ?"How is it cheating the other guy ? Who is there to cheat? They aren't cheating you if your going in and getting something for cheaper than what Wal-Mart paid for it.
  
  It probably should have been stated that with the price of some movies at $15 people are getting the chance to buy some that most would not have purchased.
  
  
  
  @ydkjman, it's a joke. My response , if you think about it, does not even make any logical sense. If you think about it, how do you know you are not the other guy ?
  
  
  They aren't really trying to "get" you to buy the movies, the movies they are an after purchase of the player. The gift card is more of a motivator to buy the player knowing that your going to get the free $100 to then be able to turn around and buy the movies.
  

  If it wasnt for bad luck, Id have no luck!
  "The flimsier the product,the higher the price"
  Ferengi 82nd rule of aquisition

  3.6.2008 21:31 #11

• ydkjman

  iluvendo no hard feelings. When I did read it I really had to stop and think about it cause in the back of my mind it didn't make sense.

  3.6.2008 22:26 #12

• juankerr

  Originally posted by fgamer: Does anybody know if the PS3 is in that $100 deal between the June 8 and June 14 dates? I know they have a PS3 deal currently but it expires on June 7TH, but I'm wondering if the PS3 is going to be in this June 8-14th deal?According to engadget the PS3 is included:
  
  http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/06/03/wal...layer-purchase/
  
  Quote:Given that $100 at Wal-mart is essentially as good as cash, we can only imagine how titillating this offer may seem for Blu-ray holdouts. Announced today, the mega-retailer will be offering a $100 gift card with the purchase of any Blu-ray player from June 8th through 14th -- and yes, Sony's PlayStation 3 is included. In case this wasn't enough to maybe-possibly get the general public to actually pay attention to the format, Wally World will also sell "select" BD titles for $15 starting on the 8th. Since the format war ended earlier this year, we've seen report after report proclaiming that Blu-ray adoption just wasn't taking off here in America, but with a theoretical net price now close to $200 (albeit for a few days only), we can certainly see the masses taking notice at long last.
  

  3.6.2008 23:01 #13

• mspurloc

  YES, we've been gouged! This is why I didn't buy and it's why my friends won't buy. There's a sour taste with this...thing that is ten times worse than the old Beta/VHS war.
  Sony's not getting a dime from me for this already obsolete technology.

  4.6.2008 01:07 #14

• hade

  nice strategic planning by walmart. personally i think a $100 gift card with a ps3 purchase is a steal, even a better deal when one uses their stimulus check if they haven't already spent it on gas.
  
  prices are continuing to drop for both players and movies. interesting to see these kinds of deals in JUNE. wonder what's in store for us come Q4 when the real holiday rush kicks in.

  4.6.2008 06:52 #15

• Vr0cK

  Quote:Wal-Mart will be handing offering $100 gift cards with the purchase of a Blu-ray player between June 8 and June 14. Can anybody think of a better time to buy the PS3 Metal Gear Solid Bundle?? sweetttt..sure hope they have it at Wal-mart. Does anybody know if this offer includes wal-marts in Canada as well?

  4.6.2008 08:10 #16

• juankerr

  Originally posted by hade: nice strategic planning by walmart. personally i think a $100 gift card with a ps3 purchase is a steal, even a better deal when one uses their stimulus check if they haven't already spent it on gas.
  
  prices are continuing to drop for both players and movies. interesting to see these kinds of deals in JUNE. wonder what's in store for us come Q4 when the real holiday rush kicks in.To put it in perspective: Since last weekend at Walmart, for a limited time, the 40GB PS3 is only $50 more expensive than the Wii.

  4.6.2008 09:22 #17

• eatsushi

  A follow-up story from tvweek.com:
  
  Wal-Mart Looks to Lure the Undecided to Blu-ray
  
  Quote:With about 4 million Blu-ray players up for grabs, Wal-Mart has responded accordingly by adding a “hi-def Blu-ray experience” area in 1,200 of its stores, or almost a third of its U.S. total, the company said this week.
  
  Wal-Mart, which will widen its inventory of HDTVs by about 60%, also is giving $100 gift cards to customers who buy Blu-ray players at the store between June 8 and June 14.
  
  “We are excited to be a destination for families looking to create a high-quality, affordable home-entertainment experience with our new, wider selection of hi-def TVs, Blu-ray players and movies,” said Gary Severson, senior VP of Wal-Mart’s home entertainment division, in a statement.
  
  ...
  
  “What are the growing areas? It continues to be television and all of its affiliated hardware. So it’s a natural way to maintain share against the specialty stores,” said Mr. Crupnick. “While it’s not a value shop for the Wal-Mart person today, by the time we talk about the holidays, it’s going to be closer to that.”Looks like it's going to be an interesting holiday season.

  5.6.2008 16:13 #18

• wetsparks

  And here I was thinking about buying the 80gb ps3 with mgs4 next Wednesday and now I can buy it and get Uncharted and Burnout Paradise with it for free? Sweet.
  
  @juankerr, that is an excellent way of putting it. The PS3 has had to battle the stigma of a high price tag since launch while the Wii sat there at $250 now you can essentially get a PS3 at $300, good deal there.

  6.6.2008 01:16 #19

• juankerr

  Originally posted by Vr0cK: Can anybody think of a better time to buy the PS3 Metal Gear Solid Bundle?? sweetttt..sure hope they have it at Wal-mart. Does anybody know if this offer includes wal-marts in Canada as well?Pre-orders for the MGS4/PS3 bundle are causing problems for the amazon servers today:
  
  http://forums.highdefdigest.com/showthread.php?t=57313

  6.6.2008 17:27 #20