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Does it sometimes seem like one's consumables, such as CD/DVD's, have gotten a little excessive? Or is there justification for it?
Today, they were selling 100 DVD's for $29....a little higher than what I like but a lot better than $46 or so. At times, it seems like blank DVD's is going the way like rifle ammo, about a buck a round. But yes, I probably do have about 1000 or more of them in inventory already and now I've just added another 100.
Might the conscience click on and say, "Don't you think you have enough?" and the conscience might be right......but then again, the conscience doesn't calculate in our consumer company eat company world. Where one day an item that one is use to buying suddenly disappears because the company made it got bought out.
Sure, even if it disappears off the front shelf, one may be able to find a company that still sells it.....but it may cost them more pennies to buy from them.
So from my point of view, as long as one has a need, continue to buy, if incrementally, to ensure to always have a supply.
Of course, there are two things to that calculation. The first is...."as long as one has a need". I don't think I've bought a CD spindle in about 10 years......and I have stacks of spindles from my buying days. Sigh, things changed. Hard drive memory prices came down, the USB was invented, there really wasn't a need to be using the CD as I was when memory was expensive. Today, because of my moving, it is more of a thing to box them up and put them somewhere where if I need to access them (a big IF since the critical ones have been loaded up on hard drives), I can. The hundreds of blanks will sit in some corner, waiting for a need that might not ever come.
And the second thing? "DVDs? Who the blazes uses DVD's any more?". I'm sure I'm not the only one but with changes in formats with a huge population that no longer does, there will probably come a day when.......
Of course, it is not just DVD's. They are just an example of something in our consumable world that can disappear in a blink because of company eat company.
I'm not sure what you are asking, but I will take a shot.
Remember floppy disks? I bet if I asked most people where I can find them, they wouldn't have a clue. Would you believe I can still buy them at Walmart? Apparently, there are enough people out there using floppy disk drives to warrant the offering of this product. There are old computer systems that are still in use, and in some cases, they only have a floppy disk drive to transfer and receive data. Would you throw away a quarter of a million dollar piece of equipment just because floppy disks are not as common? No, you will seek out the source that can still acquire or make them at a reasonable price.
Also consider, many of the companies that made and sold outdated technology no longer exist. What happens when a company goes bust? All of their assets, including inventory are sold off. Small companies will often buy bulk inventory for far less than it costs to make. This keeps the market satiated for awhile. As time goes forward, the price may adjust in such a way that it becomes profitable to manufacture those products once more. This is done to satisfy niche markets who are willing to pay more than the average run of the mill consumer.
I deal with a lot of old, outdated equipment. While the company that originally made the parts and product may be long gone, so long as people still keep the equipment running, small companies will continue supplying parts. The less popular or common the equipment it, the more expensive it becomes to keep it running. The cost of replacement parts often determines whether it's time to retire old equipment.
Some old technology is worth keeping around. On the other hand, the market ultimately decides what technology prevails.
I'm not sure what the issue is, but if you've actually videotaped the entire Roman Empire, I'd like to see that!
I'm reminded of that scene in 'The Time Machine' where Rod Taylor's character goes into the unused, dusty library and the books crumble in his hand... I've already got stuff on VHS tape that I'd have to jump through hoops to look at again.
A few years ago I moved long distance and discovered all my CDs under the bed. There were several boxes, I took them to a record bin and sold them, I was surprised at the numbers of those things. It's nice that harddrives have advanced to what they are today, no more need for those CDs/DVDs/Blu rays.
........... I've already got stuff on VHS tape that I'd have to jump through hoops to look at again.
The VHS library I'm SLOWLY converting to DVD; technology has improved where a SLP tape to SLP DVD can be done without a great deal degradation. When watched via computer, the screen size just shrinks for decent review. EVENTUALLY, I can hope to have the tapes at some remote storage while being able to view what was on them off a hard drive.
The catch is, though, it is still a "Turkish Nuclear Power Conference" approach. Back in the 80's, when I was briefly a nuclear engineering major, our prof went to a TNPC. There, one of the lesser world countries presented their research, going step by step through their process. A French representative stood up, said, "You don't have to do it that way, just punch it into the newest computer system and you will have your answers in seconds."
The presenter said, "You don't understand. We don't have the money for something like that so we must use older systems and proceed as I've stated.".
Sort of the thing here. VHS to DVD by a converter machine. DVD to hard drive via loading the DVD's one at a time in a CD/DVD drive on a computer, storing (and filing) it to a hard drive. Then if I want to watch it, hook up the hard drive to the computer. If? Talking more of a historical database than an entertainment one; all the shows on it that I might want to watch have since been bought in series packages.
HOWEVER, the point to why this is in the Economics forum and not some other section is that DVD's are just an example. The key point is that in our world of company eat company, it seems, to me, we run into the situation of where a constantly needed supply which may be there easily today suddenly disappears tomorrow. One either has to pay more to get it or jump through hoops or both.
The example has been given that one can still buy 3.5 diskettes at Wally World. Well, last time I looked a few years ago at Target, one still could get VHS tapes.....but they were no longer $1 or less apiece. The price, at the time, had gone up enough to make me decide to use my "blank" tapes conservatively. Record on them, transfer that data to a DVD, return the tape to the blank box.
So should I have bought up VHS tapes when they were cheap to prevent such a bottle neck? Well, not for tapes, because the situation changed drastically to decrease the need for tapes immensely. Ie, from 1985-2006, TV was worth watching and recording, but from 2006-2008, its worthiness went to ZERO in my book. Hence, hardly (the Rose Parade here, a movie there) anymore need for tape.
Let's talk about storage for a moment. At one time, they made storage drawers for VHS, cassettes, and DVD's. One day, they seemed to vanished. The company that made the different types for VHS, cassettes, & DVD's just disappeared. Now, their merchandise did start appearing in the mail order catalogs, someone probably (as said above) bought up their stock......and it was being sold at twice the price.
VHS and cassette wise, perhaps not much of a loss, but I couldn't believe, then, that the drawer system for CD/DVD had been replaced with cardboard boxes. Both can be stacked but with boxes, if you want to get something out of the bottom one, you have to unstack them all. The cheap plastic drawer rather disappeared when COMPUSA went out of business.
Now, as things go, those drawers have reappeared on Amazon......after a few years. Not sure if there is a price increase, though.
Or let's talk Wooly Pullys. For years, I bought them from Brigade Quartermasters. Every so often, I would need on, on on site, get one. Now, they aren't there anymore and I'm experimenting with the acrylic since it seems that my only other options are either to buy used or something not quite it or perhaps at a greatly increased price.
Then there was the magazine "Women's Sports and Fitness" (not a consumable but a demonstration of company eat company). In the late 90's (I think), it was bought out by Conde Nast who introduced their own magazine. Okay, standard approach, remove the competition. I stopped my subscription because the way I saw it, what I had been reading was being replaced by another Shape magazine (what's the fad diet this month). As it was, the replacement ceased publication (folded into Self) in less than 2 years, essentially leaving the consumer with nothing.
The basic question is should one buy extra, even stockpile, given that there are examples in our economic world that what we depend on may not be there tomorrow because our supplier disappeared (be it bought out or whatever)?
Stockpiling rarely makes sense unless you're talking about a collectible or commodity... old technology makes way for new and replaces the old... such is the way of the world. Much less clutter having a 5TB hard drive full of movies than a shelf full of movies... or using netflix.. though I find they don't have more than half of what I search for. Bluray discs however have superior sound and video quality compared to other mediums.. not everyone cares or has the equipment to appreciate the difference though.
Unless you're one that just must use some old technology because of some perceived nostalgic benefit (for example, thinking vinyl sounds better than digital/FLAC) there's no need to hoard anything.
I have a stack of blank DVDs I'll probably never use and ultimately donate or throw away. 4.7GB is not enough to do anything anymore... useless. Bluray as a storage medium is fine for movies, but 25-50GB surely is not enough when there are 5 TB hard drives out there.
You start your post about having too many then you buy more?
DVDs are pretty obsolete these days.The standard 4.7 GB on a DVD is nothing these days, and will continue to shrink.
No, I start my own post about stockpiling in an economy where company eats company and what one may have depended on yesterday has disappeared today.
As far as 4.7 GB being nothing, I disagree. It sure fits a 6 hour tape in EP, a two hour movie easily enough.
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