Does anyone else feel like preordering or release day purchases are a waste of money?

[Fryman86]

Or is it just this time of year when Amazon is trying to be super competitive? Over the last several months I've made release day purchases/preorders and I know prices are going to go down, but when it's less than a month after the release you feel a little burned. Now, when a good deal comes along like the $5 off on Super 8 making it $14.99 or the $10 off the 3 disc Lady and the Tramp making it $19.99 (and may drop a few more dollars before release) I'm cool with that, but just looking at the top deals bar at the top of the page I see:

Green Lantern
Crazy Stupid Love
Horrible Bosses
Scream 4
Harry Potter DH Pt 2

All for $14.99. During Black Friday week Thor and Captain America could be had for less than that. Now, I didn't buy all of those, but of the three I did buy (Cap, Thor, and Harry Potter) I could have saved $20. I think from now on I'm going to not preorder unless there's a good coupon or a special edition, and just price track until they go down to at least $14.99 or start a movie fund and then just go for one massive haul during black friday week lol.

[timcat4843]

I prefer waiting for blu-ray titles to fall to the $9.99 price point before I buy.

[MEB]

Only if you feel going to the movie at the theater is a waste of money.

$12 x 2 = $24 + $8 (popcorn) + $5 (soda) = $37

So, no, I don't feel paying $14.99-$19.99 for a Blu-ray on release day is a waste of money.

Mark

[Atreyu]

I still preorder if it's a favorite title, as those I want right away, but others I will usually wait for. I have also seen on the forums that some members have gone to their Walmarts, K-Marts, Best Buys etc. on release day to find the new title they wanted was not on the shelves, so this way I still get my title by the end of release week(as I opt for the cheapes shipping).

[P@t_Mtl]

I like pre-ordering certain Criterion and KINO releases. Sometimes when they go up for orders they have a lower price then what is usually the prices for these movies. Plus these movies never go down much in prices except if there is a sale for them which only happen a few times during the year.

[robertc88]

I have a movie pass from Blockbuster (I dumped Netflix) and the nearest store isn't even five minutes away. I've been renting more and more on release date now and then just waiting for the BD price to drop to pull the trigger.

So I got my cake anyway (watching on release day) and I'll eat the lower cost when the price drops down the road which isn't taking very long with lots of BDs now it seems. And I save money!

[Lemmy Lugosi]

I don't think it's a waste of money if you're going to watch it ASAP, or, if there were some sort of limited number of discs released, which might preclude you getting a copy, were you to wait too long (ala Twilight Time).

But, ummm, normally? Yeah, I wait for a lower price.

[djgeneral]

I typically don't mind because when I go to the theater, I only pay either $4.25 (if the movie is before 12pm) or $5 (from 12-6pm). I've never paid more for a movie except for the occasional 3D film (+$2.50 more) or maybe once a year with friends who want to go at night. I also never get pop, candy, or popcorn unless I have free coupons. At my theater, every 5 times you go, you get something free and you can use your card up to twice a day. Also, every 50th swipe, you get 2 free tickets, 2 free popcorns and 2 free pops

So basically, a lot of the movies I see are super cheap so I don't mind paying a bit extra the first day.

My limits are $19.99 for a single disc blu and $22.99 for a combo pack. I would never pay anything more period. Most of the time, I wait for $14.99 for single discs and $19.99 for combo packs though.

The only time I really get mad is when I buy a film and don't watch it and then the price goes down. But with price matching promises, that isn't even a big deal either.

[HD Goofnut]

Yep, pre-ordering is a waste of money 99% of the time.

[Fryman86]

Originally Posted by MEB

Only if you feel going to the movie at the theater is a waste of money.

$12 x 2 = $24 + $8 (popcorn) + $5 (soda) = $37

So, no, I don't feel paying $14.99-$19.99 for a Blu-ray on release day is a waste of money.

Mark

That's a entirely different scenario. Popcorn and Soda are options not requirments, and theatre prices don't go down. It's not as if two weeks after a movie is released they are going to knock the ticket price down. You make a decision about whether or not you want to see a movie in the theatre and experience it that way, or if you can wait and watch it at home. With the Blu Ray issue, the experience is going to be the same. The point I'm trying to make is that lately there has been a trend with big releases from the major studios, where a month or so after release the price is dropping significantly. In the example I gave, I could have saved $20 between three purchases by only waiting one to two months after each release. I think $15 is going to be my new buy point for my most wanted movies and black friday week for the rest.

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I like pre-ordering certain Criterion and KINO releases. Sometimes when they go up for orders they have a lower price then what is usually the prices for these movies. Plus these movies never go down much in prices except if there is a sale for them which only happen a few times during the year.

I can certainly understand that. Certian things like Criterion releases or Disney classics rarely drop in price unless there is a sale like the one B&N has for Criterion, or a coupon like Disney uses to entice people to get the movies during release week, so those make more sense.

[Lsalas76]

Originally Posted by Fryman86

Or is it just this time of year when Amazon is trying to be super competitive? Over the last several months I've made release day purchases/preorders and I know prices are going to go down, but when it's less than a month after the release you feel a little burned. Now, when a good deal comes along like the $5 off on Super 8 making it $14.99 or the $10 off the 3 disc Lady and the Tramp making it $19.99 (and may drop a few more dollars before release) I'm cool with that, but just looking at the top deals bar at the top of the page I see:

Green Lantern
Crazy Stupid Love
Horrible Bosses
Scream 4
Harry Potter DH Pt 2

All for $14.99. During Black Friday week Thor and Captain America could be had for less than that. Now, I didn't buy all of those, but of the three I did buy (Cap, Thor, and Harry Potter) I could have saved $20. I think from now on I'm going to not preorder unless there's a good coupon or a special edition, and just price track until they go down to at least $14.99 or start a movie fund and then just go for one massive haul during black friday week lol.

Oh man I hear ya. I usually pre-order most of my movies from Amazon or buy them in stores on release day. I don't know why but I like get new releases(some big name catalog releases too) of the movies I am or may be interested in on the day they come out. I really don't have a good explanation as to why I usually buy movies on release day. Sometimes I don't even watch them or open them right away and when I do I just really watch my movies one time. However, yes, I have realized that if you are patient enough, you can get them much cheaper around black Friday and during this time of year November-January. Or get them used from members on here too. This is more or less truer, especially for catalog titles too. I am a very patient person but not when it comes to buying movies, LOL. I really want to buy Smurfs and Friends with Benefits, and Conan the Barbarian, but have been holding off. I want to give in but I know they will be cheaper eventually. I want to buy Kung Fu Panda 2 and Rise of the Planets this Tuesday too and I will most likely end up getting Kung Fu Panda 2 because of the $5 coupon and I also have a $5 shopkick coupon that I can use at either Target or Best Buy thus bringing the price down to $12.99 before tax.

I bought Pulp Fiction for $12.99 a few weeks after its initial release only to see it go on sale for $3.99 during black Friday. Luckily I was able to return it for a full refund and was able to get in on the $3.99 deal. There were some other ones as well. I waited for Princess Bride to go down to a better price and I'm glad I did, since I was able to get it for $4.99.

Though if we wait we can miss out on some in store exclusive too like steelbooks, special slip covers, and or the movies themselves may be missing regular slip covers(happened to me when I bought American Beauty recently),and like you said sometimes there are coupons, especially with the Disney movies. It seems like its always better and cheaper to get Disney movies during the initial release week because of the sale price and coupon. Disney titles hardly ever go on sale.

[Fryman86]

Yeah if it's something limited then that's another story. I'm actually peeved at myself and a bit perplexed about the Citizen Kane Amazon Exclusive. When it went up for preorder it was $49.99 and I decided to wait. Now it's been jacked up to over $70. Pretty ridiculous.

[Daikichi Kawachi (河地大吉)]

It differs BD to BD and scarcity plays a big factor. Anime sometimes has a funny habit of going up in price after release date (or even going OOP if you wait too long ).

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

In my personal opinion, its not a waste of money if you know what you're buying and if you're able to make a good profit when re-selling it.

[Fryman86]

Originally Posted by Blu-ray Fanatic

In my personal opinion, its not a waste of money if you know what you're buying and if you're able to make a good profit when re-selling it.

?

[Donat96]

I only pre-order if I really want the movie on release day or if it's a Disney movie, where it will be cheaper to buy on release week than to buy later on.

[unjichan]

Well I pre-ordered most blu-ray that I expect to come with slipcover...

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Fryman86

?

What I meant was its not a waste of money if you already know for sure the movie will meet your expectations and when you re-sell it you'll likely get your money back.

[jak]

I dont care much for going to the theatre.As a result I end up waiting to see some films Im really anxious to see.Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes is a great example.I just dont want to wait any longer.Had my order in long ago.Many times though I dont mind waiting to catch a used copy of a film down the road.Just depends on my level of anticipation for a film.

[22soultaker]

Originally Posted by MEB

Only if you feel going to the movie at the theater is a waste of money.

$12 x 2 = $24 + $8 (popcorn) + $5 (soda) = $37

So, no, I don't feel paying $14.99-$19.99 for a Blu-ray on release day is a waste of money.

Mark

HAHA thats what i do it ends up costing $37 + 19.99 (or whatever) for one movie thats 56.99! That i spent on 1 movie. Its crazy. I feel that i usually get the best deal on release day, to wait for it to be in like a Blockbuster deal or 9.99 deal would take almost a year. If you can wait then good for you also if you wait most times it wont be a combo disc or slip cover.