12 Best Blu Ray Media Stores Review

The 12 Best Blu Ray Media Stores

Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 15: Ranking the 12 Best Stores

How we ranked Blu Ray media stores

After screening a large number of contenders, we reviewed in depth the 12 best stores we identified in the Blu Ray blank media industry. We used the data we collected, previously defined here,  to rank these stores with the following weights: 0.5 to the total inventory, 1 to inventory percentage for our sample list of 89 Blu Ray media,  1 for the percentage of selected archival grade media in stock, 0.5 for sorting and binning, 0.5 for site speed, 2.5 for general pricing, 0.5 for archival grade media pricing, 0.5 for best price matching, 0.25 for the ability to write user reviews, 0.75 for the number of user reviews,  1 for the corrected ResellerRatings rating, and 1 for the corrected Google Shopping rating. This gives us an aggregate of 2.5 for inventory, 1 for site usability, 3.5 for price, 1 for user reviews, and 2 for customer service, for a total of 10. We did some sensitivity analysis on these coefficients as well, and found that our resulting ranking was not very sensitive to small changes in coefficients.          

The rankings

Analyzing the rankings 

The 12 best stores can be neatly arrayed in three tiers. The top tier includes traditional favorites Amazon and NewEgg, along with the very surprising MediaMegaMall, which scores extraordinarily well despite having no user reviews and a short CS track record, because of great inventory and prices. Amazon scores well because it has no weaknesses, although it does not do extraordinarily well anywhere, except in reviews. NewEgg has a great combination of low prices and great CS, but poor inventory, particularly in the archival grade media we selected. MediaMegaMall, the great surprise of our rankings, has excellent inventory and overall prices, but, by some curse of fate, provides poor pricing to the basket of archival grade media we selected.

The next tier, some 15 rating points below, gathers Meritline, TapeOnline,  Beach Audio, and SuperMediaStore, and constitutes, like the first, a comedy of contrasts. Meritline, a traditional online electronic media store, scores decently in service and well in reviews, with mediocre inventory and fair to average pricing.  TapeOnline, another well known digital media site, has outstanding customer service and very good prices, but a remarkably small inventory, and carries almost none of the archival grade media we consider best. Beach Audio, by being average in all arenas, but neither truly poor nor truly good at any criterion, avoids the last tier. SuperMediaStore excells everywhere except in pricing, where it does so badly that we cannot recommend it at this time.

Finally, the trailing tier gathers Rima, RunTechMedia, Buy.com, BHP Photo Video and Provantage. Rima has excellent customer service, fairly good prices, no user reviews and a narrow inventory. RunTechMedia has a very short track record, very good inventory, and poor to fair prices.   Buy.com has fair customer service, good inventory, and a broad spectrum of prices, but carries a good number of our selected media with excellent prices. B&H Photo has excellent support, but a narrow inventory and poor pricing. Provantage has marketing and support issues, a somewhat small inventory and on average high prices, but does provide some of our selected archival grade media at excellent prices.

Unfortunately, as much as we would want to be able to settle on a single store, at this time we cannot get all we want in one store: none of our contenders gives us a broad inventory, most of our archival grade media, good site usability, good prices, lots of user reviews, and a great customer service record. While we feel strongly that the three highest ranked stores are good enough to be primary long term suppliers for blank Blu Ray media, we also feel that  each has some specific, significant drawback. MediaMegaMall prices our favorite media a bit too high, although its average prices are very good across its whole inventory. NewEgg, with great prices and outstanding service, does not carry most of our favorite media. Amazon does not have good usability for an easy selection of the right media, and often carries higher prices as well.


The right shopping process 

In our opinion, it is best, at this time, to primarily shop for Blu Ray media on MediaMegaMall, NewEgg, Amazon and TapeOnline, but to price check for specific media on Beach Audio, Rima, Buy.com and Provantage (or use Google Shopping to find best pricing). If MediaMegaMall, NewEgg, Amazon (non-marketplace), TapeOnline, or Rima have good pricing on the media, the ordering decision is clear. If Amazon marketplace, Beach Audio, Buy.com or Provantage have best pricing, if customer service is not a critical part of the purchase decision, ordering from any of these stores would be appropriate. if, on the other hand, customer service for the purchase is critical, (for instance if delivery time is critical) , then you will have to decide if good pricing is worth some service risk.




Conclusions

• #1 recommended Blu Ray media store: MediaMegamall. Outstanding inventory, very good prices overall but high prices on our favorite archival grade media, good service, no user reviews. Price check on other stores before ordering.

• #2 recommended Blu Ray Media store: NewEgg. Outstanding customer service, excellent prices, great user reviews, narrow inventory missing high quality archival grade media. You may need to go to another store if NewEgg does not stock your favorite media.

• #3 recommended Blu Ray media store: Amazon. Outstanding inventory, great user reviews, prices are only fair, poor site ergonomics make media selection difficult. Avoid marketplace purchase if customer service is important.

• #4 recommended Blu Ray media store: TapeOnline. Outstanding service, excellent prices, very narrow inventory, no user reviews. You may need to go to another store if TapeOnline does not stock your favorite media.

• Price checks only: Beach Audio, Rima, Buy.com, Provantage

Blu Ray Media Stores: TapeOnline Review

Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 14: TapeOnline Review

 TapeOnline is another specialized electronic media site with an excellent reputation on the enthusiasts' forums as a trustworthy supplier of CD and DVD media, with high quality customer service. We always enjoy reviewing sites with a long and positive track record in similar industries, and were expecting TapeOnline to do well. It did.

 Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the TapeOnline site under Disc Media -> Blu Ray.  Site speed is very good, with an average of 1.7 seconds per page to display a right-clicked SKU. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, TapeOnline offers the least amount of capabilities in the category, providing the user with only 3:  it is not possible to select the manufacturer, speed, quantity or printability, user ratings are not displayed on the category listing page, and there is no sorting whatsoever. On the other hand, there is a Blu Ray media category, and it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), and single/ dual layer. TapeOnline has such a narrow inventory (it all fits in one page) that sorting and binning are not as useful as they could be for a site with broad media availability.

Inventory and price
TapeOnline carries a tiny inventory of 28 Blue Ray media, narrowest in the category. It stocks 13% of our 89 Blu Ray test media, also worst in the category, even with B&H Photo Video. TapeOnline prices are on average 9.4% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, an excellent score which ranks second best in the category after MediaMegaMall. TapeOnline matches best price for three SKUs, for a media stocked by more than one store, in the lower half of the category. We are very pleased with the pricing offered by TapeOnline, but are disappointed in the very small inventory. TapeOnline only stocks one of the 6 media we selected as best Blu Ray archival grade media, which it sells 14.5% more than the best price across the category, an overprice we find reasonable.

User reviews
TapeOnline offers users the opportunity to submit user reviews, but we could not find one across all Blu Ray media on the site.

Customer Service
TapeOnline has an excellent reputation for customer service when selling optical media. Its customers count a lot of professionals who are demanding when coming to customer service. TapeOnline gathers over 150 reviews on ResellerRatings, with an outstanding 100% rating. On Google Shopping it gathers another 145 reviews, again with an excellent 98% rating. We gave TapeOnline an excellent 97% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating.

Table: TapeOnline Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
TapeOnline turns out to be a small but clean site, with a narrow inventory but excellent prices and outstanding customer service. If it has the media you need, it is an excellent supplier for ongoing Blu Ray media orders. high usability, a large set of  user reviews, and a very good customer service record. Its very small inventory may not, however, give you the choice you need.

Next we compare all online stores for Blu Ray media and pick our selections... So come back soon! 

Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: Meritline Review

Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 8: Meritline Review

Meritline, a well known CD and DVD media provider, largely specializes in a limited set of computer accessories. It carries a very small but well chosen Blu Ray media inventory which mixes low and high end products, with a preponderance in the low end.Its reputation in the CD/DVD world is very good, and we were interested in figuring out how well it would fare in the Blu Ray world.

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the Meritline site under CD/DVD Media -> Blu Ray Media.  Site speed is good, although not blazing fast, with 2.2 seconds per page average to display a right-clicked SKU. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, Meritline provides a 5.5 of them: there is no way to select single/dual layer, quantity or printability, and only some speeds can be selected (2x and 4x), sorting cannot use best rating, most reviews or best selling, and it is not possible to view unit price. On the other hand, there is a Blu Ray category, it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), manufacturer, and some speeds, sorting can be done by price, and user ratings can be viewed on the listing pages. To be fair, Meritline's inventory is so small that all products can be viewed in 2 short pages, so selecting and sorting are less needed than for stores with larger inventories.

Inventory and price
Meritline's inventory is limited to 47 Blue Ray media, at the low end rage of the industry, yet it still stocks 22% of our 89 Blu Ray test media, which ranks Meritline in the middle of the pack.  Meritline prices are on average 19.6% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, again roughly in the middle of the pack. Meritline has the best price for 4 SKUs, for a media stocked by more than one store, rating in the middle of the pack again. While Meritline's original inventory is truly very narrow, its selection is clearly well chosen, and prices are reasonable overall. Of the 6 media we selected as best archival grade Blu Ray media, Meritline stocks 3, for an average 40.9% over the best price across the industry, a very high overage that we cannot endorse.

User reviews
Meritline has an excellent set of user reviews for its size, totaling 250 reviews across it Blu Ray inventory. Many of its products (although not all) can be solidly evaluated based on its own user reviews.

Customer Service
Meritline is a proven source of optical media with a very well documented track record. It gathers more than 4,000 reviews on ResellerRatings with a very good 91% rating. On Google Shopping it gathers over 13,000 reviews, again with a very good 88%, although not perfect. Meritline receives a solid but not perfect 89% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating, also placing it in the middle of the pack.

Table: Meritline Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
Meritline is a specialized computer accessories site with a good reputation for optical media, and a limited but well chosen inventory. It scored in the middle of the pack among the stores with surveyed for all criteria - this is a very good result, as our deep survey sample gathered the best media stores we found. Meritline does not have a significant weakness. While its price are not the best in the industry, they are fair - and its customer service is good. However, the actual price of our basket of Blu Ray media selected for archival grade is unacceptably high. Altogether, Meritline would constitute a solid choice as a Blu Ray media store supplier, were it not for the problem of archival grade media pricing.

Next we review for NewEgg Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: SuperMediaStore Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 13: SuperMediaStore Review

Like MediaMegaMall, MeritLine and TapeOnline, SuperMediaStore is a specialized electronic media site, with an excellent reputation on the enthusiasts' forums as a trustworthy supplier of CD and DVD media, and with high quality customer service. We felt there was very good potential in this highly usable site, and had high expectations for SuperMediaStore. They all turned out to be true, yet we still were a bit disappointed by one attribute of this excellent retailer.  

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the SuperMediaStore site under Blank CD/DVD Media -> Blu Ray Media.  Site speed is good, with an average of 2.0 seconds per page to display a right-clicked SKU. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, SuperMediaStore provides the second broadest set of capabilities in the category, after RunTechMedia, as 10 of these modes are available:  it is not possible to sort by best rating or by most reviews, and unit price is not displayed on the product pages.   On the other hand, there is a Blu Ray media category,  it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), manufacturer, single/ dual layer, speed, quantity and printability, sorting can be done by price and best selling,  user ratings are displayed on the category listing pages, and price per disk is displayed on the product pages. Because SuperMediaStore actually has many customer reviews, we find its sorts and bins  more useful than RunTechMedia's (even though RunTechMedia has more of them), because we can actually use meaningful quantities when selecting "most reviews" and "best rating" criteria.

Inventory and price
SuperMediaStore carries a somewhat small inventory of 47 Blue Ray media. However, it stocks 29% of our 89 Blu Ray test media, slightly better than average. SuperMediaStore prices are on average 32.2% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, which is very high, and ranks second worst in the category, immediately after Provantage. SuperMediaStore matches best price for two SKUs, for a media stocked by more than one store, also very low in the category. We are very disappointed in the pricing offered by SuperMediaStore, in particular because it has a reputation for fair pricing in the CD/DVD arena. We couldn't help noticing that SuperMediaStore prices are, relatively speaking, lower for low-priced products, and higher for high quality products, making the price equation even worse when we consider high quality brands like TDK. SuperMediaStore stocks 5 of the 6 media we selected as the best Blu Ray archival grade media, for an average of 48.1% over the best price across the category for this basket of media - an overprice of a magnitude that we find simply unacceptable.

User reviews
SuperMediaStore uses user reviews well, and has many of them on the site. We found 333 user reviews across all Blu Ray media on the site, third highest in the category after Amazon and NewEgg - nice job!

Customer Service
SuperMediaStore has an excellent reputation for top notch customer service in other optical media. Its track record shows it: it gathers over 9,000 reviews on ResellerRatings, with an outstanding 96% rating. On Google Shopping it gathers another 30,000 reviews, again with an excellent 94% rating. We gave SuperMediaStore an excellent 95% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating.

Table: SuperMediaStore Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
SuperMediaStore turns out to be a excellent site with high usability, a large set of  user reviews, and a very good customer service record. Where it falls short is in pricing, being within 0.5% of the worst ranking in the category. This is all the more surprising since its CD and DVD prices are typically very good. We would enthusiastically endorse it if its pricing structure was, on average, 15% lower, and 30% lower on our basket of selected media. As it is, while we consider it a very trustworthy supplier, we feel that SuperMediaStore is simply too pricy to recommend as a primary supplier for ongoing Blu Ray media purchases.

Next we review TapeOnline for Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: RunTechMedia Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 12: RunTechMedia Review

In the process of doing comparative shopping for Blu Ray media, we frequently encountered RunTechMedia on shopping engines. We were impressed by the site's broad inventory, and were hoping that we could qualify it as a primary or main supplier for Blu ray media. We were a bit disappointed, but are keeping some hope for the future.   

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the RunTechMedia site under CD/DVD/Blu Ray Media -> BD-R/RE, BD-R/RE DL. Site speed is very good, with 1.8 seconds per page average to display a left-clicked SKU, but the site made the huge mistake of not allowing right-clicks on category pages, resulting in a very painful browsing experience. This caused us to change our speed test, to start with 10 store tabs and use one left click in each tab, since we were not able to spawn new tabs from right-clicks on products. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, RunTechMedia provides the most choice in the category, as 12 of these modes are available. The only missing capability is sort by best selling. On the other hand,  there is a Blu Ray media category, it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), single/ dual layer, manufacturer, speed, quantity and printability, sorting can be done by price, rating, and most reviews, and user ratings are displayed on the category listing pages. These are very good site capabilities for RunTechMedia, although, unfortunately, there are too few user reviews at this time for the review-based criteria to be useful.

Inventory and price
RunTechMedia carries a large inventory of 13 Blue Ray media, 4th lowest in the category after Amazon, MediaMegaMall and Buy.com - a very good performance when one considers that both Amazon and Buy.com are merchant marketplaces on top of being retailers themselves. RunTechMedia stocks 43% of our 89 Blu Ray test media, 3rd best in the category, barely behind MediaMegaMall and Amazon - another excellent score. RunTechMedia prices are on average 23.4% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, which is on the high side in the category. It matches best price for 4 SKUs for media stocked by more than one store, which is in the middle of the pack.  RunTechMedia stocks 5 of the 6 media we selected as best Blu Ray archival grade media, for an average price 24.5% higher than the best price across the category for this basket of media - we find this a bit too high.

User reviews
RunTechMedia lets its users file product reviews. At this time, however, we only found 20 user reviews for all Blu Ray media, which does not allow for any significant evaluation of user feedback for its SKUs.

Customer Service
RunTechMedia does not have any ResellerRatings review, a very disappointing finding which can only be due to small retail volume for the site at this time. We were able to locate a bit over 400 reviews on Google Shopping (they were hard to find) for the site, for a very good rating of 94%. However, while Google Shopping aggregates user reviews from multiple locations (including ResellerRatings when they are available), our experience is that  its ratings are often significantly better than ResellerRatings and do not always give us a full picture of the CS issues for a site.  As its ResellerRatings rating is nonexistent, RunTechMedia  receives a low 46% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating, which we expect to go up rapidly when the site starts aggregating ResellerRatings reviews. Until then, we do not believe that we can properly estimate RunTechMedia's strength in customer service.

Table: RunTechMedia Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
RunTechMedia appears to be a recent entrant in online electronic media retailing. The site capabilities are impressive, and the inventory is excellent. We are less impressed by the average price, that we find a bit high. We are awaiting a reasonable track record for the store on ResellerRatings to  finalize our judgment on customer service. Until then, we consider RunTechMedia a site to look at and experiment with,  but we are not ready to recommend it as a primary supplier for ongoing Blu Ray media purchases.

Next we review SuperMediaStore for Blu Ray media... So come back soon!  

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Online Stores: Rima Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 11: Rima Review

Rima specializes in electronic media, and is a frequent reference on the forums as a good place to go to for CD or DVD media. It also advertises extensively on Blu Ray media keywords, and is commonly encountered the right right side of your search screen in paid results.While we are generally leery of those sites who feel the need to pay for search results, we were not horrified by what we found on Rima.

Site and usability
Blu Ray media is a top tab on Rima, and can be found both on the top menu bar and on the left navigation bar. Site speed is very good, with 1.7 seconds per page average to display a right-clicked SKU - no surprise there, as the site is VERY simple and should not take any time loading. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, Rima provides only 4 modes:  it is not possible to select manufacturer, speed, or quantity, no sorting is available, and user ratings are not shown on the main category pages.   On the other hand, there is a Blu Ray media category, and  it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), single/ dual layer, and printability. While site usability may appear low, because the inventory is very narrow sorting and binning are less important. The site does not carry a lot of functionality, but it is truly very simple, something which comes with some advantages.

Inventory and price
Rima carries a very small inventory of 38 Blue Ray media, 2nd lowest in the category before  TapeOnline. It stocks 21% of our 89 Blu Ray test media, also low in the category. Rima prices are on average 19.4% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, which is in the middle of the pack. Rima has the best price for only 1 SKU, for a media stocked by more than one store, last in the category with B&H Photo. While Rima has a large sample of low price media, it also carries some high quality products as well, for a well balanced inventory as a whole. Of the 6 media we selected as best Blue Ray archival grade media, Rima stocks 2, which it prices on average 15.2% over the best price in the category - a fairly good performance.

User reviews
Rima allows it users to file reviews, but we did not find a single review across the Blu Ray media category. 

Customer Service
Rima does not have a very numerous track record, but what there is is very good. It gathers approximately 80 reviews both with ResellerRatings and with Google Shopping, scoring 100% with both, and receiving an excellent 98% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating, almost on a par with B&H Photo Video and NewEgg despite the low number of reviews.

Table: Rima Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
Rima, a small entrant with a tiny inventory and a very simple site, succeeds in providing a reasonable customer experience because of a well balanced inventory, decent prices and very good customer support. While we cannot recommend it as a general purpose choice for ongoing Blu Ray media purchases because it simply does not provide enough choices, we think that Rima can be a good choice for one-off purchases.

Next we review RunTechMedia for Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: Provantage Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores 
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 10: Provantage Review

We often found Provantage on shopping engines when doing comparison shopping on specific Blu Ray media products, sometimes with compelling prices. We wanted to investigate if it could become one of our regular online providers for Blu ray media. We were somewhat disappointed by our findings.

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the Provantage site under Storage -> Storage Media -> Blu Ray Media. Site speed is good, with 2.0 seconds per page average to display a right-clicked SKU. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, Provantage provides only 5: it is not possible to select Single/ Dual layer, speed, quantity or printability, sorting cannot use best rating or most reviews, ratings are not displayed in the category listing pages, and it is not possible to view price per disk. On the other hand,  there is a Blu Ray media category,  it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE) and manufacturer, and  sorting can be done by price and best selling. We found a disturbing issue on several products, as price changed (up, unfortunately...) as we were adding an item to the cart. We also found circumstances when sorting was not enabled, depending upon browsing history. Finally, we encountered several broken product pages on the site.

Inventory and price
Provantage carries a small inventory of 46 Blue Ray media, 4th lowest in the category ahead of NewEgg, Rima and TapeOnline. It stocks 16% of our 89 Blu Ray test media,  3rd lowest in the category, ahead of B&H Photo and TapeOnline. Provantage prices are on average 32.70% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, highest in the category - bar none. Surprisingly, despite the very high average prices, Provantage still matches best price in the category for 4 SKUs present in more than one store, showing a wide variation in its prices across media. As Provantage is often present in shopping engines, we believe that some of these prices may be set as "call" prices to get traffic through shopping engines, while prices on other items remain somewhat high. Provantage carried 2 of the 6 media that we selected as best archival grade Blu Ray media, and matched the best price across the category for both - that was quite a positive surprise.

User reviews
Provantage allows its users to post reviews, but we could not find a single one across Blu Ray media SKUs.

Customer Service
Provantage gathers over 1,200 reviews on ResellerRatings, with an fair 86% rating. On Google Shopping it gathers a little over 2,000 reviews, with an good 94% rating - although Google Shopping ratings tend to be more forgiving. Provantage receives a fair to good 89% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating, in the middle of the pack for the category.

Table: Provantage Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
Provantage carries a small inventory of Blu Ray media, with a mediocre site experience and a somewhat buggy site, no user reviews, decent customer service, and the highest prices in the category. Because Provantage occasionally shows excellent prices on specific items, we feel that it is worth checking the site for specific SKU prices before making a purchase, but, at this time, we do not consider Provantage a good regular supplier for ongoing Blu-Ray media purchases.

Next we review Rima for Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: NewEgg Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 9: NewEgg Review

NewEgg does not need any introduction as the leading online supplier of electronics and computer parts, with an outstanding reputation and service record in the industry. Being accustomed to check it first for much of our online purchasing when dealing with electronics, we were particularly interested in finding out how well it does as a supplier of Blu Ray media. NewEgg did not disappoint in its primary attributes, but did not totally fulfill our expectations.  

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the NewEgg site under Computer Hardware -> CD/DVD Burners and Media -> CD/DVD/ Blu Ray Media. Blu Ray media are mixed with other optical media, but can be selected by type, with a choice of BD-R/ BD-RE/ BD-R DL (BD-RE DL media are found under the BD-RE selection).  Site speed is very good, with 1.7 seconds per page average to display a right-clicked SKU. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, NewEgg provides the third most choices in the category, after RunTechMedia and SuperMediaSales, as 9.5 of these modes are available:  there is no way single Blu Ray media category, sorting cannot use best selling, it is not possible to view price per disk, and, while it is possible to select BD-R Dl media, it is not possible to do so with BD-RE DL.  On the other hand,  it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), manufacturer, speed, quantity and printability, sorting can be done by price, rating, and most reviews, and user ratings are displayed on the category listing pages.Because NewEgg actually has many customer reviews, we find its sorts and bins  more useful than RunTechMedia (even though RunTechMedia has more of them), because we can actually use meaningful quantities with most reviews and best rating criteria.

Inventory and price
NewEgg carries a small inventory of 45 Blue Ray media, 3rd lowest in the category before Rima and TapeOnline. It stocks 19% of our 89 Blu Ray test media, also low in the category. NewEgg prices are on average 13.5% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, which is a very good score, and ranks third best across the category after MediaMegaMall and TapeOnline. NewEgg has the best price for 8 SKUs, for a media stocked by more than one store, second best across all stores after MediaMegaMall and before Amazon. However, while NewEgg carries a good number of low-price media SKUs, it does not have a good inventory of high quality Blu Ray media. NewEgg stocks only 2 of the 6 media we selected for best Blu Ray archival grade media, and prices them 4.2% higher than the best price across the industry, a very low price.

User reviews
NewEgg, like Amazon, is known for its excellent user reviews and their integration to the site. It does not disappoint, and registers 349 user reviews across all Blu Ray media, second only to Amazon.

Customer Service
NewEgg is known for its excellent customer service in Electronics and Computer parts.  Its track record is clear: it gathers over 33,000 reviews on ResellerRatings, with an outstanding 97% rating. On Google Shopping it gathers another 36,000 reviews, again with an exceptional 98% rating. NewEgg receives a category-high 98% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating, even with B&H Audio Video and ahead of Rima.

Table: NewEgg Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
As usual, NewEgg impresses by its excellent site, its good prices, its abundant user reviews, and its outstanding customer support. While it has good numbers of low-priced Blu Ray media, NewEgg is however missing a good inventory of high quality media.  A small change in inventory could make it the top site in the category. As it stands today, it is an excellent choice for low-priced media, but it cannot provide a good choice of quality Blu Ray media at this time - what a pity!!

Next we review Provantage for Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: Meritline Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores 
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 8: Meritline Review

Meritline, a well known CD and DVD media provider, largely specializes in a limited set of computer accessories. It carries a very small but well chosen Blu Ray media inventory which mixes low and high end products, with a preponderance in the low end. Its reputation in the CD/DVD world is very good, and we were interested in figuring out how well it would fare in the Blu Ray world.

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the Meritline site under CD/DVD Media -> Blu Ray Media.  Site speed is good, although not blazing fast, with 2.2 seconds per page average to display a right-clicked SKU. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, Meritline provides 5.5 of them: there is no way to select single/dual layer, quantity or printability, and only some speeds can be selected (2x and 4x), sorting cannot use best rating, most reviews or best selling, and it is not possible to view unit price. On the other hand, there is a Blu Ray category, it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), manufacturer, and some speeds, sorting can be done by price, and user ratings can be viewed on the listing pages. To be fair, Meritline's inventory is so small that all products can be viewed in 2 short pages, so selecting and sorting are less needed than for stores with larger inventories.

Inventory and price
Meritline's inventory is limited to 47 Blue Ray media, at the low end rage of the industry, yet it still stocks 22% of our 89 Blu Ray test media, which ranks Meritline in the middle of the pack.  Meritline prices are on average 19.6% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, again roughly in the middle of the pack. Meritline has the best price for 4 SKUs, for a media stocked by more than one store, rating in the middle of the pack again. While Meritline's original inventory is truly very narrow, its selection is clearly well chosen, and prices are reasonable overall. Of the 6 media we selected as best archival grade Blu Ray media, Meritline stocks 3, for an average 40.9% over the best price across the industry, a very high overage that we cannot endorse.

User reviews
Meritline has an excellent set of user reviews for its size, totaling 250 reviews across it Blu Ray inventory. Many of its products (although not all) can be solidly evaluated based on its own user reviews.

Customer Service
Meritline is a proven source of optical media with a very well documented track record. It gathers more than 4,000 reviews on ResellerRatings with a very good 91% rating. On Google Shopping it gathers over 13,000 reviews, again with a very good 88%, although not perfect. Meritline receives a solid but not perfect 89% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating, also placing it in the middle of the pack.

Table: Meritline Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
Meritline is a specialized computer accessories site with a good reputation for optical media, and a limited but well chosen inventory. It scored in the middle of the pack among the stores with surveyed for all criteria - this is a very good result, as our deep survey sample gathered the best media stores we found. Meritline does not have a significant weakness. While its price are not the best in the industry, they are fair - and its customer service is good. However, the actual price of our basket of Blu Ray media selected for archival grade is unacceptably high. Altogether, Meritline would constitute a solid choice as a Blu Ray media store supplier, were it not for the problem of its pricing for archival grade media.

Next we review NewEgg for Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: MediaMegaMall Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 7: MediaMegaMall Review

Media Mega Mall specializes in electronic media, and is often recommended among digital media forums as a good source for CD and DVD media. Because of its small volume, it is not often tracked by shopping engines. We were interested in finding out how well it would do against some of our powerhouses - we ended up being very positively surprised.

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the MediaMegaMall site under Blank Media -> Blu Ray.  Site speed is excellent, with 1.5 seconds per page average to display a right-clicked SKU. Of our wish list of 12 types of sorting and binning, MediaMegaMall provides nine of them: there is no way to select quantity, sorting cannot use best rating or most reviews, and, as there are no user ratings, it is clearly impossible to view average ratings in the category listing pages. On the other hand, there is a Blu Ray category, it is possible to select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), single/ dual layer, manufacturer, speed and printability, sorting can be done by price and best selling, and price per disk is provided.The missing piece, of course, is user ratings and reviews.

Inventory and price
MediaMegMall's very large inventory extends to 141 Blue Ray media, second only to Amazon. MediaMegaMall stocks 44% of our 89 Blu Ray test media, also top across all stores, even with Amazon.  MediamegaMall prices are on average 7.0% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores for media stocked by multiple stores, and score best across the category - this is a shockingly low number. MediaMegaMall has the best price for 9 SKUs, for a media stocked by more than one store, again rating best across all stores. MediaMegaMall records the lowest prices across the stores we surveyed. When looking at the 6 media we selected for Best Blu Ray media, MediaMegaMall stocks 5 of them, but for a disappointing 22.3% over the best price in the category for the media basket.

User reviews
There are none - a huge gap in in otherwise very promising site.

Customer Service
MediaMegaMall does not have a well established track record, possibly due to small comparative sales volume, despite having been in operations for 15 years.  It gathers only 10 reviews on ResellerRatings, with a very good 88% rating. On Google Shopping it gathers 140 reviews, again with the same 88% rating. because of the low number of reviews it has accumulated so far, MediaMegaMall receives a low 75% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating, which we expect will go up as the number of reviews increases.

Table: MediaMegaMall Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
MediaMegaMall is an extremely promising site, with an excellent inventory -second only to Amazon,- good site usability, and the lowest prices across the industry. Where it is weakest is in user reviews - it does not have any. It also lacks an established CS track record. In another 6 months it could simply be the best overall site for Blu Ray media purchases. We are very impressed. We are, however, disappointed that our selected media basket is priced significantly higher than the stores' average overprice.

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: Buy.com Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 6: Buy.com Review

Buy.com often shows up in shopping engines as a good place to find well priced, difficult to find items, yet appears, at first site to have a ridiculously small inventory. When we dug a little deeper we actually found out that there is a larger mother lode of Blu Ray media to be found in a secret stash, some of it with excellent prices...

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the Buy.com site under Optical Media -> Blu Ray Media, but for some reason the category so identified does not display more than a very small number of choices. To get to the "real" inventory of Blu Ray media, one has to go to Computers -> Supplies & Media -> Media & Cleaning Cartridges -> Optical CD/DVD/Magneto Media, then refine results using the keyword "Blu Ray."  Site speed is dismal, with 7.0 seconds per page average to display a right-clicked SKU, although, probably due to caching, a regular left-click will display the same page in 3.5 seconds. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, Buy.com provides a lowly 4: you do not have a Blu Ray category, cannot select speed, type, single/ dual layer, printability,  or quantity, cannot sort by best rating or most reviews, and need to calculate price per disk yourself. On the other hand, you can select the manufacturer, sort by best selling price, or manufacturer, and view user ratings on the listing pages.

Inventory and price
Buy.com shows off a total inventory of 117 Blue Ray media, and stocks a solid 31% of our 89 Blu Ray test media. - ranking 4th of all stores surveyed, after MediaMegaMall, Amazon and RunTechMedia. Buy.com prices are on average 25.4% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores, fourth highest after Provantage, SuperMediaStore, and B&H.  Interestingly, Buy.com has the best price for 5 SKUs, for media stocked by more than one store, rating 4th after MediaMegaMall, NewEgg and Amazon - much better under this criterion that when looking at the average overprice. This tells us that Buy.com has a fairly wide range of prices, with some excellent prices and some very bad ones...Some of the best prices are met when Buy.com is the actual distributor as opposed to marketplace merchants. Buy.com stocks 3 of the 6 media we selected for best Blu Ray archival grade media, for a low overprice of 12% over best price across the category.

User reviews
Buy.com gives its users the ability to write user reviews, which are common in some parts of the site. In the Blu Ray media area, however, user reviews are practically nonexistent, totaling 17 across all Blu SKUs.

Customer Service
Like Amazon, Buy.com has a very significant marketplace component, with various merchants selling directly to consumers in the Buy.com space - it probably pays a heavy price for it in its CS ratings. It gathers more than 4,000 reviews on ResellerRatings with a lowly 81% rating. It gathers an astounding 255,000 reviews on Google Shopping with a slightly higher 86% rating, and receives a low 81% ConsumerPla.net predictive CS rating.

Table: Buy.com Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
Buy.com is a general purpose shopping site with a large marketplace component, with poor site speed and sorting, an uncomfortable browsing experience, average inventory, some of the best and worst prices at the same time, and mediocre customer service. While it should not be relied on as the primary shopping site for Blu Ray media, with some excellent prices it is probably a site to check out when looking for good pricing opportunities, as long as service (such as delivery time) is not a critical part of the purchase.

Next we review MediaMegaMall for blank Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: Beach Audio Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores  
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 5: Beach Audio Review

Beach Audio often shows up on shopping engines with decent prices. We researched it in depth, expecting to see it appear among the best. After a thorough investigation, we were disappointed by some of its marketing and customer service practices.

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on Beach Audio under Blank Media -> Storage Media -> CD/DVD Media. They share the category with CDs and DVDs, but can be isolated under the selections Blu Ray Recordable Media (BD-R) and Blu Ray Rewritable Media (BD-RE). By checking both categories you effectively select all Blu Ray media, which is the equivalent of having a Blu Ray category.  Site pages load comparatively slowly, with an average 4.5 seconds to display a right-clicked SKU. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, Beach Audio provides 9: you cannot sort by best rating, most reviews or best selling, and you have to calculate unit price yourself. On the other hand, you have the equivalent of a Blu Ray media category,  you can select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), by single/ dual layer, printability, speed, quantity and manufacturer, you can view user ratings in the listing pages, and you can sort by price and manufacturer.

Inventory and price
Beach Audio's inventory totals 77 different Blu Ray media, an average inventory for the category. It stocks a low 18% of our 89 test Blu Ray media - 4th lowest before Provantage, TapeOnline and B&J Photo Video. Beach Audio's average overprice over best price across the stores we surveyed was 14.2%, which is low for the industry, and puts Beach Audio 4th in the category, after MediaMegaMall, TapeOnline and NewEgg. On the other hand, Beach Audio only has 2 SKUs match the best price across all stores surveyed, ranking 3rd last, even with SuperMediaStore, and before Rima and BHP Photo Video. Beach Audio stocks 3 of the 6 Blu Bary media that we selected as best archival grade media, with a low average overprice of 11.5% over the best price in the category for the basket of them.

User reviews
Beach Audio lets the user write user reviews, but so far very few have been written. We could only find 10 reviews across the whole site.

Customer Service
Beach Audio only gathers a bit over 300 reviews with ResellerRartings, with a very low rating of 78%. It does better on Google Shopping, raking up more than 4,000 reviews with a good rating of 94%. In our overall predictive CS rating, it scores a low 83%, even with Buy.com and only ahead of MediaMegaMall. Most common issues had to do with advertised prices and canceled orders.

Table: Beach Audio Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
Beach Audio carries a average inventory of Blu Ray media, with overall good but not record prices, decent site capabilities, practically no user reviews, and a rather poor CS record. Its pricing is good for our basket of selected archival grade Blu Ray media. While do not see many reasons to shop there for Blu Ray media unless you already have a cart going for other purposes, Beach Audio is worth visiting for a price check unless service (delivery time, for instance) is an important aspect of the purchase.

Next we review Buy.com for Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here

Blu Ray Media Stores: B&H Photo Review

Blu Ray blank media guide : Best Blu Ray media stores
Best Blu Ray Media Online Stores Part 4: B&H Photo Video Review

B&H Photo Video is well known to photo enthusiasts as a high quality, well priced online store with excellent customer support.  Its traditional rival is Adorama, which, however, is not really present in the Blu Ray media market a this time (we screened Adorama here).

Site and usability
Blu Ray media can be found on the B&H site under the Film, Tape, Media Tab: Film, Tape, Media -> CDs, DVDs and Other Blank Media. While they are under the same category as other optical media, it is not hard to isolate them, as there are specific selection bins for BD-R and BD-RE, which you can both select to get the equivalent of a Blu Ray category. With an average 2.0 seconds to display a right-clicked SKU, the site speed is decent, although not blinding fast. Of our wish list of 13 types of sorting and binning, B&H provides 9: you cannot select speed, cannot sort by best selling, or most reviews, and need to calculate price per disk by hand. On the other hand, you can access the equivalent of a Blu Ray category, select type (BD-R/ BD-RE), single/ dual layer, printability, quantity and manufacturer, sort by search relevance, price, manufacturer and best rating, and view user ratings on the listing pages.

Inventory and price
B&H Audio Video totals right now 63 SKUs for Blu Ray media, a relatively narrow inventory. It stocks a low 13% of our 89 test Blu Ray media - lowest of all of the reviewed stores, even with TapeOnline. B&H Video prices are on average 29.4% higher than the best price across our surveyed stores, third highest after Provantage and SuperMediaStore, and slightly ahead of Buy.com and RunTechMedia. While, clearly, any store is, on average, higher than the best price (no store can have, on average, the best price for all media), 29.4% is high. B&H Audio Video matches best price for one SKU, for media stocked by more than one store. This is the lowest number across stores surveyed, even with Rima. Of the 6 best Blu Ray media we selected for archival grade storage, B&H stocks 2, with a 43.4% overprice over best price in the category.

User reviews
B&H Photo Video has a limited number of user reviews, for which the average ratings can be seen on the category listing pages. It totals 86 reviews across all Blu Ray media SKUs, which, given the total inventory, is not enough critical mass to reliably gauge the quality of specific Blu Ray media when shopping on the site.

Customer Service
Where B&H Audio Video truly stars is in customer service and support (CS). It has very large numbers of reviews both with ResellerRatings and Google Shopping, and gets outstanding 98% ratings from both, as well as a category-high 98% in our predictive CS rating, even with Rima and TapeOnline. Given its astonishingly high numbers of reviews as well as ratings, we can be sure of a very high quality of service.

Table: B&H Photo Video Blu Ray media review (see legend below)

Conclusion
B&H Audio Video is a general purpose shopping site, with decent site speed and sorting, narrow inventory, rather high prices on average, and outstanding customer service. While we cannot place it among the top online media stores, it is a good place to buy media if you are already shopping on the site for other items, as long as price is not an essential criterion.

Next we review Beach Audio for blank Blu Ray media... So come back soon!

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Table Legend:
Total inventory: total number of Blu ray media SKUs on the site
Inventory %: percentage of ConsumerPla.net list of 89 Blu Ray media that can be found at the store
Inventory % for selected archival media: % of SKUs that we selected in our Blu Ray Media review for archival grade
Site sorting: how many types of sorts and bins are possible on the site (out of the 13 we listed in our wish list)
Average query speed: the average speed to display a right-clicked SKU  - measures browsing speed
Average overprice: How much % over best price, for all media present in more than one store
Average overprice for selected archival media: specifically how much % over best price for the media we selected for archival grade
# lowest priced SKUs: how many SKUs in the store equal best price (if more than one store carries them)
# user reviews: how many user reviews we found on the site for Blu Ray media
Predictive CS rating: our worst case analysis of the likely Customer Support rating for this store, explained here