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Why Preorder? (1 Viewer)

Bill_D

Supporting Actor
Joined
Dec 10, 2001
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I always buy locally after checking Lambert's Weekly Roundup in the Coupons and Bargains forum.

I see that many of you pre-order. I did a very quick check and the pre-order prices are at minimum $3 plus shipping more than the local price excluding tax.

Other than convenience, somebody educate me.
 

David Von Pein

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Feb 4, 2002
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I've found that NOT pre-ordering is cheaper of late. (At some e-tailers anyway.)

DeepDiscount, on many occasions, lowers prices on street date, or shortly after. They employed this tactic with Spider-Man, Minority Report, Insomnia, plus some others.
 

Dan Rudolph

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Dec 30, 2002
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I usually don't preorder as my local Best Buy and K-Mart typically have the best prices. I made an exce[tion for Buffy season 3 as it was $37 to preorder from DVD Soon and it's certain to be $39.99 plus tax locally.
 

Steven_J_H

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Mar 30, 2002
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Steven
I generally pre-order older catalog titles or obscure titles because most retailers don't always carry them. They tend to only order new movies and blockbuster movies.
 

Scott Merryfield

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I pre-order from DVD Empire, since their pre-order prices are usually less than their prices after street date. The cost is usually almost the same as at B&M's (some prices are a little less, some a little more) and I prefer the convenience of online shopping vs. driving to several stores to get titles.

For multi-disc sets, such as Star Trek: Next Generation TV Series seasons, online is significantly less expensive. For example, I saved $26 over the advertised price at Best Buy (after sales tax) on each Star Trek: TNG season set.
 

Patrick Sun

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It's true, some people value their time/energy over the convenience/price (plus people don't like having to drive all over creation to get the best prices and price-matching can be a hassle and time-consuming at some retailers). So it's not always about the lowest price for some folks.

I prefer the tangible-ness of buying at the stores too (getting to actually see the packaging of the DVDs sometimes puts the kibosh on a purchase and vice-versa, strange but true for me), so I find myself making the weekly Tuesday trip to the stores when I can.
 

Michael Reuben

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The prevalence of cheaper prices at B&M stores is a relatively recent thing. For a very long time, online prices were routinely cheaper. Even today, depending on issues like sales tax and shipping rates, online can be a better deal.

And if you don't have ready access to a Walmart . . .

M.
 

Brad Porter

Screenwriter
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Jun 8, 1999
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There is no Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or K-Mart in my town. We have a Target and a Circuit City and the previously mentioned retailers are within a 15 minute drive, but it's a drive that I'd rather not take when I can simply arrive home and find my DVDs waiting for me on my doorstep. Tax plus the cost of driving plus the value of my time spent in traffic easily offset the difference between the best brick and mortar price and the pre-order price at DVDEmpire. Plus I would hate to have to make more than one trip because a title was sold out or not shelved.

Brad
 

StephenA

Screenwriter
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Nov 30, 2001
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I don't order online, because I like shopping in a store and finding a movie in a store and getting it instantly, plus the fact I don't have a credit card. I usually get my DVDs from Wal-Mart and Best Buy, and find there's usually not too much of a difference in price, and I don't mind paying that much more so I can watch it that night.
 

Matthew_Millheiser

Supporting Actor
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May 1, 2000
Messages
657
Why pre-order? Rare titles, catalog titles, Criterions, foreign films, etc. can be difficult to find at your local Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

Also, ordering from Canada can have its benefits. I purchased the latest wave of Walt Disney treasures for $16 a pop, shipped, from Amazon Canada. However, it took 3 weeks for them to show up. Price vs. speed vs. convenience, it's a finicky waltz that depends upon the dancer. Personally, I like the Cabbage Patch and the Running Man.

Where was I again?
 

MikeAlletto

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Mar 11, 2000
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I used to ALWAYS preorder from dvdempire. Until I woke up and realized that their prices always seemed to be higher than best buy. I mainly preordered because I wanted to make sure I got a copy the day it came out, but lately I haven't had to worry about that at all. The distributors flood the market with copies. I'm not gonna preorder from anywhere anymore.
 

gregstaten

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 1, 1997
Messages
615
For me preordering comes down to convenience. I primarily buy catalog and indie films and those are harder to come by in the B&M stores. Plus, I travel a decent amount and am not always around to pick up the latest copy locally when they street.

I realize I end up occasionally paying more for a release, but the convenience outweighs the cost.

-greg
 

Jodee

Screenwriter
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Jun 13, 1999
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It depends on which DVDs you want. If it's a huge new release, it will probably get loss leader sale pricing at Best Buy or Circuit City. However, if it's a catalog title, indie/foreign film, or Criterion, you'll pay through the nose at a B&M, even if you're lucky enough to find it on street date.

For example, DVD Empire usually has the Paramount catalog titles for $16.24 pre-order price-- whereas at Best Buy the same title will be "regularly priced" 19.99-22.99 on street date. Plus if you order 4 or more titles you get free shipping, and if you don't live in Penn, no sales tax. Pre-ordering about 90% of my titles makes sense to me. Plus as an added bonus, I usually receive them on Monday.

I fill in any big releases at BB on street date. Saving $3-4 a title is worth it to me to make the drive.

No one says you have to use only one method or another. I pre-order all my catalog and smaller titles, and I surmise which ones Best Buy is likely to have on sale. The good thing about DVD Empire is you can easily cancel pre-orders and usually Best Buy sales prices on hit titles are available online at least a week in advance (on other forums). So if a great deal comes out you can opt to buy it at the store.
 

Jose Q

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Oct 11, 1999
Messages
202
Amazon+ STL + Free Shipping over $25 + No Sales Tax + 5% ecard instant rebate = Best deal for me for regular movies (not boxsets) and anime.

Not to mention my time and gas money.
 

Matt Naglieri

Second Unit
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Jul 30, 2001
Messages
283
I used to order/pre-order a ton of dvd's online since I rarely ever get to go out due to having three kids under three. Unfortunately the majority of the discs i've been receiving have been popped out of the holder due to poor handling practices of the shipper and the shipping carrier

The problem with this is that in most cases should you need to return or exchange you would have to mail it back at your own cost and wait another 2-3 weeks for a new disc to be mailed.

I find that its better to just wait till you can get to a store and inspect the product on your own to insure that you will get what you expect.
 

Rob Lutter

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Nov 3, 2000
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I can usually save a substantial amount PLUS not have to leave campus (it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a parking space during the day on weekdays).
 

Richard Gustave

Auditioning
Joined
Nov 21, 2002
Messages
2
I never pre-order anything that I'm reasonably certain that Best Buy will have on release date. I'd rather just walk in to the store and get it myself. On the other hand, I buy a lot of older/foreign films. There is almost no chance that I'll find any of them on street date (let alone less than retail price). I preorder these because even though I might have to wait until Thursday to get them, its still sooner than any store near me will carry them. On some lucky occasions I even get them early. My copies of next week's 3 Criterions are already in the mail. :D
 

oscar_merkx

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Apr 15, 2002
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I guess lots of people have already mentioned catalog titles, silents and Criterions are not stocked here in the UK so I want the best version available and 9 out of 10 times is the R1 the better version. Also pre ordering makes it cheaper.
:emoji_thumbsup:
 

Tony Kwong

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 20, 2002
Messages
521
I mostly order and preorder. I just find it hard to "search" for DVD's/CD's in stores. Oddly enough I never had this problem back in the old BIG DISC days of LD and LP.... big artwork maybe?
 

Erwin

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Mar 7, 1999
Messages
182
Buying DVDs cheaply at retail stores was unheard of before part of last year. Still, I don't think anyone will ever dethrone the best buying time (Fall 1998-Summer 2000) when one could get DVDs on average for $9.99 ar REEL.com. I remember getting The Matrix for $7.99 and Prince of Egypt for free. I think Kmart, Target, CC, BB, and Wal-Mart have spoiled me recently. I almost refuse to get a title for more than $15.99. I am one of those who will hunt, but only b/c I am a frequent DVD buyer. Some titles that I saved on this year through retail:

Stuart Little 2 $14.99
Men in Black 2 $14.87
Beauty and the Beast SE $10.88
Santa Clause 2 SE $10.88
Black Knight $9.87
Star Wars EPS2 $9.99
Ice Age $14.87
Spider Man $14.67
Monsters Inc. $10.88
E.T. SE $14.99
Spirit $14.87
 

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