TV Edition Club, Discussion thread
#101
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
HDL seems to work best for newcomers.
WRT repeated HDL applications, it might be best to just give it a rest for a few months. But, as with most things about enrolling with Columbia House, that is just a guess.
WRT repeated HDL applications, it might be best to just give it a rest for a few months. But, as with most things about enrolling with Columbia House, that is just a guess.
#103
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I'm a long time cycler, and I just got an HDL approved within the past ten days, and another one about six weeks ago (I had several applications go missing before that, though). For whatever reason, both approvals and lost applications seem to come in streaks.
One thing to try is varying the time of day that you apply. I seem to have the best luck mid-week during the day. I have a theory about why that is, but I'll leave it for later, as I'm already questioning my sanity when it comes to playing the CH game.
One thing to try is varying the time of day that you apply. I seem to have the best luck mid-week during the day. I have a theory about why that is, but I'll leave it for later, as I'm already questioning my sanity when it comes to playing the CH game.
#104
Originally Posted by Dr. Mantle
Has anyone managed to open an account online recently using the HDL code? I've been trying about one a week for a month or so, and nothing has gone through.
#106
DVD Talk Legend
Well, before applying again since my 5/13 online application was seemingly ignored, I sent a reply e-mail to the one I had received after replying. Just 2-3 days later, I received a postcard in the mail:
"Thank you for your application for membership. Unfortunately, we are unable to issue a membership at this time. We appreciate your interest in Columbia House and regret that we will not have the opportunity to serve you."
Is this normal? It's too bad they couldn't be more vague with their response!
"Thank you for your application for membership. Unfortunately, we are unable to issue a membership at this time. We appreciate your interest in Columbia House and regret that we will not have the opportunity to serve you."
Is this normal? It's too bad they couldn't be more vague with their response!
#107
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
^It is normal to get a rejection letter with that wording. A postcard is a new twist.
Just apply again. Membership acceptances are pretty random. Probably depends on the luck of the draw on which CSR handles your application.
Just apply again. Membership acceptances are pretty random. Probably depends on the luck of the draw on which CSR handles your application.
#108
DVD Talk Legend
The confusion continues... Perhaps the postcard wasn't related to the e-mail I sent. Today I get the following e-mail:
Thank you for your e-mail message.
Account #xxxxxxxxxxx
We appreciate you responding to our offer.
A membership has now been established for you and
the enrollment shipment will soon be sent. Please
allow sufficient time for delivery.
In the event prepayment was submitted, a refund has
been issued. Please endorse the refund check and
return it with a copy of this e-mail message and the
invoice which will accompany the enrollment shipment.
If credit card billing was requested, your account
will be charged at the time of shipment. Otherwise,
please remit payment upon receipt of your order.
Please accept our apology for any misunderstanding.
So now maybe I'm in! If so, that was certainly easier than applying over and over again.
Thank you for your e-mail message.
Account #xxxxxxxxxxx
We appreciate you responding to our offer.
A membership has now been established for you and
the enrollment shipment will soon be sent. Please
allow sufficient time for delivery.
In the event prepayment was submitted, a refund has
been issued. Please endorse the refund check and
return it with a copy of this e-mail message and the
invoice which will accompany the enrollment shipment.
If credit card billing was requested, your account
will be charged at the time of shipment. Otherwise,
please remit payment upon receipt of your order.
Please accept our apology for any misunderstanding.
So now maybe I'm in! If so, that was certainly easier than applying over and over again.
#109
DVD Talk Legend
So, yes, I'm apparently in. I use the account number they provided and log in online to my account. My order history page shows a $10.xx charge (for the intro shipment) on 6/14/07 but there's nothing listed under completed orders/shipped. Is this normal?
#111
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
^^It's normal because the cheap sets (or 49¢ DVDs in the regular club) are considered promotions, not orders. When you buy your fulfillment DVDs (they can be any DVDs $19.95 or more) those will appear in your order history. This confuses a lot of newcomers to Columbia House.
So, you're in, the sets are on their way, enjoy!
So, you're in, the sets are on their way, enjoy!
#112
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Simpsonville SC
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Used HDL on Sunday and got my acceptance email yesterday. This was the second time I have used it over the past couple of months. Got NCIS S1 and Babylon 5 S1. I got Babylon 5 S2-5 in last weeks Best Buy sale for $19.95 each but S1 was backordered so I turned to CH rather than wait on BB. Anyway all seasons of B5 for less than $20 each. Thats on top of getting in on the $10 Fox coupon deal at BB this week and getting Buffy S1-7, Angel S1-5 and 24 S1-5 all for $9.99. Too bad it does not work out this well every week.
Last edited by AlfB; 06-14-07 at 09:28 PM.
#113
Hm.. this seems to be just affecting me, or maybe I'm doing something wrong. I have cleared all my cookies and stuff but whenever I click on the link that takes me to the old site from the first post I get through adding them, and I get through the first page where I put my info in, but when I click submit it freezes and I can't get to the 2nd page where I put in my credit card info. So I tried clicking on the new site link from the first page and it just brings me to the page with the movie dvd's saying my offer is for 2 movies for 4.97.. am I doing something wrong?
#114
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
Hmm... You are right that the new site link appears to be dead and my attempt to create a new one was unsuccessful. And I have no way to test the checkout process on the old site link without placing an application. Perhaps the trouble you had was a temporary glitch? But it is possible that HDL is finally dead.
If you can't get the old site to work, try this:
Go to columbiahouse.com
Click on the TV Edition link at the lower right side of the page.
Enter HDL in the code window (either just below the shopping cart list or on the popup, shouldn't matter).
Add your sets to the cart as usual. The offer details should be the usual 2 sets for $9.95, two fulfillments.
Check out as usual, making sure you check the box "I have read and agree to the Terms of Membership."
If this works all the way through checkout, please let us know.
If you can't get the old site to work, try this:
Go to columbiahouse.com
Click on the TV Edition link at the lower right side of the page.
Enter HDL in the code window (either just below the shopping cart list or on the popup, shouldn't matter).
Add your sets to the cart as usual. The offer details should be the usual 2 sets for $9.95, two fulfillments.
Check out as usual, making sure you check the box "I have read and agree to the Terms of Membership."
If this works all the way through checkout, please let us know.
#115
Thank you that worked!! Now lets see if it goes through lol.. Oh and on the old site link you could still try it out, it froze before you put in the credit card info, its been doing it for like a month now, so if it went to that page for you, couldn't you just x out? Oh well doesn't matter now since I got this site to work. Thanks again.
#116
I have been out of the CH loop for a while now. The enrollment looks good, but how good are the selections that you are required to buy. Is there a list of what is available for purchase (and pricing) after you enroll.
#117
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by That'sAllFolks
I have been out of the CH loop for a while now. The enrollment looks good, but how good are the selections that you are required to buy. Is there a list of what is available for purchase (and pricing) after you enroll.
Columbia House carries thousands of DVD titles. At present there is no current list of their entire catalog but you can check for yourself by going to columbiahouse.com and clicking on the "Join Now" button (unless you enter a good enrollment code you get the poor standard offer, but it works fine for searching titles). You can then look up titles. What you don't see is prices; those you will see when you open an account. Or you can post the selection numbers here and those of us with open accounts can look them up for you. CH does not sell Fox or Disney/Buena Vista/Touchstone/Dimension/Miramax DVDs. They do sell most WB, Sony/Columbia, Paramount, Dreamworks, Universal, some MGM, and some smaller label DVDs.
You are not required to buy any DVDs over and above the (usually two) required fulfillments. Every few weeks Columbia House will offer a "Director's Selection" that will be shipped automatically unless you decline it. This is trivial to do on-line (and they also send out e-mail reminders announcing the DS). One way to avoid having to decline the DS is to fulfill your account quickly and then close it (and open a new one, if you wish). Otherwise, there is no way to "turn off" the Director's Selections; it is the major money maker for Columbia House so they want people to forget to decline the DS and just keep it when they get it. Don't do this; it is a very expensive way to buy DVDs or sets.
#118
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Legolas
I haven't been able to get the HDL link to work lately. Keep getting that server timeout error. Anyone else getting through okay?
Problems with the HDL links are discussed above, beginning with post 113.
A timeout error is usually due to a cookie problem or a firewall problem. If you have other CH accounts, always be sure to "sign out" when leaving the site; this resets the CH cookie. For now, try clearing your CH cookies before trying visit the TV Edition enrollment site.
If you can't get the links to work, try the method I describe in post 114 above.
#120
Originally Posted by Jedi Master 33
This is kinda a stupid question. Can I sign up for the TV Club with a PSN using HDL?
#123
Originally Posted by Jedi Master 33
So there's no way getting around it without using a CC?
If you don't have a CC you could get one of the reloadable types from WM or elsewhere for use at CH. Just make sure you have at least $20 on it when enrolling because CH verifies the card by putting a temporary charge on the card first and once you've been accepted they remove the temporary charge and put on the real one. While you're only truly charged once for the shipment, the sequence of this being done will cause the card to be denied if you don't have enough for both charges simultaneously.
#125
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Thread Starter
It might be possible to sign up on the phone and ask that the account be set up as "bill me". But there aren't any codes that work on the phone that are as good as HDL.