where to buy non-bootlegged tv shows ? (1 Viewer)

[jimmyjet]

so far, amazon.com seems to have the best prices on most products. once in awhile, deepdiscount beats them. buy.com has sales tax in california, so even the few times where they might beat the other two, they are almost always more expensive for me once i add sales tax.

dvdempire seems to be much higher than amazon.

bonanzle seems to be much higher than amazon.

half.com is usually higher than amazon.

borders seems to be much higher than amazon.

do you agree or disagree with the synopsis above ?

are there any other places that anyone has tried, that have good deals ?

thanks, jimmy

 

[Jeff Willis]

Here's how I rate the online stores that I use, Amazon & DD (Deep Discount)

AMAZON: #1

I rate their Cust Svc as the best with returns/exchanges for defective DVD's. I've been an Amazon customer since '04 when I started buying online.

I like their online shipping/return printable forms with free return shipping. They have also accepted any return-for-exchange item from me regardless of the expiration of 30-day return time window.

They ship my items in boxes (vs envelopes) more than DD does, although that has been more even between tham and DD recently.

As far as pricing in general, I've noticed that over the last couple of years, their pricing has been as low as DD's pricing or is less than them with a lot of their TV/DVD releases, in particular with new releases. DD will carry lower prices for some of their catalog titles vs new releaase price points.

DD #2

I started out in '04 buying from DD almost exclusively but after Amazon started lowering their prices overall, I don't use DD much except for their semi-annual sales in June and November.

The only problems that I've had with returns for exchange is with DD. They don't offer free shipping with an online printable return shipping form as does Amazon. I know that one can get free return shipping by either e-mailing or calling with their PDF file label that they send out, but it requires additional contact by the buyer to get that from them.

The only "snag" that I've had with return for defects was at DD. I sent a movie DVD back for exchange and never received the replacement. DD claimed that the never received my return shipment. I suppose that may have been true but that's never happened with Amazon. The thing that bothered me about the incident was that DD didn't consider the customer's buying history with them and wouldn't work with me on the issue.

DD consistantly ships in envelopes (vs boxes) and that contributes to a higher rate of damaged DVD's in transit.

DD's strong point is their free shipping regardless of the order amount. However, I almost always get Amazon's free shipping since I wait and order from Amazon after I have the min $25 free shipping qualifying total before placing the order.

Because of these issues, I usually only buy from DD during their semi-annual sales.

As far as other online stores, in my early online shopping days, I did shop around more for the lowest prices, but I found that it wasn't worth my time to spread my buys around with several stores vs staying with a couple of stores, Amazon and occasionally DD. I'd rather keep my DVD buying in a couple of stores vs several online.

I have used DVDPacific a few times and depending on the studio (ie Timeless), they can have the lowest pricing available. They didn't include free shipping the last time I checked with them.

I'm nearly a 100% online DVD buyer. I almost never buy from local stores. I have found that the online convenience, along with the nearly always lower price, plus the savings in time, online buying is the way to got for me.

The advantages (imo) in local store buying are the browse'ing in, say, a Walmart discount bin or a trip to a local Big Lots store for great deals. Also, a local store will offer a no-wait purchase for someone that doesn't want to wait for shipping times. I imagine that the return/exchange is more convenient vs online returns. That said, I haven't had to return many of my TV/DVD's for defects over the years so that advantage is not as important to me.

 

[smithb]

I ditto all of Jeff's comments regarding Amazon and DD. For many years DD was number one but over the last two years Amazon became number one due to more competitive pricing and the ability to get free shipping. Like Jeff I usually have no problem going over the minimum to get it. And the customer service has always been tops.

Every once and a while I will get something from Buy, Borders or B&N online but only through 40% - 50% sales for BOGO sales. That is the only way they can be competitive. But it has worked from time to time. Less more recently though.

BB will ever once in a while be competitive as well but not typically.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

You buy buy non-bootleg DVD's at any retailer. hahahahahaha . There are a lot of retailers.

 

[jimmyjet]

thanks guys,

your experiences seem to match mine. i only started with buying tv shows, within the past couple of months. i bought some tvland ones first, until i learned what i was doing.

but i had been buying from dd for a long time, regarding music cds. and amazon was never even close in price. so it surprised me that they were now cheaper than dd most of the time. at least on the dvds that i have been getting lately. i dont think dd is even as cheap on their music as they once were.

i also dont want to spread myself too thin, with too many places to buy. as i want to have an established record at a few places, so that i can get better service, etc. so i guess i am doing fairly well with my current system.

 

[smithb]

Originally Posted by jimmyjet

thanks guys,

your experiences seem to match mine. i only started with buying tv shows, within the past couple of months. i bought some tvland ones first, until i learned what i was doing.

but i had been buying from dd for a long time, regarding music cds. and amazon was never even close in price. so it surprised me that they were now cheaper than dd most of the time. at least on the dvds that i have been getting lately. i dont think dd is even as cheap on their music as they once were.

i also dont want to spread myself too thin, with too many places to buy. as i want to have an established record at a few places, so that i can get better service, etc. so i guess i am doing fairly well with my current system.

Things do swing back and forth a lot for me mostly between Amazon and DD right now. Generally, you have the two big sales by DD in the July and November timeframes to pick up in quantity about anything since everything is on sale. Also, last May/June is when DD had the Image distibuted sets on sale which was good for Dick Van Dyke, Combat, Twilight Zone and others. Which happens periodically.

Last Spring between February and March I must have dumped about $500 towards Amazon because all the CBS/Paramount sets were on sale.

I had purchased maybe five seasons of shows on DVD from 1999 - 2007. But between 2008 - 2009 I was bit by the vintage TV bug and picked up around 200 seasons of shows. It's a lot to watch and needless to say I have much backlogged and at times have a hard time knowing what to watch, but considering the somewhat precarious situations regarding vintage TV seasons being released I'm happy to know I have what I have. Who knows when the bottom might just fall out and studios may conclude it is not enough revenue for the effort.

Same seems to be going on with vintage catalog movies titles being releasedon DVD.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Amazon also has one up on DD because TVShowsonDVD has the "Sale" page up with links to Amazon.

No matter when it is, there's usually something decent on sale (more than 40% off list price) at Amazon. And, thanks to the list, it's easier to see if what you want is on sale, or to find something interesting cheap through Amazon than to just hunt blindly with DD.

That one isn't Deep Discount's fault, though.

 

[smithb]

Originally Posted by The Obsolete Man

Amazon also has one up on DD because TVShowsonDVD has the "Sale" page up with links to Amazon.

No matter when it is, there's usually something decent on sale (more than 40% off list price) at Amazon. And, thanks to the list, it's easier to see if what you want is on sale, or to find something interesting cheap through Amazon than to just hunt blindly with DD.

That one isn't Deep Discount's fault, though.

Thanks Shane. I did not know that about that link on TVShowsOnDVD that related to Amazon sales. Up to this point I was not only blindly looking for sales on DD but also on Amazon. Sometimes they are well advertised on Amazon and sometime not. Learn something new every day here.

 

[jimmyjet]

thanks guys,

november is not too far away. i will keep my eyes open at dd. is it pretty well advertised ?

 

[smithb]

Originally Posted by jimmyjet

thanks guys,

november is not too far away. i will keep my eyes open at dd. is it pretty well advertised ?

Very much so. Best to keep a look out on the DVDTalk.com Bargains forum. You will see a thread on it the day it starts. Not a bad idea to monitor that forum regularly anyways for other deals that come up.

 

[jimmyjet]

thanks,

was not aware of dvdtalk. i added it to my bookmarks.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Amazon gold box tends to ahve some killer TV on DVD deals too.

 

[Pete Battista]

For the first time ever I used DVD Pacific this month... after it being recommended to me. I just placed the order yesterday... and it hasn't shipped yet. But they have some good prices... competing with Amazon and Deep Discount. And they have free standard shipping too.

I will have to update you on how long it takes to ship and get here.

Anyone here have experience with them?

 

[Jeff Willis]

Originally Posted by Pete Battista ">[/url]

For the first time ever I used

 

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Pete Battista

For the first time ever I used DVD Pacific this month... after it being recommended to me. I just placed the order yesterday... and it hasn't shipped yet. But they have some good prices... competing with Amazon and Deep Discount. And they have free standard shipping too.

I will have to update you on how long it takes to ship and get here.

Anyone here have experience with them?

Proceed with caution regarding DVD PACIFIC. There have been discussions elsewhere on the net in DVD forums about their unsecure site and allegations that many people have had their credit card numbers stolen. In fact, this happened to me only one week after I purchased from them for the first time, using a card I had just activated and never used before. When this was brought to the attention of their alleged customer service department, they told me it was probably someone hacking MY computer, not THEIR site. When I mentioned threads I had read detailing this same incidence happening to many others for the past few years, I received no reply. I was lucky in that my credit card company detected the fraudulent charges very quickly and shut the card down, but I still had to go through the hassle of getting a new card. Needless to say, I am done ever ordering anything from DVD PACIFIC again.

 

[Pete Battista]

Thanks for the heads up... I will keep a close eye on my account.

 

[jimmyjet]

amazon was advertising 62% off "friends" for $114. dd was at 155. half was at 83, so i got it there. dont know how good half is, regarding their product. friends has 40 discs, so i may find out, if any of them are defective.