I would like to state for the record that we do in fact sell all Private Man titles for $29.95 at Gay DVD Empire. There seems no real reason to sell it for more since our actual cost is no where near that of most high end product.

Thank you
gayEmpire

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You are not the big offender here. Your prices for Private Man titles, in combination with both your coupons and the ADT kickback program, while not the lowest available, are at least reasonable.

However, your straight Private titles are typically priced below Private's MSRP by at least $5 and often considerably more (e.g., Absolute Private is listed on your site for essentially $20 and has an MSRP of $35) - why not a similar discount price structure for their gay titles?

~ GaySatyr

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- Saki [faqs]

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However, Private's MSRP numbers are not artificial. They are posted on Private's site and anyone is welcome to order directly from Private at those prices. Almost all online retailers charges for Private titles are significantly less than Private's MSRP figures on their websites and those online retailers offer coupon discounts on top of their discounted prices. My argument regarding the differences between gay and straight Private title prices at online retailers is not unreasonable.

And in ADE's defense, the situation is certainly not entirely their fault. The studios and distributors bear a large part of the blame. However, if I do not continue my complaints, the situation may never get better. (It may never get any better regardless of my complaints.)

Therefore, for better or worse, I'll keep my soapbox handy.

~ GaySatyr

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Although I empathize with you about the high cost of gay DVDs, the fact is that retailers have to pay significantly more (in general) for gay movies. That extra cost is passed on to the consumer.

The reasons that studios charge more for gay DVDs have been discussed here before so I won’t repeat them but it really comes down to economics. Gay DVDs sell fewer units, which means the costs of production have to be spread over fewer units- resulting in a higher cost per unit.

You may be surprised to learn that our overall profit margin on gay DVDs is LOWER than on straight DVDs. When you consider that we have to pay more for gay discs, our profit margin is lower and they generally take longer to sell, you can see why I take exception to you claim that gay customers are being ripped off.

Remember that the adult DVDs business is highly competitive. As a DVD consumer you probably have dozens if not hundreds of online stores to choose from. Any retailer that is out to “rip-off” the customer probably won’t last long and doesn’t deserve your business. If you are not happy with the pricing, selection or service of a particular retailer then send a message and shop somewhere else.

Regarding the MSRP, it is really a meaningless number and has almost no impact on the retail price of a DVD.

Ken Graham
Five Star DVD

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As I responded to ADE earlier in this thread, you are not the big offender here. Your prices for Private Man titles, again, like at ADE, while not the absolute lowest available, when calculated with your coupons and your ADT kickback discounts, are reasonable.

However, if you check out the price search links I provided for Private Man titles in my first post in this thread, you will see that there are a number of online retailers who charge significantly more than you do - some 35% more!

I fully understand that, with gay titles, production costs need to be recouped over significantly fewer sales, resulting in higher costs for titles. And I realize that you need to make a profit to stay in business. My point is that there are profiteers among you - at studios, at distributors, and at some online and bricks & mortar retailers, and those profiteers, by keeping prices higher than they need to be, are hurting sales for ALL retailers of gay titles by maintaining the reputation of gay titles being artificially higher than they really need to be.

I buy a lot of gay porn. And I've spent a significant number of dollars at your (Five Star) establishment and at ADE. And I will continue to give you my business.

Thank you (And ADE) for making the effort to keep gay porn prices down and thank you (and ADE) for responding to my tirade.

~ GaySatyr

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