To all DVD producers..Beware of Old Pueblo Distribution...SCAM ALERT

[amacontent]

If you want full story feel free to ICQ me and Ill supply neccessary prooof.. I am sick of people telling me stories about what happened to them that it also happened to me. When I was unaware and brand new in this buisness of dvd retail..Arnold Stein from Arizona, approached me and gave me this great speech about distributing my dvds. Well to make a long story short, He had us ship 600 dvds out to his customers and we invoiced them , after we were paid we was to cut Arnold an agreed 25%. Problem is he was invoicing customers also saying a mistake was made and they were to pay him, not me. As months went by and I was asking about payment , he said its normal to wait up to 180 days to be paid..WHEN IN FACT , he was laready paid for mu product. I found this out from the rash of paid checks the people sent me saying they paid OPD. He even went as far as saying that HE in fact produced these dvds and were his.. listed on his website as his.

Then we meet up at LA Erotica last June. I made him a deal that id sell him 3 titles.. 1000 of each one. at a price of $6 ea for 2 of the titles and $5ea for 1 of them with the agreement Im paid withing 30 days. Well at 30 days he then proceeds to tell my employeee that I agreed to a minimum of 90 days thinking I would play dumb. When I called his bluff , he then said well, im just gonna return a bunch, which he returned alot. Now I needed the money then but in all reality the deal and price was based on 1000 piece order per title. I then had to make payment arrangements with him which of course were broken many times before finally being resolved.

This guy is a piece of human shit and thrives on new people in this end of the biz who do not know any better. So stay clear of his bullshit. More to come im sure.

Many of the retailers I deal with now say they refuse to deal with him. So

[blazi]

thanks for the heads up!!

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Damn...that sucks.

Just curious - why sell DVDs for $6 each? It cost over a dollar apiece just to replicate them, and I'm assuming you spent at least around $15,000 to produce each DVD.

The Distributor had no upfront expenses as you did, and they stand to make a 50%-100% profit...I'm surprised they are still scamming you, instead of moving your product and paying you in a timely manner, while thanking you for your generous deal.

Give me a call next week Joe...

ADG Webmaster

[Sebastian Sands]

Arnie, he is one funny dude.. He will smile in your face and promisse you the world. Just don't turn around because he will stab that knife right in your back. I know, been there done that.

[C H R I S]

Damn...that sucks.

Just curious - why sell DVDs for $6 each? It cost over a dollar apiece just to replicate them, and I'm assuming you spent at least around $15,000 to produce each DVD.

The Distributor had no upfront expenses as you did, and they stand to make a 50%-100% profit...I'm surprised they are still scamming you, instead of moving your product and paying you in a timely manner, while thanking you for your generous deal.

Give me a call next week Joe...

ADG Webmaster

You can get replication as low as .50 per unit with packaging. (depending on volume)

[Halcyon]

fuuuuck.

Thanks, Joe. As someone who knows NOTHING about it, but is looking into DVD distribution options, this is super helpful.

[Sebastian Sands]

Damn...that sucks.

Just curious - why sell DVDs for $6 each? It cost over a dollar apiece just to replicate them, and I'm assuming you spent at least around $15,000 to produce each DVD.

The Distributor had no upfront expenses as you did, and they stand to make a 50%-100% profit...I'm surprised they are still scamming you, instead of moving your product and paying you in a timely manner, while thanking you for your generous deal.

Give me a call next week Joe...

ADG Webmaster

Having a DVD distribution deal is not bad at all. Being on the web and being able to sell that content to stores world wide also is just another way to generate money. Distribution is a partnership deal and should be done with people you can trust. Selling to a distributor at $6.00 a piece based on 1000 pieces is not bad the distributor sells to stores anywhere between $8.00 and $12.00 a piece. Depending on the title and content. In this case he would sell 3000 pieces and cash in 17k, not bad. Distibutors do all the work as far as calling their contacts and stores and also make licensing deals in foreign countries which can be VERY lucrative.

And don't forget you can push your websites through your own DVD's as well. Just another way of creating more revenue. Just be carefull who you do business with. If you do go into this part of the business then make a deal for one title and have the distributor show what he can do with it before you push all your stuff through that same door. That's what I have learned from it.

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

You can get replication as low as .50 per unit with packaging. (depending on volume)

Where and at what quantity? I was talking about DVD-9, since to do a decent 2 hour DVD-5 means compressing the hell out of the data.

If DVD-9 can be done at less than a dollar, e-mail me and get some business.

Even so, why sell your content at $6 a pop, even if you save .75 cents on the replication? Producers need to hold the line...

ADG Webmaster

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Having a DVD distribution deal is not bad at all. Being on the web and being able to sell that content to stores world wide also is just another way to generate money. Distribution is a partnership deal and should be done with people you can trust. Selling to a distributor at $6.00 a piece based on 1000 pieces is not bad the distributor sells to stores anywhere between $8.00 and $12.00 a piece. Depending on the title and content. In this case he would sell 3000 pieces and cash in 17k, not bad. Distibutors do all the work as far as calling their contacts and stores and also make licensing deals in foreign countries which can be VERY lucrative.

I had a Distributor tell me that he wanted to buy product at $2-$3 a pop. What an insult! Then I checked with retailers and it turns out he was selling similar product for average around $15 a title.

If it costs you around $15k to produce a DVD (not counting your labor even), and after selling 3,000 units (about average for a DVD title), you only gross $17k, then that is fucked.

ADG Webmaster

[AlienQ - BANNED FOR LIFE]

Good to know.

[Sebastian Sands]

I had a Distributor tell me that he wanted to buy product at $2-$3 a pop. What an insult! Then I checked with retailers and it turns out he was selling similar product for average around $15 a title.

If it costs you around $15k to produce a DVD (not counting your labor even), and after selling 3,000 units (about average for a DVD title), you only gross $17k, then that is fucked.

ADG Webmaster

The 17k example was in the above situation. Ofcourse it depends on the quality of your product, the niche you are in etc plenty of factors that make your product worth a certain amount of money.

Look at it this way, let's say you have a good title and it cost you 15k like you just stated. then the first 15 k you make is breaking even. I assume you do that on the web now. (I am assuming because I do not know your situation, so don't take it wrong). then there is your DVD distribution deal. A good title could do 5000 pieces US based sales. Let's keep the $6.00 price per pc. That's 30k. Then a good distributor will make foreign deals. Some distributors sell pieces to other distributors in foreign countries but a GOOD distributor will sell a license for a particular country.

Now you start pulling in some serious cash, Holland about $1500 per title, Germany about $5000 per title, Italy about $3500 per title. Well you get the idea, once you are doen whoring your title out that cost you 15 k you can made that back times 10.

The trick is not to get screwed over, how do you know if your distibutor sold a license to some country you never heard about for a few G's? It's a tricky business.

I am not trying to attack you AsianDivaGirlsWebDude, just showing you that when done right there is a ton of money in DVD's. And then we are not even talking about all the other rights a good distributor sells. Pay Per View channels. Hotel chains etc.

[After Shock Media]

I am just going to keep my mouth shut about per unit pricing, averages, and so on. I know those that deal in this understand real world pricing and costs.

[DeanCapture]

Always ask for references people - "always"!

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

The 17k example was in the above situation. Ofcourse it depends on the quality of your product, the niche you are in etc plenty of factors that make your product worth a certain amount of money.

Look at it this way, let's say you have a good title and it cost you 15k like you just stated. then the first 15 k you make is breaking even. I assume you do that on the web now. (I am assuming because I do not know your situation, so don't take it wrong). then there is your DVD distribution deal. A good title could do 5000 pieces US based sales. Let's keep the $6.00 price per pc. That's 30k. Then a good distributor will make foreign deals. Some distributors sell pieces to other distributors in foreign countries but a GOOD distributor will sell a license for a particular country.

Now you start pulling in some serious cash, Holland about $1500 per title, Germany about $5000 per title, Italy about $3500 per title. Well you get the idea, once you are doen whoring your title out that cost you 15 k you can made that back times 10.

The trick is not to get screwed over, how do you know if your distibutor sold a license to some country you never heard about for a few G's? It's a tricky business.

I am not trying to attack you AsianDivaGirlsWebDude, just showing you that when done right there is a ton of money in DVD's. And then we are not even talking about all the other rights a good distributor sells. Pay Per View channels. Hotel chains etc.

I welcome your comments Sebastian. I didn't take them as an attack. Personally, as a Producer I feel that Producers should be able to make a decent ROI for creating original content, because in most cases in the U.S. it is not cheap to create content.

When a Distributor makes more than a Producer, I consider that to be almost a crime. I would rather hire somebody to build my own Distribution network than enrich some Distributor who considers my product to be just another widget in their catalog (and who will then try and turnaround and ship product back to me at full cost after getting a volume break).

Love to hear what others have to say about Distribution...and if there are any fair minded Distributors out there, shoot me an e-mail since I will be rolling out at least a dozen new titles this year.

ADG Webmaster

[tony286]

its funny the net is the future but the video seems to be the bigger cash generator. I spoke to another distributor who is very big and was told there is no money in dvd sales. Does that make you want to laugh or what. The video side I have found is very rough.

[bigdog]

its funny the net is the future but the video seems to be the bigger cash generator. I spoke to another distributor who is very big and was told there is no money in dvd sales. Does that make you want to laugh or what. The video side I have found is very rough.

I hear the same thing that the video side is pretty rough. As long as you sell you content on the net and making profit, any dvd money is just some nice extra cash.

[Paul Markham]

The 17k example was in the above situation. Ofcourse it depends on the quality of your product, the niche you are in etc plenty of factors that make your product worth a certain amount of money.

Look at it this way, let's say you have a good title and it cost you 15k like you just stated. then the first 15 k you make is breaking even. I assume you do that on the web now. (I am assuming because I do not know your situation, so don't take it wrong). then there is your DVD distribution deal. A good title could do 5000 pieces US based sales. Let's keep the $6.00 price per pc. That's 30k. Then a good distributor will make foreign deals. Some distributors sell pieces to other distributors in foreign countries but a GOOD distributor will sell a license for a particular country.

Now you start pulling in some serious cash, Holland about $1500 per title, Germany about $5000 per title, Italy about $3500 per title. Well you get the idea, once you are doen whoring your title out that cost you 15 k you can made that back times 10.

The trick is not to get screwed over, how do you know if your distibutor sold a license to some country you never heard about for a few G's? It's a tricky business.

I am not trying to attack you AsianDivaGirlsWebDude, just showing you that when done right there is a ton of money in DVD's. And then we are not even talking about all the other rights a good distributor sells. Pay Per View channels. Hotel chains etc.

This guy has a clue.

ADG why do you think I own a content store rather than shoot exclusive for peanuts?

tony404 & bigdog
In the DVD market you're competing at a higher level than on the Internet. No money in DVDs? Go tell Private, Digital Playground, Evil Angel, Annabollic, Wicked, Vivid, and so many more.

[mrxp]

darn sorry Joe I could have warned you about them a year ago. Fivestar dist is also a bad pay & Howard Taylor of Frenzy films is the reason Lava Releasing went under & he embazzeded all producers revenues for 8 months (owes me about $40k). It just kinda how these distributors work (ponzi schemes) & then they all go running with their tails between their legs at the AVN shows. I guess they are lucky all the parking lots in Vegas have cameras.

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

This guy has a clue.

ADG why do you think I own a content store rather than shoot exclusive for peanuts?

tony404 & bigdog
In the DVD market you're competing at a higher level than on the Internet. No money in DVDs? Go tell Private, Digital Playground, Evil Angel, Annabollic, Wicked, Vivid, and so many more.

Hi Paul...thanks for weighing in...

You are among the more prolific, and I assume more profitable, non-exclusive content producers. I'm assuming the vast majority of your product ends up on multiple web sites around the net.

As I understand it, in the good old (bad old) 8mm loop days, the men in dark hats ran most of the adult movie biz.

Then along came Alex DeRenzy (RIP) and a host of other feature Directors that were able to produce high quality content independently that was shown in adult movie theaters.

Next came the VHS video wave of gonzo type producers, like Ed Powers etc...

Distribution became a whole different game (although I have heard that video bootlegging was all around).

With DVD, the technological hurdles for duplicating were higher, plus many new distrbutors had sprung up. Distribution went through a new form of upheaval.

With the advent of broadband Video On Demand the entire game is changing yet again.

I think a good distribution tier is that a producer can make at least double their investment, distributors double again, and retailers double again. The problem that I see is that many of the Distributors (as middle men if you will, between the Producer/wholesaler, and retailer/rental seller), get greedy and gouge on both ends.

I guess a good question to pose is, who are the best Distributors (in terms of profitablity to the Producers), or should more Producers focus on direct sales to retailers?

ADG Webmaster

[The Ghost]

Hi Paul...thanks for weighing in...

You are among the more prolific, and I assume more profitable, non-exclusive content producers. I'm assuming the vast majority of your product ends up on multiple web sites around the net.

As I understand it, in the good old (bad old) 8mm loop days, the men in dark hats ran most of the adult movie biz.

Then along came Alex DeRenzy (RIP) and a host of other feature Directors that were able to produce high quality content independently that was shown in adult movie theaters.

Next came the VHS video wave of gonzo type producers, like Ed Powers etc...

Distribution became a whole different game (although I have heard that video bootlegging was all around).

With DVD, the technological hurdles for duplicating were higher, plus many new distrbutors had sprung up. Distribution went through a new form of upheaval.

With the advent of broadband Video On Demand the entire game is changing yet again.

I think a good distribution tier is that a producer can make at least double their investment, distributors double again, and retailers double again. The problem that I see is that many of the Distributors (as middle men if you will, between the Producer/wholesaler, and retailer/rental seller), get greedy and gouge on both ends.

I guess a good question to pose is, who are the best Distributors (in terms of profitablity to the Producers), or should more Producers focus on direct sales to retailers?

ADG Webmaster

Unfortunately, the issues that AMA discussed are all to common in the DVD wholesale/distribution. There are very few distributors that everyone says good things about.

Many distributors carry baggage with them, and some more than others. There are plenty of studios that won't do business with certain distributors for the biggest problem of all, non payment. The largest distributors are especially notorious for this, and often stretch out their terms hoping you'll go under before it's time to pay the bill. This is because they can. Very few studios are in the position to say no for the sake of 180 day terms for an extra (just a number) 400 pieces.

Self distribution brings on a whole new set of challenges. Many distributors and stores don't want to carry your product for the simple fact that it's from a new company. They have enough product to sell and do not need your product to make money. So unless it is amazingly different, they don't care. It takes immense demand and company branding to have a successful release. Most times, a new release DVD will sell under 1000 pieces even after the 90 day mark. Sad but true. Since distributors are typically purchasing DVDs for $8-$12, you can guestimate the math yourself. Make sure you deduct about 30% if you have a wholesaler and packaging and replication costs. Also box design and authoring if you don't do them yourself. There are exceptions to everything, but this is typical. Also, make sure you have a reputible DVD lab that won't backdoor your product. This is also an issue to think about.

It's tough to reinvent the wheel, since anyone who owns an adult store can purchase brand new DVD compilations for $1-$2 and then sell them retail for $20. There are also quite a few features they can pick up for this price. So with limited shelf space and budget, a store can only carry a certain amount of new releases. Since more than 13k DVDs are released each year, valuable shelf space is held at a premium. So factor this with the 13k + released last year... and the year before.... and the year before that, etc.,And the biggest chains and online retailers are very selective about the products they sell and more important, market well themselves.

Obviously retailing the product yourself produces the highest yields, but many consumers already have built in favorite places to shop for their porn. It seems there is always room for either cheap products and ground breaking titles, with most other titles falling somewhere in the middle.

I wrote this fast and am sure there's much much more to add. There has been some great discussions in this thread so far, and I know some of my statements are rather general, but they are from actual events. I welcome more producer and (if any are around) distributor insights.

[bigdog]

This guy has a clue.

ADG why do you think I own a content store rather than shoot exclusive for peanuts?

tony404 & bigdog
In the DVD market you're competing at a higher level than on the Internet. No money in DVDs? Go tell Private, Digital Playground, Evil Angel, Annabollic, Wicked, Vivid, and so many more.

Didn't say there was any money in it. but a lot harder then the Net

[Mutt]

people ask me all the time about getting their DVD's distributed - I don't know alot but what I do know about it is enough to recommend people not to bother - it's a biz filled with shysters and incompetents - distribute your DVD's yourself if you want to enter that part of the biz - if you don't you are sure to get screwed six ways to Sunday.

aren't Old Pueblo and Matrix Content in some kind of partnership?

[Mutt]

In the DVD market you're competing at a higher level than on the Internet. No money in DVDs? Go tell Private, Digital Playground, Evil Angel, Annabollic, Wicked, Vivid, and so many more.

good luck breaking into that league - costs TONS of money. it's also an old boy's network so newcomers and outsiders don't get a fair shake.

average adult DVD these days sells 3000 units - distributor pays 5-7 bucks apiece for them - cost to shoot the five scenes, the replication boxart and jewelcases, etc - very modest return on your investment if any at all - and like the skin magazine biz they decide when they want to pay you.

if you have already made your money on the content on a paysite then there's not much to lose - unless you hate the feeling of being screwed over.

[directfiesta]

ancillary markets

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Excellent post Ghost...

Over my several years in the computer industry I witnessed greedy corporations drive the profit margin down on products from 40%-50% to about 5%. These companies did no real research and development, so they had little overhead, and they outsourced their labor to 3rd world countries. The result was that many of the big players in the business bailed out (or rather switched to products which were less easily cloned).

It's a shame that the tangible goods side of the video industry is apparently also tainted, and worse still, employs some rather shady business practices (slow paying, returns, etc). I had even heard that when VHS was king, they operated their own banks of VCRs to duplicate product, further undercutting the studios they were supposed to be selling product for.

I entered adult because it was an opportunity for me to open my own business with relatively little capital and overhead, and make a good profit from the get go. It is a lot more work than I anticipated, but the profit is still there once you start mastering the methods to make money on the net.

Overall, I see that most independent paysite owners "hold the line" on pricing. I believe this is due to most people being small business people. As the wearer of many hats, they are forced to not only manage the content, but to keep a close eye on the bottom line to remain profitable.

It is mostly the larger corporate sites that have a scorched earth short-term profit approach, which is chopping away at the market to some extent.

I have noticed a trend that larger corporate sites are employing tactics of dumping large amounts of cheap content (much of which is 3rd party content cheaply procured) onto the market for low prices, or offering multiple sites for what would be the cost of one site in the past.

The large amount of free content (which is increasingly free for the consumer, but has some costs for the producer/promoter), also has eroded to some extent the number of people willing to open their pocketbooks to pay for porn.

I'm happy to see that broadband is again expanding the opportunites for independent producers to bring their product directly to consumers, or to enter into deals with the owners of broadband networks which enable them to cut out some of the middlemen, thereby improving the producers bottom line.

Would love to hear who anyone considers to be a good distributor out there (although it also helps to know who to avoid)...

Thanks for the input so far in this thread. Some very insightful and valuable information.

ADG Webmaster

[amacontent]

Heres another couple getting fucked over by Arnold Stein and they tell me hes selling my stuff in Europe...



so he did reip you off too. he has been voding our videos for months and botleging
them, i still have 9k in bounced checks plus he is backing the lawsuit against
rebecca hitlon against us saying we didnt pay them when he never paid us then he
said he never got the product but his signature is on the UPS sheet for all the
boxes.

If you are looking for the rest or you stuff he did to us and i saw yours there too
its on euro phone and box top adult cable overseas and hes getting the money as well
same with our stuff


craig valentine
Summer Haze


Funny thing is Im going to Europe next mionth and beleve me, ill be looking in adult stores to see if my product is there.

[amacontent]

This guy is a piece of shit and needs to be brought down . Its a very tough biz as it is without guys like Arnold fucking newcommers over. Ill keep this thread running with new updates

[Brother Bareback]

Heres another couple getting fucked over by Arnold Stein and they tell me hes selling my stuff in Europe...



so he did reip you off too. he has been voding our videos for months and botleging
them, i still have 9k in bounced checks plus he is backing the lawsuit against
rebecca hitlon against us saying we didnt pay them when he never paid us then he
said he never got the product but his signature is on the UPS sheet for all the
boxes.

If you are looking for the rest or you stuff he did to us and i saw yours there too
its on euro phone and box top adult cable overseas and hes getting the money as well
same with our stuff


craig valentine
Summer Haze


Funny thing is Im going to Europe next mionth and beleve me, ill be looking in adult stores to see if my product is there.

sorry dude, but I can't believe ANYTHING that summer haze and craig valentine say...they themselves are not the best of people to be in business with...almost anyone that has been in business with them ends up hating them, the list grows every day...

[candyflip]

Heres another couple getting fucked over by Arnold Stein and they tell me hes selling my stuff in Europe...



so he did reip you off too. he has been voding our videos for months and botleging
them, i still have 9k in bounced checks plus he is backing the lawsuit against
rebecca hitlon against us saying we didnt pay them when he never paid us then he
said he never got the product but his signature is on the UPS sheet for all the
boxes.

If you are looking for the rest or you stuff he did to us and i saw yours there too
its on euro phone and box top adult cable overseas and hes getting the money as well
same with our stuff


craig valentine
Summer Haze


Funny thing is Im going to Europe next mionth and beleve me, ill be looking in adult stores to see if my product is there.

You both should learn english

[amacontent]

sorry dude, but I can't believe ANYTHING that summer haze and craig valentine say...they themselves are not the best of people to be in business with...almost anyone that has been in business with them ends up hating them, the list grows every day...

Well not sure about that , but in the context of the situation here , i do believe what they are saying. ALot of people talk off the record about Arnold but dont wanna make waves. Im from NYC, Hells Kitchen, I grew up being worried about the drug dealers on my block, and shit like that, so Im an in your face type of guy. Im a very hot head which is not a good thing I know. But thats why im an in your face type of person. This fucker needs to be exposed. Not sure what actual legal action can be done.. but at least people will read about him. Maybe more people will step foward.

[Redrob]

This has been a very enlightening thread. I?d like to add my .

I have over 30 years experience of retail, licensing, manufacturing, and distribution of adult products. I have always made more money when prices are higher and selling quality movies than when promoting bottom dollar, low-end products. I really appreciate a quality movie, book, CD-Rom, or DVD, wholesaled at a reasonable price, handled by a knowledgeable retailer, and sold to an educated customer. I realized a long time ago that in order to have quality movies for sale, everybody in the supply line has to make a reasonable return or the incentive to create and sell dies.

Over these many years, I have developed a direct relationship with hundreds of adult movie companies, distributors and retailers. I count my customers in the hundreds of thousands and business is good. From this experience, I know that there are many caring, wonderful, and thoughtful people in this industry. There are also some of the dregs of humanity?.. Only a cautious approach to doing business with new companies over the years has shown me which is which. And, I must admit that most companies are owned and operated by good people who have integrity.

Now, if I was a website owner-operator, who was considering DVD distribution of their content, I?d look for an established video/DVD company to hook-up with. There are many reasons for this:
1. They have the distribution network in place and can get my product into the major chains.
2. They can handle the DVD replication and packaging.
3. They have a sales force that will push my DVDs along with theirs.
4. They have a payment history that tells me what to expect.
5. They have a staff of lawyers to protect their (and my) intellectual property.

I have already spoken to some of the major companies about taking on webmasters? content and they are interested. Generally, they would like to establish a product line and treat the webmaster as one of their directors. This would mean that the webmaster would have his/her own identity preserved and promote their websites thereby gaining additional name recognition through distribution of their DVD content in the retail environment. Not to mention the ego stoke of having your name associated with industry heavyweights.

The studios that I have spoken to have indicated that they would like to see good, new content with fresh faces with all the 2257s properly completed and filed along with some good still photography for cover art. The content itself can be edited or unedited, HD or SD. Moreover, some of the companies are willing to donate funds for production of new content if they know that they have a long-term relationship with the webmaster/producer in place. Most companies want to outright pay for the product rather than do a long-term percentage deal. This avoids suspicions that someone is cheating and the video studio assumes the risk for reproduction, distribution, and sales. The rights to the content can expire at some agreed to point in the future with all rights reverting back to the original owner. Of course, exactly how your deal is structured is up to you and the studio.

If you?d like to know more, ICQ me. I will give this topic its own thread.

[tony286]

This guy has a clue.

ADG why do you think I own a content store rather than shoot exclusive for peanuts?

tony404 & bigdog
In the DVD market you're competing at a higher level than on the Internet. No money in DVDs? Go tell Private, Digital Playground, Evil Angel, Annabollic, Wicked, Vivid, and so many more.

Do you know how to read, go back to my original post and read it slowly. I was quoting someone else and I found it as ridiculous as you do.

[amacontent]

Damn...that sucks.

Just curious - why sell DVDs for $6 each? It cost over a dollar apiece just to replicate them, and I'm assuming you spent at least around $15,000 to produce each DVD.

The Distributor had no upfront expenses as you did, and they stand to make a 50%-100% profit...I'm surprised they are still scamming you, instead of moving your product and paying you in a timely manner, while thanking you for your generous deal.

Give me a call next week Joe...

ADG Webmaster

Well a 5 scene DVD doesnt cost $15k to produce as I do all the work myself.. and the reason i did a $6 price was he was taking 1000 pieces of each title. Now when you go with a distributor , who is good, after paying the commission, you be left with like $7 or $8.
And Arnold is not a they , its a him , who I found out works out of a 1 bedroom apt in Arizona. His time is coming.

[tony286]

This has been a very enlightening thread. I?d like to add my .

I have over 30 years experience of retail, licensing, manufacturing, and distribution of adult products. I have always made more money when prices are higher and selling quality movies than when promoting bottom dollar, low-end products. I really appreciate a quality movie, book, CD-Rom, or DVD, wholesaled at a reasonable price, handled by a knowledgeable retailer, and sold to an educated customer. I realized a long time ago that in order to have quality movies for sale, everybody in the supply line has to make a reasonable return or the incentive to create and sell dies.

Over these many years, I have developed a direct relationship with hundreds of adult movie companies, distributors and retailers. I count my customers in the hundreds of thousands and business is good. From this experience, I know that there are many caring, wonderful, and thoughtful people in this industry. There are also some of the dregs of humanity?.. Only a cautious approach to doing business with new companies over the years has shown me which is which. And, I must admit that most companies are owned and operated by good people who have integrity.

Now, if I was a website owner-operator, who was considering DVD distribution of their content, I?d look for an established video/DVD company to hook-up with. There are many reasons for this:
1. They have the distribution network in place and can get my product into the major chains.
2. They can handle the DVD replication and packaging.
3. They have a sales force that will push my DVDs along with theirs.
4. They have a payment history that tells me what to expect.
5. They have a staff of lawyers to protect their (and my) intellectual property.

I have already spoken to some of the major companies about taking on webmasters? content and they are interested. Generally, they would like to establish a product line and treat the webmaster as one of their directors. This would mean that the webmaster would have his/her own identity preserved and promote their websites thereby gaining additional name recognition through distribution of their DVD content in the retail environment. Not to mention the ego stoke of having your name associated with industry heavyweights.

The studios that I have spoken to have indicated that they would like to see good, new content with fresh faces with all the 2257s properly completed and filed along with some good still photography for cover art. The content itself can be edited or unedited, HD or SD. Moreover, some of the companies are willing to donate funds for production of new content if they know that they have a long-term relationship with the webmaster/producer in place. Most companies want to outright pay for the product rather than do a long-term percentage deal. This avoids suspicions that someone is cheating and the video studio assumes the risk for reproduction, distribution, and sales. The rights to the content can expire at some agreed to point in the future with all rights reverting back to the original owner. Of course, exactly how your deal is structured is up to you and the studio.

If you?d like to know more, ICQ me. I will give this topic its own thread.

To get paid out right to me your fuckling yourself in the long run, from my few dealings with adult video companies they want to pay next to nothing for anything. They think they are slick but they forget since we are making money on the net. We are not desperate to do fucked up deals.

[Redrob]

Actually, the amount you are paid is based on the quality of your product, your name recognition, the amount of content agreed to (ie, 1,3,....10 DVDs etc.), the level of services to be provided by the studio (editing, packaging, distribution, etc.), and the particular studio you are dealing with (some are more selective; but pay more).

Ultimately, your ability to negotiate the deal plays into the formula as well.

[tony286]

Actually, the amount you are paid is based on the quality of your product, your name recognition, the amount of content agreed to (ie, 1,3,....10 DVDs etc.), the level of services to be provided by the studio (editing, packaging, distribution, etc.), and the particular studio you are dealing with (some are more selective; but pay more).

Ultimately, your ability to negotiate the deal plays into the formula as well.

You should offer that service like a agent, most of us dont know how to deal with the sharks of video world and if you are getting a percentage its in your best interest to get the best deal for your client.

[Sebastian Sands]

sorry dude, but I can't believe ANYTHING that summer haze and craig valentine say...they themselves are not the best of people to be in business with...almost anyone that has been in business with them ends up hating them, the list grows every day...

We all know that Summer Haze has an attitude and doesn't give a shit what people think about her. Good for her, but when it comes to business I can tell yo uthat she is right. A few years ago I started in the DVD business as well and got bend over nicely by Arnold Stein and fucked in the ass with no lube.

Check out all the press releases he puts out presenting new producers, then when you seen all those check which ones are still releasing titles through them.

Porno Dan, still releasing with OPD (Dan doesn't give a shit about money as much as he cares about getting his dick wet)

Uncle Lanny, 2 releases in 2 years. (same content can be found on the OC Cash site realarizonaamateurs.com)

D.S. Productions, Not releasing anymore but OPD still has footage and rips on DS productions in the credits. (ie. camre operator "not worth mentioning") That shows more about OPD then anything.

Adventures in Entertainment, Stein backdoor sold this guys pieces for a few bucks if not cents. AIE never got anything.

Shy Love, the press release promissed A LOT. One movie released about a year and a half ago. Then there was silence.

Lisa Sparxxx, One movie released then it went silent.

Summer Haze, a few titles released then shit hit the fan (read the adult news sites)

Asia Bootleg, Not sure but I think 2 titles released. Shit hit the fan.

AMA content, speaks for itself in this thread.

Aria Giovanni was supposed to direct a whole series. One movie came out. Big flop and it was done.

Matrix content. One released title as far as I know. Never heard anything again.

Pink Visual (the DVD arm of TopBucks) released several titles then Pink Visual moved on to better things.

Britney Andrews. A few titles released, I heard she is not happy either.

Read a press release that they signed Felicia Fox. After that. No one heard a thing.

Ramco productions, Clown Porn.. one title.. then it was done..

he recently signed the banger boys.. we'll see..


I am sure people can dig deeper and find out more. He is the perfect example of "Bullshit".

For the record, those who think Arnold is alone in this thing you are wrong. There are people that are in much deeper shit with him because they gave him the money to start his little company.

I read an article that AVN posted on their site and it made me laugh. especially this line.

"Stein himself will be hosting a ?meet and greet? informational gathering for aspiring producers as well at 4 p.m. on Sunday."

I have received numerous threats from him in the past if I would go on the boards or whatever. Well Arnie, bring it on. You know where I live and you know my number.

[Halcyon]

We all know that Summer Haze has an attitude and doesn't give a shit what people think about her. Good for her, but when it comes to business I can tell yo uthat she is right. A few years ago I started in the DVD business as well and got bend over nicely by Arnold Stein and fucked in the ass with no lube.

Check out all the press releases he puts out presenting new producers, then when you seen all those check which ones are still releasing titles through them.

Porno Dan, still releasing with OPD (Dan doesn't give a shit about money as much as he cares about getting his dick wet)

Uncle Lanny, 2 releases in 2 years. (same content can be found on the OC Cash site realarizonaamateurs.com)

D.S. Productions, Not releasing anymore but OPD still has footage and rips on DS productions in the credits. (ie. camre operator "not worth mentioning") That shows more about OPD then anything.

Adventures in Entertainment, Stein backdoor sold this guys pieces for a few bucks if not cents. AIE never got anything.

Shy Love, the press release promissed A LOT. One movie released about a year and a half ago. Then there was silence.

Lisa Sparxxx, One movie released then it went silent.

Summer Haze, a few titles released then shit hit the fan (read the adult news sites)

Asia Bootleg, Not sure but I think 2 titles released. Shit hit the fan.

AMA content, speaks for itself in this thread.

Aria Giovanni was supposed to direct a whole series. One movie came out. Big flop and it was done.

Matrix content. One released title as far as I know. Never heard anything again.

Pink Visual (the DVD arm of TopBucks) released several titles then Pink Visual moved on to better things.

Britney Andrews. A few titles released, I heard she is not happy either.

Read a press release that they signed Felicia Fox. After that. No one heard a thing.

Ramco productions, Clown Porn.. one title.. then it was done..

he recently signed the banger boys.. we'll see..


I am sure people can dig deeper and find out more. He is the perfect example of "Bullshit".

For the record, those who think Arnold is alone in this thing you are wrong. There are people that are in much deeper shit with him because they gave him the money to start his little company.

I read an article that AVN posted on their site and it made me laugh. especially this line.

"Stein himself will be hosting a ?meet and greet? informational gathering for aspiring producers as well at 4 p.m. on Sunday."

I have received numerous threats from him in the past if I would go on the boards or whatever. Well Arnie, bring it on. You know where I live and you know my number.

Thank you for posting this. I feel like I would have been PRIME meat for someone like this to take advantage of. This thread makes me understand the risks much better. Again, thanks to all who chimed in.

[lukemason]

Funny anyone at AMA Should call anyone ells Shysters
Liars and Crooks Those in Glass Houses Should Not
Throw Stones .

OO And

PS: The Reason That AMA Booth was not at AEE this year
is Arnold Stein of Old Pueblo Distribution had a restraining order placed agents JOE .

[Brother Bareback]

Funny anyone at AMA Should call anyone ells Shysters
Liars and Crooks Those in Glass Houses Should Not
Throw Stones .

OO And

PS: The Reason That AMA Booth was not at AEE this year
is Arnold Stein of Old Pueblo Distribution had a restraining order placed agents JOE .

dude, ANYONE can have a restraining order put on anyone else, it doesn't take anything except a trip to the local police station or county clerk in some cases

it says nothing about anything to have that done....some places don't even require a police report

did you also know that in some places you can file a police report on someone for something they didn't do, and the person that had the report filed against them can spend a night in jail before anyone knows it was a prank or revenge?

[bu((aneer]

If you want full story feel free to ICQ me and Ill supply neccessary prooof.. I am sick of people telling me stories about what happened to them that it also happened to me. When I was unaware and brand new in this buisness of dvd retail..Arnold Stein from Arizona, approached me and gave me this great speech about distributing my dvds. Well to make a long story short, He had us ship 600 dvds out to his


This guy is a piece of human shit and thrives on new people in this end of the biz who do not know any better. So stay clear of his bullshit. More to come im sure.

Many of the retailers I deal with now say they refuse to deal with him. So

why is it that you always have issues with somebody????

[Sebastian Sands]

Funny anyone at AMA Should call anyone ells Shysters
Liars and Crooks Those in Glass Houses Should Not
Throw Stones .

OO And

PS: The Reason That AMA Booth was not at AEE this year
is Arnold Stein of Old Pueblo Distribution had a restraining order placed agents JOE .

Ok, let me say this, I do not know Joe personally nor do we have a business relationship. I only know him from the boards and from his company (websites DVD's I have seen).

I know that Arnold has restraining orders against several people , funny how they are all people who he had business with. Also all people he owes money too. Arnold is a chicken when it comes to following through on his promises. For him it is an easy way out to not be bothered by someone calling him or visiting him demanding money. That is all it is. I do not know Joe but I do know most of the people in the list I made in my previous post and cases are all similar. Just my

[amacontent]

Funny anyone at AMA Should call anyone ells Shysters
Liars and Crooks Those in Glass Houses Should Not
Throw Stones .

OO And

PS: The Reason That AMA Booth was not at AEE this year
is Arnold Stein of Old Pueblo Distribution had a restraining order placed agents JOE .

LOL um no the reason we didnt do our booth is we signed with EXQUISTE and they asked if we could represent ourselves along with our contract girl Nautica there. Theres no restraining order. Ive never recieved one. Funny how he uses this restaining order thing to try and keep people away. You see this is how he works..he fucks you over , then puts out restarining order so you dont kick his ass for fucking him over.

Learn what your talking about DUMB FUCK before you open that cum hole of yours.

[valentine]

First thanks joe for putting my email on GYI. and the Bareback dont know who you are but the only people who dont like us are th eone that ripped us off. Not sure who you are real names help. But on the bigger not me and joe both have the fake restaining order aginst us from OP. Arnold dont even own the co. some guy named gilbert. But this guy is still getting new producers he has even bounced a ton of checks to AVN and they doa story on him for AEE. Me and Joe may not liek each other but we would both rather have the money we got ripped off for

[Sebastian Sands]

It won't be long before there is a follow up. Gene Ross wrote about this thread here http://www.********.com/read.aspx?ID=14005 Stein is an advertiser with them so we will see how "sided" Stein's responds will be.

[Ditto]

Wow you guys are making ******** with this thread, being from AZ I heard alot of bad stuff about Arnold, but had no clue he screwed over this many people, be funny to see what he has to say

[amacontent]

To tell you thr truth, i dont care what Arnold Stien has to say. I will never see my money from him but all I want to do is stop 1 person from dealing with him and ill be happy.

[valentine]

Hell stop one person from dealing with him nevr happen. People will goto him hey we all got scamed. But he has his new people paying the bills Rebecca Hilton to name a few. Arnie aka Jack the raper. One day i will find out how much he stole. Hell he even listed our videos on Hotmovies and said they were his several times. Like i said never done biz with Joe dont like him but no reason to steal his , mine or your movies. Arnie is good for pulling the strings from far away.

And like i say if you dont like me dont by my movies. And sebastian Summer says thanks for your support she will be out of action for another 2 weeks for Kemo treatment.

[Ditto]

Well seems like the list against Arnold gets longer and longer, guess some people get so greedy its sad.

Hope Summer does ok on her treatments too!!

[valentine]

Yip it does. But Gene Ross is being accused of arnold of hurting his biz by posting the thread. Now GENE IS a hardass especialy on me but he does report whats said. What am i suposed to do with these bounced checks from Old Pueblo ???

thanks for Summer she will be on her new radio show with Ron Jeremy in 2 weeks.