hariseldon

CRITERION FLASH SALE Starting October 15, 2019 Noon ET
24 HRS. ending approx Noon ET Wednesday October 16, 2019

Blu-ray.com users reporting this sale. I think they were notified by an email which I haven't received and I can't find anything on their Facebook or Twitter accts to confirm, but it is the expected day


Normally this is approx 24 hrs though it often ends up lasting a bit longer and doesn't always get off the mark exactly on time. Extensions have been anywhere from zero to to several hours depending on demand and if the server crashes enough times (Soccer Penalty Time). The extensions have been much shorter or nonexistent the last couple sales as their website has functioned better in general

50% off MSRP (not current/Usual price) all in-stock movies -- DVD, BD, Includes Eclipse set, but not general merchandise. Backorders and pre-orders usually haven't been allowed. Items will go OOS so don't wait too long though the last few sales, most
things cam back into stock at least once if not several times during the sale.
The website usually gets hammered in the first couple hrs so be patient.
The last couple of sales haven't required a PROMO CODE to be added to the cart, but if they go back I'll add it tomorrow once it's known

Free Shipping at $50 in the Lower 48 US otherwise $6.95 flat rate shipping USPS or $8.95 UPS
Shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, PO Box, APO/FPO -- $6.95 Priority Mail

International orders other than Canada
Less than 4lbs -- WorldMail/CanadaPost 9.95 1st + 2.95ea added
Over 4lbs -- DHL Express 19.95 1st + 3.95 each additional item
Customs and Brokerage fees added by Delivery Service/Collected at Delivery and are the responsibility of the customer

Sales Tax has been expanded and now required -- Alabama, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Washington and Washington D.C
New releases included.

Criterion Loyalty program -- $50Gift Cert for every cumulative purchase of $500 even if it takes 5 years. In the past those loyal rewards certs are sent via email almost immediately and are eligible for immediate use.
If you are close to $500 and have enough total items, I'd suggest making an order just big enough to qualify for the Loyalty Cert plus FS, then make another $50+ order with the extra money rather than make one large order and then have to wait 6 months for the next flash sale though the GC/Rewards don;t expire. You can load them into your account and the $$$ will be there next sale.



For Canadians there is a somewhat parallel sale at Unobstructed View who apparently are handling lots of Criterions now.
https://www.unobstructedview.com/criterion-flash-sale/

This is a first so unknown how the selection and pricing will compare, but with different shipping and customs rules it could be something to compare.

andicus

The site is showing that it's 40% off and free shipping.

On the one hand, it's nice that it removes the issue of shipping, and border fees. On the other, it's a piss off that it's 40% off, rather than 50%. What possible excuse could there be for that?

I'm sure it also means I wouldn't be able to use my $10 Criterion Channel gift certificate.

hariseldon

The Canadian site sale isn't Criterion.com so it's a bit of a different sale and almost 100% it won't allow the Criterion GC. At least I'm 90% sure U-V has no direct connection to Criterion other than selling their merchandise
Unobstructed View is just running a Criterion sale at the same time as the Direct Flash Sale. Until prices and details are known there's no way to know which way will be cheaper

andicus

If I'm not mistaken, Unobstructed View is the exclusive Criterion distributor for Canada. Granted, that doesn't mean they would have the same sale as Criterion.com.

Assuming Criterion.com does indeed go with their 50% off sale, again, you can compare prices now.

As an example, I'm looking at Do The Right Thing on Blu-ray. Here's what I've determined:

UV: 40% off $50 = $30. With tax, it comes to $33.90CAD, and free shipping.

Criterion.com: 50% off $40 = $20. Shipping to Canada is $9.95 for a single title, so ~$30US = ~40CAD.

So, it's about $6CAD cheaper through UV.

If I use my $10 certificate, that changes to ~$20US = ~$26.50CAD. That's assuming no border fees, which is a reasonable assumption on that cost.

Of course, the shipping gets cheaper ($9.95 + $2.95/each additional), as you order more, but the likelihood of border fees also increases.

*edit* And, I completely missed that UV is a sale on 'select' Criterion titles. According to your link, it won't include Do The Right Thing. Figures...

Florinaldo

Thanks for that info; that site was unknown to me.

Taking into account the exchange rate, their regular price for a Criterion BD comes to about 37,50 $ US, slightly under the Criterion full price of 40 $ US; at 40 % off it will about 2 US dollars over the Criterion 50 % flash sale price of 20 $ US. Considering the free shipping for that sale as compared to the relatively steep shipping charge from Criterion, if you run a simulation it looks like the net result for Canadians could be just about equivalent to ordering directly from Criterion, and perhaps a little under, even with the unavoidable GST. Your credit card policy regarding exchange fees may also impact the amount when ordering from the US. A more precise comparison will be possible tomorrow when both sales go live and we can see which titles qualify as "select" for that sale. The order should also get to a Canadian customer faster since it goes through Canada Post (presumably Expedited Shipping), unless an item is out of stock. Their site does not indicate if a listed item is in stock or not (or if it does, I cannot see it).

A crucial question is how reliable they are. Anyone had experience with them yet?

MooMooMooMoo

Um............... so it would only be 30% off with sales tax?

hariseldon

A little generic info starting around post 50. Sounds like they've handle a couple other boutiques, but generally high end prices.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...=237566&page=2

dex14

Stock is starting to change to: Ships within 3 business days.

THAT MEANS ITS GO TIME!!

hariseldon

Sale is live. No Promo Code needed. cart should automatically reflect the 50% off price

Ordered and done -- no drama on launch

It took almost 10 minutes, but appears the site is now down.

Jfunk1

Ordered the following blu-rays:

Local Hero
The Circus
The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice
The Koker Trilogy

dex14

The Koker Trilogy
The Circus
Häxan
Cluny Brown
Magnificent Obsession
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

wesferrell

Nice sale but eh site is down for now!

Florinaldo

Thanks. it seems some of the posters are talking about prices mentioned in Canadian $ as if they are US $, and vice-versa.

Anyway, the final list for the Unobstucted flash sale does not include any of the latest releases. As a matter of fact, it seems to stop roughly at the end of 2018. Which may be good if there are a few older titles you still crave.

My cart was complete at the Criterion Web site, but the site crashed before I could place the order. It also crashed last time as I recall and then eventually came back up later in the day.

Some people mentioned customs fees. None of my previous Criterion orders (or from Indicator in the UK) ever got slapped with duties (they consisted of 6 discs each time). Have other people been charged such fees? Perhaps our regional customs office is more lenient than others.

hariseldon

Just in general from my reading the customs seem to be random even with the same address./retailer. Eventually you may get hit, but then the next item might be fine so just average it out over time

The U-V site sale doesn't appear to be a bust, but nothing spectacular over a Criterion.com order other than being able to order in-country

The Flash Sale crash is as much part of the sale as teh deals. As far back as I can remember it happens each and every sale. It;s one of the reasons I either jump in immediately at the start or wait until 8-10pm as long as I;m not after an item likely to sell out -- being able to preload and go makes it much easier than when they'd clear your cart and you'd have to load from scratch or even your wishlist. With the B&N sale so close even if I miss an item it's easy to get locally MOST of the time. I also usually save boxsets and Digipacks to get locally at B&N so I can avoid the usual shipping

Luckily a few of my nearer stores aren;t using strangle cords yet on the boxsets -- Godzilla would be a prime candidate for that

Brian T

I noticed Unobstructed View has gives 15% off your first order if you sign up for their newletter. I doubt it would apply to a Criterion haul, but it could be worth trying for those stuck with using their site.

You're in Ottawa, apparently? What's the drive like from your place to cross the border into Ogdensburg? Get a USPS mailbox there, and make that your shipping address. There's also a ton of 'parcel pickup' places there catering to Canadians (most charge a small holding fee ~$3-5). If you're a regular cross-border shopper, it's definitely worth signing up with both options, then get creative when coming back over. These days, I 'pretty much' declare everything and never get pulled into secondary for inspection. Perhaps border fuzz don't want to waste time hassling anyone who'd still collect DVDs and Blu-rays in this day and age!

btw, my U.S. addresses are in Michigan (close to my old home city, which I visit frequently) and Niagara Falls NY (closer to Toronto, as needed), but I know people who use Ogdensburg as well and like the convenience. Mind you, if you're not much of a border hopper or don't have easy access, then none of this is probably worthwhile.

Paff

Site is back up.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Don't Look Now
Boyhood

That gets me the gift card, not sure if I will use it on this sale or not.

JoeySeven

Häxan
The Circus
Punch-Drunk Love

also 1st time getting a $50 gift card.

Brian T

In for . . .

POLICE STORY 1/2
LOCAL HERO
DETOUR
BLUE VELVET
HAXAN

None of which are available oin the Unobstructed View sale, incidentally . . . I also noticed they had to amend their "15% off your first order" blurb to disqualify flash sale items. Just one more reason I'll happily keep my U.S. shipping locations. At the moment, Criterion still doesn't charge Michigan sales tax, so there's that too.

Paff

I think I'm gonna hold on to my GC till the next sale, which is what, February?

There's one "must-have" disc on my want list, and a bunch of "throw-ins", you know, the movies that aren't on your immediate list, but you add to an order if it needs to get bumped up to the free shipping level. I don't wanna use the gift card on mostly "throw-ins".

hariseldon

It appears they extended the sale to 2pm today to account for the Server Crash yesterday. A few of the bigger items (Koker and 3 Silent Films) are still OOS -- I havent' been checking regularly so I;m not sure if these ever came back.
Not a huge deal since B&N sale should be coming up in a couple weeks (assumption being made) -- group them with the Godzilla Box and make a massive day of it

DJariya

I thought about doing this sale, but I'm going to pass. Can't really afford to go on an expensive BD shopping spree right now.

I will consider picking up Godzilla if BN has that 50% off sale later on.

Trevor

Tried to resist but put a last minutes order in for a few including Funny Games and Klute.

hariseldon

EDIT And it appears they added an extra 30 minutes so now 2:30pm ET is the presumed end

JoeySeven

second order and last

A Touch of Zen
Midnight Cowboy
Japón

Shannon Nutt

Same here...just too close to Black Friday to start splurging.