A Brief History of the Deep Discount Fall Sale... (1 Viewer)

[Will_B]

They've got some good prices on music CDs with this sale. Many discs that I've seen sell for $10 their first week of release, and then go up to $12, are back down to $10 now. A dollar better than Amazon in many cases. I got Mike Doughty's new one, and almost got a few others but I figure sales will be ever-present from now until Christmas anyway.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Originally Posted by Larry Gelfand

We're also going to have to be careful about what dd uses for "List Price". For example, they list "Three Stooges Collection 7" as having a list price of $29.95. All other stores list it as $24.96. I just emailed them about this.

Let us know if you get a response. I checked with Sony, and the MSRP is indeed $24.96.

 

[Larry Gelfand]

Originally Posted by Richard Gallagher

Let us know if you get a response. I checked with Sony, and the MSRP is indeed $24.96.

Actually, I got a reply the next day:

"All MSRP prices are provided to us by the manufacturer and unfortunately we are not authorized to make any changes that they have not formally requested. We apologize for the inconvenience."

So unless we can get Sony to send them a correction, we're out of luck.

 

[Neil Brock]

Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman

Quote:

I guess you don't shop at brick & mortar stores much.

I have several hundred DVD sets and I've never bought one anywhere but on line. Aside from the obvious such as avoiding sales tax (which no longer applies to Amazon and that's why I don't buy from them anymore), why would I want to spend time driving to a store, fighting the crowds and then standing in line to check out. The benefits are of this are lost on me.

 

[Jeff Willis]

Originally Posted by Neil Brock

I have several hundred DVD sets and I've never bought one anywhere but on line. Aside from the obvious such as avoiding sales tax (which no longer applies to Amazon and that's why I don't buy from them anymore), why would I want to spend time driving to a store, fighting the crowds and then standing in line to check out. The benefits are of this are lost on me.

Same here. I think I might have bought 1 DVD at a local store in the last 2-3 years. it's just my take on it, but I think that some still prefer buying at local stores for the quick purchase time and the fast "return for exchange" time in the event of a defective disc. Those are the only reasons I can think of for buying locally, with a couple of execeptions: Wal-Mart or Big Lots close-out bin sales. You can find deals there better than almost any online sale, But of course, you have to spend the time and driving to the store.

Speaking of Amazon and taxes, I need to look at that closer. The last order, I didn't pay taxes but maybe that's due to my state residence? (Texas). I'd hate to drop Amazon as a store since I think their return/exchange setup is one of the best for online stores.

 

[RickER]

Jeff, only NY residents have to pay sales tax at Amazon...so far.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I do much of my movie purchases (and occasional rental subscription) online as well. However, I still do some of it locally because of the faster overall arrival/pickup time plus it's good for the local economy and quality of life in general to give some business to local businesses (even if it's just a superchain store). I'll typically give business to the locals when they get competitive enough w/ online shops -- and "competitive enough" can vary depending on *both* price and service/support.

That's more or less how I approach shopping in general anyway.

Yeah, time (and effort) to go shopping locally can be an issue, but I could probably use the little bit of fresh air and exercise (and some friendly faces outside my home and office) anyway among other things. I'd add though that some of my local movie shopping involves just walking down the street (from my office building) to J&R or this nearby street vendor -- rather than beating the masses at Walmart or Target -- and I don't see that being a hassle at all. It's good to say "good morning" and shoot the breeze just a little when I drop by the street vendor for instance -- and also exchange some additional pleasantries w/ a different friendly security guy as I come-and-go from the office building whether on my way picking up a movie or lunch or something else during the work day.

BTW, BB (and now, Barnes & Noble too) also offers painless in-store pickup for online orders, so that's what I do when I want to buy something from BB -- I honestly don't like browsing there much otherwise. Going to BB does involve making an extra (free) trip on the bus (generally via an after-work detour on my way home), but I find that occasional bit of diversion to be pleasant enough and only take me out of my way for maybe ~1/2 hour all told. It's good to vary things a bit now and then me thinks. And I hope more of the big chain-type locals will offer in-store pickup for online orders too, eg. Target, Old Navy, et al. Even if I'd like to do a little browsing (like I occasional do at BB), I'd still prefer to make the trip knowing that I'll find and buy what I want/expect, not just make the trip to do nothing but browsing, especially since many of those big chain stores aren't really that pleasant to browse thru. The local mom-and-pops stores would be different of course, but that's a different story...

_Man_

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I buy my movies and music online as well, but that doesn't mean I don't see them in stores when I'm there buying other things.

Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong

BTW, BB (and now, Barnes & Noble too) also offers painless in-store pickup for online orders, so that's what I do when I want to buy something from BB -- I honestly don't like browsing there much otherwise. Going to BB does involve making an extra (free) trip on the bus (generally via an after-work detour on my way home), but I find that occasional bit of diversion to be pleasant enough and only take me out of my way for maybe ~1/2 hour all told. It's good to vary things a bit now and then me thinks. And I hope more of the big chain-type locals will offer in-store pickup for online orders too, eg. Target, Old Navy, et al. Even if I'd like to do a little browsing (like I occasional do at BB), I'd still prefer to make the trip knowing that I'll find and buy what I want/expect, not just make the trip to do nothing but browsing, especially since many of those big chain stores aren't really that pleasant to browse thru. The local mom-and-pops stores would be different of course, but that's a different story...

_Man_

Working in the eCommerce industry, I can tell you that things are very much headed in this direction. I do my BB shopping online as well.