Spottedfeather

I have an awfully hard time makes decisions, especially when it comes to dvds. Often, I will have a list of several movies that I want, but it's very hard to decide which ones to get...if I have a money limit. I'll decide on one movie, but then I'll see another one on the list that I really want but can't get both. If one one the movies or movie sets is limited or has a special cover that will only be around for a short time, I'll usually end up getting that first. For instance, recently, I wanted both the Batman Beyond complete series set and the complete Brady Bunch set with the green shag carpet cover. I decided to get the Brady Bunch set since I was afraid that if I didn't, it would go out of print and I wouldn't be able to find it. Another one that I'll get first are the blu-rays or dvds of the Disney films because I want the shiny slipcover that comes with them. Also, I wish that I had gotten the He-Man and She-ra sets while they were still around. I'm missing the third volume of He-man and the third volume of She-ra. Can't find them for much less than a hundred dollars. There's no way I'm paying that much. All the other volumes were less than 20 dollars !

What about you guys ? How do you decide which movie or movies to get ?

Travis McClain

Store exclusives have largely stopped appealing to me in recent years, so I rarely make much of an effort to get that version of a title that interests me. Otherwise, it's all pretty much a gut feeling kind of thing. When my wife got me a Blu-ray player for my birthday in 2009, we agreed that we would be more prudent with our buying; no more rummaging around the $5 bin and buying something we were casually interested in just because it was cheap.

We also agreed we would be more patient and that I would keep abreast of coupons and sales (thanks, Bargains forum!) to get the best deal on something we want. So far, we've paid less than 50% of the MSRP on our Blu-ray library. (I did pay the full $30 to Best Buy for the Batman Digibook with Digital Copy, but it's one of my personal favorites and by the time we had gone Blu, Best Buy was the only place around here that had it.)

Also, we're perfectly content to buy used at Half Price Books. Sometimes their Blu-ray prices aren't nearly as tempting as their DVD prices, and sometimes the condition isn't great. Those factors just make it easier to continue being patient.

kstublen

It's really tough to answer this question. There's tons of TV shows and movies that I want to get, but obviously we all have limits as to what we can afford at a given time. I don't have any set guidelines I use to buy things, just sort of play it by ear.

I do always get Disney Blu-rays the week they come out because of the coupons. If I see something for sale, I'll check and see its price history on Amazon and if it's never been significantly lower, I'm more likely to pick it up. So obviously sales play a role in my decision.

But, as I suspect is the case with others here, there are some titles I'll get on the day of release, regardless. These are usually my favorite TV shows or movies, so they're an exception to what I generally do when purchasing DVDs or Blu-rays.

And as you mentioned, if I think something is going to go OOP soon, I'm much more likely to pick it up immediately. This could be for store exclusives or sets where I see they've stopped production or where the studio went out of business.

I'm actually surprised you got The Brady Bunch set before Batman Beyond, given how quickly Batman: The Animated Series went OOP. Granted, it's still available now, but I would've though Batman Beyond was the more likely to go OOP of the two you listed.

mdnitoil

Thankfully, I never allowed myself to get suckered into packaging silliness so that kind of exclusive limited stuff never drives my purchasing decisions. At this point, it's really just a matter of price. I keep a constant wishlist going on Amazon and will check it every so often to see if any good deals have popped up. I'm also big into used discs, as I immediately trash the case upon receipt anyway.

Ash Ketchum

Well, my decisions tend to be motivated more by content than by packaging.

I first got a DVD player (code-free) in 2001 because the Hong Kong films I liked were suddenly coming out on DVD and not on VHS. And better quality copies, too. And the anime distributors were releasing bilingual DVDs and sending review copies to me, so it was clearly time. My purchases tend to be governed by my special interests (or obsessions) at any given time. New Hong Kong films, old-school kung fu, anime, J-pop concerts, classic Japanese films, Japanese sci-fi/samurai TV series, Hollywood epics. I'll pick up westerns and Hollywood classics if the price is cheap enough. I tend to pay top price for some classic Japanese films because I really want them and they're generally hard to find. Yet even there, I found a store with an Ozu box set that was $10 cheaper than it was at the Japanese bookstore down the block (here in Manhattan). When the price comes down on certain anime box sets, I'll pick those up. I bought the full set of Cowboy Bebop for a good price at Best Buy. I'd had a few individual volumes up to that time, but never the whole set.

These decisions involve questions of what I really want to see, what becomes available, and the price. Because stores are getting scarcer and scarcer, I find I now have to buy some things on-line. Certain older films I want to see can only be purchased on-line. E.g. I wanted to lend Vincente Minnelli's LUST FOR LIFE to a young filmmaker I'm mentoring, but she didn't have a VHS player to view my VHS copy, so I went and bought it on-line. I recently bought the box set of the SAMURAI trilogy (Criterion) from Amazon because the price was a good $35 cheaper than if I'd bought the individual volumes at that Japanese bookstore here. I have this set on VHS, but I'm reading the book series it's based on now and after watching the first VHS volume, I decided I wanted to get the best possible quality. This isn't the first time that a DVD purchase is motivated by what I'm reading.

I've probably bought more DVDs at used bins in the past couple of years than new ones. Usually anime and classic Japanese films. I've found a few intriguing films in such bins that I'd never heard of before, e.g. SAMURAI VENDETTA (1959) and SHINSENGUMI CHRONICLES: I WANT TO DIE A SAMURAI (1963), both of which turned out to be unsung Japanese samurai classics that had gone under my radar. I believe I paid $10 for one and $14 for the other, high for used DVDs, but they're pretty hard to find. A lot of used stuff I buy is out-of-print.

But it's rare that I buy a new Hollywood release. I finally bought INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS at my local FYE last October, a good year after it came out, because it was only $12.99. I think KILL BILL VOL. 1 was the last Hollywood DVD I bought as soon as it came out. (After seeing it 4 times on the big screen.)

mike07

I used to blind buy stuff, but since I have a huge backlog of them, the only titles I pick up now are ones I've seen before. Of course, money has a big influence on how many/what I buy these days.

Travis McClain

I think Spottedfeather's point wasn't that he collects packaging, but that since he planned to get those titles anyway, he'd prefer to get the packaging that appeals to him.

To illustrate how my buying can be influenced by factors I don't necessarily anticipate, I just left Walmart with Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) on Blu-ray and Law and Order (1953) on DVD. The reason? They're marked to be removed from my local Walmart's floor selection to make way for next Tuesday's re-set. I was comfortable paying $15 for the pair, even though they're both blind buys. In the case of the former, I've heard great things and in any event, Warner loaded it with bonus content. In the case of the latter, I've never seen Ronald Reagan perform as an actor and I think my theme for May's Make-Your-Own Challenge may center on the Gipper; a few of his movies are available for streaming from Netflix and if they're still there come May, I think that's what my theme will be. For $5 I've got this title to get me through a night when the Internet may be finicky.

hasslein

For me, packaging has a lot to do with priority in buying. I recently filled in my South Park "holes" because I noticed a change to slim packs @ wal mart, and I wanted the seasons to match. Also, if I'm buying used and find a title I may not like as much as another, but it has a rare slipcover, I'll pick it up first. Or rare cover art. I'm always looking at my collection and saying to myself, I can't believe I own X, and don't even have X, or one season of X. Of course buying OOP titles at a good price trumps everything else.

kstublen

Yeah, same here. I don't usually buy things just because of the packaging; but I will buy things I wanted anyway in cool packaging if it's available.

The biggest exception is the Transformers movies; I purchased them because I liked the transforming DVD cases, but the first movie sucked and I never saw the second.

Travis McClain

I didn't really care for the transforming packages, though I admit that in retrospect I kinda wish I had bought Star Trek in its U.S.S. Enterprise package from Target. It was the first Blu-ray we bought. I was too excited about seeing the movie to think about going out for a particular package. Still, that's not a big enough regret that it tarnishes the joy I had of going Blu and breaking in the new technology with a Trek movie.

milo bloom

In the past, unusual packaging would help push me over the edge on a so-so title, but now everything is super scrutinized. I blame Netflix for a lot of that, in the past I had let word of mouth from forums like this one influence my buying of titles I normally wouldn't have bought. Sure that's a great way to find hidden gems, but it's also a way to accumulate a bunch of stuff you just don't care about. Since Netflix, I'm constantly walking out of the used DVD store empty handed, even when I have a coupon. I'd rather A) save the money for something I know I really want, B) not have to deal with getting rid of something I don't like.

But when I'm in the mood to get something I know I want, I have an iPhone and I pull my DVDAf list on the webbrowser. I have two wishlists, one with a few titles I absolutely know I want, and one with several titles I'd like to have but aren't "ranked" as high as the other list (and even that second list gets purged from time to time in favor of Netflix).

MR Round

I watch a trailer if it looks good i write it down then if its out/when it comes out i buy it
I blind buy a ton but I haven't gotten one I didn't like yet

Travis McClain

I would modify that to read, "I blame Netflix Watch Instantly." Knowing I can go home and stream a movie instead of blind buying it has really made a difference. Before, I might add it to my 400 title queue, but I knew at that rate it'd be five years before I got the disc.

LJG765

I have really cut back my buying lately, partly because of money, but partly because I think I've hit that saturation point where I have most of what I want and am getting pickier about what I add to my collection. I still have wish lists but price is the main factor of what I buy and when. I do try to focus on what's going out of print and try to get those first.

Newer titles, though, I admit that packaging will still get me to pick a more expensive option. If it's something I'm going to buy anyway and it has cool packaging for just a little more, I'll buy it. I have that Enterprise ship from the last Star Trek movie, I have the Batman mask, the Transformers with the transforming cases...I really want the shag Brady Bunch box. I've not bought individual seasons because I'd rather have that and won't double dip even though it'd be a LOT cheaper to buy that at the moment. However, I'm still waiting for that to go down in price before I'll buy the full set. I do have limits. I'm not usually going to spend 50 or 6o bucks more just for a figurine or a pretty box (Nightmare Before Christmas withstanding).

smurr05

I buy films that I've either seen and like to rewatch, films that come by word of mouth here on the forum, or films that are well reviewed and spark my interest. I buy alot of used films that are mostly in perfect condition. Lately I have bought and watched alot of foreign films that have been just superb. I really get the feeling lately that the foreign market outshines the american market sometimes! Either way this is my hobby and I will never stop collecting films to watch and re-watch...Except "The Dentist" UGH!!!

calhoun07

I consider what I want, I consider the appeal of the movie to a mass audience, I try to decide if a lot of people won't like it (ie subtitled movies are a prefect example...nobody wants to read no movie, shoot!) and the chances are if there will be a glut of used copies later on I can snag for a deal. So often I wait on movies because the movies I tend to like are not huge box office successes.

Other than that, if it's a limited edition or looks like it may be hard to find later on I will move that to the top of my list, and tend to not worry about the price.

For bigger box office success movies I tend to wait for a good DOTD or lightning deal on amazon.com or just an overall great sale online before buying those, because those always go down in price after being out for a while.

Disney, Pixar and Criterion are movies I try to buy early on as I tend to find good prices on preorders on those. But Criterion often has some good sales through the year at various stores, so that gets played into consideration on how fast I plan on watching the movie.

Spottedfeather

Right. If a movie comes out and comes in a regular case as well as a steelbook or fancy slipcover, I'll get the one with the cover. But other than the Disney dvds and blu-rays, I don't really care about a fancy cover. For instance, I got the Wolverine movie (don't judge, alright. I know it's not the best) there was only one copy in the store. But it had a dented and ripped cover. So I just got the normal case. In this case, the slipcover really didn't matter much, as it was the exact art as the cover just with holo-effects on it. But for the Superman/Batman Apocalypse, I really liked the shiny-ness of the cover, so I got that version.

The Cow

Replay value of the movie/extras is #1 in decision making.

I don't care about covers, the boxes go away as soon as I open them.

Indy24LA

I usually go by price point. I won't blind buy something unless it's 5 or under and I usually wait until something I've seen and want is around 10 bucks. I will break rules for A+ titles that come out pretty cheap (e.g. The Social Network).

LosingMyMind

Whatever has the most nudity.

shadokitty

I usually go by what I am interested in at the time. Case in point, thanks to a MMO I am currently playing, I have gotten into the super hero movies and tv shows. Also if there is a challenge going on or coming up I plan to participate in, I might get a few movies for the sole purpose of watching in the Challenge.

starseed1981

For me this is actually a pretty easy question to answer. I essentially stopped buying movies back in 2009 and only really purchase TV shows. Of those, I basically wait for the ones I want to hit $19.99 at BB, Target or Amazon.

GoldenWheels

Whatever I can afford. That's always the first qualifier!

What to actually watch....that's a lot harder. I spend 20 mins a night deciding amongst the unwatched pile.

asianxcore

1) Replay Value (or at least how much I want to watch it again)

2) Good deal now or better deal later?

The 2nd one definitely comes into play with a lot of popular films or "bigger" Horror films, where you'll see a lot of them on sale at various B&Ms or in the Used bin at your local DVD store.

JamesDFarrow

Like others when I first starting buying DVDs I bought a lot. All the stuff I wanted to have. But after a few years space becomes an issue. And a lot of the stuff I bought I only watched once. If I could back up there is probably half of my DVDs I would not have bought. So now, replay value is the main consideration. I now buy mainly stuff I know for sure I will watch over and over again. And those are mostly TV shows.

There are exceptions but that's how I do it now.

James (who's almost cured of the "impulse buying" disorder)

P.S. Almost forgot. A good trick is to make a "wish list" of the DVDs you want. And, like a grocery list, force yourself to stick to it. That way you don't buy stuff you, after second thought, realize you didn't really need to buy.