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Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

post #1 of 62
8/1/06 at 7:04pm
Thread Starter 
Over the past few weeks I've read comments on various forums about the dwindling DVD selection at Costco. Over the last couple of weeks I've noticed my local store starting to downsize, and then today when I went it was very noticable. I would estimate that the selection is less than half of what it was just a month ago.

I asked one of the customer service supervisors about this and was told that, yes, they were downsizing because selling DVDs really wasn't their focus. She said that if membership picks up or demand increases then they probably would start carrying more.

This was disappointing news as I've purchased a lot of DVDs from Costco the past 2 years. Their prices, particularly on Warner box sets, were usually the cheapest of any retailer, including on-line ones. We buy a lot from Costco anyway, but the savings on DVDs more than justified my membership fees.

Bottom line: if you want an increase in selection, let your local managers know.
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post #2 of 62
8/2/06 at 6:54am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

While we do buy other things there since we have a membership, the reason we have a membership is for me to save money on dvds. If they stop carrying dvds, or the selection dwindles to uselessness, my family & I will not renew our membership.
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post #3 of 62
8/2/06 at 7:58am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

I don't understand what Costco is thinking. DVDs are the primary items I buy there. I thought that they would be a major part of their product selection. Perhaps this is a sign of the DVD market softening.
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post #4 of 62
8/2/06 at 9:34am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

The selection at my local Costco is the same as it's always been. Perhaps this is a regional or local change.
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post #5 of 62
8/2/06 at 4:37pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

As I noted in last week's 'Round-Up' my local Costco gave up 8 ft of DVDs to Sylvan Learning Systems tutorials, I think they gave up another 8 ft since then. I can't imagine that a month or quarter of Sylvan sales is going to result in a sales increase, though margin might be better (provided they sell any).

Sam's eventually stocked noir & tough guys. I visited another not so convenient Costco, same story 25% of their DVD space was gone.

Tim
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post #6 of 62
8/2/06 at 6:13pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

My local Costco (Miami, Florida)is also cutting back, today I saw like 1/3 of the ususal stock, much less than last week they usually had full boxes stacked up three deep, only single boxes today .
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post #7 of 62
8/2/06 at 9:14pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

FWIW, it seems to me that my local BJs Wholesale Club is also cutting back on its inventory of DVDs.

Maybe its a more widespread wholesale club thing.
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post #8 of 62
8/3/06 at 1:02am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

If you really want to let Costco's upper management know how disappointed you are in the reduction in the DVD department:

Costco General Member Service:
800-774-2678

I called today (I did have to wait on hold for a few minutes) and got a CSR to document my concerns about the DVD situation at the Eugene store (approx. 25% it's previous size and a complete mess,) and I also made it clear that our company (I'm part of a family business membership) was strongly considering switching to Sam's Club if the situation did not improve.
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post #9 of 62
8/3/06 at 2:55pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

My local Costco has about half the selection it used to have. I, too, was very disappointed. I like to buy my TV on DVD sets there. I'll call and complain. Thanks, Karl.
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post #10 of 62
8/3/06 at 5:06pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Seems to me my local store had about the same selection as the last time I was in, but if it looks a lot smaller the *next* time I'm in, I'll definitely talk to a manager. I buy a lot of sets in particular there, and like a lot of you, it's the main reason I got the Costco card. Even when I'm not going in specifically for DVDs, I always have a swing through that section and often wind up picking something up.

I'm thinking the Sylvan thing might be seasonal -- back-to-school and all that, you know.
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post #11 of 62
8/3/06 at 5:32pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mary_P
I'm thinking the Sylvan thing might be seasonal -- back-to-school and all that, you know.
That's what I'm hoping. If things don't pick up when we start moving into autumn, then we should really start a ruckus.
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post #12 of 62
8/3/06 at 6:08pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Yeah, the Costco in Hawthorne cut down its DVD section as well. I went in to pick up "Rescue Me" and much of that area was gone.
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post #13 of 62
8/4/06 at 2:21pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Yeah the Costco here cut the DVD section in half. Very dissapointing
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post #14 of 62
8/4/06 at 8:23pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Costco rules for things other than DVDs. You can practically eat lunch there for free, and the membership is pretty cheap, and you can easily save enough money on a few items to pay for the membership itself.
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post #15 of 62
8/5/06 at 8:31am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

I still get gas and toilet paper at Costco.
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post #16 of 62
8/5/06 at 9:58am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Heenan
Costco rules for things other than DVDs. You can practically eat lunch there for free...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Sun
I still get gas and toilet paper at Costco.

Eat at Costco and get gas.
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post #17 of 62
8/5/06 at 12:31pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Heenan
Costco rules for things other than DVDs. You can practically eat lunch there for free, and the membership is pretty cheap, and you can easily save enough money on a few items to pay for the membership itself.
Actually, they're the most expensive membership fee of all the clubs. It's now $50/year.
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post #18 of 62
8/5/06 at 7:10pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

For me, I stopped buying DVDs there because new releases were cheaper at other places like Best Buy or Circuit City. Occasionally they have some good deals with coupons and stuff, but for the most part they weren't much cheaper.
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post #19 of 62
8/6/06 at 7:43am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Quote:
For me, I stopped buying DVDs there because new releases were cheaper at other places like Best Buy or Circuit City

They don't have great prices for new releases as they do not follow a loss leader pricing strategy. But you can often find catalog titles for real cheap, for example, I picked up the first and second "Final Destination" movies for $7 apiece. You can occaisionally find good 2 pack sets for a good price (although I have the frustration of usually having one of the DVDs in a two pack that interests me) Costco usually has good prices on sets (I remember buying the Alien Quadrilogy there for a relatavely cheap price).

For the record, I was at my Costco yesterday and I did not notice a reduction in the DVD section at this point
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post #20 of 62
8/6/06 at 9:17am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Quote:
They don't have great prices for new releases as they do not follow a loss leader pricing strategy.

Costco is hit & miss with their pricing strategy; its not too unusual to see them price match the loss leaders. As stated in post #1, their pricing on new WHV & other box sets is generally pretty aggressive and exceeds that of e-tailers on occasion. This is why most of the posters are concerned with the reduction in footage.

Tim
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post #21 of 62
8/6/06 at 10:46am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Sometimes you found gems there.
I picked up THE DARK CRYSTAL-SE box for $19.99!
Most places still want $39-49 for it...
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post #22 of 62
8/6/06 at 6:21pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Same for the Lewisville, TX store. I'd encourage everyone to call the customer service number Karl posted above. As for their pricing, I did pick up Amazing Stories today for $30.09 which is $4+ cheaper than any online store.
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post #23 of 62
8/7/06 at 8:00am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

I primarily buy TV season sets on DVD and Costco used to be my main supplier, and I would always look forward to going there on Tuesday release day. They used to mostly have what I was looking for; then it became hit and miss; then it became more miss than hit. Now I buy everything from Amazon, and I don't even bother to look at Costco. When you factor in the savings from no tax and Amazon Prime free two day shipping; they usually beat Costco's price anyway. It is probably because of people like me that they are moving away from dvds. If it was not for their great cat litter deal, I would probably end my membership.
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post #24 of 62
8/7/06 at 12:39pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Sun
I still get gas and toilet paper at Costco.
Yes I'm being a bit humorous here, but upon interpreting the above comment a certain way...why do I find it funny that those two items seem to go hand-in-hand?
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post #25 of 62
8/7/06 at 6:52pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

I don't know about Costco, but for Sam's Club, new releases for DVDs and cds suck, price wise. Tv sets can be competitive with other stores' first week sales, but most movies are maybe $18 and change... when regular stores average $15, sometimes less than $14.
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post #26 of 62
8/10/06 at 7:08pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

$50 a year aint bad at all... that's about $1 per week, and you could probably easily save $50 within a week or two of shopping. I guess it really depends on how often you go, if you just go for dvds and such, and do your shopping elsewhere, then there's no benefit.
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post #27 of 62
8/12/06 at 6:48am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

BTW, if you're at Costco, look for the coupon flyer that will have coupons for $20 off HBO DVD sets starting Aug. 21 (around that week).
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post #28 of 62
8/12/06 at 6:25pm

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Quote:
If it was not for their great cat litter deal, I would probably end my membership.

What great kitty litter deal?

I typically buy all my meat, fish, and house wine there, along with petrol of course. I drink a lot of cranberry cocktail and they have a great deal there. But their quality has been slipping on other items in the last year. I used to always get the 10 lb sack of onions there for $3, but the last few sacks had too many rotten onions in them.
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post #29 of 62
8/14/06 at 9:18am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

My local store just added a big walk-in refrigerated section for vegetables.

Agreed it's easy to save $50/ year on meat and fish alone, even with just two adults in the house.

Patrick, thanks for the tip on the HBO sets! Deals on those are few and far between. (I actually saw a copy of Carnivale Season 1 for $30 used recently, but left it on the shelf since I knew that it's a continuing storyline that will likely never be completed.)
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post #30 of 62
8/14/06 at 11:07am

Re: Is Costco phasing out DVDs?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Nicholls
I used to always get the 10 lb sack of onions there for $3, but the last few sacks had too many rotten onions in them.

Kinda makes ya want to cry, don't it?!

Crap. Now I can't get the song "One Bad Apple" by The Osmonds out of my head.
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