Pricing of CDs and DVDs

“..happen to know why Farscape DVDs are so expensive?”

Don’t buy DVDs, so wouldn’t know. But of course that won’t stop me from making a guess: If The Market is at work, I expect that demand may have something to do with the pricing, what with Farscape being so good and so popular.

I’ve always thought that CDs and, later, DVDs, manufactured for pennies each (yes, I know that’s the least of their costs, but still..!), were exorbitant if they cost more than 99¢. Or maybe 50¢? I was just reading yesterday about how the comic book industry, in the old days of 10-15¢ per issue, was all high volume, low profit per unit. If CDs and DVDs had been priced with high volume in mind, the incentive for piracy would have been enormously reduced. (Witness how successful the iTunes jukebox idea was!) Degree of “black” market is always inversely proportional to the cost & risk factors of the taboo, prohibition, tax, or other restriction. This is your Milton Freidman moment for the day.