Why buy dvds?
 

My friend asked me this today, and i dont know why... i dont buy nearly as many as any of you, maybe 1 a month for me. But why???? I could easily rent a movie i want to watch....

And then.. he was asking why not put a 'mod chip' in my ps2. So why not? I could.. and then download movies and burn them... but its not the same, but can someone help explain why? I dont even care much about extras... and yeah i know mod chipping is illegal.

thanks

we like to. I know this has been brought up recently but am too lazy to look for thread.

DVDs are very pretty and make lovely Christmas ornaments. However, some people get them for the movies though.

Because we are movie fans.
Because owning a bootleg is sucky.
Because making a bootleg is foul.
Because DVDs are cheap.
Because DVDs are a no-brainer collectible for any movie fan.
Because having a DVD collection means never being able to say you're bored.
Because renting DVD means you pay to own a movie for two days. Pointless.
The reasons are infinite!

Last time I bought a movie I didn't end up liking, I sold it on eBay for $5 profit! That's why I never rent movies, I rather buy them and sell them later on if they suck

I could come up with a whole list of reasons about always having something to watch, not having to mess with renting, and on and on and on. But when I get right down to it, I simply enjoy collecting them. It's like asking 'why collect stamps', 'why collect spoons', 'why collect teddy bears'? I do it because I enjoy it.

And it's also cool that I can pull out a favorite movie whenever I have the desire and watch it.

I like to buy dvds to always watch them when I'am bored.

why buy dvds?
 

why not?

Freedom to watch what you want when you want. Say it's 2am and you want to watch a certain movie. You can't just go to Blockbuster and rent it at that hour. If you own it, you can watch it whenever you want.

personally, I feel that having to "explain" why one does anything to begin with begins to smack of rationalization and/or defensiveness after I while. in other words, your friend has no right to ask why you do this, and you're under no obligation to provide an answer that their simplistic mind can accept. it's just all-around easier that way in the long run.

You tell me how long it takes to download a 4 gig file and how the quality looks on a dvd-r. not to mention the amount you paid for the blank dvd-r. it's not worth the time to download, burn and get a player to play burned dvd's.

DVD prices are low and well worth it when faced with the two options if you ask me.

If you're questioning your own motives as to why you buy.... then maybe you SHOULD only rent. We all have our reasons.

But since you don't buy that many, I don't see why your friend would bring this up. It's not like you buy hundreds and they sit on your shelf unopened.

Just tell him "It's all good.." and send him on his way :)

Re: Why buy dvds?
 

And also easily buy most movies for just three or four dollars more than the price of a rental if you're patient, thanks to Columbia House.

You spend a few extra bucks, and the movie is yours... and it's brand new, not covered in fingerprints and scratches. You don't have to worry about returning it by noon in two or three days; you can watch it whenever you want. And if you decide you don't want it, you can probably sell it at around a break-even price.

The money I pay for buying a DVD roughly corresponds to 2-3 rentals. So I have to be reasonably sure that I will watch it at least that many times to make it cost effective. There are several advantages, though

Pros:

1) It is available whenever I want
2) I can lend it to friends/family
3) No late fees!
4) I have all the time in the world to go through all the extras.
5) There is a potential for resale/trading
6) I have all the cool inserts/covers/artwork

Cons:
Greater initial cost with a payback period.

Storage issues. They take up room which you could be dedicating to something else, like a cool aquarium or something.

Experimentation is a bit riskier. What if you hate one of your blind buys? Again, you can probably sell but there is a cost involved with listing/mailing etc.

Given all that, I prefer to buy rather than just rent.

im not going to write an essay on this whole thing, just one comment. I find that i appreciate and therein enjoy both dvds and cds much more when i purchase them, and doing so is sort of a thrill in itself.

I would ask him why do you rent DVDs?

thanks for the replies. Some were good for me some bad.
I dont use columbia house, but maybe i should? So i could rent a movie 4x and that wouldnt pay off for what i pay... (around $25-30 canadian).

And about the bootlegging, he claims you can get DVD-rips online that are the same quality, and you get get all the extras too..

anywaysss thanks

Okay . . . easy now folks . . . no need for us to get defensive . . . I think this is just a philosophical/informational question, and a legitimate one at that. With the number of movies that some of the people on this board own, we are obviously investing thousands upon thousands of dollars on our little "hobby" (I can already feel the comments that that choice of terms is going to bring on . . . :) ). For someone who does not share the interest, it is probably quite a mystery as to the reasons why we do what we do and, personally, I think for myself it is a valid question for me to ask myself why I invest so much money into my collection when there are so many opportunities to spend (or, heaven forbid, save!!! :whofart: ) money elsewhere. Perhaps by getting a better understanding of why we do it, we can help others understand and "show them the way" :D.

Besides, it'll help me collect some more reasons to explain when my family asks. :lol:

Why spend $4 or $5 to have one for just a few days when you can buy a used copy for $10 and have it forever. Or a new one on release day or a Columbia House deal for just a little more. When many of us started collecting, the internet deals were so strong we were purchasing for $5 - $10 a pop for brand new DVD's. At those prices why rent?

A thread I started a while ago pretty much covers why people buy/collect DVDs

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...t=collect+dvds

Columbia House has become quite reasonable in their DVD club (compared to the "old days" where it was only worth it to sign up and then bail after completing your agreement). They frequently have "Buy 1 get unlimited for $10 off / 50% off / $9.99 / etc." While the shipping and handling definitely bring the price back up, if you buy a large number of DVD's at once (generally at least 4 or 5) the total price almost always beats out other online stores. Plus you earn bonus bucks for your purchases that you can use for discounts and/or free DVD's (I got 3 free DVD's that way in a six month period). The selection is not as wide, but you can get a lot of your "core" (read "mainstream") movies there.

Anyway . . . definitely worth investigating.

So after a particulary sh*tty day, I can come home, pop in a Woody Allen movie and go to be feeling better and glad I had it on hand when I needed it. Especially in light of how awful TV is these days.....

Where do you buy DVDs? I was going to make a new thread about it but i decided to post it here... I pay about $30 (canadian) for a DVD making me need to watch it 6-7 times before i make up the price.... and im looking for non-online places... and that have locations in Canada. thanks

Why do you buy clothing?

So i can not be totally emberassed? So i can have a social life?
I understand your trying to help but, I dont see how that relates.

Hmmm . . . no online, huh . . . that makes it trickier . . .

• Used DVD/Music stores
• Pawn Shops
• Consumer wholesalers (SAMS, Costco, BJ's, . . .)
• Movie rental places (generally only for "Pre-Viewed" ones though . . . new prices are often expensive)
• Large scale retailers (Wal*Mart, K-Mart, Target, . . .)
• Electronic/Technology/Media stores (BestBuy, Circuit City, MediaPlay . . .) - Note: can be expensive . . . need to catch them during "deals/sales" for the good prices

That's all I can think of for where I get mine when I'm not getting them online . . . mind you, I get 80+% of my DVD's online . . . :)

sheet, 80% off? Alright including online (in canada too)... where do you get that huge discount?!

They're a nice alternative to clay pigeons. ;)

No, he said he gets 80+% of them online... as in, 80% of his DVDs are bought online, not at an 80+% discount.

No, no, no . . . I get 80+% of my DVD's, not off my DVD's. :lol: Wouldn't that be nice. :)

My "go to" online store is usually DeepDiscountDVD, whose prices are usually between 20% and 40% off of retail and always with free shipping (although I checked and shipping to Canada is a flat charge of $4.95 via the US Postal Service . . . no matter how many you buy). Prices are cheapest 4 out of 5 times in my experience.

right... now i feel like a moron cause i read OFF and not OF...

oh well :)

because if I dont buy at least 10 a week.....the devil will take my soul. there is only one real reason. it's everybodys reason. it's the only way to really build a complete library right now. if you love films...you have to love and buy dvds.

welcome to the forum. buy dvds. buy lots of dvds.

http://www.stopstart.freeserve.co.uk...e/colflash.gif

It really comes to down to what your particular variables are.

Let's say that I rent 10 DVDs at $3 plus tax (the fees at my current store), want to buy 3 out of the 10 (a common figure, I'm rather picky about what I rewatch), and can buy the 3 for an average of $15. I'm out $75 for 3 DVDs I own and 7 more that I've watched.

Now, let's say that I buy 10 DVDs at the same average price of $15. Let's say that I only want to keep 3 of them and can get an average of $10/DVD from the secondary market. I'm out $80 for 3 DVDs I own and 7 more that I've watched.

The cash outlay is pretty much the same, although the variables that will change the most from person to person are how many DVDs you want to keep, how much you buy them for, and how much you sell the unwanted ones for. Of course, if you take the second route, you also have to deal with selling 7 DVDs on Ebay or wherever. There's an inconvenience in that, too.

If you like everything you watch, you might as well buy. If you're more picky, renting is worthwhile.

I can understand how people dislike the Netflix model. I can't guarantee that I'll be in the mood to watch whatever's at the top of the queue the night they send it to me. I find renting at a B&M much more convenient. I might also say that at 2am I'm more likely to watch something I already own rather than something I've never seen. I'm just talking about buying blind.

I don't know how Columbia House Canada differs from the US version, but it's not uncommon to pay an average price of $7 US per DVD, by using a good code and quitting as soon as you fulfill and repeat the cycle. The US branch of CH has about 3800 titles, so it's selection is OK these days. It still primarily only carries titles from the big studios, though. I think Deep Discount DVD has listings for about 12,000 titles.

:D

yes...thinking much the same myself.
Basically, keep visiting this forum ,amongst others, regularly and i would say in a couple of months you'd wonder why you asked the question in the first place :)

Bacause I have a DVD addiction and I'm crying out for help! Besides, what else would I do with my money.

I just love movies!

Yes, you can download them and burn them, but they will they have an insert?

I just comes down to the fact that I buy the movies I love to watch. Whether that may be every 2 months with some, or ever 6 months, I still watch all the ones I own, because I like to.

who cares about a little piece of paper :P
while i would prefer it... i probably wouldnt spend more then an extra dollar for one.