Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Maybe I'm in some kind of minority of people who do this, but at Amazon U.S., Canada and the U.K. (and to a far lesser extent Germany, Italy and Japan) I keep the "saved for later" sections of my shopping carts full of items -- mostly movies -- that have peaked my interest over the years but for which I didn't want to pay full price. Sometimes stuff sits there for years; there's rarely a rush. When a sale like this comes up but shipping becomes an issue because I can't pick enough items to justify the cost per unit, I can at least skim through those sections of my carts extremely quickly and often find an extra piece or two to add to the order. I also check to see if there are other "deals" running concurrently. Amazon Canada has 17 other deals in the Movies & TV section at the moment, some good, some crap, I'm sure. Obviously there's no guarantee you'll find something to push an order into the comfort zone for shipping, but considering the extremely favorable current exchange rate for American shoppers it's certainly worth poking around. The Shout titles aren't going back down until September, so there's plenty of time, too.

https://www.amazon.ca/dvd-movies-blu...F8&node=917972

Either that or wait and see if the U.S. site has another deal on Shout titles. They had a pretty decent one earlier this year as I recall. The list of titles wasn't so inclusive, but it did feature shows that aren't part of this sale.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

I do that too. Did you know there's a 600 item limit on the "Saved for later" section? I didn't until I put #601 in and lost the last item in the list. My US list stays in the 560-580 range 100% of the time (it's more than movies but they make up the bulk). I've missed a few "deals" over the years and really should set up notices on stuff with camelcamelcamel but I don't check email as often as I do my Amazon carts (email is *not* on my cell phone as I'm one of 10 people in the US who doesn't own one and has no desire to own one).

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

I use wish lists to keep track of stuff I'm interested in to possibly buy later, which also allow for individualized notes on each item.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

:lol: I learned about that limit the hard way a few years back on the U.S. site (where I spend the most cash, despite being in Canada). At first I assumed I must've deleted several things near the end of the list by accident. A few days later I added a Blu-ray that I knew was at the very bottom of the list in DVD format and when I scrolled there to delete it, it was already gone. I saved one more item for later, which confirmed that there was indeed a limit. That's when I realized I'd probably been leaking items for quite some time, so I decided to move a bunch of stuff to my wish list, then break that into smaller wishlists in various categories. On the overseas accounts, the "saved for later" and wishlists aren't so lengthy, but I also scroll through those in case an extra item or two might help make for an order with justifiable shipping. On the U.S. site, I qualify for free shipping because of my U.S. mailing addresses, but overseas I have to compare shipping to Canada and the U.S. before placing the order.

Oddly enough, the vast majority of products on my lists is just stuff I'm moderately curious about, but would only buy at bargain basement prices, either from Amazon or from a third-party seller (like when booksellers offer like-new books for a penny, etc.). That's why so much of it tends to sit there for years and years.

I hear ya on the phone. I have a cell, but it's an antique flip phone with no internet and only about seven people have the number. Mind you, I do have an iPad and iPod, and the office has WiFi, so checking email is fairly easy, but so is checking my various Amazon carts for price updates. Sigh . . . :rolleyes:

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Oh, I have decent wish lists for Amazon UK, France, and Germany...it's just that not enough interests me on the Canadian site, especially after I got those Avengers blu-ray cartoons :) (which I got somewhere else anyway). I'll stick with the European ones...about to do one from France on some Gaumont titles.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

The problem I have with the wish lists is they don't automatically show you what went up/down in price when you open one. They only show you the price when you added it to your list and the current price. With the "saved for later" you get instant price updates when you select "cart."

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Yeah, the updated price in your saved items/cart is definitely the way to shop on any amazon site. That's how I finally ordered The Car on Blu-ray. I didn't realize it was part of a larger sale until I saw your post, here.

I only wish there was a way to set a threshold to avoid seeing notifications about items changing by a couple of cents.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

I found a few deals at the local Dollarama for $3 each.

Boyhood (digipak)
Afternoon Delight
Third Person (Paul Haggis)
The Company Men
Inside Llweyn Davis
Battle in Seattle

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

THE COMPLETE SCREAM COLLECTION (1-4) is down to $17.99 CDN / $13.55 US.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B006DVB6C6/

Pretty sure that's an all time low, and it's the only way to get all four films (plus the documentaries on a fifth disc) all in one set.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Re-posted from the Amazon U.K. thread:

and adding:

The Rodgers & Hammerstein Collection
(State Fair / Oklahoma! / The King and I / Carousel / South Pacific / The Sound of Music)
$31.99 CAD / $24 US before shipping
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JH0EVT0/

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Thanks for re-posting Brian T. :) I'd forgotten there was a Canadian thread.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Wow! The James Bond Collection. 24 films for $69.99.

http://a.co/2H1cgeV

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Comes to $61.55 USD shipped.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Good deal on either side of the border:
Tarantino Ultimate Collection - $24.99 CDN / approx. $26.00 US shipped
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00U1QGJBM/

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

you can get that set for $57 at Zavvi today on Cyber monday if you have a region free player (It's region B locked)

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Figured I'd post this here since there's probably not enough fellow Canucks on this site to justify a separate thread!

A couple of weeks ago (as mentioned in another thread hereabouts), Canada's last surviving music/movie store chain, the British import HMV, announced it was closing down for good. The sales began immediately, but naturally began with paltry 10% discount that did little to offset their high prices but strangely didn't stop hundreds of people from swooping into the flagship store here in Toronto and scooping up "bargains" that were anything but. This continued at 20% off, which still netted prices bettered by Amazon for a lot of stuff. Now they're at 25% off, which is starting to yield some ok deals, and they've reduced most of their 2/$XX deals a bit further if you do the math. For example, 2-for-$30 discs are now 2-for-$20, or ~33% off (the store uses typical closing sale b.s. math to make you think it's actually higher), which is a great way to grab MANY second-tier Shout Factory discs -- which reside in their 2/$30 tier -- at pricing even the U.S. sites can't match. That said, I was able to get all of these for $10 a pop:

THE FINAL TERROR
GHOST TOWN
THE GONG SHOW MOVIE
HACKERS 20th Anniversary
I MADMAN
NEW YEAR'S EVIL
SCARECROWS
SHOCKER
SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE
SONNY BOY

Further to that, all former 2-for-$20 discs are now 2-for-$15, which does correlate to the official 25% off and netted me these Shout titles for $7.50 each:

DIE MONSTER DIE
COHEN AND TATE


Other Shout titles spotted but not purchased (stickered at 2/$30 originally, now $10 each):

GHOULIES 1/2
JACK'S BACK
G.I. JOE THE MOVIE
EDDIE & THE CRUISERS 1/2

So, for those with an HMV nearby, now's probably a good time to start paying regular visits, especially if you're looking for more offbeat stuff. They say the final day is in April 30, but as in all such situations, that's not written in stone.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Hey Brian T, any news about if Best Buy Canada are bringing the Rogue One steelbooks here too?

Recently BB Canada website has been really inconsistent with their exclusives being very limited or being sold out. I wasn't able to pre-order the Dr. Strange steelbook because of it.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Same thing you describe happens frequently in the USA. A store has a going out of business sale, raises their prices, then slightly marks them down & idiots beat the doors down & empty the store. A somewhat recent dvd/cd example was the Circuit City chain.

When Canadian chain Future Shop pulled out of the USA, they were one of the few who had real sales; & many of the best were unadvertised. The new sale merch was always marked down Saturday Morning; & for several weeks I was getting up at 6 am & hitting every Future shop within 100 miles or so, & getting incredible hauls of import music cd's at $1.00 ea.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Im afraid I'm not much of a source of info on Best Buy or their steelbooks. I don't visit there very often except if I happen to be near one, or during the Black Friday/Boxing Week sales, or when I need to upgrade some piece of a/v or what have you, which is pretty infrequent. Might be better to check with various stores, perhaps?

As for Future Shop's misadventures in the U.S., I actually had to look that up because I'd forgotten all about it! :) Turns out it was back in 1999 when they shuttered their stores there, so no surprise Moo4 got the deals he did! I'm sure they wanted a quick exit, too. Naturally, when they closed shops here before rebranding the rest as Best Buys, the bargains weren't anywhere near as good. Frankly, neither are HMV's right now -- except for the Shout titles above and a few others if you do some math while rifling through the stacks -- but most of the store closings I've pillaged in the last year (HMV, Suspect Video, Queen Video) have produced better hauls in general because we're finally in an era where so few people care to buy packaged media even at bargain blowout pricing. Then again, judging by my decreasing space to store all these "great finds", they've clearly got the right idea. :lol:

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Looks like I have to stand corrected about HMV being Canada's last music/movie chain. Apparently, Sunrise Records is still very much in business and has negotiated new leases for 70 of HMV's stores.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/...locations.html

Sunrise's flagship store used to be right across the street from HMV's flagship store here in Toronto, and when it closed last year I assumed it was because that chain was officially out of business. Considering they were one of the few chains (not unlike HMV, but a bit better) to stock products from the full spectrum of DVD/Blu-ray labels (and music, too, I presume), this could be good news if they continue that dedication to the collector mentality, and to the strong mix of mainstream AND offbeat stuff for which they were known, and even play into that Millennial/Gen-X'er/hipster fascination with "nostalgic" physical formats like LPs that I find annoyingly twee (something the new owner says he very much plans to do in that article). And yes, to fellow canucks here, I already know their prices were never spectacular, but bargains absolutely could be had from time to time.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Yes, I enjoyed shopping at my local Sunrise from time to time.

Unfortunately, I seriously doubt they'll move into my local HMV, as it's about twice the size of the Sunrise location that already left the same mall. It wouldn't make sense to open a larger store, when they apparently couldn't justify the cost of the existing store. Unless, I suppose, HMV was taking a lot of sales away from them. Hmmm.. Maybe there is hope!

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

1999........ I didn't realize it was that long ago. I am OLD.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

I miss A&B. They were my fav Vancouver store.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

A&B really dominated the market for many years with the best prices on CDs anywhere in the world. I still remember American sailors arriving in the port and seeing them walk out of A&B Sound with huge stacks of CDs.

It's funny, I just bought a copy of "My Stepmother is an Alien" from Value Village brand new in the wrapper with an old A&B Sound price tag of $34.95 still attached to it. I'm guessing that was a 1998 price tag!

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Our choices to purchase physical media in Canada is bad with the closure of HMV. I missed pre-ordering the steelbook for Dr. Strange and went to my local BB and they have none left. Even their regular 3D combo is out plus the clerk tells me that they are planning to reduce more of the shelf space for the movies.

So it's down to Amazon.ca or BB Canada unless we import right?

BTW, Rogue One steelbook pre-order is up in BB Canada.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

I went to the HMV Yonge and Dundas location last Saturday. I couldn't find the GIJOE movie but was able to purchase some of anime like Ramma 1/2 sets at a discount. The 25% off is not that great but much of the stock has disappeared already. Now I can wait until closer to the closing date to pick up whatever is left and I'm interested on.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Sort of. As I sometimes mention in these forums, there are substantial savings to be had by signing up for an easy U.S. mailing address, either at a US Postal Service outlet or at one of the dozen's of "parcel pickup" locations that pretty much line the border. I realize for Toronto/GTA dwellers that means Niagara Falls, NY, about an hour away, but if you time your orders reasonably well, you can have a bunch of stuff waiting for you when you get there, and even add a few hours of cross-border shopping to make a day of it. I find customs agents are very lenient these days, too. Someone once asked me what my time and gas were worth in these situations, but it was irrelevant because a) I'm ordering movies for ~20-40% less than I'd pay in Canada, even factoring in the exchange rate (if I could find them at all) and b) not being a born-and-bred Torontonian, I really enjoy getting out of the city on a regular basis. :)

Importing from U.S. retailers into Canada is often prohibitively expensive on shipping but many (too many, actually) of the sellers on Amazon Canada's Marketplace are U.S. based, so I often find good deals on new and used stuff there, and the shipping stays at $3.49CDN. The only drawback is the increased risk of damage during the longer journey via multiple couriers, and the potential hassle of returns/refunds, but so far so good. Importing from the U.K. and other European locales is pretty painless, thankfully.

And obviously we can't entirely rule out used CD/movie/book stores and/or pawn shops which are still fairly plentiful in Toronto (and smaller cities and towns). A lot of them are a little too savvy when it comes to "market value" of the stuff they re-sell, but decent bargains exist. And despite the recent closures of legendary rental shops Suspect Video and Queen Video (which were absolute gold mines of cool stuff cheap), there are still a handful of rental shops worth keeping an eye on for the inevitable going-out-of-business sales.

By the way, have you seen Sonic Boom's new "superstore" on Spadina south of Dundas. Pricey for the rare stuff, but a good mix of mainstream and offbeat shit, and definitely worth regular visits.


I noticed they've been padding the stock at some (all?) locations with massive amounts of utterly common Fox/MGM DVDs clearly brought in solely for this purpose, and sticker priced at a fairly ludicrous 2/$25. And yet, people keep snapping it up like they're getting some amazing deals. Fox Canada must have a warehouse full of this stuff for just such occasions, or they over-produced so much of it that retailer close-outs help them get rid of it at a sneaky profit.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

We have a few of these parcel pick-ups in a tiny town called Point Roberts WA, just south of Vancouver.

They charge $3.50 minimum and it can cut about two hours out of your Saturday, depending on border traffic.

Unless you order a lot of titles from one vendor in one shipment, the savings is probably not worth it.

I went to the HMV and they had a few Fox titles such as Man On Fire, Master & Commander, The Heat, The Siege, Taken etc. that were 3 for $10 after the discount.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Got an email from HMV just now announcing that all the remaining stores will be closing on April 15, rather than the previously announced April 30. Additionally, some stores will be shuttered on Sunday, April 9, apparently.

The announcement also states everything is now 60-80% off, but having frequented FOUR locations at least twice a week for the past couple of months, I can confirm that they're not all on the same page when it comes to the reductions. The flagship store in downtown Toronto has been the slowest in dropping prices to match what corporate says they should be, but I suppose that makes sense considering their location and heavy traffic.

The store in the mega-mall right across the street from me closed about a week ago, so I was able to follow the downward discounting until the very last day (Mar. 27). That store was virtually cleaned out, with everything at 90% off on the last two days. Even the "planted" 2/$25 Fox/MGM titles mentioned earlier were finally blown out at 2/$4. Even though I'd already loaded up on a few of them when they finally hit 2/$8, I picked up some doubles and triples for flipping on Amazon. Nice to get several Fox Cinema Classics (Carmen Jones, The Razor's Edge, Wild River, Agony and the Ecstacy, On The Riviera) and a bunch of 3D combo packs (Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter, Epic, I Robot, Ice Age 3, Percy Jackson 2) I probably wouldn't have bothered with at full price for two bucks each!

I also wouldn't say the downtown store was picked over that badly, at least as of late last week, but I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I tend to flip through every row on each visit (especially as they've become more disorganized as the weeks have gone on), and eventually I find a few things (or many) at prices I can't even match in the U.S. It is a shame that the only way we can even remotely beat U.S. pricing (even factoring in the exchange rate) in Canada is to pick over the bones of stores that are going out of business.

Here's a shitty pic of about 3/4 of what I've picked up so far. Everything pictured cost between $1.50 and $6.00, nothing more, and nothing was bought without at least some foreknowledge (educated blind buys, in other words). And yeah, I'm well aware that there's some stuff in there that probably isn't worth even that much in terms of quality or personal fulfillment :lol: but I'm also confident that far more than half of these will end up on Amazon Marketplace after I've watched them, since they're titles I only wanted to see in the first place and not necessarily own. Blowouts like this present a decent opportunity to add a few hidden gems to the permanent collection, or check some things off the mental list and probably make a small profit on the back end. For example, I already own the OOP Rodan/War of the Gargantuas double feature DVD, so the copy I found buried on some back shelf at HMV has already been listed and sold two days later on the Marketplace for $51 (!). That nicely offsets a good chunk of what I've spent so far. ;) I wouldn't be surprised if some stores still held a few surprises like that, provide one uses a little diligence.

https://s7.postimg.org/dokn42b17/IMG_0678.jpg

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

^Nice haul! I've been too lazy to check out my local HMV. I'm not the type to buy stuff to turn it around. In fact of all the times I have done that in the past, I've probably only sold one item.

If I go, I'll end up with a bunch of stuff I don't need.

Thanks for the heads-up, regardless!

The good news is, Sunrise IS moving to my local HMV location. So there's that!

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

There's a title in the middle of the left pile, qualifying you for the saying 'you are what you buy' !

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Yeah, if it wasn't for the fact that I've had a Marketplace account for about ten years now, I'd probably have left some of that stuff sitting because like you I really don't need a lot of it, even though pretty much all of it was on my "I'd watch that cheap" list, either from seeing it on the shelves in old rental places (where I rarely rented) or in stores like HMV (where I rarely bought). I think Sunrise is taking over at least two of the four locations I've been to so far (Scarborough Town Centre and Upper Canada Mall). Not sure about Fairview across the street, and I heard the flagship will be torn down for, what else, condos (which explains why the lot beside it has been vacant for so long).


How DAAARE you call me Anna The Scream Queen Killer. Why, I oughta . . .

Oh wait, now I see it. ;)

(by the way, if anyone's looking for a movie in which Betsy Rue outdoes her indelible performance in My Bloody Valentine, Lucky Bastard's the one! :lol: )

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

LOL, good one, BrianT

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Well, HMV is no more, at least until Sunrise moves into most of their old locations. Between the three stores I had access to after the place nearby shuttered a couple of weeks back, I managed to dig up some nice-priced curiosities (the vast majority on my radar for ages) right up until the final days, when 80-90% discounts kicked in. Downtown's flagship store was the picked clean long before the final day, with people buying the most dreadfully-common leftovers from those parachuted-in "2/$25" Fox/MGM titles that were spread all over the store because, well, they had to buy something since they came all that way, I guess).

I know a lot of what's in these last two photos are DVDs, but it's hardly worth starting a separate thread now. These are just for posterity now, anyway, I guess, and to show the kinds of things that were still in stock until nearly the end -- provided you were patient in flipping through every increasingly messy shelf. Mostly I was after low-budget and/or indie genre stuff that the average HMV shopper in Toronto's boroughs and the GTA probably wouldn't bother with, as that's where I often find some hidden gems (as some of these have proven to be already; others, though, will be up on Amazon soon enough). As with previous hauls, a few of these I already owned, but picked up doubles for resale on the Marketplace to offset my compulsive spending somewhat. :lol:

1st and 2nd stacks: all $2.00 - $3.00
3rd stack: $4.00 - $6.80
Upright discs: $7.00 - $9.00
John Wayne Blu-Ray set: $12
https://s15.postimg.org/uu8gam2p7/HMV01.jpg

All discs below: $1.50 - $3.00
(Except Toho Godzilla Collection and Paranormal Activity 6-Film sets: $6.00 ea.)
https://s24.postimg.org/o7kd1frwl/HMV02.jpg

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Amazon.ca has The X-Files s1-10 on for $64.99CAN.

http://a.co/d/htWrwnt

Pretty sure I paid around $50/season for this on DVD. Ouch!

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....L._SL1500_.jpg

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

I paid something closer to $100 per DVD season, back in the day.-eek-

To be fair, I did watch and enjoy those sets a great deal.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Deal of the Day for Nov. 27:

SOPRANOS COMPLETE SERIES - $64.99

(note: was $59.99 in a DOTD last November)

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Still a steal, at that price.

I paid $104.99 and it is worth every penny.

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

Up next . . . a decent set that always drops this time of year, but now to an all-time low that might also appeal to U.S. buyers:

FOX SEARCHLIGHT 20th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION (21 discs) - $39.99 CDN
(Approx $41.38 U.S. shipped)

Includes:

Re: Canadian Blu-ray Bargains
 

I just walked into the local Dollarama in Richmond, BC and it looks like they have a large selection of Blu-rays and DVDs for $3 after a fairly long drought.

Blu-rays:

Seabiscuit (w/ slipcover)
Tower Heist
American Tail: Fievel Goes West
Stomp the Yard/Gridiron Gang/You've Been Served (3-pack Mill Creek)
The Descendants (w/ Slip cover)
The Sentinel (Michael Douglas)
Jones Brothers 3D
Bridget's Jones Diary
Heist (Robert DeNiro)
Extraction (Bruce Willis)
The Lorax
Iron Man (animated 2 pack)
Taken 2
Life of PI
...and few other straight to Blu-ray-type titles.

DVDs

Say Anything
Shallow Hall
The Social Network (Digipak)

..bunch of other straight-to-video titles.