You can wait until the next free shipping period, where you get free shipping if you buy 3 or more items. Unfortunately you just missed the last one (ended a week ago), so it might be awhile until the next one. They do tend to come up around the holiday shopping season, so if you can wait until then that might be your best bet. I generally buy season sets and other large items outside of CH, as it's otherwise too much of a pain. I believe there is a new CH club which makes getting season sets much easier if there's alot you want, but I've never used it.
Check out DVDTalk.com's CH forum for a wealth of good information. There's a certain art behind getting the best deal from CH, and all that information is invaluable.
- Wait for free shipping - Buy a bunch of sets at once and the shipping will max out at $15 - Currently box sets are 40% off so that will help defray the shipping costs somewhat - Supposedly if you order within the first 24 hours of receiving your acceptance email (from online application) you will get free shipping with 3 items
Join the columbiahouse dv2 club. Always free shipping, no commitment, excellent prices (example All in the Family season 3 is only $17.97 amd they have the best price for the Gone with the Wind set).
On the homepage DO NOT click "Register Now" that is for members registering for the site. To sign up as a new member, click "sign up today and get a free dvd"
It does cost $9.95 a year to join but you get a free dvd and no shipping and the prices are great.
The Free DVD choices are:
Shrek(Single Disc Edition)(Full) Bruce Almighty American Wedding(R-Rated) The Matrix Reloaded The Matrix Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines S.W.A.T. The Italian Job X2 X-Men United Lost In Translation Radio Once Upon A Time In Mexico The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Seabiscuit Anger Management Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (TM) The Hulk The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2 Fast 2 Furious Spider-Man 28 Days Later Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle(Unrated) 8 Mile Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde Ice Age Gladiator(Single Disc Edition) Old School Unrated And Out Of Control! Bad Boys II How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days The Fast And The Furious Die Another Day Barbershop The Wizard Of Oz Daredevil Freddy Vs. Jason Platinum Series Catch Me If You Can Titanic A Man Apart XXX The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen Daddy Day Care Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Kangaroo Jack Uptown Girls Drumline Maid in Manhattan The Green Mile BarneyTM's Beach Party Brown Sugar
Right now, for whatever reason, those 40% off box sets are showing up as 55% off in the FunCash shopping cart. So even if you only have $1 of FunCash, this is a major savings, outdoing even Deep Discount DVD during the 20% off sales.
Apparently the shipping charge max is $15, so a good way to maximize on this is to buy a few box sets. There are a few sets that don't get 55% off when you try this, but most seem to work.
I agree with the DV2 recommendations. I find their prices to be comparable to or a few dollars lower than DeepDiscountDVD for most titles, and I particularly enjoy not receiving any titles unless I order them (no automatic shipments). I've finally cancelled my ColumbiaHouse membership, and now have only the DV2 membership. Strange how a club that is actually just another division of ColumbiaHouse can be a much better club, with lower prices, free shipping and no automatic selections.
I've been very pleased with them so far, and heartily recommend them.
Yes I order a lot from DV2. I just found the regular prices at Columbia House too high. Even when taking advantage of sales it wasn't much of a bargain.
Here are some dv2 prices on items I recently ordered:
Young Adam $14.98 West Side Story Special Edition $17.99 Gone With The Wind 4 Disc $23.95 Baadasssss! $14.98 Diff'Rent Strokes: The Complete First Season $17.97 Iron Giant Special Edition $11.98 Moulin Rouge 2 Disc $17.99 Black Hawk Down 3 Disc $23.98 Hitchcock Signature Collection $59.95 Madtv Season 1 $23.99 Wonder Woman Season 1 $23.99 Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy:Signature Collection 23.95