Moppy007

I'm going on a trip to San Francisco and LA in a few weeks. Just wondering if anyone has suggestions or recommendations on where i can find good dvd bargains in these cities?

Tsar Chasm

Best Buy and Circuit City have about the best prices for brick and mortar stores. I am not aware of any SUPER discount DVD stores in either LaLaLand or San Francisco

HyPyke

IN LA: DVDPlanet

go to their site at dvdplanet.com to get the retail store directions.

Moppy007

i think i'll be pretty happy, i live in australia so any discs i buy there will seem relatively cheap for region 1 discs!

Thanks, i'll check them out! Any one else?

infinite1

They may be a little hit and miss but if you can find a CD Warehouse location (they are now owned by Djangos) and Wherehouse Music (yes the second place is different from the first) you can hunt used DVDs. Prices will vary wildly (Wherehouse tends to be high but in bigger cities they get in indie films and foreign films and the occasional Criterion DVD used, sometimes even at a bargain price) so you may want to check out online price searchers like dvdpricesearch.com and bargainflix.com to get an up to date idea of whether the in store deals are good or not. You might even want to make up a want list in advance noting the lowest price you found online for each DVD you want

Be sure if you're staying over a Sunday to pick up a Sunday newspaper and look through the ads for Best Buy, Circuit City, Frys, CompUSA, Target, K-Mart and Walmart. Take the ads with you so you can get some price matching done (ie have one store give you the same price as another store) to save time.

For more esoteric DVDs like Criterions and classic movies your best bets may be Best Buy, Frys and Borders (Borders is also at the high end of retail pricing but they have a very broad selection). WalMart and Target and Kmart will be competitive on the hotter titles - Walmart seems to get great deals on Warner Brothers and New Line and Fine Line titles (tons of stuff at $9.96) and now Buena Vista and Disney and Miramax and Dimension titles (various 2 packs at $14.88). Target seems to do well on 20th Century Fox and Paramount titles (ie $14.44 and $14.99). K-Mart has some dirt cheap Anchor Bay titles ($6.99) and *everyone* seems to have cheap MGM titles (ie between $9.00 and $9.99)

Have fun shopping and try not to melt your credit card
Infinite

Mountain Biker

Frys is definitely the place to check out.

Aaron Amos

How about for the Seattle-Tacoma area? I know that Fred Meyers is up there. I'm be there for a week and might check out some DVD stores if people tell me of any good ones. Fred Meyers is a great one as their CD's & DVD selection is better than my local Target and Wal-Mart(which is kinda pathetic).Are there any Fry's up north?

I will be going on this trip/week vacation the week of July 1-8. 2002.

Moppy007

infinite: that was very informative, thanks heaps.

being aussie, i can't say i've heard of frys. i've heard fellow forum members talk about BB and walmart, and we've got borders, target and k-mart here.

i'm beginning to fear that now i'll get caught up in buying TOO many dvds!

infinite1

Moppy you're welcome. I work for a small retailer of CDs music memorabilia and now DVDs in Houston and what I suggested you do is pretty much what I do to make sure our DVD prices are competitive and our inventory is interesting.

The only other thing I can suggest is that if you're visiting an American (and will be in the USA for more than a few days), ask your host if he/she has a membership to one or more warehouse clubs (ie Sam's Costco or BJ's) and if so to ask him/her to take you shopping there as a guest. You may find great deals on box sets and certain new titles there. Normally they charge to join (last I checked Costco was $45/year and Sams was $40/year and we don't have BJ's in Houston), but sometimes you can get customer service to give you a free one day pass, the catch being you pay 5% above the posted price and can only pay cash (it's easier to have a friend who is a member get you in, give them the cash to buy your DVDs and buy them lunch for their troubles).

Have fun shopping and I hope you find whatever you've been looking for at great prices.

Infinite

Wormwood

Don't shop at Wal-Mart, ever. The stores almost always look dirty, the layouts are confusing and the aisles are usually too close together cramping everyone in. That's why I am never shopping at Wal-Mart again, lower prices or not. Target is a much better looking store on the inside and it's very easy to find the things you need. As for dvd's and cd's, Best-Buy is my bitch. They always have what I am looking for.

Moppy007

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! I'll do my best.

wormwood: from looking at their online sites and prices, Best Buy already looks better than WalMart!

Franchot

In Westminster (Los Angeles), I'd second the recommendation of DVD Planet on Beach Blvd. (Very good prices on new DVDs. Terrific selection.)

In Pasadena (Los Angeles), try out Interact on Lake and Oak Knoll. (Great prices on used DVDs.)