Columbia House: Yay or Nay?

[Phydeault]

http://www.columbiahouse.com (http://www.columbiahouse.com/sa/142/ch/index.jsp?club=3&stype=JOIN&autoLogin=false&url=/main.jsp)
http://www.columbiahousecanada.com/ (http://www.columbiahousecanada.com/repl/cv/dvds/tmpls/enter2.html?sid=12fb61dd551f5a6476e12140c6f9d48e)


Are you a member? Is it worth it for the DVDs ?

Phydeault


[This message has been edited by Phydeault (edited 04-15-2001).]

[The Professional]

well that depends. if you buy alot of dvds and don't mind buying from colubia house then you might as well get some free ones.

[Bart Simpson]

I've quite and rejoined about 8 times. It pretty much evens out in the end becuase of S&H but I think that it's worth it.

[Phydeault]

Thanks guys for the info ...

[vahe]

So what's the catch? If they send you 3 free dvd's then you buy 3 more at full price,theyre still losing money. How do they do it?

[falconfilms]

The dvd's don't cost them what they cost you. They still make money, trust me. Not to mention the fact that they kill you with high shipping costs.

Often they make money from people who forget to reply to their mailings. They send you a form which tells you that they will send you the "featured selection" unless you respond by mailing the card back to them and telling them you don't want it. (you can also respond online). If you don't reply by a certain date, they send it to you. If you don't ship the dvd back to them ASAP (unopened) you just bought it. And their average prices are higher than you can find anywhere else.

What you have to do is wait for a sale. They have different promotions every month. Sometimes it's "buy one get one half off" Sometimes it's 40% off everything...etc. So you can end up getting the pricier dvds at a reduced price. (I got the Special edition "Bridge over the River Kwai for less than $25) But if you buy something on sale, it only counts toward your required purchases if it still costs you at least $19.95 each.

All in all, if you keep up with it, it's an excellent deal. However, once you've fulfilled you obligation, it's not really that great of a deal to keep buying your dvds there...

[vahe]

You sound like an old pro...thanks

[Bart Simpson]

They have a new guy in charge, and they are very good about letting you return the Director's selection. I have never had a problem with them, and that's why I keep canceling and going back

[JoBlo]

I wanted to buy about 10 new DVDs, so I figured that I'd get 7 out of the way through COLUMBIA HOUSE this week. Will let you guys know how it turns out. The first ones that I ordered were:

RUSHMORE
THE NINTH GATE
OUT OF SIGHT
HAPPY GILMORE

[doctor drew]

Uh oh, you just sold your soul to the devil. /ubb/wink.gif

[Narst]

I don't like it that much. There selection is not that great for DVD geeks. I quit and they offered me 4 DVDs for 49 cents to come back but I'm having trouble finding 4 that I want out of their selection.

[JoBlo]

That's the cool thing about it, see....I already get their crappy "specials" sent to me every month anyway (I once subscribed to their CD shite), and as soon as I get my initial 4 in the mail, I'm gonna order the other 3 and then cancel a la Bart Simpson.

Of course, they'll keep sending me their shite after that, but I never open their stuff anyway... /ubb/smile.gif

The next three will likely be:

JERRY MAGUIRE
TOTAL RECALL
FLIRTING WITH DISASTER

or

BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
CRIMSON TIDE
THE PROFESSIONAL

In the end, it'll cost me about $100 canadian (which is about $65 US, I think), for 7 DVDs...not too shabby, me thinks...

[Cyclonus]

Sounds like a lot of hassle. I think we should all go with amazon.com (http://amazon.com) ! /ubb/smile.gif