Amazon and Criterions
 

What is up with Amazon? First the Criterion store was gone, and now they list everything at full retail, except preorders and the cheaper Buena Vista titles... :confused:

I noticed that as well. RAN jumped from $29.95 to $39.95 :( I hope it's a temporary glitch.

Maybe they are planning a Criterion Sale.

Well, they haven't done anything lately to piss off customers (since doing away with STL, or delaying their free shipping items unless you PAY for Amazon Prime). and probably just wanted to keep in practice.

Really, who orders Criterions from Amazon? DVD Planet or DDD always gets my business.

Truth. Honestly, their prices lately have SUCKED. I have had a $25 GC for a month and not spent it because prices elsewhere are so much better.

Well, it seem that at least most of the upcoming Criterions have a pre-order discount at Amazon.com. I also noticed that it seems Amazon have hired some school dropouts, since their spelling for several of their listings are just spec-ta-cu-lar.


Children Are Watching Us - Criterion Collection
Criterion Coll: Fists in the Pocket
Viridiana
Young Mr. Lincoln - Criterion Collection
Mr. Arkadin
Metropolitan - Criterion Collection
3 Films By Louis Malle
Virgin Spring - Criterion Collection
The Bad Sleep Well - Criterion Collection
La Bete Humaine - Criterion Collection
Kind Hearts and Coronets - Criterion Collection

Amazingly not anymore. They raised these as well... -ohbfrank- :down:

I noticed that too. That is just insane. I was going to preorder the Malle box (listed on the product page at $55.99), but every time I added it to my cart it came up as $79.95. I called CS and the rep said that it came up as $79.95 on her screen and she couldn't adjust it for me. She said "that might have been a Gold Box discount, which is available for a limited time only." Unbelievable. I really thought we were experiencing an Amazon renaissance for a while, but it looks like it might be over.

this is up at criterion's website:
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Attention Shoppers! Criterion Discounts on the Web

A number of Criterion collectors who shop at Amazon.com have written in to let us know that Amazon is not currently offering its regular discount on Criterion Collection discs. We have no control over Amazon's pricing, but we do encourage customers to shop around, because there are plenty of good deals out there. Tower Records is offering 10 to 25 percent off most Criterion titles, and you'll find discounts of up to 30 percent on selected titles at Barnes&Noble.com. CriterionDVD.com is an entire online store dedicated to Criterion discs, with most priced at 25 to 28 percent off SRP. At DVDpricesearch.com, you can quickly compare prices and shipping rates at a number of leading online retailers, and one store that consistently stands out for great prices is DVD Planet, where the entire Criterion catalog is 35 percent off and shipping is free on orders over $25.

We recognize that Criterion discs are a significant investment, and we're determined to do what we can to help our customers build their collections. If you find a retailer you think is doing an especially good job supporting Criterion customers, please don't hesitate to let us know, so we can spread the word.
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perhaps there was some contract that wasn't renewed at the beginning of the year? whatever the reason, seems that relations aren't improving.

Could be. And I'm not buying Criterion's "We have no control over Amazon's pricing" line either. Amazon are not that greedy.

That has been on their page since January 5th. The conspiracy theorist in me believes that there was a power (money)struggle between Amazon.com and Image that has led to Amazon discontinue the normal discount on the Criterion DVDs and eliminating the Criterion Collection store from its website. It happened exactly on January 1st, so maybe some kind of contract between both companies ended and it hasn't been / won't be renewed until further notice. I have heard from people inside the Media retailing business that Amazon.com is becoming the Wal-Mart of the Internet and are using the 800 pound gorrilla tactics that made Wally World infamous. Most likely Image and Criterion didn't back down from the fight, hence the cryptic message on Criterion's website to shop in other places rather than Amazon.

Interestingly enough is the fact that the discounts are still applied on Amazon.ca . They even have a decent deal for Mr Arkadin.

It has nothing to do with greed. Manufacturers/distributors cannot influence retailer prices for antitrust reasons.

I don't usually order Criterions there anyway (especially since I pay tax there), but since I had $50 in credit at Amazon, I ordered The Bad Sleep Well (along with the Peckinpah set) from Amazon just last Friday (the 6th). The price was 20.99, so it must've gone up after that.

I complained to Amazon about the prices for the Criterions, and within an hour, I received this email:

"Thank you for writing to us at Amazon.com.

I am sorry that we do not currently offer a discount on the items
listed as Criterion Collection. While we do offer deep discounts on
hundreds of thousands of items, there are some products which we are
unable to offer below list price. I hope you'll be able to take
advantage of our discounts on your next visit to our store.

We do realize that from time to time, our customers will be able to
purchase a single title from another store at a lower price than
ours. Though price is obviously a very important factor in any
purchasing decision, the best reason to buy from Amazon.com is the
quality of customer service we provide.

Should you ever need to contact us, our Customer Service department
is available 24 hours a day via e-mail or phone to answer your
questions. We're real people who care about your experience and
we're happy to help you in any way we can.

We sincerely appreciate your business, and we look forward to your
next visit to our store."

I got an even more canned answer last week: the "Thank you for your feedback, we do appreciate" blah-blah....

The pre-order price of Au Revoir les Enfants has now risen to $39.95 (was $29.95 yesterday), even though the MSRP is $29.95. Not exactly sure what's going on anymore.

It seems that Criterion and Amazon.com have resolve their differences. Almost every Criterion DVD on the site now has a 30% off MSRP. Great news!!!!

Not off all, but on some of them. :thumbsup: It's still only MAYBE 10% on a lot.