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GAY PORN SALES ARE UP SO WHY IS REVENUE DOWN?
By: Andy Powell, Staff Writer - 02-10-10 - 8:50 a.m. PDT

Email Andy@JRLChartsonline.com

Over the past three months, wholesale distributors have been bombarded with specials from gay porn studios to push their brands.

Wholesale distributors on the other hand have been stressing because while sales have been good, receivables have been down.

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Some of the major brands of our marketplace are faxing, emailing and telemarketing specials to move units through the major distributors in our industry.

Of course this isn't anything new because retailers are use to receiving specials daily from their sales representatives on what they have to offer for that given day. But over the past three months, studios are feeling the pinch of cash flow because the distributors aren't paying them due to the fact that they themselves are waiting to get paid from their retail vendors.

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You have major retail chain outlets that have always had a good reputation for paying on time now caught in the loop of slow payers. With a number of amateur gay porn studios closing shop and the less quality gay porn productions falling off of the radar, established studios are seeing a bit of relief from the competition sector.

Back in 1998, you had a handful of gay porn studios releasing titles every week. Now you have close to 150 companies fighting for sales every week or every other week. Retailers have stated with vigor that they are not interested in catalog titles! They want New Release titles only. As the old saying goes, "I'll sell you catalog titles"!

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That's how retailers are feeling about the marketplace right now. While yes, they've always been on the look out for bargains, merchants are forced to listen to their customers who want New Release gay porn titles.

The old saying of "If you're customer have never seen it, it's a new release for them" are over! Gay consumers as well as retail store merchants are being very selective in their purchasing from wholesale distributors.

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Bareback content used to be automatic stock and now, distributors are having to push the bareback titles because retailers are finding that gay consumers are not happy with the content and are moving more and more towards condom features, pissing and fisting titles.

Remember gay porn studio outlets, watch your specials that you are offering wholesale distributors and major chain retailers. Once you've dropped your prices, it is extremely difficult to get them back up again.

Vendors feel that "Why Should I Pay you double the Price of what I pay for Straight Porn?".

The reason vendors are saying this is because the gay market is now producing titles that compare in the heterosexual marketplace. This was bound to happen because as with any market, the more saturated a marketplace gets, prices are bound to start coming down.

Studios who mainly push catalog features can enjoy profits as long as their overhead is low. If you own over 1,000 titles in your library you should be able to turn a nice profit so don't get discouraged by these reports. Classics will always be classics! Just keep in mind what the marketplace is supporting right now.

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NOVELTIES: While yes, many retail outlets are moving toward boutique style retail stores because consumers are now focusing their sexual pleasures on love toys, they to are having problems collecting. So, what is a distributor or manufacturer suppose to think?

Sells are up but why aren't the merchants paying? In defense of merchants, they don't make as much profit off of novelties as they do DVD sales but, they have been able to move more units in the novelty genre due to the fact that DVD's are so easily available online.

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Another thing retailers are complaining about is that studios are loading their DVD packaging with tons of incentives to purchase directly from them via their web site or mail order. Retailers feel that they are getting cheated because they feel that if they are spending the money to stock a studio's catalog why are studios trying to take them the retailer out of the marketplace by attempting to get their customers to go directly to them by passing the retail establishment entirely. Is it right or is it wrong? You decide!

Studios have the right to promote their brands in their own packages but they have to keep in mind that the retailer is responsible for moving those units through their stores. These are things that you have to keep in mind when you are packaging your products for retailers world wide.

You have gay distribution outlets that are selling New Release gay porn titles to merchants between $ 10.00-$ 23.00 based on a minimum buy! While you have others who stick firmly to the traditional prices which range between $ 23.00 - $ 28.00 per unit based on minimum buy.

While it is essential for studios to move their units through wholesale distributors, make sure to remember not to decrease the value of your brand. If you drop your prices every week, eventually you will price your brand out of the marketplace.

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For a reminder, think back to the 90's when Leisure Time pushed millions of units out the door for almost $ 0.98 per unit. Those days have been gone now for over a decade and there is a good reason why.

Consumers are not stupid! Putting a new cover on a movie doesn't change the content of the movie! When both consumers and retailers see studios doing this, they usually get black balled! You can't afford to have that happen to your studio. Be very cautious with that type of business practice.

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We'll keep monitoring the situation over the next few weeks and I will be reporting on what retailers are saying about the marketplace.

The first quarter of 2010 is almost over so let's make the best of it and target your brand to distributors with great specials, quality productions and customer service.