BobO'Link

Logan's Run, the Series. Chosen simply because they allowed all 5 of my "bonus cash" to be applied which brought it down to just under $10 with shipping. A few $$ less than Amazon but no great deal. The order was mainly to burn off those last few "bonus cash" credits and close the account.

Search for your titles on the site. If they come up you'll probably get them, if not I'd guess they'll be cancelled. That's what tipped me off and led me to contact them earlier to ask where it was - a search for the title came up empty.

BobO'Link

My four orders arrived today. If not a new delivery record it's certainly close.

b2net

I just got a backorder notice for one of the titles I ordered during the $9.99 sale that I already paid for and received. Bizarre. The title is no longer on their site at all either.

Sweet Baby James

There is currently a BOGO on Blu-rays. Alas, I couldn't find 2 titles given their extremely limited inventory.

Cardsfan111

E-mail received that indicates it's a free shipping weekend. May not make a difference for anyone, but thought I'd put it out there.

Edit: The e-mail actually says free shipping for Halloween, so that could mean it would expire tomorrow night.

Bill Needle

Free shipping today to go with the B1G1 DVD or B2G1 Blu-ray.

I actually placed an order for Joe Dirt 2. I know it's basically e-tailing suicide to place a CH pre-order, but the risk is minimal since it was basically free given the low price of the item compared to other retailers and using up the last of my bonus points, though because I used points I did not get the free shipping. Plus its Joe Dirt 2, so probably not a big deal if I don't get it until next summer or at all.

This is probably the last time I will ever use CH. Anyone else still currently using them? Have they improved now that they apparently only stock a few dozen titles based on what I saw on the web site? I think they could literally be run out of a small to medium sized storage shed now as opposed to merely providing customer service as though they were.

BobO'Link

Hmmm... missed that - not that it would have mattered or that I'd have actually placed a order. I didn't get the email and haven't gotten any other than the "You've declined your SOM" ones for quite some time.
I attempted to use all my points a few months back only to have the order get cancelled due to no stock. I called them out on this and asked to have the points put back only to be told they couldn't do that as the system "wasn't working right" but I could place a order and contact them to get the points applied *after* placing the order. Sure... *that's* gonna happen! It would probably take more time than 5 points would be worth.

Every time I log in to decline the SotM I think I just need to cancel the account as I'm 99% sure I'll never order from them again. I'm surprised they've not already cancelled me as I still get mailings (yeah... I'm one of *those* people - I'd rather browse a paper catalog than use a crappy web interface) and *never* take the SotM.

Bill Needle

Great Caesar's Ghost I actually got a shipping notification for a pre-order the day before it comes out. And it came with a USPS tracking number no less. This is still almost certainly my last hurrah with CH, but at least it looks like I'm going out on a high note.

DVD Josh

Still 12 CDs for a penny?

Bill Needle

Not for about 6 or 7 years now.

Bill Needle

Well, with Joe Dirt 2 now in hand, I close the Columbia House chapter in my life and bid them a fond adieu.

BobO'Link

I'm going to say the end is near for CH. I got this via email today:



With the number of available titles shrinking on a regular basis, lack of "good" sales, and this (although BP are pretty worthless when you do the math) they're pretty much irrelevant at this point.

The only reason I've not yet cancelled my account is I keep expecting a "Going out of Business" Fire Sale announcement.

Gobear

I haven't used CH for years, but back in the day I cycled many accounts and built up my collection with their 7:2 codes. It's sad to see how they've declined.

DVD Polizei

A CH Firesale would be like a B&N sale. Still overpriced and rarely a good deal.

wkkunkle

Stopped ordering after they redesigned their site the first time ... it was nothing but downhill from there ... I am actually surprised they are still in business given their sign-up off is now 1 free DVD with purchase ... I knew when they started declining their sign-up offer, it was going to be worthless from then on out.

Really sad - even with the bad customer service and out of touch, nowhere near real time ordering system, I enjoyed it early on and felt I got some good "deals" (though I never churned like others here).

BobO'Link

Well... I finally did it... I cancelled my membership with CH last week. I grew tired of having to remember to decline the crappy selection-of-the-month and their "catalog" has done nothing but get worse over the past couple of years. Couple all that with lack of any type of "good" sale and I'm done. It feels odd as I've been a member of CH (Records/CD/DVD) continually (cycled *dozens* of accounts but always kept 1 open) since the early 80s.

RIP CH. It was a fun ride.

b2net

I haven't had to do the selection of the month for years... So long I'd forgotten all about that....

movieguru

It's been at least four years since I ordered from them. I don't think I purchased anything from them since they changed their website around the last time. I think at the time I was averaging dvd's at about $5-6 each and the boxed sets of tv series and movies were a great deal at the time. Now that streaming is around there isn't as much use for physical copies except when they are not available to stream which is rare nowadays. I used to be able to flip some of their large sets when the sales were right and that paid for most of the hobby. I still have a few hundred dvd's I've never gotten around to watching and most of those can be streamed now.

Cardsfan111

I've always feared that as soon as I canceled my membership, we'd see some closeout/super discount code better than any we've seen before. Perhaps that will be your experience, Bob. So thanks from all of us!

I was able to disable all of my monthly selection notifications some time ago, as b2net mentioned. As a result, it doesn't bother me to keep my accounts open. I get far less e-mail from CH than many other retailers, etc., so I'll continue to wait on the small chance of something good coming our way eventually.

inri222

After reading your post, I looked at my account and it has been over a year since I have placed an order with them. I said the hell with it and closed the account. One less headache not having to respond to those director's selections.

BobO'Link

You're welcome! Expecting something like that is the *only* reason I kept the account for the past couple of years. What convinced me to finally close it was looking over the web offerings a month or so back. It looks like they put their *entire* offerings in the print catalog each month (yeah... I still got the print version). I saw only 2 or 3 titles I'd purchase from them *if* the price was at least 75% lower. It's just not worth the hassle... In any event, I have another account I'd closed years ago and am still able to log into it due to a "we miss you" option. Or could the last time I tried a year or so back. I only used that account to take advantage of the "limit one use per account" codes. If they *do* have some type of closeout/super discount code I'll give that one a try. If it works, super... if not. Well... guess I'll just miss out.
I never tried to change to a "positive" option as so many reported they'd been told "Sorry... can't do that." A couple of times I considered not responding to see what would happen. I had a 100% invalid CC as the only payment option so they'd *have* to send it with the "bill me" option. And those are dead easy to resolve - just mark the package and drop it in the mail.

b2net

I literally do nothing. Nothing is sent or billed unless I order it directly. I switched to that as soon as I found out about it.

So basically my membership now gives me an email on some regular basis and I login to purchase if something catches my eye.

Come to think of it, I think I haven't ordered from them since mid 2015.

Cardsfan111

I had no idea they still did mailings/catalogs by mail.

BobO'Link

Yep. Looks exactly the same as it has for years. Same size, same layout. It even has the lame inserts for other products it's always had. I thought it'd change with the new ownership but nope.

Cardsfan111

CH must be monitoring this thread. I received a print catalog by mail this week.

I don't recall ever getting one before. If I have, it's been at least a decade. I double-checked the reply card to make sure it indicated the featured selection would not be sent to me. Bizarre.