Best Way to Sell Wildlife Documentaries to Local Storeowners?

[Tristan Howard]

Hey everybody,

I recently finished a wildlife documentary that focuses on a rural valley in California. I talk about it here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=111070. And, there is much more info here: http://www.tristanhowardproductions.com. Anyway, I’m still in a pretty limited production situation and am doing all the cover art and disc burning with my own personal computer. Currently, I’m mainly selling my video online and by word of mouth. But, a few locals in my community have offered to put my video in their stores. My video has been popular with nature enthusiasts in my area, including hunters and fishermen, so it would go in stores related to those sorts of things.

I’m new to the business and am not really sure how I should go about doing this. Should I sell my videos to local stores at a discounted price (maybe half price) and then let them try to sell copies or should I tentatively put copies in stores and divide the profits based on some sort of percentage? Anyway, I’m selling my documentary for $19.95. If I were to sell say, 20 copies to a store for them to sell, what sort of price would be fair and consistent with what things are like these days? Really, all I mainly want now is to get my video some publicity and try to break even. I figure if store sales go well, I’ll have a print shop make my DVD covers and have a duplication facilitiy mass produce my discs. At any rate, if anybody has any input, I’d appreciate it. Thanks a bunch.

Regards,
Tristan Howard

[Richard Alvarez]

First off, decide how many you think you CAN sell. A total of five hundred? A thousand? Then look into replication/duplication. There are a number of replicators who can provide you with FINISHED DVD's including cases, covers. shrinkwrapped for a lot less than you can do yourself! I'm serious as a heart attack here... figure out your cost per disc, case, paper, ink etc... and see if the replicaiton houses can't beat you. My guess is they'll beat you at five hundred, maybe lower.

If that's the case, then go on and order them. You'll have them on hand to fulfill orders, and they'll look more 'professional'. Sell them for half price in bulk orders. Tell stores you'll sell them at half price for orders of... whatever, five, ten a dozen. That way you aren't bothered constantly, and they have an incentive to recoup THEIR investment. Sell them on your website, or even ebay.

You can also sell them throug fulfilment houses, that normally take about fifty percent PLUS a little more. They fulfill orders one at a time though, as they come in, and send you a check monthly. You don't have to wearhouse the stock this way, and you can still burn a few to sell at the local stores.

There are a number of ways to approach this.

[Tristan Howard]

Richard,

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it. Alright, it looks like I’ll have to get a few hundred copies done at a replication service. It would probably be cheaper in the long run. Currently, I purchase blank discs from here: http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/mercha...tegory_Code=GP. It’s about $32.99 for 100 discs. I purchase cases here: http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/mercha...tegory_Code=DC. It’s $21.60 for 108 cases. And, I print labels directly on my discs with an Epson Sylus Photo Rx580 inkjet printer. I get ink cartridges here: http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/mercha...duct_Code=2860. They’re $25 for a basic multi-pack. And, I use matte Epson presentation paper for my DVD case inserts. Similar stuff is available here: http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/st...&cmArea=SEARCH. It costs $12.95 for 100 sheets. I also use a shrink bag system, which I got from here: http://www.ajminc.com/swspecial.htm. It costs $109.

Anyway, do you know of any good duplication services in California? I’m located in rural northern California far from any significant settlements, so whatever I have to do will be through the mail. It would be nice to find a place that could do everything. I burn my discs with an image file I created on Adobe Encore 1.5 and I print my disc labels from a file on Epson Print CD software (came with the printer). Also, my case insert is a basic Bitmap file I created with photoshop. Anyway, would most big duplication facilities be able to handle the material I’m talking about? I’m thinking that the disc label might be the trickiest thing. Still, I’m not really sure how that works.

So far, I’ve sold about 61 copies of my video without any official advertising or store placement. I’m not really sure how many I can sell but I figure I’ll place a few dozen copies in stores and find out. If sales go well, I’ll mass produce more copies. I guess I’ll try selling to stores at half price for orders of 10 or more or something like that. Anyhow, if you want to give me anymore input, I’d appreciate it. Thanks again for the input you have given.

Regards,
Tristan

[Mark Williams]

Tristan,

Discmakers.com is one of the best. If you replicate its about $990 for 300 retail ready dvds. There is a lot of complicated artwork design to do for this high grade product. Since this is your first venture you may want to have them duplicated $300 for 100 to test the waters first. You can design everything online at

http://duplication.discmakers.com/mc...kers/index.jsp


Good luck.....

[Corey Williams]

There's a difference between duplication and replication. Replication looks more professional. I would recommend www.discusa.com They will beat discmakers prices.

[Richard Alvarez]

Its actually a good idea to get a quote from several companies like discmakers or Pacificdisc. Often, they will give you a bit of a break to beat the price of a competitor.

Replication is the process of creating discs PRESSED from a Glass Master. This is the way that commercial grade DVD's are made. Costs a bit more, but has a higher compatability rate than Duplication.

Duplication is what your computer does... 'burns' the disc by using a laser to change the dye on a disc. Cheaper than replication, but has a slightly higher chance of imcompatibility on some players.

Do your homework in talking with the services. Some will offer the same price, but free artwork. Some will offer a 'test master', some will shrinkwrap, some will provide a barcode... they all have little 'extras' that can be added or subtracted from the final deal. And don't forget to factor in shipping, there can be a big difference in price, depending on the distance between you and each provider.

And of course, the price per disc goes down as volume goes up. Depending on the Provider, the price of replication is cheaper at a certain point.


And finally, ask yourself if you want to or CAN warehouse a large volume of discs.(A stack of a thousand discs in standard cases is roughly the size of a large refrigerator.) Those companies that offer you a 'market page' on their websites and listings on Amazon that will fulfill your orders for you, generally duplicate the discs one at a time as orders come in, but take a fairly large cut of your retail price. (Appx 40-50 percent). Sounds like a lot, but if you are offereing a bulk discount of fifty percent on large orders to Wholesalers anyway, it all comes out in the wash.

Only you can know, or make an educated guess on what is best for your product in your market.

[Peter Wiley]

It's great that local retailers have shown an interest.

Setting aside the logistical details of getting the DVD duplicated, you'll increase your chances of success by having a good-looking and well-written cover for the DVD, including a UPC, that makes it easy for the retailer to sell. If you look into the issue, you'll find UPC is NOT a minor detail, so look for a replicator that can provide a "shared" UPC.

If you know the DVD might go into stores that sell to hunters, fishermen, hikers, etc. make sure the cover copy is written to appeal to those audiences directly. Make sure you mention what can be seen in your piece that can't been seen anywhere else and suggest what unique things can be learned from the program.

Potential buyers will judge the quality of the work from the quality cover, so don't skimp on getting it right. Generic artwork from a duplication service that does not know your market prob. won't be the best thing. Best of all possible worlds, prepare two or three mock-ups and and then test how they work by showing them to potential buyers.

The suggested retail price of the product should be based on some research about what's being charged for similar products. For a unique piece on an area that has not been photographed $19.95 might be too little.

[Tristan Howard]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the additional, useful advice. The stuff about the difference between duplication and replication was especially enlightening. It looks like I've got a lot of research ahead of me. Anyway, I burned a bunch of copies of my documentary recently. Soon, I'll have to contact storeowners and see if I can make something happen. Also, in case anybody's interested, the front cover art is visible here: http://www.tristanhowardproductions.com/. And, the back cover art can be seen here:http://www.tristanhowardproductions....entarydvd.html.

Regards,
Tristan

[Bill Mecca]

www.kunaki.com

I've used it for two projects one DVD and one CD without problems.

[Tristan Howard]

I recently got my documentary uploaded to Kunaki's facility. I'm just waiting on a free trial copy now. I sure hope this works. I was amazed at how conevenient everything seemed. Thanks for the suggestion, Bill.

[Allen Plowman]

Originally Posted by Bill Mecca

www.kunaki.com

I've used it for two projects one DVD and one CD without problems.

is this for duplication or replication?

[Seun Osewa]

On-demand replication. So, which is better? Createspace or Kunaki?

[Allen Plowman]

I read every page of the website www.kunaki.com. It did not mention either replication or duplication, only copies. I am certain in my mind that it is duplication, just like what is done at home on a computer. the prices seem very reasonable, and is definitely worth checking out in my opinion, but replication and duplication are different.

[Martin Pauly]

Originally Posted by Seun Osewa

On-demand replication.

That sounds like a contradiction in terms. Replication is really only cheap once you make a batch of 1,000 or more discs. All the typical on-demand services use duplication, for good reasons.

- Martin