I'm usually pretty lazy, er patient, when it comes to these sales, but I'm glad I was bored and bought a bunch online yesterday. Used the 20% code on the 5 high priced sets that I needed.

Bought a bunch of regular titles today, may get a bunch more tomorrow just in case they come down on in-store coupon usage.

^ Yea, I got two sets and two individual titles online.....had I known they'd pull all the coupons today, I'd have ordered more.

So with the library link, anyone can now get the same titles online at the same price that members pay in store.

Yes, members get an automatic extra 10% in-store. Then just add any of the 5 printable coupons as YMMV.
Yeah, they added the 10% off to non-members online, so the only advantages to membership are 10% in-store, better shipping online, and the membership coupons.

But even without the Criterion sales those benefits save me more than $25 per year.

Wow, this is not what I wanted to wake up to. Wish I would have placed all my orders the first day of the sale. I was waiting on the box sets to watch a couple included movies I hadn't seen to see if it was worth it. Looks like that was a mistake. I guess the good news is that I'm going to save some money. Now I just hope my previous orders ship.

EDIT: Looks like all my orders from the first day shipped yesterday. Phew.

I tried to add coupon codes to my order but it won't accept any other discounts on Criterions. I'm not a member so I can't use the $5 coupons in store. Free shipping and 6% off order via military bookstore. There is a chance I could use the 10% coupons in store, but driving 30 miles to the nearest BN with movie section would negate the difference. I did get a nice discount yesterday on Last Emperor. I should have just ordered everything yesterday. I also tried using the 20% new online account and it would not accept that code either, even after setting up a new account. Said items could not be discounted any further.

Yeah mine have gone into ship mode with the discounts attached. Pretty much a light order of 11 Blu-rays.

You can still save 10% off your order using either the library or AAA (membership required) links. Two or more should be enough to qualify for free shipping. Since you can no longer use coupons online might as well place one large order to cut down on the number of packages since there is no advantage doing smaller orders with coupons anymore.

Cannot be said often enough. Laser has made my bn.com membership worthwhile all by himself for years now. Thanks to all who contribute to this thread, and triple thanks to LM!

One other thing. I just noticed that in my membership account (created last November), I've receieved no newsletter or coupon emailings since early June, even though my communication preferences are all still set to on. Only emails I'm getting are order confirmations.

OTOH, I am getting weakly emailings to two other non-member accounts with different emails.

Anyone else experiencing something similar? I've not been a heavy coupon user recently, so it puzzles me...

Yes it has been a while since I received a newsletter. I can't remember the last time I got one. I'm not getting them with any of my email addresses with or without a membership. I know they are not going into my spam folder since I always look there before deleting.

I placed two orders on the first day and they are still showing the coupons. One has shipped so that one is probably good, but the other one had Red Shoes and won't ship until the 20th. Hopefully they don't try and change the total before it ships.

When I was in store using the $5 off $20 coupon to buy the Golden Age of TV set, the cashier told me they would have to check to see of the Criterion sale had any restrictions on additional coupons. The manager wasn't sure , so he said accept the coupon and the computer took the coupon, so I got a good price but it looks like they will not be doing this in the future.
Still the prices are good and I am looking forward to next week's blu-ray releases.

A non Criterion problem I found was the $5 off coupon doesn't work with the AAA 10% off discount when buying the Warner Film Noir Vol 5 set. I got the $5 off but not the 10% when I tried it yesterday. Same thing happened with the Library link. Without the $5 coupon, I got the 10% off.
Since $5 off was the better deal I used the coupon.

I still have a $5 off $20, which I'll probably use on Spartacus. 1 of my stores still has that. With my membership discount, I'll get that for $17.49+ tax.

Last one I received was at the end of May....I was expecting some coupons to be available via online in mid-July or late June but nada. But I don't think it would matter as even as a member, none of the coupons are working now. Just the 10% discount via the third party online B&N stores.

Looks like BN is cracking down so get in your in-store purchases now. Went to three stores today that would not accept the 5off20 coupon on $39.99 titles. At the last store I saw a popup on the register screen instructing the clerk to scan the dvd first and take membership information before applying any coupons. So a $39.99 title goes down to $18 and I was forced to settle for the 15% off coupon. Still a great value but what's next?

I managed to use the coupon at 3 locations today and was only declined more than one per visit (despite different UPC codes) so hopefully this is not universal. Twice I had to underline the fine print that states the "selling price before discounts" must be over $20 (not the final purchase price).

I went to order some additional Criterion BRs today after ordering the eff out of them the other day and am now saddened at this new coupon restriction. Now I have to decide if $17.99 is good or if I should just wait until the next sale. Decisions, decisions.

I think that was the policy all along to scan the membership first before the coupons. These are member coupons and require a membership to use. Your membership information needs to be entered to activate them. However it is possible they are starting to crack down at stores since they already have with the online coupons and bookstore links the last couple of days. Looks like this could be the beginning of the end of the some great deals the way it's going.

Clearly B & N decided to make changes regarding online coupon use - based on their experience with prior Criterion sales. And in-store coupons appear to be more YMMV than ever. I assume the next sale will maintain these new restrictions and might include additional ones, plus we don't know when the next sale might be, or even if it will be a 50% off sale.

So I have decided to take what I can get, while I can get it. At least with regard to any remaining "must have" titles. I'll probably delay buying a few "nice to haves" till later. Plus there will always be new titles added in the interim.

Because I "pigged out" last November my list this time mostly consists of recent releases, plus some Ozu titles I am now interested in. So the inability to use coupons like I did last time, while disappointing, doesn't hurt as much as it would have last time out.

All things considered, this is still a very decent price for a Criterion disc, especially the Blu-rays. I ordered five before the coupons were restricted and those are safe. I have four more in my cart at $17.99 (with free shipping) and I'm just dawdling over adding a couple of others before purchasing. Sure, $15 or $14 or $13 on everything would be spectacular (I couldn't get the latter as I'm limited to online ordering), but $17.99 is far enough below the usual retail that I'm quite comfortable not waiting for a possible future sale that may or may not have working codes . . .

I have no issues with buying them at $17.99. I've been buying Criterions for about a decade now and $17.99 for a $39.99 MSRP is the cheapest "officially" they have been priced. (Aside from price mistakes or other oddities) I used to buy a lot from DVD Planet during their sales but back then $23 was a great deal.

When the next sale rolls around they'll be plenty of good titles to pick up like The Thin Red Line, Charade, and Seven Samurai.

B&N is cracking down on these coupons because they were never meant to be used with this already insane discount/sale in the first place... Again, I really don't get people being disappointed when they can't get a Criterion DVD for lower than $15-20 -- I mean, how much cheaper will they ever be? And when are they ever this cheap? Hardly ever?

60% off (Sale + Membership) makes me very, very happy.

i recall the $39.99 msrp cc going for $21.xx back then. ah the good ole times

55%

Isn't wholesale usually considered over 40% off? Anything better than 50% off should still be seen as a great deal (I would think that would be below wholesale).

Could a mom & pop retailer regularly order Criterions to sell at 50% off?

We've just been spoiled in the past.