DVD Stores in NYC?
 

I'm not sure what forum this belongs in, and if it needs to be moved, my apologies.

I am going to New York next weekend and was wondering if there were any noteable DVD stores that I should look for.

I am mainly looking for stores that sell unusual stuff by more obscure labels, or even places that sell imports. I live in the middle of nowhere (New Hampshire), so while Borders occasionally gets a few good titles, most of the time I end up ordering online. Foreign movies, especially Japanese and old Italian horror is the stuff I usually can't find.

Any suggestions are welcome, just give me your favorite places to shop for DVD's in NYC! Thanks!

These are all in Manhattan:


J&R - 23 Park Row (financial district)

Mondo Kims - St. Mark's Place (village)

Entertainment Outlet - 40th st. between 5th and 6th ave. (Across the street from Bryant Park)

DVD Palace - 46th st. and 8th ave (Times Square area)

Borders - 32nd St. and 2nd ave.

Tower Records (expensive) - 66th st. and Broadway (near Lincoln Center)

For the imported, rare and foreign stuff, your best bet is Mondo Kims

J&R would be my first choice
Virgin Records

Just wanted to give a heads-up that Entertainment Outlet is no longer there (not sure if they went out of business or just moved). Went there last week and it looked like some kind of deli or restaurant was being rennovated inside :(

I gotta admit, as a lifelong New Yorker, I get all of my DVDs through mail order.

There are two DVD stores on 14th street between 6th and 7th Ave.

HOWEVER, DVDs aren't cheaper or more plentiful in NYC. That's a myth! Stores like Kim's and Virgin are pretty expensive. It's generally cheaper (although not necessarily as fun) to buy your DVDs over the internet.

While we're on the subject of buying stuff in NYC, are there any notable places to buy laserdiscs? I just got a laserdisc player for cheap and need some laserdiscs to go with it.

J&R on new release days has some pretty good deals. They generally keep pace with the lowest B&M prices in NYC. I think they make an effort to price the same as Best Buy on release day.

Unsurprisingly, no-one has mentioned Chinatown.

I suppose sticking to the Mei-ah label and looking for holograms and the such might keep you from buying a bootleg but I've never come across one.

Might I add Chinatown is the only place in the city (barring Queens) to get VCDs at rockbottom prices.

As for EOutlet, they're still there. They just moved up the block a few buildings. There's also an EOutlet on 14th street between 6 and 7th I think.

While I'm at it:

J&R - Nothing special. Once in a blue moon you'll get a good deal. I'd go to Tower Records if I want to get burned.

Mondo Kims - There's another one on Bleeker. They've got a good collection of other region titles but yeah, they're overpriced.

Entertainment Outlet - Best deals in the town so far. Recent deals include various Artisan SE discs for 8 dollars and Edward ScissorHands for 10 bucks. If you have a VillageVoice card, you get 10 percent off.

DVD Palace - Lame. It's main draw like most 42nd street vendors are porn titles. Although you might get some good deals on porn of course ;)

Borders - Bleh. If you use those Borders coupons, you might actually get a title at MSRP!

Tower Records (expensive) - Yeah pretty much. Sometimes they have random sales that are actually pretty good though (Final Destination 11.99)

A note about Entertainment Outlet: Yes, the one on 40th is still there (and quite nice now, too) and there is another on 14th. I don't get to the 40th St. location very often, so I can't speak for that one, but if you go to the one on 14th, pay attention to what you pick up. They very often (maybe always?) carry Canadian discs. This doesnt always matter, of course, but some titles have bi-lingual covers. I imagine this is how they're able to offer such low prices.

There are always street vendors ;)

Just a heads-up to notice that they merely moved a few doors away down the block, closer to 5th Avenue.

I have seen bootlegs in Entertainment Outlet, so caveat emptor.

Thanks :) I haven't been there in awhile, so when I went last week I was a bit dismayed to see the store disappear ;).

Thanks for all replies, I will probably hit up Mondo Kim's since I am staying in the village, and we may walk around Chinatown a little. I figured since I was in the city, I might as well check out the dvd market, I wasn't really looking to save a ton of money. If I see something I want I'll probably pick it up if it isn't TOO expensive ;).

Thanks, guys!

What's a VillageVOice card and how do you get one?

Village Voice is a weekly local leftist newspaper. If you go to http://www.voice.com (or something), there should be a link to fill out an application for the Voice Card.

A couple of weeks later you should get.....the VoiceCard. A plastic blue card that gives you discounts at stores all over the city. Most notable, 10 percent off DVDs and CDs.

Thanks for letting us know about the VoiceCard. I had no idea such a thing existed, and I could always use an extra 10% off at Entertainment Outlet.

Generally, what are Borders' prices like for the new releases on Tuesdays? I think someone mentioned that their price for Buffy S4 was comparable to Best Buy/Circuit City's ($45.99 or whatever), so with a coupon, I could've saved a decent amount.

I ended up at Kim's, Entertainment Outlet, and Virgin. Kim's has a pretty awesome selection, although a little pricey as stated above. I ended up getting Junk (which I couldn't find anywhere here in New Hampshire and cost MORE online) and Surf Nazi's Must Die used. Kim's had a lot of stuff I was tempted on, but either I couldn't tell how legit it was or it was too expensive. I don't have the kind of money to throw around on something I'm not sure about, I'd rather wait and pay for a quality release. :)