moocher

OK. I guess I'd better explain the "Cyberrebates" comment. I guess Flooz would have been a better example but maybe still not appropriate (depending on what you guys say in response).

I simply meant that I did not want to have a bunch of money tied up in pre-orders and then the company go bankrupt ala both Cyberrebates and Flooz. I have many items that are preorders but yet are showing as "invoiced". Usually "invoiced" means billed if a company has your credit card number. I have not got my latest statement so I don't know if I have been charged or not. I did not mean to imply that they were crooks.

I see that they have changed their software and one of my "bids" reappeared but was "expired". I also have several more that are expired as of today. I can see no reason for this other than they never got around to placing the orders. I finally was able to get a CSR to answer the phone and he pretty much admitted that. Apparently they are swamped with orders. He said they try to get the ones that are about to expire first but sometimes don't make it in time. They had better staff up or this is going to be a tedious way to save a few bucks.

By the way, those of you who pre-ordered Planet of the Apes 2001 will probably be getting the 1968 version. Another database mismatch .

moocher

UPDATE:

Spoke with "Cynthia" today. (I must say that their CSRs are very friendly which is very refreshing.) Apparently they were "closed" the last couple of days and were unable to finish processing many orders. A new feature allows you to re-place an "expired" order at the same price. Cynthia was very apologetic and said they are working out some "minor" bugs in their system.

She did once again confirm that, like Mummy UE, there was a mixup with POTA 2001. Many will be getting the 1968 version, including me . She promised that once they receive an e-mail with your actual return shipping costs they will do an immediate credit and credit the cost of the DVD when received.

I really hope this company is able to succeed (even though sadly it doesn't help the DVD Talk site which I think we should be supporting since this site has saved all of us MUCH more than Orderbox could). They really seem like a nice company that are trying very hard and not out to screw anyone.

Jadzia

I joined this site and then I cancelled.

I couldn't get the stupid program to work! I am using Netscape 6.0 on a Windows ME machine (my IE is broken for some reason).

The Orderbox program refuses to respond and even prevents me from opening my browser unless I manually shut it down first. Very buggy.

I tried re-installing it twice with no luck. There is hardly any troubleshooting advice on the site which is odd.

Oh well, I guess I am missing out on this deal.

I just don't have the time to try and figure out how to get their buggy piece of software to run. I figured I'd cancel since I can't get it to run.

I don't even know what the "Orderbox" looks like since it didn't work once on my computer.

Numanoid

I'd just like to throw in that Orderbox has paid off for me big time. Just before I found the info on them (thanks DVDTalk Store Forum) I had prepared a list of around 16 titles which I was about to buy online. I instead decided to go ahead and try Orderbox. I've received around 7 discs so far (most of the rest are pre-orders) and have calculated that I will be saving around $73 total!
A great deal, if you ask me. I hope it lasts.

trebek

I just wanted to check if anybody who had pre-ordered Blood Simple from orderbox had recieved it yet. The other stuff I preordered that was coming out 9/18 has all allready shipped. Blood Simple is still showing "Backorder/pre-order" for me.

Thanks
Matt

mrglass

I got the third Robotech box set and the Simpsons Season One today, but Blood Simple still hasn't shipped.

jiggyblau

I find it very odd that some people are still getting the 25% off as described above. If they really were offering the 25% off all items as long as you joined before the 10th, then I should be gettng it. However, most discounts are coming up in the 10% range and they say "Special Discount Item." I know I was going to cancel my account anyway, but now it's not even a question.

MrN

My 'Blood Simple' is still a backorder and 'Simpsons' is still in process.


Jiggyblau, I'm in your boat. I'm getting the 'Special Discount item' even though I joined more a month ago. Thankfully, this is so far only happening on CDNOW.

amarynth

Strange. I'm still getting 25% off, even at Cdnow. Could it be that those of you that are getting the "Special Discounts" aren't logged in? I think that someone mentioned in the Orderbox thread in the DVD Bargains Forum that they were having the same problem, and that logging in solved it.

Freakazoid

yeah, I only signed up on the 15th or so, so I was concerned about not getting the deals that those of you who had signed up earlier had.. HOWEVER, I have now order 5 titles through them and althouhg was quoted slightly higher prices with the bidding program, the price I actually pay is right at 25% off.

ex. Ordered Memento through buy.com like the rest of you.. but I was quoted $11.39 ... no biggie... 15 cents... woo.... but when the bid went through the total was $11.17 plus the 1 cent per order and $0.88 per title... total $12.06

I am assuming the rest of you are getting charged about the same.. but it's interesting that the actual prices are lower than the bids.. not complaining... VERY HAPPY... and I hope the moderators decide to let us keep talking about this.. since it IS a DVD BARGAIN


descending from soapbox

MrN

No, still only getting 10% off certain items at Cdnow. I wonder if its because I've just passed my 1 month mark? No biggie - I'm getting full 25% off DDD prices so I'm still staying with it.

moocher

Looks like a bit of a compromise by the mods (or a mistake). They appear to still allow the discussion but won't let the name of the site be used (like *bates I guess). It is hard to pass up an additional 25% off (which is much better than *bates) but it is also hard to not support DVD Talk by using their affiliate links considering the amount of money this site has saved us. Tough delimma for us bargain shoppers ...

Scooter

I have been here for a long time and don't really see why Geoff should be in a huff about 0rderbox. 0rderbox is an independent store that "piggybacks" on larger sites like Amazon to supply it's browsing experience- insidious and ingenious if you ask me. And the current 25% off will not last much longer. Sure if you order through 0rderbox you don't make Geoff money, but neither if you go down to Best Buy or Costco and get a bargain DVD you found out about here. I love this site and wish it well, but this is the best deal I have seen since the golden days of Reel and it saddens me to see Geoff cracking down like this.
my $.02

Startide

0rderBox (OB)seems to be a lot more inefficient than DeepDiscountDVD (DDD). There are plenty of opportunities to save money and they aren't. Well, at least they aren't shipping single DVD inside of 8x10x10 boxes like ValueAmerica was. *startide stands up and salutes the memory of VA*

Comment #1:

DDD wisely uses the USPS media mail for shipping items. That costs only $1.33 from one to umpteen DVD in one box. DDD uses confirmation tracking as needed or not needed.

Comment #2:

OB has been sending things to me via USPS First Class or USPS Priority Mail instead of using media mail. When using Priority, OB also adds confirmation tracking purchased at the post office for a fee rather than by the "free" method. First Class is usually used for single DVD title shipments at a cost of approximately $1.72 postage. Multiple titles are often sent by Priority in the small box at $3.50 per shipment plus confirmation label purchased at the post office. Thus, OB loses approx $0.40 per title sent out via first class mail or $2.17 per priority mail shipment over using media mail.

Comment #3:

OB could be making money on the postage by shipping 3 or more titles together via media mail. Instead, they are losing money. It seems strange, but they must have their reasons for doing things this way.

Comment #4:

They are using shipping manifests printed on the same sticky-labels that Amazon used to use long ago. While it is convenient to peel off the return label, I think that DDD has a much better approach. DDD prints the label on the reverse side of the manifest, thus avoiding using expensive sticky-label paper. Also, by not making the label sticky, the customer will use tape to secure the label to the box. This tape will protect the toner from falling off or being rubbed off during shipment, which is a necessity. OB's sticky return labels are also printed in a laser printer using toner, and because they are self-stick, the customer might not put tape over the address to protect it from being rubbed off during shipment.

---

Hopefully, OB will evolve their shipping practices quickly to be more like DDD. This would save them money and improve the return process

So, my hats off to DDD for being efficient, cost-effective, and pro-active in improving things as they go. Not that I don't like 0rderBox (I do), but they have so many cost-related items to improve upon that are just pi55ing away money.

moocher

I think Geoff's point is that, in effect, OB is really like another affiliate site in competition with this site. Imagine using a Coca-Cola sponsored forum to discuss the benefits of buying Pepsi. If you plan to buy from Amazon but do it using OB, DVDTalk loses money it would have earned through the affiliate link. This cyphens off a big revenue source for the site.

Yes there is nothing Geoff can do about B&Ms, Columbia House, etc. but these are not direct affiliate competitors like I guess he considers OB to be. However, you are correct that buying a DVD from Best Buy is really the same as buying it from OB as far as DVDTalk is concerned. Neither purchase makes DVDTalk any money.

OB puts both Geoff and us in a tough spot...

larryw

My Blood Simple still shows up as backorder/preorder. I'm going to talk to CS on Monday.

WhattheFFF

ok I signed up today I ordered 3 DVDs

I ordered the simpsosns & 2 WWF DVDs, do orders ever get rejected?

I was given $100 credit, anyone know how that works cause I have a hard time believing they are going to send me a hundred dollars worth of free merchadise.

Numanoid

How many of us actually use the links from DVDTalk? When I shop, I manually go to the sites and look up prices, and order from the cheapest (well-respected) site. Or I use dvdpricesearch.com (aren't they related to DVDTalk?) and get the info I need. I still generally don't use their link, though. Maybe someone should let us know how it works to benefit DVDTalk as much as possible. (But they must realize that we're going to go for the cheapest price, in general.)

DVD~Demonoid

RTFM - or in this case, the first couple postings!

Eric

Kakkarat

Has anyone else seen this? I signed up after Sept 10, so I knew I wouldn't get the full 25% off. So when I bought the Simspons (from buy.com) through ********, I got quoted $22.99. But when it was accepted, the "final" price was lowered to $21.31. But today, when I checked my credit card activity online, I was only charged $20.25!!!!!!! And I just received the order today.
Mind you, I'm not complaining!!!!!!! I just wanted to know if anyone else has seen this.

Brett

The beginning of the end...

Looks like all the DVD sites are coming up at only 10% off

I thought my cookie may have been lost like some others have reported, but when I asked customer service...this was the response I got:

We recently updated our discount policy for several sites. You will receive an email notifying you of these changes shortly.

I will post the email when I get it.

Oh well, all good things come to an end...looks like I'll be cancelling as soon as my last few items ship.

-Brett

moocher

Notice - Reduced Discounts (09/24/2001):

The ******** Card community is growing rapidly and becoming a true force in the industry. Our "Web-Wide" group buying model is providing thousands of our members with savings that are not available anywhere else. All this is thanks to you and our network of suppliers.

In response to many of our members' requests we've recently enabled the ******** Card to support several highly specialized sites including dvdempire, digitaleyesdvd, deepdiscount, etc. Shoppers that visit these sites will notice a reduced discount rate. A number of other sites including buy.com and CDNow will be subject to similar discounts.

We hope that by increasing our membership base, our buying power will continue to grow and increase our overall savings.

The ******** Team




Glad I have already pre-ordered much of what I want but I doubt they will see many new orders from me at only 10% off. Of course this will help with my guilty conscience for not using the DVDTalk affiliate links...

MrN

Well, that was good while it lasted. I put a bunch of DVDs in my shopping cart over the weekend and even those discounts got reduced.

I did find a few titles at Amazon still coming in at 25% off. I might as well order them since I'm probably not going to stick with them too much longer.

MrN

So, let me get this straight, they want to increase their membership base by reducing discounts?

Someone needs a class in price theory.

cubanx

ROFL ... that's what I said on another forum..