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Hey, I was thinking about signing up for Columbia House DVDs or BMG DVD services. Is anyone a part of these groups? Is there any hidden fees that you have to pay for or is it just the 5 DVDs for 49cents each? Any help and comments would be appreciated

Thanks!
 
I tried it back in the day, they make you buy a certain number of DVD's/CD's Throughout the year, to tell you the truth I'd say stay away from it, as the shipping is also a killer. However if you buy a lot of CDs/DVDs it could possibly be worth looking into.
 
The main thing with these kinds of clubs is patience. You'll have to make a minimum number of pruchases at full price within a defined time period, typically two years. Don't be in a hurry to fulfill your obligation. Every once in a while they have a blowout sale on old titles where you get them for some tiny price but only in combination buying an item at full price.

If you figure your average cost acroas all the titles you get it ends up much lower this way. The normal prices suck if you don't hold out for the sales.
 
Ehh, I don't know. It's an okay deal I guess. If you are looking to increase your DVD collection you could do worse.

Shipping is expensive and thats the "hidden cost". Sure, you will pay .49 for each DVD but each one has its own shipping charge.

My advice: If you are going to do this, buy the extra DVD for the discounted price (9.99?) which allows you to take one item off the total you need to buy to fufill your commitment. Also, don't do any of the buy-1-get-1-50%-off deals. Your overall average price per DVD will jump if you buy into that. Just buy the DVDs you need to buy as soon as possible and cancel.

The only way this turns into a decent deal is if you buy DVDs that tend to be pricey. Get stuff that doesn't tend to go on sale at the stores, and stay away from budget titles that you could get at Circuit City for under $10.
 
Anymore they sometimes have free shipping for the 1st 5 dvds at 49 cents. Also if you hunt around for some more obscure titles they can sometimes be a decent deal even at the club price. Like ebobirs said if you plan carefully you can come out on top abit, but bewarned most outright sale prices may not count toward your required purchases.
 
If you are able to read and understand their agreement, you should have no problem with payments and such. I used to do BMG CD's, and it was pretty easy to figure out.
 
I've done them in the past and I am doing it now. The shipping use to be killer but now it is only 99¢ or free shipping for 3 or more DVDs. Typically, you want your first 5 ,or 7 in my case, DVDs to be the most expensive possible then just get $19.95 DVDs to meet your requirement. All in all, it comes out to approximately $8 per DVD for a total of 9 DVDs. Keep in mind that I had the offer where you got 7 DVDs in the beginning and only needed to get 2 more in the end. YMMV. Just my 2 cents.
 
In general, I don't recommend these kinds of clubs for movies on tape or disc. Music worked out alright in the past because there was less price flexibility at retail. The club can also work OK for books. If you hold out for the blowouts you end up with a large pile of hardbacks for less than it would have cost for paperbacks of the same titles at retail. You rarely find any real pricecutting below paperback prices except for discounts clubs tied toth eretail chain offering 10%. The books that end up in those clearance stores that take over leases from failed businesses are usually lousy items or very time sensitive and past expiration.

But most movies drop to a fraction of their release SRP in less than a year. Only a handful really hold their value. All it takes is patience for the right retail price to come along after a year or so.
 
I didn't know that CH dropped shipping prices. That could make it more attractive.

But anyway, bottom line is that each DVD ends up being like $7-8 a piece with pretty much any deal they offer. If you get good ones that have a high regular retail price, you'll do okay.

Here was an example (buy 5 free shipping, buy 3 more at regular price, old shipping prices?)
5 DVDs @ $0.49 each $2.45
6th Optional @ $14.95 $14.95
Shipping/Handling (Free) $0.00
7th and 8th Fulfillment @ $19.95 each $39.90
Shipping/Handling ($2.99 + $1.99) $4.98
Total = $62.28 / 8 = $7.79 per DVD
 
I've always found CH to be pretty good. I hate having to remember to decline the directors selection (I am a member of the DVD club). I am thinking about canceling though cause I haven't bought anything in a while.
 
[quote name='epobirs']

But most movies drop to a fraction of their release SRP in less than a year. Only a handful really hold their value. All it takes is patience for the right retail price to come along after a year or so.[/QUOTE]


Yeah but, most major DVD buyers don't wait around for a year to buy the movies they want, they buy them as the come come out or relatively soon after. If they buy them all retail you might as well buy them the 1st week when they are the cheapest they'll be til the first price drop. That said, I'd have to say buying brand new DVDs, at least major releases, from a club is a bad idea...You'll almost always be able to find it cheaper at a retail during the 1st week of release.
 
An observation I've had from being a member of BMG Music Service for ten years: the longer you're a member (or the more you buy), the better the deals get. When I first joined it, the offers were typically Buy 1 Get 1 Free. Then, it went to Buy 1 Get 2 Free, then to Buy 1 Get 3 Free. My current offer is Buy 1, Get Unlimited $1.99 CDs. As for the Columbia House DVD club, I've been a member of that for only a couple of years, so the deals aren't quite as good yet.

Another tip: buy a lot at once. You won't get good deals buy buying only one or two CDs/DVDs because the first one tends to be more expensive than retail (more so for the CDs), so to amortize that cost, you need to buy more CDs/DVDs (at reduced rates) with it. For example, with my current deal from BMG Music Service (Buy 1, Get Unlimited $1.99), one CD would cost $17.98 plus shipping, so the average CD price would be much higher than retail. However, if I buy eight CDs at once, the total would be $56.23 (including shipping), an average of $7.03 per CD.

Of course, this works only if you don't want to buy the CDs/DVDs when they first come out. Not only do the music/DVD clubs get new releases later than stores, but also you'd have to wait until there are at least four or so that you want to buy in order to get a good deal (see paragraph above).
 
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