In recent years, unusual posters have started to appear in Montreal, attached to lampposts and street signs. It reads, scribbled in permanent marker, “I choose eBay” and “The DVD pro”.
The “DVD pro” is Jean-François Hall. He describes himself as a “dinosaur” who doesn’t subscribe to streaming platforms, and claims to have sold more than 50,000 DVDs in the past three years. Mr. Hall speaks to a population of collectors and movie buffs who cling to technology that for years has been on the brink of extinction. Even though DVD sales have fallen, there appears to be an online community growing of people who prefer to watch their movies offline. “I don’t think DVDs are going to disappear. I think, on the contrary, that they will be like vinyl records, they will come back a little stronger,” said Mr. Hall in a recent interview. “Because people will fall into a nostalgia mode where they will realize that the films they knew are not available anywhere.” This is how he transformed himself into a sort of DVD guru, using his traditional marketing strategy to attract other dinosaurs to a business he does exclusively online.
Mr. Hall, 42, runs his business from a claustrophobic basement apartment in Montreal. Cases of DVDs – around 7,000 – fill the front room and the hallway that leads to his living quarters. There are a lot of familiar titles, arranged somewhat randomly. A crate of TV series – “Game of Thrones,” “Friends,” “Lost” – sits next to the Christmas collection, which includes several copies of “Mom, I Missed the Plane.” » and “Miracle on 34th Street”. Most of Mr. Hall’s DVDs sell for a few dollars each, but rare titles command a much higher price. During the interview, he pulled out an unopened copy of the 2011 Quebec film “La Run,” about a drug smuggling operation, which he said is worth about $80.
For Mr. Hall, it all started by chance. Three years ago, one of his neighbors was evicted and threw his collection of thousands of DVDs on the sidewalk. Seeing an opportunity, Mr. Hall filled a few trash bags and began selling about 1,500 films on Facebook Marketplace. He began pursuing the case after undergoing surgery a few months later, while on break from his job as a technician on film productions in Quebec. He now buys his DVDs in bulk at pawn shops and thrift stores, as well as from the legions of people who contact him to get rid of their own collections.
An industry in decline
From Marketplace he moved to eBay, where he now receives orders from across the country. He hopes to break into the American market soon. “It’s very, very profitable,” he said, although he declined to give figures. “I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t worth it.” Mr. Hall said some of his clients are collectors who want to leave a cinematic legacy for their children. Others are looking for specific titles – perhaps favorites from their childhood – that they can’t find on streaming platforms. “Before, there were video rental stores. But it no longer exists, so they have no choice but to buy them,” he explained.
Mr. Hall still pays for cable television and has a personal collection of 200 to 300 DVDs, with a few VHS tapes. During the interview, he wore a sweater that read: “DVDs must not disappear.” “I like having them,” he said. I like having 50 films in front of me and being able to choose.” DVD sales have been in free fall for years. The Digital Entertainment Group, an American association, reported $451 million in physical media sales in the United States in the first half of 2024, compared to $580 million last year. In 2023, Netflix ended its DVD service and Best Buy announced it was stopping DVD and Blu-ray sales.
The lure of nostalgia
Still, there is a thriving online community of DVD collectors and movie buffs who provide a steady customer base for Mr. Hall and other sellers like him. On the social network Reddit, a community of DVD collectors now numbers more than 400,000 people, up from fewer than 50,000 at the start of 2020. “I think a lot of people have a nostalgic connection to a viewing experience linked to a type media,” said Éric Falardeau, lecturer in cinema at Laval University. There is no shortage of examples of older technologies experiencing a revival. Sales of vinyl records are on the rise. Retro games are in full swing. Even audio cassettes are on the rise.
But DVDs? Katharina Niemeyer, professor at the School of Media at the University of Quebec in Montreal, is not so sure. Part of the appeal of vinyl records, she says, is the tactile experience of turning them over and placing the needle. DVDs may not be analog enough to compete. “I don’t think there will be a big comeback,” she said. Mr. Hall runs a low-budget business, but perhaps that’s part of his charm. Its ads, written in blue and black ink on the backs of old election campaign signs, were designed as a cheap way to attract attention. His handwritten tributes to a dying technology earned him a certain notoriety in Montreal.
He knows he’s serving a niche market, but he doesn’t mind. “That the majority of people don’t want it, that doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “There will always be people who want to buy them.”
Caption and photo credit: Jean-François Hall poses next to crates of DVDs in his Montreal home, December 12, 2024. Hall buys and sells DVDs on eBay and Facebook. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
Related News :