Only one of the following news articles actually occurred:
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Ford CEO Alan Mulally has slammed the pre-owned car market, stating it has no benefit for car manufacturers.
Dealerships are able to cut out the automobile makers and make a higher margin on second hand sales, often reselling cars multiple times, he added.
“The pre-owned market is a serious problem, because there is no benefit to any of the Ford brands,” Mulally told USA Today.
“A car lot makes a bigger margin on a pre-owned vehicle, and can sell them six or seven times, so there is no incentive for them to reorder and the manufacturer gets no slice of the action.”
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EMI Group head Guy Hands has slammed the pre-owned music market, stating it has no benefit for record labels or musicians.
Record stores are able to cut out the labels and make a higher margin on second hand sales, often reselling CDs multiple times, he added.
“The pre-owned market is a serious problem, because there is no benefit to any of the labels,” Hands told CMJ.
“Music stores make a bigger margin on pre-owned music, and can sell them six or seven times, so there is no incentive for them to reorder and the musician and label gets no slice of the action.”
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Random House Chairman Markus Dohle has slammed the pre-owned book market, stating it has no benefit for publishers or authors.
Bookstores are able to cut out the publishers and make a higher margin on second hand sales, often reselling books multiple times, he added.
“The pre-owned market is a serious problem, because there is no benefit to any of the major publishing houses,” Dohle told the Wall Street Journal.
“Book retailers make a bigger margin on pre-owned books, and can sell them six or seven times, so there is no incentive for them to reorder and the content creator gets no slice of the action.”
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Eidos life president Ian Livingstone has slammed the pre-owned retail market, stating it has no benefit for developers or publishers.
Retailers are able to cut out the creators and publishers of the product and make a higher margin on second hand sales, often reselling titles multiple times, he added.
“The pre-owned market is a serious problem, because there is no benefit to developers or publishers,” Livingstone told the BBC.
“A shop makes a bigger margin on a pre-owned title, and can sell them six or seven times, so there is no incentive for them to reorder and the content creator gets no slice of the action.”
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Edward A. Romano, President and COO of Warner Brothers, has slammed the pre-owned DVD market, stating it has no benefit for studios or directors.
Video stores are able to cut out the production houses and make a higher margin on second hand sales, often reselling DVDs multiple times, he added.
“The pre-owned market is a serious problem, because there is no benefit to any of the studios,” Mulally told Variety.
“DVD shops make a bigger margin on pre-owned movies, and can sell them six or seven times, so there is no incentive for them to reorder and those who made the movie gets no slice of the action.”
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The answer: only the president of Eidos is this thick.
Two related thoughts:
- To say there’s no benefit for game makers in the pre-owned aftermarket is patently false. The gaming industry has a healthy model for selling additional content for games – something that cars, music, books, and movies don’t really have. Games also tend to live and die by the health of online communities, where having a constant stream of people playing it is to the benefit of the franchise.
- Games distributed over XBLA/PSN/WiiWare/Steam don’t have the ability to be resold. They also don’t retail for $60, typically. If you want to remove the right to resell, the market is fine with that, so long as your games are priced and distributed appropriately.