Kube

Is it still cheaper to buy your DVD's in advance from online stores? Do they still offer slighly cheaper prices than they do once the DVD's street?

Thanks.

Jackskeleton

Most often.... no. I remember the days when you can really rape the online outlets but a lot of those deals have drained dry and a lot of those outlets went belly up (because of us). But for the most part Best Buy or whatever other B&M have nice Loss leaders going that it sometimes comes out only a few cents cheaper to order online. Not to mention that those big titles are usually very cheap to begin with.

Certainly not worth it to me.

DVD Josh

I disagree with Jack

I find that with Amazon's STL I can save about 45% off MSRP if I preorder. Even with a loss leader, with tax, I do better online.

Take DDD's recent offering of Boomtown preorder. The cheapest B&M was $34.99. They had it for $26 and shipped it free. Best by far.

I will say that this forum is very handy. I look at the ad threads and usually know about 4-5 days in advance of release what the prices will be and that way I can judge whether STL will be better.

RandyM

For me, when you figure in tax, gas, and my time to go to BB or CC (dealing with the customers and the employees), unless it's a big loss leader, I think it's cheaper and much easier to just order online.

Eric F

It's cheaper to use Columbia House.

PopcornTreeCt

Except they pretty much only carry Warner Bros and Columbia movies.

matome

Probably not, but I don't care since the main reason I preorder is to get them early or on the release date.

nightmaster

I think it's cheaper to wait till release date for those of us who don't fiddle with STL or the clubs and such. A big name release will always have an under $20 price tag attached to it at one of the bigger B&Ms. Plus the shipping of some titles winds up being after that release day, which means your buddies are enjoying the movie several days before you even though you may have pre-rdered the title months ago. The bigger the city you live in the better you can expect the price to be lower because of competition from other retailers. For titles I don't expect to find like the Jerry Lewis movies when they are released this fall I'm happy to buy online, but for a title like Kill Bill 2 I'll be at Wallyworld to get my copy. I DO think it's cheaper to buy the mid-level releases and titles that have had an MSRP price drop online, but even then, I usually buy online because I know I can have it in my hand fairly quick, rather than waiting for a B&M to carry it....and the B&Ms aren't nearly as prompt about dropping their prices.

fumanstan

It depends. For your typical 1 or 2 disc new releases, you're not going to save much, if any, by ordering online versus picking it up at a B&M. For more expensive DVD's, like TV Shows or Box Sets, you can often find online deals like Amazon's STL that'll save you 5-10 bucks.

Personally, i enjoy going to Best Buy or Circuit City on release day for my new releases. There's something satisfying about going there and buying an anticipated movie and having it in your hands right then and there. Plus, it's always fun browsing the selections, particularly when you don't have the time to do it often

Jackskeleton

Besides that, I hate managing virtual money vs. cold hard cash. I can see how much I'm spending when I go to the store and take it out of my wallet opposed to just spend like a mad man on the internet because much like credit cards mentality, it's money you don't see go away.

Smaller titles I do still order online, but like nightmaster said.. those big items will be everywhere and stores will fight for your dollar.

surfingelectrod

Usually I go to Best Buy, unless I find a really good deal, like Amazon having the Dawn of the Dead Box set for 35.00 (30 with STL). But for regular releases, its usually like this:
Amazon: 20.00
Best Buy: 15.00

JimRochester

With the number of unseen movies I have right now, I've solved the problem by not doing either. I have a great store here upstate that will have the titles on the used shelf for

billy9215

Bingo!

Eric F

If you can't find something to buy at CH you're not looking hard enough. Granted they don't carry everything, but I'd say I make >75% of my purchases through them.

Of course you'll usually have to wait a while to get what you want. Is it worth waiting to save 50% or more over retail? You decide...

darqleo

I'm actually saving a list for the next DDD.com super sale (hopefully in Nov.)
I'm astounded at my patience!
I do get a DVD occasionally if it's a really must have...

collven

If you're willing to wait anyway, I would go the Columbia House route. It's cheaper than DDD's sales, usually by a pretty good amount. Averaging about $7 a movie is much better than waiting for DDD to have another sale, especially reading about all the problems people had with them after the last sale.

Ruderic

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I think times have changed. You can get great deals on Amazon on one thing and not for another.

Goldblum

Putting aside Columbia House and STL, it's usually cheaper to get them on the release date at either BB or CC. As always, our good friends at Dvd.talk let us know the best deal ahead of time by posting the prices for both these stores every week.

Occassionally you can find a better deal on a preorder online, but it's not particularly common. That said, I still do most of my DVD shopping online, and I use BB for new releases.

Ginwen

Because DDD usually beats best price by ten cents for advertised releases (and the savings is a bunch more due to tax, plus no wasted gas and no wasted time), but they don't actually lower the price until the day of release, the cheapest way for me to get these releases (ignoring CH) is to wait until the day of release and order them online.

This works for me as I am generally not in a huge rush to get them (I am still slogging away at my unwatched list)--if I absolutely must have them that day, I'll go to B & M and pick them up, but that's rare.

illennium

Actually, you save 37% off MSRP. Where are you getting the 45% figure?

lizard

And Paramount, Universal, some Fox (no Star Wars, sorry), Blue Underground, and the like. Columbia House no longer sells Disney DVDs (Buena Vista, Touchstone, Miramax, Dimension). And the only Fox box sets they sell are The Simpsons I believe. They only sell a couple of mainstream Criterions, like The Royal Tenenbaums.

Still, if one buys most DVDs at CH for $7.16 each one will have more money left over to buy the ones they don't carry somewhere else. But using CH takes patience and perserverance and is not for everyone.

On topic: whether one gets good deals at B&M stores depends on where one lives. The only stores that sell DVDs near me are Hastings (very high prices) and Wal-Mart (high prices, they don't discount DVDs because there is no big store competition). Not everyone has stores that sell DVDs as loss leaders on release day. So, it's on-line ordering for me to get decent prices.

Josh H

No. The only time I buy a DVD online or in advance anymore is if there's a killer sell or I have a GC (like the Vividence reward ones).

Otherwise it's going to be cheaper at BB, CC or Wal-mart for me and I don't have to wait for it to ship, worry about it getting damaged, pay for shipping, etc.

Numes

For Box Sets, I don't know how anyone can say that a B&M is going to beat a pre-order from Amazon w/STL, DDD, or for some of my orders, DVDSoon. Just look on a DVD Price Search Engine, and find the cheapest route.

Assuming you don't go the Columbia House route (which I do), It's probably about a wash when you consider that the B&M's will have it fairly cheap on release day, but with tax, gas, and just the time to go to the store, it's almost never worth it to me. If you really really want the DVD on release day, then that may push you over the edge to actually buy it at a B&M.

As for shipping cost, if you ever buy a DVD that you have to pay for shipping, you are not shopping at the right place.

I've purchased maybe 20 of my 700+ movies at a B&M. Most likely I had a gift certificate that I needed to use.

Josh H

B&M is convenient for me as I have a BB 5 minutes from my house, and both that BB and a CC are on my way to work, to gas and time aren't a factor for me, and I don't mind paying a little tax.

About the only way to get most new releases online is with STL or lucking into a deal or coupon, and I just don't care enough about saving a couple bucks to bother with that hassle. I can see it for people that buy tons of DVDS, but I've had a player for 5 1/2 years and only have 135 DVDs so it's not a huge deal for me to not get the absolute best deal on every DVD a buy.

Tony Dvdfan

I don't preorder at all really, its more convenient for me to pick up new releases at B&M's on release day, when it is usually cheaper than preordering. Only 10 minutes away from no tax Delaware, so sales tax isnt an issue.