B&N Criterion Sale starts July 10, 2020! (1 Viewer)

Great News! I was at my local Barnes & Noble store today in Louisville, KY, and they just got confirmation this morning that the Criterion 50% Off Sale WILL begin on Friday, July 10th. Get your "Wish Lists" ready!

Also, regarding the use of the B&N Membership with the sale, the clerk told me that the Membership now only applies to purchases up to 40% Off, so that would exclude the 50% Off Criterion titles. This is understandable, however, in view of the constrained business circumstances in which B&N currently finds itself during this pandemic. I still urge everyone to renew their B&N membership to support the business as it's one of the last brick-and-mortar booksellers around. Thanks!

And multiple reports of people buying 20-30% off items in store and the membership will not apply.

I'm all for supporting B&N to say the least, but for most folks why are you giving them $25 a year for nothing.
No Welcome coupons, no general coupons, no 10% off on in-store purchases, even Free Shipping now has increasing limitations regardless of the amt of the order. In order to sell a Membership, the member really has to see some benefit. Getting 10% a full MSRP of
an item bought just about anywhere else for 30-40% off MSRP isn't going to entice many people

Mine renewed in May and I'm not giving it back for this year, but if this is the new reality it will be my last year.

Not sure how ship to home will work as customer service desks are closed. At least at the stores near me. Perhaps you can do it at check out. Though without the 10% membership discount or usable coupons might as well just order online any discs that are out of stock.

I have gone to the Criterion site to see what is new that I want. I then put the items in my basket at Barnes and Noble and I will see what the prices are next Friday. Enough in there to get free shipping without membership.

Criterion puts out so much good stuff that even during a sale, it would not be practical for me to purchase everything that I want at one time. So I've been thinking about which ones I will get during this sale and which ones I would put off until a future one. I decided that, if this sale happens, the most important titles for me to get right now are The Squid and the Whale, Inside Llewyn Davis and Marriage Story.

The last couple years, I actually went out to my B&N store during the sale to buy what I wanted in person. However, we are being particularly hard hit by the virus around here right now, so this time I will do it as an online order. I put all three of these in my cart at the B&N website and they currently combine to $109.92. They're just going to sit in there until the end of the week. Obviously, I will only pull the trigger if the sale actually starts and the prices are lowered accordingly. Because B&N's minimum threshold for free shipping is $35, I would have enough to qualify with this order even once the prices go down.

Of course, Marriage Story is a pre-order with a release date of July 21. I currently have that pending with Amazon, but would probably cancel and switch it over to B&N if the sale happens.

I'm wondering, though: if I choose the free shipping option and include Marriage Story, would the other two discs ship first, or would they all be held to ship together after it is released? I would prefer to get the in-stock ones first, but wouldn't want to pay extra shipping for the third. I've ordered with B&N before, but it's been a long time, and I don't think I've ever combined a pre-order with an in-stock item before.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Normally B&N ship as available if you have included preorders

David Norman said:

Normally B&N ship as available if you have included preorders

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Good to know. Thanks. Would that incur an extra shipping charge or no?

Jake Lipson said:

Good to know. Thanks. Would that incur an extra shipping charge or no?

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Not if the original order had FS. I think it's still $35 for most Non Heavy items. I think there are a couple Criterions which don't get FS regardless of amt or membership -- Olympic or Bergman

I have had them (ALLIANCE via their many arms) hold an order if an item was releasing a few days after an order

Good news, thanks. War of the Worlds and The Lady Eve for me. (How's that for variety?)

David Norman said:

Not if the original order had FS.

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Good. Thanks.

David Norman said:

I have had them (ALLIANCE via their many arms) hold an order if an item was releasing a few days after an order

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Marriage Story is releasing on July 21, so I would hope that the other two would ship first since it is a matter of a couple weeks. I'll probably do the order at the end of the week if the sale prices do in fact go live as expected.

Someone here is always considerate enough to post Critetion titles released since their last sale. Please do so again.

I can't speak to their whole release schedule, as I don't keep track quite that closely, so someone else would need to do the whole list.

But the most recent Criterions that I got are:

Cuarón's Roma (spine number #1014) which came out in February;
and Portrait of a Lady On Fire (spine number #1034) which came out back on June 23.

Both are fantastic.

I have four Criterion titles on my wish list for the next sale. However, I also still have the $10 off code that Criterion sent me back in April, so I think I will just wait for their next flash sale instead of participating in this B&N sale. Criterion also gives reward points for titles purchased through their site, while I get nothing from B&N.

Tino said:

Someone here is always considerate enough to post Critetion titles released since their last sale. Please do so again.

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I usually post it in the sales thread, but I can crosspost it here when I get it done -- it just takes a few minutes to update my list. Usually I like to know the dates to add the Releasing during the sale items, but in this case I'll wing it.

It appears there are now several people reporting a July 10, 2020 start date but no clear end date so for now I'll assume the original reddit 8/2 will apply

Items releasing during the sale should be 50% OFF as soon as the sale starts -- all should be 39.99 MSRP (19.99 at 50%) except those boxsets noted with higher prices

Items releasing after the sale end shouldn't be 50% off either online or via shiptohome orders, but occasionally there have been glitches and if the sale extends a week or two that could bring a few more titles into the 50% Sale so I'll list them anyway

David Norman said:

It appears there are now several people reporting a July 10, 2020 start date but no clear end date so for now I'll assume the original reddit 8/2 will apply

Items releasing during the sale should be 50% OFF as soon as the sale starts -- all should be 39.99 MSRP (19.99 at 50%) except those boxsets noted with higher prices

Items releasing after the sale end shouldn't be 50% off either online or via shiptohome orders, but occasionally there have been glitches and if the sale extends a week or two that could bring s few more titles into the 50% Sale so I'll list them anyway

CRITERION RELEASED SINCE LAST B&N SALE
Tunes of Glory (Criterion Collection)	715515238915	3-Dec-2019
The Story of Temple Drake (Criterion Collection)	715515238717	3-Dec-2019
Old Joy (Criterion Collection)	715515239318	10-Dec-2019
Until the End of the World (Criterion Collection)	715515239110	10-Dec-2019
Holiday	715515239813	7-Jan-2020
The Fugitive Kind	715515240017	14-Jan-2020
Le Petit Soldat	715515240215	21-Jan-2020
Fail Safe	715515240413	28-Jan-2020
All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre)	715515240611	28-Jan-2020
Roma Blu-ray	715515237314	11-Feb-2020
Antonio Gaudí Blu-ray	715515241717	18-Feb-2020
Teorema Blu-ray	715515240819	18-Feb-2020
Paris Is Burning Blu-ray	715515241519	25-Feb-2020
Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman Blu-ray	715515241311	25-Feb-2020	$100
CRITERION RELEASED SINCE LAST CRITERION.COM FLASH SALE
Salesman Blu-ray	715515241014	10-Mar-2020
Bamboozled Blu-ray	715515242615	17-Mar-2020
Leave Her to Heaven Blu-ray	715515242813	24-Mar-2020
The Cranes Are Flying Blu-ray	715515243018	24-Mar-2020
Show Boat Blu-ray	715515243216	31-Mar-2020
The Prince of Tides Blu-ray	715515243414	31-Mar-2020
Army of Shadows Blu-ray	715515244015	7-Apr-2020	Re-Release
Destry Rides Again Blu-ray	715515244411	14-Apr-2020
The Cremator Blu-ray	715515244213	21-Apr-2020
Me and You and Everyone We Know Blu-ray	715515245012	28-Apr-2020
The Grand Budapest Hotel Blu-ray	715515244619	28-Apr-2020
Six Moral Tales Blu-ray	715515240116	5-May-2020	$100
The Great Escape Blu-ray	715515245814	12-May-2020
Dance, Girl, Dance Blu-ray	715515246217	19-May-2020
Wildlife Blu-ray	715515246613	26-May-2020
Scorsese Shorts Blu-ray	715515246415	26-May-2020
Husbands Blu-ray	715515246019	26-May-2020
An Unmarried Woman Blu-ray	715515244817	9-Jun-2020
The Cameraman Blu-ray	715515247313	16-Jun-2020
Tokyo Olympiad Blu-ray	715515247016	23-Jun-2020
Portrait of a Lady on Fire Blu-ray	715515247511	23-Jun-2020
Come and See Blu-ray	715515247719	30-Jun-2020
The War of the Worlds Blu-ray	715515248617	7-Jul-2020
CRITERION RELEASING DURING EXPECTED B&N SALE
Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits Blu-ray	715515247214	14-Jul-2020	$125
The Lady Eve Blu-ray	715515249010	14-Jul-2020
Marriage Story Blu-ray	715515247214	21-Jul-2020
Taste of Cherry Blu-ray	715515248518	21-Jul-2020
CRITERION RELEASING AFTER END OF SALE (Current Known Date)
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum Blu-ray	715515249812	4-Aug-2020
The Complete Films of Agnès Varda Blu-ray	715515247917	11-Aug-2020	$250
Town Bloody Hall Blu-ray	715515249911	18-Aug-2020
The Comfort of Strangers Blu-ray	715515250313	18-Aug-2020
Toni Blu-ray	715515250115	25-Aug-2020

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Thanks David!

It’s really too bad about the member discount being wiped out for this sale. They got a LOT of business from me because of that. Well, they’ll still get some, but now Criterion direct via their flash sales will get a lot more of it.

Is there any proof that this sale is going to happen?

Charles Smith said:

It’s really too bad about the member discount being wiped out for this sale. They got a LOT of business from me because of that. Well, they’ll still get some, but now Criterion direct via their flash sales will get a lot more of it.

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Are we sure the member discount is going to be wiped out? If so, that’s very disappointing.

AlexNH said:

Is there any proof that this sale is going to happen?

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A B&N screenshot of the sales page banner and several people saying their clerks/managers have said it will start 7/10, but I guess
that's still 2nd/3rd hand until either a B&N email shows up or the page goes live next Friday.

At this point I'm not sure waiting 4-5 days has any downside.

DavidJ said:

Are we sure the member discount is going to be wiped out? If so, that’s very disappointing.

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Again it's all too new -- nothing specific related to Criterion, but there have been several reports already of 20-30% off merch which hasn't allowed the 10% and a couple managers have told customers that a New Policy is in place. I'm fuzzy on the details since I've now heard 2 people who were told 40% or greater sales voids the member discount, but again 2-3 folks have already been denied at a lower discount.

I'm not expecting the discount to apply at this point, but it's all somewhat speculation until it happens
Hopefully they'll see enough complaints or member non-renewals or outright cancellations of existing memberships that they may change their mind. It very difficult to change such a long standing existing program without just flat cancelling it ESP when you're removing 95% of the actual benefit.

I've received so much benefit over the years (20-50x whatever I've paid for it and far greater than my Amazon Prime which has been at best break even for me for 4-5 years now) from the membership I'm not going to outright cancel my relatively new renewal, but I can't say I'm at all happy about it

If the member discount policy has been changed, they need to update the Terms and Conditions online, last updated 10/16/2019, where it says in section 2: "b) The Everyday Member Discount is only valid on eligible purchases at any Barnes & Noble Store. The Everyday Member Discount is not available on products featured in certain designated promotions or sales, or on purchases of the following: products or services at BN.com products or services at any Barnes & Noble College Bookstores or websites; Gift Cards; eGift Cards; NOOK devices; digital content (including but not limited to eBooks, digital magazines and periodicals); NOOK accessories; other hardware and electronics; software; Rosetta Stone product; downloadable audiobooks in MP3 or any other format; gift-wrapping fees; shipping and handling fees; Membership fees (new or renewal); or any printing costs associated with the Barnes & Noble Print Books on Demand service."

However, I suppose "certain designated promotions and sales" could certainly apply to the Criterion sales. Such an inclusion would be regrettable but definitely understandable. However, excluding any of the routine lower advertised discounts would not seem to be supported in this policy.