CheapBastid

Um...

Bad idea.

The great thing about the 'What's the best price' threads is that you end up getting the best price.

If you just have a price search engine you don't get info on the rebates, coupons, etc that end up getting you the best price on a release.

Jim

I don't agree with it either. Are we supposed to post the lowest price for every DVD we find? That would completely clog the forum. When someone asks about a specific title, then there is at least some filter because it indicates titles people are interested in.

A recent example: There was a $5 Tower coupon that coincided with a Tower sale on Columbia releases which included Superbit titles. I mentioned it in the Tower thread, but didn't want to start an entirely new thread just to mention some deal people may or may not be interested in. So a person looking for a deal on Superbits quite possibly wouldn't have seen it since a lot of us quite often ignore Tower coupons because their prices are usually high. However, someone then asked about good deals on the October Superbits and I was able to respond to them there.

Groucho

I conquer with you guys.

CheapBastid

No, that's not a solution.

Those threads are discussing a specific deal, not listing the best deal.

Again, this is a very bad move, and I wonder if it isn't driven by the advertizers, if so this signals a change in the weather that bodes ill for my staying on this site.

I came here to find the best deals, not to read ads. I'm more than happy to read ads, and support this site, if I can find the best deal, but this 'new rule' is going to prevent the main reason I come here.

Jim

I suspect it is for business reasons too. I would rather see more emphasis on reminding us to click through the links when we shop online. I know I was negligent in doing that for a long time and I suspect others are as well. Now I've gotten to the point where if my wife wants something from Land's End, I'll come to DVDTalk first, click through a link to Amazon, and get the item through there.

cleaver

I started a "Best price on Aladdin?" thread because I was locked in a preorder price and needed to know whether or not to cancel my preorder. DVD Price search is a useful tool, but it can't tell the future. Within a few hours of starting this thread, I got enough educated guesses to roll the dice until the street date. I saved a couple of bucks and got a monkey doll, so sometimes those threads can be helpful. Oh well.

chemosh6969

this is a stupid idea.

why would it be a good idea to have 2,000 threads with each one stating every price that every store is selling a certain dvd for?

scottall

You can bet your ass that in a thread like that someone will come in and post a better deal if there is one.

MrE

Sorry but I've got to disagree. I've gotten great deals through DVDTalk but NOT ONE has been through a best-price thread.

Examples:
The Hulk $3 deal
The Chabrol set for $16

Adam Tyner

I think the motivation is that if someone asks something like "What's the best price for 'Dawn of the Dead'?", that question will more than likely already be answered:

1) through a price search website
- or -
2) in existing threads (if a particular retailer has a coupon, if there's an advertised special, in the Target/Best Buy/Circuit City threads)

I think it would be tremendously useful if someone or a group of people would compile a list of each week's releases and post the best deals for those titles. Kinda like the weekly thread on the HTF, but instead of being limited to a few retailers, it would show the best price from sites like Deep Discount DVD or a store with a coupon.

I like the Cheapassgamer.com approach -- their bargains forum is for posting bargains only. Requests for the best prices go in a separate area. Maybe DVD Talk will eventually add a request forum too.

CheapBastid

They might but they also might have posted that 'best deal' in the Amazon Deals thread or another store price thread, or in the New Release thread.

If there's a 'Best Deal on XXX' thread then you're sure to find it.

RevKarl

Unlike others (and management), I have no problem with the "best price" threads... and, in fact, I think they have been every useful for high-profile titles.

scottall

Search? I do see your point though.

xpfshost

I think it's a mistake to do away with Best Price threads as well. It's more convenient to find just the info you want about a specific title...without having to go through several other threads looking to see who has it the cheapest. The search engine is not always your friend in this case. just 2 cents.

xpfshost

CheapBastid

So I search on 'aladdin' and I find 63 threads, I then read each one, scanning though all pages to see if I can find the best deal.

or

I open the 'Best Deal' thread and I'm done.

Adam Tyner

What do you think about the idea of having a Bargains forum that only contains Bargains, and then a subforum where people can post requests?

CheapBastid

Again, not useful. I come to the Bargains forum looking for a good deal on a title, then I have to go to another forum to see what the actual best deal is?

candyrocket786

Best Price threads are a MUST!!

I thought the goal of the bargain forum was to find the best deal and post it.

Adam Tyner

No. You'd go to the bargains forum for a list of specials, coupons, sales, etc. If you read the bargains forum regularly, you won't need a requests forum.

If you don't visit the bargains forum regularly and just want quick info on a title...or if you want to post a request...go to the requests forum.

This way, if you want to know the flat-out best price for a title, there's one central place you can go. If you want to read about actual bargains, you don't have a bunch of "what about _______?" cluttering up the forum. Seems like a great solution to me.

CheapBastid

Also the suggestion that one should hope to find someone who posts 'better price' listed in a thread like:

Aladdin $29.99 at OnlineDVDVendor

Goes against suggested forum rules. It could be conceivably regarded as an off topic post or even a threadcrap to suggest folks go elsewhere to find a better price.

dvd2001

Why not create another a sub-section of the bargain forum dedicated solely to these types of threads, i.e. the best price on an individual titles. That way, those that want them will have them all in the same place, and those that want to avoid them can just view the main bargain section.

Adam Tyner

Already been mentioned.

CheapBastid

Cluttering up?

I'm confused.

If I want to find the best price on an item, I want to find the best price on that item.

Just because I don't want another item does not mean that a thread indicating the best price for that unwanted item is 'cluttering up' the forum. It is there to help fellow DVDTalkers find the BEST PRICE FOR THAT ITEM.

How is this a problem or complicated?

CheapBastid

I would argue that the threads cluttering up the forum are threads on specific deals like:

10% off Aladdin at OnlineVendor - $20.99

That thread serves no real purpose if you can get Aladdin for $15 shipped from elsewhere.

Adam Tyner

Yes.

To use some recent examples:

"$4.80 rebate on The OC: Season 1"
"BlockBuster - Get $8 minimum on October 3rd"
"Short Circuit $3.99 at buy.com"

Those are bargains.

"what is best price for van helsing ultimate edition?" is not a bargain. Someone might reply with something that applies, but for a general user seeking out deals in general, those threads clutter up the forum and make it more of a pain to find meaningful deals.

Segmenting requests out into a separate area means people who just want to see bargains can see bargains, and people who want requests or one-stop information on a specific title can find that too. Everybody wins.