thursdaynighter

Does anybody know if the stores plan on putting out more inventory when the actual sale starts (A greater variety of movies)? Are you guys getting the Zombieland Blu or dvd? It's been $12.99 for the blu at the stores I've been too.

John Galt

Have them check the price. That's what I did and it rang up 9.99 even though the sticker was 12.99

Manzana

And now the post you've all been waiting for... Manzana's long post (sans the usual negative comments)...

Regarding the Blockbuster BD sale, I'm surprised this thread isn't much bigger. I went to 3 stores since Tuesday as there ended up being enough good titles to make me consume the time and gas. I won't post what I bought as I'd be embarrassed that "I got a bit carried away" (to quote Sir Lancelot from MPHG). I learned that a few titles are $9.99 at one store and $12.99 at others (Up was 1 example I can think of), but most titles on the list were correct (plus there are more $9.99 titles available than on the list).

Nobody else was looking at the BDs at any of the stores I visited while I was there. I was a bit shocked because I'd think this would get people out in "droves", but I guess most people don't read here or Slickdeals to know about the "early" sale, or that same old excuse "I don't have a BD player yet" (which is weird considering they are on sale from $69-$100 all the time... such as Fry's Electronics has a $69 one right now). I guess most people are too busy enjoying life while I waste mine with this stuff. :-( One guy in line saw my stacks of BDs and when he heard the price at checkout, he asked about the deal, the employee told him, and he went to the BD section to look.

As expected, almost all of the BDs were in really good condition since BDs are more durable and I guess not rented as much as DVDs. The worst part of seeing so many $4 BDs was there were so many titles I had bought within the last 3 months to a year for $5-$10 which I hadn't even opened and now I wished I had waited. A few of them were ones I violated my $10 limit policy and paid $13 for, and that helped slap me in the face to be more strict on not caving in on my $10 limit in the future. I'm starting to think with this sale and the recent Amazon/BB sales that $10 is too high a limit on new BDs... it should be more like $7-$8.

Another bad thing about seeing so many $4 BDs which I'd never heard of before was wondering if they are worth a blind buy. I don't have time to read reviews on 100+ movies to decide which are worth buying while work is always cracking the whip and before the general public finds out about the sale on Friday and they wipe out the remaining good BDs this weekend. Now if all sales weren't final unless you have a defective (which is unlikely), it would be much easier to overbuy and then return. Even trying to be selective, I'm sure I bought some crap in there as well as I'm sure I passed on some good stuff.

As it was, I barely had time to make it by these stores (which are out of my normal driving path) and give each a once-over. Most stores were about 90% the same stuff. Going to other stores would probably be diminishing returns at this point since I had 1 store check the area inventory for the remaining titles I wanted: Beowulf, Chicken Little, Chronicles of Narnia, Date Night, Gandhi, Hot Rod, Madagascar, Nanny McPhee Returns, and Zodiac. None had any of those in stock or for $9.99 or less.

Also weird was that all copies of The Spiderwick Chronicles I had them check had brown discoloration rings around the edges looking like (rare) old rotted CDs I've seen before. I don't know if that should be a reason for concern.

Now I have to buy a bunch of BD cases. I guess I'll get 100 "Viva Elites" for $44 unless someone knows a better deal at the moment. Are there any current deals from reliable sources? I have a note that "Bay520" was a good source, but I never got around to checking. I bet BD case business is about to pick up for a little while.

John Galt

^I think it also has to do with a negative stigma of previous rentals from BBV. I bought used DVDs from them once before (in 1999) and after looking at the shitty condition of the cases, artwork, and discs; vowed to never do so again. If it weren't for the BBV closing sale 3 months ago, where I realized that they no longer write all over the disc and artwork, and that cases are easily replaceable; I would have skipped this one entirely....I've picked up 35 titles so far with 3 more stores to visit tonight.

conscience

The good thing about blu ray, though, is that realistically not many people have converted to it yet so you don't have a plethora of people renting them and scuffing them up (this is also more evident in what area the BB is located). The ones I have gotten from them have actually been in great condition. Even one of the employees was like 'it's a blu-ray so it should be fine' when I asked about looking at the disc which made me think that not many people are renting them in the first place.

Manzana

I almost never bought used DVDs from Blockbuster for those same reasons, but the BDs seem to be fine. I did miss the "rental" exclusive on 500 Days of Summer or I probably wouldn't have bought it.

If anyone wants to chime in here to recommend titles (since I won't have time to read any reviews for a while), here are the $4 BDs I passed on (most of which I saw) which I might be able to pick up on the weekend if they're still there:

Adventureland, An Education, Beerfest, Boondock Saints II, Bruno, Camille, Casanova, Chocolate, City Island, Clerks II, Death Proof, District B13, Dorian Gray, Drag Me to Hell, Due Date, The Fall, Four Chistmases, The Fourth Kind, Girl Who Played with Fire, Give Em Hell Malone, Hangover, Hell Ride, Hostel 1 & 2, Hotel for Dogs, IMAX Blue Planet, IMAX Coral Reef Adventure, IMAX Space Station, Incendiary, The Last Station, Layer Cake, Let the Right One in, Losers, Love Ranch, The Merry Gentlemen, The Messenger (Woody Harrelson), The Ministers, Ninja Asassin, Obsessed, One Missed Call, Ong Bak 2, Persepolis, Pirate Radio, Planet Terror, Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Prom Night, The Reader, Rest Stop, Scooby Doo: The Mystery Begins, Shine a Light, A Single Man, Smart People, The Song Remains the Same, Sorority Row, Soul Men, Splinter, Stuck, Sublime, Surveillance, Tell Tale, Tenure, This Christmas, To Save a Life, Triage, The Uninvited (new), Up in the Air, Valentine's Day, The Visitor, Warriors of Heaven and Earth, When in Rome, Whiteout, The Wicker Man (new), The Young Victoria, Youth in Revolt.

Darth O

Due Date was $9.99 (or less)? I would pick that up, even as a blind buy, for $4. The three stores I've been to all have it priced at $16.99.

FranklinShepard

Our tastes might not match up, but I've written (in bold) what I thought of these movies.

Manzana

Thanks, FranklinShepard. That gives me a good starting point. I guess one thing is I'm trying to buy movies I can watch with other adults in my family, so something that's loaded with too much sex, nudity, profanity, or violence wouldn't go over well, but a reasonable amount of each can be tolerated. I usually go to screenit or kidsinmind. I'd heard good things about Drag Me to Hell, but also that it was evil-scary like The Exorcist. I just want scary scary... not stuff that makes you feel like there's evil present in the room which is why I never watched The Exorcist. Too many people told me it gave them that feeling.

Darth O, I wrote down the titles on the $9.99 or less table just by looking at the spines. It's possible it was in the wrong spot or had a higher priced sticker. I basically took the list that was posted here, printed it, scribbled in the new ones that I saw, deleted a few that were higher priced, and reprinted it. But if I go again I'll keep my eye out for Due Date.

conebone69

Took my dad yesterday as we recieved the email and picked up some.

They were still placing stickers on them physically but all had been changed in the computer. Which is to be expected as the pre-sale is for email list only..or whatever

John Galt

Manzana, what types of films do you typically enjoy? serious dramas, silly comedies, graphic horror? That list is all over the place in terms of genres, and it would help others make suggestions.

dino88

Did you have them scan the ones on the list that you deleted for being higher priced? I'd say about 99% of the titles on the list have been verified as ringing up at $9.99 or lower. There could have been a few that slipped in that don't belong, but you'd be better off taking them to register and having them scan them. That is, if it's a title you really want.

dino88

Let Me In is $16.99 (possibly $12.99), so it isn't part of this sale.

wormraper

I'm still pissed off that they were stupid enough to exclude the blus from the 3 for $20 deal

nycdude

I picked another 5 wondering if I should have during lunch. I have to try another location to see if selection any better if time permits. hard with kids.

Deju Vu
Last Song (for kids)
Green Zone
Hurt Locker
Disturbia

U2Cowboy

My two-day haul:

Sherlock Holmes (rental exclusive)
Inglorious Basterds
Ponyo
Shine A Light
Starship Troopers
Up In The Air
District 9
Rudy
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
State of Play
Duplicity
The International
The Proposal
No Country For Old Men
The Wolfman

I might list some of these in the exchange forum.

conebone69

I don't see that as being stupid at all.

Now maybe 2 for $20 blu-rays I can see..


As for haul I've purchased for my dad:

2012
Die Another Day
G.I. Joe
Sherlock Holmes
Shutter Island
Transformers 2
Twilight
Twilight: New Moon
Walk Hard
Zombieland

Darth O

The sickness continued. I hit up the remaining stores in the area, making it a grand total of 7 Blockbusters visited in the last four days. BTW, the Shaw/Feland store had quite a few Disney titles priced at $9.99 (Ponyo, Up, Bolt, etc); the Cedar/Dakota store didn't offer much; Herndon/Willow had a decent selection (Gandhi was there). Here's what I picked up today:

• Burn After Reading
• Gods and Generals
• Pirate Radio
• Miracle At St. Anna
• A Single Man
• Hellboy II
• IMAX: Blue Planet
• Journey To The Center of the Earth
• Sky High
• I Am Legend
• The Messenger
• Inkheart
• The Fall
• Glory Road
• National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets

wormraper

Eh, $10 for a mildly "new" release that doesn't even come with a blu case??? sorry I get new releases any day of the week at pawn shops for between $6-$10 each or 3 for $25 at my local trade in place down the road. Blockbusters prices for used blu's are laughable unless a sale like this comes along. which is why I could have lived with 3 for $20 on their higher priced ones.

mattysemo247

Went to my third store today and got 5 more

No Country For Old Men
I Love You, Man
Into The Wild
Halloween (remake - 2 disc)
The Truman Show

conebone69

Happens both ways, like many other video rental stores.

If you know which day shipments come in, you can ask if there is any excess cases. Or just speak to manager and see if they can set some aside for you.





Outside the anal retentive dvd elitist, no one cares about which case it might be held in.

It's just to protect and hold your dvd. Not impress your friends.

In addition, outside of ditching excess stock(which is likely what this sale is about), I don't see how Blockbuster selling blu-rays 3/20 benefits them in anyway. Not until Blu-Ray is the rental majority and stores carry more of them than the regular dvd. And that goes not just for Blockbuster but Family Video, Indy stores etc..

You'll find prices there to be no different.

Pawn shops is a whole different realm as they were likely stolen and sold for scrap.

TimeandTide

Was hoping to score Planet Terror, Inglorious Basterds and No Country for Old Men. No luck.

Did pick up the following:

Red Cliff Parts 1 and 2
The Thing
I Love You, Man
Race to Witch Mountain

Heading back on Saturday to check out the new stock (they said they had a few huge boxes to unload still).

mike07

Has anyone seen the title "Old Dogs" (Disney flick starring Robin Williams & John Travolta) at their store part of the 5/$20? The closest store to me is at least an hour away now (all the local ones closed down years ago) and seeing how this is the only title I'm remotely interested in grabbing at $4 (of course I'll pick up others when I get there) I'm debating whether it's worth the time/gas to check it out...TIA!

wormraper

actually you'd be surprised. I know TONS of people who won't buy at blockbuster because of their crappy cases...

not only that, Blockbuster's USED prices are usually several dollars more than I can get them at half.com or amazon etc....

sorry to let you know but 90% of blockbuster's blu rays sit on their shelves until sales like this come around since no one in their right mind is paying between $12.99 -$16.99 for a used blu ray that may or may not come with special features and is usually missing a second disc (whether that be a digital copy, dvd or special features.) so ALL of blockbusters used titles are just that. getting rid of stock that won't rent any more

Even if I didn't get stuff from pawn shops... 90% of the titles can be had for less just by shopping at gohastings and waiting for their 20% off or free shipping sales that happen like crazy

dino88

I think you may be on the wrong site.