Blockbuster 5 for $20 Sale (Previously Viewed)

[FilmJunkie29]

My local store isn't closing, but they are running the 5/$20 and 3/$20 deals. Picked up Horrible Bosses, Crazy Stupid Love, The Other Guys, Dear John (not for me, thankfully) and Young Frankenstein. Crazy Stupid Love unfortunately did not have the original cover art, as seems to be the case with most copies of it and other Warner Bros. titles, but I did manage to find the one copy of Horrible Bosses that had its original cover art. And for four bucks, I can't complain too much. All of the blu-rays had their special features as well. Pretty happy with the Young Frankenstein find.

[duganrm]

Originally Posted by marginal

I just found out this weekend that my local Blockbuster is closing, so I stopped by to look at the Blu-rays. Of course, most of them were $9.99, which was a rip-off... but they had a table full (about six small boxes' worth) of sleeve-only Blu-rays as part of the 5 for $7.50 deal. I bought 30 for $45, and had a few MAJOR scores: three Criterions, including Bigger Than Life, Stagecoach, and the out-of-print The Third Man! Also picked up Micmacs, I Am Love, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Harry Potter/Deathly Hallows 2, Bored to Death Complete First Season, The Square, Oldboy, The Fall, Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and A Passage to India, among others. There were lots of partials on multi-disc sets like Treme and The Pacific... too bad. All in all though, pretty great deal for $1.50 each!

Nice! I wish the ones near me had a better selection. So far I have been to about 7 that are closing and only 1 has any of the sleeve titles. I got most of the titles they had but wish they had a selection like yours seems to.

[TexasDVDer]

Sorry, what does "sleeve title" mean?

[worrywort]

no box / no cover.

[duganrm]

Originally Posted by TexasDVDer

Sorry, what does "sleeve title" mean?

what worrywort said.

Originally Posted by worrywort

no box / no cover.

It is just the bluray disc in a white sleeve with no box or cover/inserts. I understand they are the mailers that came from blockbuster.com.

[Manzana]

I called 2 Blockbusters in my area today, and they both said that only 1 store in my area is closing in April. So I called that store which said right now their used BDs are $9.99 each. I guess I'll check back with them in March to see where their prices are then. It sounds like there's no reason for me to go to a Blockbuster any time soon.

[asianxcore]

My local store is closing on 2/26/2012 and they had a lot of great deals + BDs left on sale.

New Release DVDs = $3.99
Older DVDs/White Sticker= 5/$7.50
All Blu-Rays= $3.99

I picked up:

Red State (BD)
Raging Bull (BD)
Micmacs (BD)
Source Code (BD)

$16 + tax!

Bought what I really wanted the first time around (today), might go in a week or so to see if the other stuff I was 50/50 on is still there.

[Hethunder]

Anyone else having an issue with their locals having the exact same shit they had in october? mine has not had anything new in forever. really bummed.

[duganrm]

I hit multiple stores yesterday. Everything is bluray and was $3.99 unless posted. If anyone is actually in the San Diego area and wants to know details of what stores to go to, let me know or I won't take the time to post the stores.

Disneynature: Crimson Wings
Drive Angry
My Name is Bruce
Easy A
Race to Witch Mountain
Superhero movie
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
Mars Needs Moms - $3.90
Mechanic - $3.90
Bridge to Terabithia - $2.60
Spiderwick Chronicles - $1.82

[Manzana]

Originally Posted by asianxcore

My local store is closing on 2/26/2012 and they had a lot of great deals + BDs left on sale.

New Release DVDs = $3.99
Older DVDs/White Sticker= 5/$7.50
All Blu-Rays= $3.99

It sounds like a lot of people have a lot of closing stores in their area. Is it odd that only 1 out of 5 in my area (roughly 10 mile radius) is closing or is that about what others are finding in their areas?

Also, how many weeks before closing do the above prices kick in? Perhaps at 3 weeks judging by today's date and 2/26/2012?

If the one in my area is closing mid April then I guess I've got to wait until late March before I'll see the 5 for $7.50 or $3.99 BD prices that are very tempting. The current $9.99 for a used BD they quoted me is a total joke.

[duganrm]

Originally Posted by Manzana

It sounds like a lot of people have a lot of closing stores in their area. Is it odd that only 1 out of 5 in my area (roughly 10 mile radius) is closing or is that about what others are finding in their areas?

Also, how many weeks before closing do the above prices kick in? Perhaps at 3 weeks judging by today's date and 2/26/2012?

If the one in my area is closing mid April then I guess I've got to wait until late March before I'll see the 5 for $7.50 or $3.99 BD prices that are very tempting. The current $9.99 for a used BD they quoted me is a total joke.

I believe in my area the ratio is slightly higher. Last year when I went looking for Avatar EE, I found that we had 24 stores in the county. I know for sure that 9 are closing and I have not checked on probably 3-4 of the furthest ones from me. This is much larger than a 10 mile radius though.

I would actually guess $3.99 would be the last 2 weeks. The stores closing 2/26 in my area were supposed to close 2/19 originally but they got extended by 1 week. I still have one closing on 2/19 and it is still at $3.99 this week. Next Monday, I will travel to all 3 to see which ones dropped to $2.99.

I was in my closest store today and the $9.99 blurays were still flying off the shelf. I couldn't help but cringe when I saw a guy with 6-8 blurays in his hands. They take advantage of those that don't shop for the bargains.

Now the 5 for $7.50 may be different from store to store. I have only seen this on the sleeve only titles although I would not be surprised if they included the $1.99 dvds (not bluray) they had before the sale started (never cared about these so I would have walked right past them in store). I have seen the sleeves at 5 for $7.50 a month and a half before closing at one store and then I found sleeves at $3.99 ea at a store closing in 2 weeks so these are going to be a big YMMV. The best thing you can do is call the store every monday and ask about sleeve titles (if they even get them in, not all stores do).

[vgc]

The stores closing near me have some Blu Ray sleeve only titles, but they have multiple copies of each title so there are probably a few hundred blu rays, but only about 13 titles.

[Manzana]

Originally Posted by duganrm

I was in my closest store today and the $9.99 blurays were still flying off the shelf. I couldn't help but cringe when I saw a guy with 6-8 blurays in his hands. They take advantage of those that don't shop for the bargains.
...
The best thing you can do is call the store every monday and ask about sleeve titles (if they even get them in, not all stores do).

Thanks for the helpful info. Unless the $9.99 used BDs you saw being bought were new releases, I don't understand it either. Back when they had 5 for $20 used BDs for months, after a while few people were looking or buying them, so I assume that anyone who buys used BDs at Blockbuster would already own anything they wanted that was part of that sale.

When I called the closing store recently, I asked what prices they had on used Blu-Rays and was told they were all $9.99 if I heard right. I didn't specifically ask about "sleeve titles" hoping/assuming I'd be told what prices they had on any used BDs (including sleeve titles if they had them).

Do people really think it's worth calling every Monday asking for sleeve titles (BDs)? Are only closing stores (potentially) carrying sleeve titles or could they be at stores that are staying open (for now)? Hearing vgc say his store only had about 13 different sleeve titles on BD is not very encouraging. I'd love to find another bonanza like that Memorial Day sale a year or two ago where I walked out with a couple boxes of BDs for 99 cents each, but other than this one time and 2 HW Video closings, I've never come across deals like that.

[asianxcore]

Went back to my local store to pick up other things I wanted. Looks like word got out (or people are coming back now that the prices are lower) since there was people constantly filling up the parking lot as I left. Still thinking about coming back a little bit closer to closing date to maybe pick up more titles at (hopefully) another price drop.

Picked up @ $3.99:

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (BD)
The Green Hornet (BD)
Bad Boys (BD)
Man On Fire (BD)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (BD)

Really really happy with the 9 BDs I've bought so far from this sale

[duganrm]

Originally Posted by Manzana

Thanks for the helpful info. Unless the $9.99 used BDs you saw being bought were new releases, I don't understand it either. Back when they had 5 for $20 used BDs for months, after a while few people were looking or buying them, so I assume that anyone who buys used BDs at Blockbuster would already own anything they wanted that was part of that sale.

When I called the closing store recently, I asked what prices they had on used Blu-Rays and was told they were all $9.99 if I heard right. I didn't specifically ask about "sleeve titles" hoping/assuming I'd be told what prices they had on any used BDs (including sleeve titles if they had them).

Do people really think it's worth calling every Monday asking for sleeve titles (BDs)? Are only closing stores (potentially) carrying sleeve titles or could they be at stores that are staying open (for now)? Hearing vgc say his store only had about 13 different sleeve titles on BD is not very encouraging. I'd love to find another bonanza like that Memorial Day sale a year or two ago where I walked out with a couple boxes of BDs for 99 cents each, but other than this one time and 2 HW Video closings, I've never come across deals like that.

The only title I specifically saw the guy pick up was District 9 for $6.99 which is the same price it has been for awhile (you can get new for $7.20 if they had it still)

I kinda thing your store was giving you the easy answer to get you off the phone. All the stores I went to are not increasing the titles already marked $6.99 to $9.99 so those titles are still the marked price. You need to specifically ask the store if they have sleeve titles as only some of them did. Once you find out, then it is worth keeping track of the prices if they have them (will vary from store to store). As for the qty, most people that have the sleeves seem to have the selection of 10-30 of the same movies. It is only the rare store that has the large selection of sleeve titles to pick from. At this point, I have only seen and heard of sleeve titles at the closing stores.

I missed that $.99 sale they had before. I am still bummed about that. I would have gotten quite a few titles if I had seen it.

[vgc]

Originally Posted by asianxcore

Went back to my local store to pick up other things I wanted. Looks like word got out (or people are coming back now that the prices are lower) since there was people constantly filling up the parking lot as I left. Still thinking about coming back a little bit closer to closing date to maybe pick up more titles at (hopefully) another price drop.

Picked up @ $3.99:

The Good, The Bad, The Weird (BD)
The Green Hornet (BD)
Bad Boys (BD)
Man On Fire (BD)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (BD)

Really really happy with the 9 BDs I've bought so far from this sale

With the stores who closed in our area the rental Blu's went down to $2.99 and the pre-viewed Blu's went down to $1.99. This happened when they only had three days left to be open. The prices didn't fall after that. Hope that helps. There were still a lot of good Blu's available even with three days left.

[duganrm]

Originally Posted by vgc

With the stores who closed in our area the rental Blu's went down to $2.99 and the pre-viewed Blu's went down to $1.99. This happened when they only had three days left to be open. The prices didn't fall after that. Hope that helps. There were still a lot of good Blu's available even with three days left.

What is the difference between the Rental and pre-viewed Blus? I have hopes that monday will see $2.99 at my stores but the clerks aren't sure what the next price drop will be.

I found out tonight that managers at each location are given a bonus based on how much money they bring in. This would account for some of the differences in prices based on what each manager was doing to try to get a bigger bonus.

I ended up picking up Source Code ($3.90) and Waterhorse ($3.98) from a closing store today. Was the last copy of each and I didn't remember seeing them in stock at the other 2 stores.

[asianxcore]

Originally Posted by vgc

With the stores who closed in our area the rental Blu's went down to $2.99 and the pre-viewed Blu's went down to $1.99. This happened when they only had three days left to be open. The prices didn't fall after that. Hope that helps. There were still a lot of good Blu's available even with three days left.

That does help a lot, thank you for posting!

Even at $3.99 I went and got the 9 BDs I wanted the most out of everything in the store. There is stuff I'll go back for at $2.99, but I got most of my high wants (and stuff with only 1 copy left).

[asianxcore]

Went to a different store about 20 or so minutes away after I got out of work/classes. It was the Petaluma, CA store off of Lakeville.

Still had a good amount of Blu-Rays left, but not much I hadn't seen at my other local store. I ended up picking up the three titles I saw there that I wanted in general that I didn't see at the other store.

My Haul @ $3.99

- Monsters (BD)
-Ultraviolet (BD)
-Splinter (BD)

[Johnny Zhivago]

No rhyme or reason at the store closing here... One side of the store has ALL used BD or DVD $4.99 each signs. With 60% off signs in between the $4.99 signs. Huh? Other side of the store has ALL used BD or DVD $6.99 each. With 50% off and 60% off signs scattered about. What?

Asked... The $4.99 side is from another store and are all $4.99. $6.99 side from our store. Um, OK.

So I grabbed 4 from the $4.99 side... and they ring up out the door - with tax - for $15.02 total.



Frost/Nixon, Defiance, The Kite Runner, Let the Right One In...

Woman in front of me at checkout had an armful of used DVD from the $4.99 side.

[duganrm]

Originally Posted by Johnny Zhivago

No rhyme or reason at the store closing here... One side of the store has ALL used BD or DVD $4.99 each signs. With 60% off signs in between the $4.99 signs. Huh? Other side of the store has ALL used BD or DVD $6.99 each. With 50% off and 60% off signs scattered about. What?

Asked... The $4.99 side is from another store and are all $4.99. $6.99 side from our store. Um, OK.

So I grabbed 4 from the $4.99 side... and they ring up out the door - with tax - for $15.02 total.



Frost/Nixon, Defiance, The Kite Runner, Let the Right One In...

Woman in front of me at checkout had an armful of used DVD from the $4.99 side.

How do they tell which side of the store they came from? What if someone carried a movie from one side to the other....

I admit the % off signs next to the $ signs is confusing. I went back to a store today that shows 70% off and $3.99 signs. Monday I bought a $6.99 title from them and they actually took 74%ish off (total was $1.82 for it) but I heard the girl at the counter tell a customer today that everything is $3.99. I debated taking a $6.99 title to the register and asking what it rings up as but just decided to wait till next week. I will grab a stack of movies once it is $2.99 and can hope some will ring up lower.

[vgc]

Originally Posted by Johnny Zhivago

No rhyme or reason at the store closing here... One side of the store has ALL used BD or DVD $4.99 each signs. With 60% off signs in between the $4.99 signs. Huh? Other side of the store has ALL used BD or DVD $6.99 each. With 50% off and 60% off signs scattered about. What?

Asked... The $4.99 side is from another store and are all $4.99. $6.99 side from our store. Um, OK.

So I grabbed 4 from the $4.99 side... and they ring up out the door - with tax - for $15.02 total.



Frost/Nixon, Defiance, The Kite Runner, Let the Right One In...

Woman in front of me at checkout had an armful of used DVD from the $4.99 side.

I think I might be able to explain this. The previewed movies start at a lower price than the actual rental stock. The previewed movies were the movies that use to sell for the 5 for $20 sale. The rental stock is priced higher, but you will might notice that this stock has the 99 cent rental stickers on them indicating former rental stock. This was the case at stores closing near me.

[DJariya]

The Blockbuster Video in my area is closing up shop and merging with another store (I assume probably more profitable)

They are having a closing sale. Nothing really good as far as DVDs and BDs in cases goes. The used DVDs are $9.99 and the used BDs are $12.99. New DVDs and BDs are 10% off sticker price and games are 20% off.

They did have a pretty decent deal on DVDs and BDs from Blockbuster Online rentals in the envelopes with no case or artwork.

$2.99 each, 5 for $7.50. I picked up 10 movies (5 DVDs and 5 BDs) for around $16 after tax. Not bad if you just want the movie/disc and aren't OCD about having the case and artwork.

[duganrm]

People are posting that they are seeing titles at $1.99 today for the stores closing in the next week. Just an FYI if you were waiting for the lower prices, it might be worth a call to see what the prices are at your closing store.

[Trance97]

Last time I went they have a bunch of meh titles. Not really worth my time.