Bee Movie HD DVD slips through cracks, goes for $400
By Darren Murph 
posted Mar 13th 2008 9:58AM
posted Mar 13th 2008 9:58AM
We'll be honest, we can't exactly recall what the going rate on rare Betamax tapes was soon after VHS took over, but it seems that one HD DVD fanatic was willing to shell out quite a bundle in order to take home a presumably canceled version of Bee Movie. In a war that saw some 23 bids fly in, one particularly fortunate eBay seller was able to move a copy of Seinfeld's latest on the now-deceased format for $400 -- we think. Curiously enough, the seller didn't specifically mention that it was the HD version in a publicly answered question, and even more suspicious was the fact that he / she chose to end the auction early despite the chance of it soaring even higher. Here's to hoping the winning bidder both reads this and gets the film they purchased, but let's see some actual pictures as soon as it arrives, cool?[Thanks, Mack S.]
1. It's Bee Movie.
2. It has Jerry Seinfield in it.
3. It's on HD-DVD.
None of those factors on its own would push it's value up past zero, let alone in combination. eBay users are retards.
I got Raiders of the Lost Ark on Beta for $0.25 at my book store.
With the exception of Records, dead formats don't go up in value. Ever.
Sorry if this offends anyone but,
Who would spend $400 on this film? What are they? Retarded?
Potential collector's value?
I think the proper term would be "Bee-tarded"
Or your average eBay saboteur...
You couldn't pay me $400 to watch that steaming pile of a movie.
With NBS and the stupid Jerry Seinfeld whoring that movie out non-stop on every commercial break for a month or so, I will never watch that movie.
so since zargon has declined, I'll take the $400 and a box of popcorn, please :)
I actually fell asleep watching this movie on Tuesday. However, the quality of the cgi is amazing. There's a lot of detail in there. I probably would not buy the HD version of it whenever it sees the light of day though.
Unless it came with a free kick to the box, why bother!
I've seen this around on other sites, he lists a UPC code, which you can look up, which I did on google, and found other sites listing that UPC code which in turn came to be the Bee Movie HD DVD
http://www.playic.com/shop-bee_movie_hd_dvd_dvd-265074.html
http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Bee_Movie_Steve_Hickner
UPC:097361322940
And nobody could have looked that up and included it in the auction to make it seem more authentic?
Even if the movie was fantastic I would have passed on that piss poor auction! I mean include a REAL picture of the item! CamPhone, Digital Camera, Scanner, WebCam pic, SOMETHING other than a fake "Stock" image.
I am really suspicious.
1. It *looks* photoshopped. Look at the read link. It's set at a white background and it's not a photograph. Looks like the seller just nabbed a picture of it on Google Images.
2. Eagle-eyed readers can notice a different level of pixelation. To me, I could see that the yellow part is clearer and the red border is blurrier, especially the HD-DVD logo. (Correct me if I'm wrong. My monitor could be doing things.)
3. Did he or she or it provide pictures of the inside of the box? Any proof? NO! I hope the buyer posts pictures. I'm going to watch this.
Well, to be (somewhat) fair it does day "stock photo" under the picture.
use your "eagle eyes" to read "stock photo"
Anybody notice the summary says it's a 2-disc set? That may not sound strange to some people, but let me reiterate: 30 Gigabytes worth of content for Bee Movie?
@Jason:
I did not know what stock photo meant until I googled it just now. My mistake.
@Ed
How BAD is Bee Movie?
This is almost as crazy as that +$7000 USB stick they just had on here
where? I've been looking for that!
...does it come with an escort.
oops I meant +$5000. And just when you were getting excited!
Download your own copy from the internets! lol.
Yes, the ford escort is included in the purchase price. very tantalizing
Step 1: Download Blu-ray Version of crappy movie.
Step 2: Convert to HD-DVD format and burn to disc.
Step 3: Ebay crappy movie on HD-DVD.
Step 4: Profit!
You are a stupid idiot! I'd be surprise if MPAA won't knock on your door the next day
@ tom
You're a moron for thinking people don't actually do this.
HD-DVD burners and blank media are kind of hard to come by aren't they?
There's no Blu-ray version. Time for a new step 1.
That’s not rare. I know someone with a pristine copy of the Michael Jackson Sega Genesis game that plans to put it on the eBay after (according to him) “Jocko kicks the bucket”...
Yeah? The local mom & pop game store has a BIN full of those just sitting around for $2.50 a pop. I think your friend will be out of luck.
The bidding history looks off.
As for Betamax movies? My brother and I had a couple betamax machines, and a friend of his that worked at a video rental store (remember those?) gave him a large box of Beta movies for nothing, just to get the movies out of the store.
There were some 'good' movies in there, like Ladyhawk, Dragonslayer, Fletch, and for some reason, a Steve Wallace comedy tape. HD-DVD's are worthless, not like laserdiscs. Wait around and you will get these movies for a dime a dozen.
Not sure why people would overpay for this... It's not going to be worth anything no matter what. It's not even the last HD-DVD made, Warner still releasing movies (like I Am Legend) until May. And even that, some small company will probably make an HD-DVD after Warner quits too.
So really what makes this special is a particular rather crappy movie on HD-DVD.
Seems a fraud to me. Buyer should complain - just look at the bid history...
It just goes to show how fanboys will never give up or quit, even when beaten by total defeat.
Never give up! Never surrender!
Same thing I said in a previous Engadget post in "Paramount & Dreamworks HD DVD support ends March 4." Bee Movie HD DVD was already pressed, this was simply taken from a pressing plant or a store that was mistakenly sent a shipment... or better yet, from the dumpster outside said pressing plant.
Other items from this same seller:
"Carmen Electra's Aerobic Striptease DVD set + 2 DVDs"
"Position of the Day and Sexy Coupon Book"
Are either of these titles in HD-DVD? :)
I find myself hoping the person who bid $400 gets screwed, because it's pretty fricking stupid to spend $400 on ANY HD-DVD right now.
Collectibility? Oh, yeah. In the future, people will be searching high and low for the elusive missing copy of "Bee Movie" on HD-DVD. Right next to that ultra rare copy of "Days of Thunder" on UMD, and the oh-so-special copy of "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory" on Laserdisc.
And if you like Seinfeld SO much that you'd pay $380 more for this movie on HD-DVD than you would on DVD, then you're wacky in the head, and very likely an eccentric millionaire who has 24 hours to spend all his money so you can inherit your insane uncle's estate.
brewsters millions?
Wow, forget if this is real or not, but I can't believe how many Bee Movie/Jerry Seinfeld haters are on Engadget. Wow, you guys oughta be ashamed...!
...and the guys in the fulfillment warehouse that still have 100,000 cases of these sitting on palettes somewhere are scratching their heads.
corrected:
"...and the guys in the fulfillment warehouse that still have 99,999 cases of these sitting on palettes are scratching their heads."
Blu-ray player ~$400 (PS3?)
Bee Movie ~$25
Total: $425
Yup, better off just buying a $400 version of Bee Movie
see.. now, stuff like this should only be available in japan.
all the cool stuff should be everywhere else. and, if people make cool stuff, exclude japan because they've been doing it to the world for the longest time, imo.
so... HD DVD is junk huh? Hey I just picked up a Xbox HD player for $50. Who wants to sell me their "worthless" movies for pennies on the dollar? ;p
laser disks are still worth quite a bit (the hd ones anyways) there are people that would argue that they are still the best looking format (the only analog hd media format out there I think.. ) but they offer something different than dvd or hd dvd... what does hd dvd offer that bluray doesn't???
whoever bought this is a moron... unless they are skrewin with the auction...
classic : )
well, HD DVD always had players that were a $400 Bee Movie cheaper than comparable Blu-Ray players.
I am not surprised by those trying to trap the eBay seller into unwrapping the movie, on the pretense that the seller needs to post pics of the insides. Of course, once unwrapped, it is no longer "new". If I was the lucky seller, I would certainly not unwrap it just to please people would would never bid on it anyway.
oomg so funny, if you go to amazon or walmart they have this movie for 25 dollars on hd-dvd!