I didn't think so. Thanks for confirming.

I can't get the Always Sunny 1-5 seasons for less than 48 BEFORE tax. How do you get it for less?!? Did the price just jump or what?

They did increase the price. It was 61.99 when I placed my order.

And now the Sunny S1-S5 set is nowhere to be found on the B&N site!

This was probably a special bundle B&N had in limited quantities, and once it sold out, it was gone for good.

Regarding the changing price, remember that the online B&N price fluctuates based on how the DVD is selling. Though there are some exceptions, the general rule (at least from what I've seen in the months since B&N got rid of the member discount) is that Top 100 titles are 40% off, then the discount drops to 25% off for 101-400 or 500, then 20% off, then 10% off.

It's still there but you can no longer order it. I found the link below. It's possible it could be available again in a few days. I've seen B&N pull titles that sell out but later on make them available to order again on the web site. Apparently the set was selling well before they pulled it and was the number two best seller on the DVD list.


http://video.barnesandnoble.com/sear...24543713548&x=

I did get an email that said my order wouldn't ship until October 6th. A few hours later I received the shipment notice. I would check back....you just never know.

If you have coupons to use at BN.com and are looking for something to get you might consider North and South: The Complete Collection. It's currently on sale for 20.99. That's a good deal but it's a great deal if you still have the 30% off or $5 off coupons available. They also have Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean for 14.99.

I still have the 30% and am looking for more ideas... Criterion's don't come out well, and I'm not opposed to getting something larger to maximize the savings. I wish Homicide: Life on the ... complete set was priced cheaper. I'm not seeing that many deals right now. Any suggestions are welcome!

two thousand one hundred sixty posts.. yowsa.

You're not the only one trying to figure out what to buy. Unfortunately I have not found anything I want that is priced reasonably before the coupon discount. However I hate to let it go to waste before it expires.

What are your interests?

They have the best price on How I met Your Mother Season 5 before coupon, if that's something you like.

Damn, they sure do. Wish I had noticed that before I went to B&N last night. I woulda ordered it with Ship to Home. Oh well. I did use the coupon twice, both on books with Ship to Home orders. I couldn't use it online since the membership I'm using is my Dad's, which also expires 9/30, so my membership benefits are about to go away for good, since he isn't renewing.

I looks like B & N changed their DVD discount policy again. After the member discount was dropped, the top 100 in prior day sales got a 40% discount. Then it was changed to only the top 50 got 40%, the remander got 38%. Today the top sellers (if not otherwise on sale) got 35%. Programming error? Possibly. Cheapness? Just as likely; they are the business that dropped the membership discount after the membership fee was paid.

After everything else that has happened over the last several months I doubt it is an error. Membership discount eliminated online, no coupons allowed for the Criterion sale online, no more coupon stacking with the bookstore links, and now fewer coupons. They are also slowly increasing the blu-ray prices as well. If there is another Criterion sale it will probably only be 40% off next time.

I was told the contents of the sales calendar for the next few months in the Music and Video department. There are sales, but no mention of a Criterion sale. For all the people who have been planning on one in November, don't be disappointed if there isn't one.

Again, I (sometimes) work at a B&N, and I need to say that for the last sale, we didn't hear any official word about it until 3 weeks beforehand. So don't expect any word about it until right before it happens

I honestly hope that people do not renew their B&N memberships. Maybe then B&N will finally realize they fucked up by taking away the 10% online discount. The lack of coupons (or inability to use them), and removal of the discount have convinced me, my father, and my friends that there is no way in hell any of us are renewing... I'll still shop there for the occassional bargains (such as the Criterion sale), but that's about it.

I find it funny that B&N ruined their membership, then suddenly Borders starts their Rewards Plus membership program, which DOES give 10% off plus FREE shipping with no minimum. People may jump from B&N to Borders to try the new program. The timing couldn't have been planned better...

I've been more than happy with my B&N membership and won't hesitate to renew unless things change drastically. With the 10% in store discount, Criterion sale, the B2G1 sale, the 50% off box sets, the $5 coupons etc., I've purchased things for considerably less than the competition and saved way more than $25. If they continue to have these sales and offer these coupons I'd be crazy not to renew. And there are ways for me to get discounts at BN.com. Even if they block my AAA discount with a coupon there's always the Discover Card link for 10% back. But I can see how those who shop mostly online and don't have access to other discount options would be displeased.

I feel about Borders they way you do about BN. I'll take a look at the membership and look again at their website but as of now I have no intention of giving them any money. They've been a pathetic joke of a music/movie store for years. Their prices are high and their selection poor. They offer lots of coupons but the discount is off list price which is so high the discounted price is still higher than the competition. I finally gave up trying to use the 40% coupons after many trips to the store and many times browsing their site yielded nothing I couldn't get cheaper elsewhere.
I will admit that the coupons aren't bad for books. But as a DVD or CD store they are the worst.

That's not going to happen, and I'm not sure they messed up at all:

http://mashable.com/2010/08/24/barne...nings-q1-2011/

In-store sales are down a bit, but online sales are up 42% over last year. People are already buying tons of stuff from bn.com, so they probably feel like they don't need to offer additional incentives, and maybe they're right.

Anyway, both B&N and Borders are primarily bookstores and it looks like they're pushing e-books and readers more and more. The CD/DVD business is sort of a side gig for them. I doubt the top decision-makers even care that much about those departments. They've already reduced the amount of store space devoted to them (from around 25% a few years ago to around 15% now). If DVDs and CDs stop selling I'm sure they'll be happy to just replace those departments with more Harry Potter/Twilight/Stieg Larsson displays.

They are profit driven and if they can't do that under current market conditions then they make changes to the status quo. They don't sell huge quantities of Criterions except during the 50% off sale: which benefits not only them but also Criterion. I'd be interseted in knowing what incentives they're given during that sale. Certainly a huge price discount and perhaps additional escalating terms. The last thing CC wants is to slowly get reimbursed (by gradual, incremental sales) for their substantial outlay in producing DVDs of films which they don't own, only temporarily license. All those upfront costs and then they have to warehouse them until they sell out a title. B&N and CC both benefit and we'd better hope that they don't migrate to a more online store than a physical presence.
Having heard from sales staff about how pleased they were with the number of Criterions sold during the sale, I'd be surprised if either partner ended this symbiotic relationship.

Interesting article, but that wasnt really my point. My point was that MEMBERSHIP sales and renewals will be way down. I want them to realize they screwed up their memberships with the change. And since the change only happened about 4 months ago, they wouldn't likely have noticed it much yet. But they should eventually.

As for the crappy media prices, B&N's in-store prices are just about as crappy as Borders. They're both full retail (although Borders goes above retail on some items). B&N has more in-store sales than Borders though. Both stores have better online prices, but B&N more-so. I mainly used my B&N membership online because that is where the better prices are, the cashback, and typically the better coupons. But without the 10% discount online, it just isn't as worth it to me (or my family and friends)

Sorry, I know this topic really belongs more in the store forum, so I won't go any further. I just wanted to back-up my statement about their membership program...

I understand and I think you're right that membership sales may decline, but I just am not sure B&N cares. The assumption that we as consumers sometimes make is that businesses try to maximize profits within a conventional business model, i.e., by doing things the way they've done them in the past, but the current reality with retail bookstores is that they're operating in a really complex and changing environment and I think they realize that massive changes are necessary for them to keep going. And I don't think these changes will be ones that we as consumers of conventional goods like books and media will like. For example, B&N already put itself up for sale in August:

http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Barne...oble_%28BKS%29

I think that information was already posted before, but I don't recall. So if they get bought, or if they merge with Borders, things may change a lot for us. And even if they don't, I expect they're going to continue moving in the direction of e-books and continue de-prioritizing physical books (except probably for bestsellers) and certainly media.

Also, note this from the article. I think it's interesting:

"Declining operating margins were mainly caused by higher discounts offered to compete with lower-priced online booksellers, one of the main negative pressures the print industry is facing right now due to a number of negative industry trends."

In other words, they already believe that the MAIN reason they're not making as much money as they want is that their discounts are too high. I expect we will continue to see reduced discounts as they attempt to regain profitability.

Well, after much debating, I bit the bullet and purchased a BN membership. Unfortunately, their Express Shipping (2-3 days) is complete BS. I made an in-store purchase on Saturday and it is now Thursday and I'm still waiting for my item. I'm pretty sure the item is in-stock. Even if it shows up today, it will have taken the better part of a week to get to me. Just my two cents...

If you are not satisfied with the membership you can cancel if it is before 30 days.