Bee Movie HD DVD slips through cracks, goes for $400

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.]

[Dale @ Mar 13th 2008 10:03AM]

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.

[Ray @ Mar 13th 2008 5:28PM]

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.

[lonecow @ Mar 13th 2008 10:03AM]

Sorry if this offends anyone but,

Who would spend $400 on this film? What are they? Retarded?

[Josh* @ Mar 13th 2008 12:54PM]

Potential collector's value?

[stephen @ Mar 13th 2008 1:06PM]

I think the proper term would be "Bee-tarded"

[Cal @ Mar 13th 2008 1:43PM]

Or your average eBay saboteur...

[zargon @ Mar 13th 2008 10:06AM]

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.

[Dustin @ Mar 17th 2008 12:43AM]

so since zargon has declined, I'll take the $400 and a box of popcorn, please :)

[Rob @ Mar 13th 2008 10:09AM]

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.

[Khris @ Mar 13th 2008 10:10AM]

Unless it came with a free kick to the box, why bother!

[Aguiluz @ Mar 13th 2008 10:20AM]

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.

[Mojo_Yugen @ Mar 13th 2008 10:51AM]

Well, to be (somewhat) fair it does day "stock photo" under the picture.

[jason @ Mar 13th 2008 6:04PM]

use your "eagle eyes" to read "stock photo"

[Ed @ Mar 13th 2008 6:10PM]

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?

[Aguiluz @ Mar 13th 2008 10:23PM]

@Jason:

I did not know what stock photo meant until I googled it just now. My mistake.

@Ed

How BAD is Bee Movie?

[Brent @ Mar 13th 2008 10:20AM]

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

[TavisJohn @ Mar 13th 2008 12:11PM]

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.

[ssdforums @ Mar 13th 2008 10:25AM]

This is almost as crazy as that +$7000 USB stick they just had on here

[OneLove @ Mar 13th 2008 10:26AM]

where? I've been looking for that!

[OneLove @ Mar 13th 2008 10:27AM]

...does it come with an escort.

[www.ssdforums.com @ Mar 13th 2008 10:27AM]

oops I meant +$5000. And just when you were getting excited!

[OneLove @ Mar 13th 2008 10:25AM]

Download your own copy from the internets! lol.

[www.ssdforums.com @ Mar 13th 2008 10:28AM]

Yes, the ford escort is included in the purchase price. very tantalizing

[Jag @ Mar 13th 2008 10:30AM]

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!

[tom @ Mar 13th 2008 10:40AM]

You are a stupid idiot! I'd be surprise if MPAA won't knock on your door the next day

[Khris @ Mar 13th 2008 11:02AM]

@ tom

You're a moron for thinking people don't actually do this.

[JT @ Mar 13th 2008 11:21AM]

HD-DVD burners and blank media are kind of hard to come by aren't they?

[Chris @ Mar 13th 2008 3:47PM]

There's no Blu-ray version. Time for a new step 1.

[Frankenstein Black @ Mar 13th 2008 10:37AM]

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”...

[ZeroCorpse @ Mar 13th 2008 12:55PM]

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.

[proton @ Mar 13th 2008 11:18AM]

The bidding history looks off.

[Bill @ Mar 13th 2008 11:23AM]

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.

[why not the LS2LS7? @ Mar 13th 2008 11:28AM]

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.

[me3 @ Mar 13th 2008 12:02PM]

Seems a fraud to me. Buyer should complain - just look at the bid history...

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Mar 13th 2008 12:13PM]

It just goes to show how fanboys will never give up or quit, even when beaten by total defeat.

[phanbouy @ Mar 13th 2008 3:55PM]

Never give up! Never surrender!

[o rly @ Mar 13th 2008 12:19PM]

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.

[chainofcommand02 @ Mar 13th 2008 12:19PM]

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? :)

[ZeroCorpse @ Mar 13th 2008 12:53PM]

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.

[mopo @ Mar 13th 2008 10:29PM]

brewsters millions?

[modenadude @ Mar 13th 2008 1:07PM]

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...!

[Sukhminder @ Mar 13th 2008 1:13PM]

Blu-ray player ~$400 (PS3?)
Bee Movie ~$25
Total: $425

Yup, better off just buying a $400 version of Bee Movie

[fuma @ Mar 13th 2008 1:13PM]

...and the guys in the fulfillment warehouse that still have 100,000 cases of these sitting on palettes somewhere are scratching their heads.

[whatishalo? @ Mar 13th 2008 1:20PM]

corrected:

"...and the guys in the fulfillment warehouse that still have 99,999 cases of these sitting on palettes are scratching their heads."

[blackfeathers @ Mar 13th 2008 3:31PM]

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.

[phanbouy @ Mar 13th 2008 3:56PM]

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

[jason @ Mar 13th 2008 6:11PM]

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 : )

[Jared @ Mar 13th 2008 6:40PM]

well, HD DVD always had players that were a $400 Bee Movie cheaper than comparable Blu-Ray players.

[Walt @ Mar 14th 2008 9:44AM]

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.

[Adam @ Mar 21st 2008 11:56PM]

oomg so funny, if you go to amazon or walmart they have this movie for 25 dollars on hd-dvd!