You're at a DVD forum, what do you think? :) It's really easy for collectors to get consumed with picking up anything and everything. Heck, i only have 200 or so and was eager to part with more then a few knowing i'd never watch them again. Those with 500+ could probably sit and stare at their collections for a good hour and dig out dozens of movies that they can't believe they bought :D

Can anyone else confirm that you cannot buy a gift card to use online with a gift card for your trade ins?

Havent bought anything yet, but Im mostly planning to use it on anything not available through Columbia House...Miracle, The Passion, Eternal Sunshine, etc. Also Ill probably try to get a deal on some of the "mistakes", such as the Matrix box set. I actually went tonight and was going to pick up used copies of Miracle and Cold Mountain, but they were both VERY scratched up....I just hope I can find decent copies of them.

That's funny.

This was my idea, also.

JoserJerr, I'm also in the Bay Area, so thanks for flushing out this issue on the (so-called) Blockbuster VALUE CARD. Since you're in California, could you clarify my understanding about our consumer laws, which (I believe) state that the company who issued the Gift Card must reimburse consumer its full value upon demand. Or words to that effect. (?)

Which leads me to my next question: Does anyone have the national Toll-Free number for Blockbuster?

And finally, the boxset I want (1971 ELIZABETH R Glenda Jackson, BBC Masterpiece Theatre) is not available at CH . . . so my thinking was to use my $40 balance towards that. But as JoserJerr pointed out, you can't use these cards online (and the set is, predictably, not in any of my local Blockbuster stores) so . . . another thought I had was to buy some product at a local Blockbuster to waste the Value Card, and then RETURN IT. I would try for a credit card refund first, but if not that I thought I might ask for the balance to be placed on a Gift Card, which could be used online.

Which inspires me to ask of any of you folk who are registered with Blockbuster online — would you mind looking up that title for me? Its cost? Thanks!

Sorry this post was somewhat excessively stream-of-consciousness (even for me) but I'm typing as the little gears in my devious little mind are working LOL.

PEACH

Okay here it is:

BLOCKBUSTER ONLINE PURCHASES
(888) 523-5278

PEACH

EDIT:

For some reason Search didn't work the first time I tried it, but now works. Found Elizabeth R HERE. Since it had no option to rent -or- buy I called Blockbuster and verified it is unavailable.

I also asked about purshasing a Giftcard with the ValueCard and she said this is discretionary with each store, each of which is a franchisee and not related to (the number I was calling).

No big deal, I'm more than happy to pick up a couple of SE's from what's available — Warner titles, if I can determine they are not snappers heh.

I don't know about using a value card to buy regular gift cards, but you can DEFINITELY use your store credit that's linked to your account to buy regular gift cards.

Peach:

I too an unfamiliar with the laws related to gift cards and the more I think about it the more I believe it is most likely a YMMV issue. It clearly states on the back of the Gift cards that gift cards cannot be used to buy gift cards so I think this would cover them from any legal troubles related to CA laws.

When I traded in my DVD's, I questioned the Blockbuster employees and they were the ones that told me the Value card could not be used online. This was after a bit of discussion as one of the BBV employees was unclear of the policy.

Here's my new strategy:

- Verify that in-store credit can be used to purchase gift cards.

- Exchange my VALUE gift cards for in-store credit.

- Purchase gift cards that can be used online and buy what I really want and not be limited to store selection.

Does anyone else have experience with this and will it work?

Thanks in advance.

can't the value cards be used at any BB store

ruk : Yes they can but I want to use the lonline store for video games as none of the local BBV stores sell new video games : GameRush.

JoserJerr . . . I've pretty much decided to grab ALADDIN SE 21.99 (23.80 including tax) now that I've determined the FYE rebate offer requires me to cut my DVD (which I won't at any price).

That'll leave me room for a 12.99 title (14.06 including tax) and a couple of bucks remaining for the odd Blockbuster 99¢ sale.

If I couldn't use the card on a box set, I wouldn't use it on online individual titles in any event, since the shipping severely compromises the, er, value of this "Value Card." No problem. I'm satisfied.

I would like to ask however if there is such a thing as a "Super Blockbuster" store (?) — you know, kind of like a Super Kmart, where the selection is expanded. Anybody know of something like this? Might be worth a small drive to have a wider selection.

PEACH

Peach. My understanding is that some of the BBV stores have better selction than others. Again YMMV.

I'm going to attempt to find one this weekend that has a better selection and will let you know the results.

Here's my use of my credit so far:

Aladdin :SE 21.99
The Untouchables (New) $12.99
Rounders (NEW) $19.99

I also initially bought Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but returned is as I figured I could wait for a better deal.

I thought they were going to credit the gift card but the employee was swamped so she gave me cash back. SCORE!

Let me know if you find any additional info and I'll keep ya posted.

You can use the UPC price sticker that FYE puts on the front of the box, which comes off very easily. There is also a UPC sticker on the back, over the original UPC - I would guess that would be acceptable also.

In any event, I would be seriously tempted to cut the UPC to save $9 (FYE preorder $19.99 - $7 MIR), especially since there is one on the keepcase coverart as opposed to butchering the slipcase.

I thought I would check with FYE directly on this sticker thing by calling their (866) 393-7529 number. After being on hold for 10 minutes I was rolled over to an answering machine.

"Original UPC bar code symbol from the package" is ambiguous, and if it is an FYE-applied UPC code I would be even more skeptical that it would work, since "Original" and "package" imply what the studio originally put on it.

If they meant "sticker" then their rebate form should say so. Since these are people who obviously don't provide telephone support I'm inclined to pass. This is a little too creepy to me.

PEACH

Picked up previously viewed copies that were traded in by other people of North by Northwest and Rear Window, 2 for 20 bucks. Still have 10 bucks left on a value card. Real happy with this Blockbuster deal... although now i'm having a hard time deciding if there are more movies i want to trade in.

As someone whose done 200+ rebates with Parago (TWEC's rebate company), over 50 more FYE rebates, and administers the TWEC rebate thread, I think I know what I'm talking about. Parago is very customer-friendly in dealing with rebates.

Go look at some of your Disney/Buena Vista dvds and you'll see a sticker UPC on a lot of them (if they have a slipcover or if they are still sealed).

I know for a FACT that the Aladdin DVDs at TWEC stores and Best Buy have a sticker UPC that says "00004" on the upper right hand corner of the UPC sticker (this probably denotes a sensormatic security device).

When sending in rebates at TWEC stores, you can use:
1) Original UPC that you could off of the coverart or slipcover if possible
2) The UPC price sticker that TWEC stores use (it's usually yellow and white or all white)
2) A sticker UPC if applicable (can be found on Disney/Buena Vista titles).

For sending in rebates at TWEC store, #1 above doesn't apply cuz they don't put those on the DVDs that they send to you. However, you can still use #2 or #3. For this reason, it's ok to buy online from TWEC stores if it's a Disney/Buena Vista title.

However, if you don't want to listen to me, feel free to buy Aladdin for much more elsewhere.

Let's not turn this into an FYE rebate topic.

I just found The Rock: Criterion. The first disc was scratched a little, but if it doesn't work I can always take it back.

It was 14.99. And they had a little piece of clear tape with black letters over the front of the case saying: "Not included w/ 2 for $20 offer."

Oh well. Still a pretty good deal.

I also picked up 8MM for $4.99. Had this a long time ago and liked it, so picked it up again for the pretty good price.

I was able to buy a gift card with my value card, which i could use it online. You have to get gift cards with a 6016 account or higher and there must be a 9 digit pin number that you can scratch off.

Got Clerks: 10th Anniversary Edition, Aladdin and Shawshank Redemption: Special Edition. Hopefully that pre-order price for the Matrix box set is correct and I can get that too.

One of the Blockbusters I went to had Aladdin priced at $29.99!!!!!!! I turned around immediately.

Did you order Matrix? what was the part number for it? My BB didn't know how to find it in their system. Thank you

I placed a couple Pre-orders at my local Blockbuster, but they would not take any money.

Smallville Season 3 Complete Set - 29.99 Part # 906868 (another post stated Part # was 986868)

Matrix Platinum Collector's Set - 49.99 Part # 817004 (this was a weird one, because release date in their system was 10/17/2000!).

I'm going to try another Blockbuster tomorrow, because I did not get a good feeling that I was going to get what I wanted at the price I agreed to.

I went today and asked if I could buy a gift card to use online and they gave me a flat out "No."

What is 6016? What did you say to the employees?

This week I spend $150 on a PStwo. I'm at $241 now.

Hmm....so 8MM is only 4.99???

Maybe I'll trade mine in....and just buy it back when I see it on the shelves...


But anyways, today was my first adventure with this trading in bonanza.

I traded in about 7 DVD's and got $56 on a value card. Turned around..saw the original Toy Story 1 and Fantasia 2000, so I decided to pick those up for 20 bucks.

Oh well...found 20 more DVD's I'll go trade in tomorrow...