Previously Viewed DVDs - the uncharted goldmine (1 Viewer)

[LeeL]

DVDs at the pawn shops in my area generally top out at about $12 Canadian, plus they start giving the volume discounts no matter how many you buy, ie. 2 for $20, 3 for $25, yadda yadda. Depends on the shop, depends on how "motivated" the clerk is to get rid of certain stock, if you know what I mean...

Blockbuster is absolutely whacked in terms of their PV pricing up here, though. $19.99 for Spirited Away, when it's new for $23? Same with Secretary... and Harry Potter 2 was $19.99 PV, $19.99 new... filly suckers.

 

[Jonny K]

^ Yup, that's exactly what I've found. No deals at the movie rental places.


Jonny K.

 

[Tony_Faville]

I have bought literally dozens of pre-viewed discs and to be honest with you, I have had to return more new discs than I have pre-viewed.

Once in awhile, you find a gem. I picked up Bread and Tulips for $7.99, just for the secenery of Venice, Italy. Wound up loving the movie.

 

[Paul D G]

While I always scanned the used DVDs I have only twice found something worth buying - Batman for $7 and Royal Tannenbaums Criterion for $10. Both were in excellent shape, but the Royal box was a tad bit crushed.

Will have to look for pawn shops, but I don't think there are any in my area. It's all very sterile and prefab around here. (oh how I'd love to live on a street where every house was a different design!)

-paul

 

[Joel C]

Amazon Marketplace is usually really good for big name titles. You can get average blockbusters for around $10. I just ordered Far From Heaven for $9.

Hollywood Video is cool because they sell PV Warner discs in keepcases with "real" covers. I was willing to pay extra ($14.99) to get Femme Fatale in a keepcase, and I was actually wishing I could justify rebuying some other titles (I Am Sam, Two Weeks Notice) for the same reason.

 

[LeeL]

Canadians, Rogers Video's latest radio ad is claiming 2 PV DVD's for $15. I haven't checked the stores recently to see what kinds of movies are being offered up, but the price is right...

 

[Jonny K]

Yeah, I was thinking about checking that out too...the price is certainly much better. Of course, are there going to be any titles that a person would actually want to buy? Often when deals like this come around, all they have is crappy movies nobody wants anyway.

But who knows, this may be the start of some actual competition for PV DVDs...maybe Blockbuster will follow suite.


Jonny K.

 

[Dave H]

Columbia House is a FAR better deal.

 

[James Bergeron]

Yes! I was at Rogers yesterday, they had some great deals on $9.99 movies (Road to Perdition, Sum of All Fears... etc) There was a bunch.

Also they seem to be starting them at $16.99 not $19.99 like blockbuster. They put out Nemesis and Catch me if you can yesterday, so I picked them up for $16.99 each. BB had them for $19.99.

I've actually seen pre-viewed at blockbuster for $21.99, I clearly remember this (although not the title) but it was $21.87 NEW at wal-mart at the time. :rolleyes

One disc had the sticker around the inside of the dvd, but who cares, it's the content I'm seeking not the disc art, as long as the packaging is in good shape and the disc plays I'm happy.

P.S. Darkness Falls is $9.99 at Rogers...... $19.99 at blockbuster! I asked if they price match.... NOPE!

P.S.S Columbia house blows in Canada!

 

[Brian Kidd]

I second Columbia House. You can end up paying an average of $9.00 or less for brand new discs. I'm a believer. They're not great if you're looking for very eclectic stuff, but for the typical studio film, you can't beat em.

 

[Josh Sieg]

Gotta be careful with used discs. You never know their condition untill they're opened (of course). Some of the used discs I've gotten have stickers on them. And I'd like to take them off, but I'm scared the label will peel off and the disc won't work.

 

[Chet_F]

THIS IS NOT THE COLUMBIA HOUSE THREAD!!!

Did I yell...oops. Seriously, just about everytime there is a thread on where to get good deals on DVD's there is someone who states...Uh Columbia House is better. WE KNOW THIS.

 

[chrisMCG]

I don't consider being sent DVDs that I haven't ordered part of a great deal

As for you PVers - I agree with what has been said - 19.99 is usually too much (unless it's for a more expensive disc). If it's a title that's got a lot in the bin - don't buy it. They usually mark them down within a week (though they go down the list - marking 'em down a couple of bucks every so often).

Cheers, and happy PVing

 

[Brian Kidd]

Chill Chet. Relax. Meditate.

Friends?

 

[Chet_F]

Yes.........friends

 

[Jason Hennigan]

After learning how much of a savings preowned videogames were, I was able to apply the same knowledge to DVDs.

Used DVDs aren't always the way to go, but often you can find them in great shape at a fantastic price. In the past I always thought that people who sold off their DVDs were getting rid of scratched up or defective disks, so I stayed away. But once I started buying used disks I found that people who care about their DVDs and take good care of them DO sell their DVDs.

If you can take a look at the disk, that's always the best way to go. If you're in a store and they won't let you see a disk, I would pass on the purchase unless it's something OOP or very rare.

 

[Kevin Leonard]

I went by Hollywood Video a couple of days ago and picked up Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets, Happy Accidents, One Hour Photo and Auto Focus for around $42 total.

All the movies are rewrapped in plastic, and ALL come in regular keepcases (this includes movies you'd normally find in snappers, as Joel C said). Of course, this meant that I lost the slipcase Potter packaging, but for $10 I wasn't going to complain. (You also lose the booklet as well.)

They had a lot of somewhat new releases (White Oleander, Rules of Attraction, The Tuxedo, Welcome to Colinwood, many more), all for $10 each. As far as I can tell, there are no stickers on the actual case or the disc (only sticker is on the plastic wrapping). Additionally, you get a 90-day warranty on the items in case they don't play.

All told, an enjoyable experience. However, I noticed about 40 copies of Rollerball sitting around; I have no idea why they're not selling...