Goodbye Coins, Hello Lower Price —
When I started work on GET LAMP, I had all sorts of wild ideas about the movie itself and the presentation and the packaging. Among some stuff that came to reality was the beautiful mural inside the package:
But most crazily, I wanted something included in the packaging, some nice item that came along with the DVD set and which harkened back to the “feelies”, included items from early text adventures (like a cloth map or glow in the dark rock) that really brought the whole thing with you.
I decided to go with a coin.
It turns out that making a coin, especially one that is made of multiple metals and which has a really nice finish, is a rather expensive proposition. The coin that came with the package was half the material costs – the packaging and DVD duplication and plastic wrap made up the other half. That’s crazy.
But let me tell you, it sold the package. I think we’re basically out of the realm of physical copies being the dominant way to buy items. People want to download or stream or otherwise not get a “thing”. The people who want a “thing” want that thing to be as nice as possible, but their numbers are shrinking.
About 3,800 coins went out. (The others went to interviewees and supporters and friends.) These coins meant things to people – they have been kept in wallets, put up on shelves and walls and keepsake boxes, and I occasionally run into someone who is able to pull one out and show me in no time. I am glad they had that effect on people – they were fun to make.
One last shout out to the amazing company that did them for me – Monterey Coins and their top-notch sales contact, Hollis Fulmor. I was walked through the whole process, we came up with the design together, and they just did a spectacular job with them – the detail is incredible.
Thanks, coins.
This leaves about 1,000 copies of GET LAMP to put out into the world.
To help calm the sadness and nostalgia, I’ve gone ahead and dropped 25% off of GET LAMP (and BBS Documentary, as well). My physical packages are now $30 apiece. If you go to the GET LAMP Order Page, you can pick them up as a double pack, with combined shipping.
Categorised as: documentary
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It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Jason,
What are your favorite documentaries?
Thanks
Joshua
In general, I still prefer physical media, but that largely comes from distrust. I have seen enough publishers disappear and things go out of print and become unavailable that I have a distrust of the streaming providers to still be there and offering something. I have seen shows pulled from streaming providers due to license expiration. If I have a physical copy, I usually can go back to it if I need to. Plus, in the past anyway, the physical copy was of a higher signal quality.
I should probably stop now. I think I am just rambling at this point.
Are there any coins still available, or are they sold out?
I agree with everything you said and that is way I would not be interested in purchasing your DVD without the coin. The coin sells the package, yes, and when you run out, there is the rest of us that discovered your product too late. What about us? We want the coin, not a price drop. We don’t want the light version, the you’re too late version, if you had found out about us earlier version, even if you save us a bit of money. We want the coin and we are willing to pay more for the privilege. Would you consider another run? I’d happily prepay for the item if that is what it takes.
No. To do another run would cost me upwards of $5,000. They’re gone, sorry. I dropped the price and that’s about all I can do.
It’s rare I’ve had to do a public apology but I owe you one for not taking that into account. Please forgive my fustration like so many who discover this great project just a bit too late and end up demanding the unreasonable. The cost of $5000 is a lot and neither I nor anyone else has the right to demand you put this burden on yourself. You have no doubt spent a lot to make this project a reality and we are grateful. I would be happy to purchase the DVD set and enjoy the early days once again. As for the coin, in the years to come, I hope a few end up on the secondary market. Cross fingers.