The Criterion Collection

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jonschmidt

So there are a few Criterion titles that I'd like to pick up during the next B&N Criterion sale. Probably at least 4 and maybe as many as 7-8. Do you (anyone) think it would be worth it to me to buy the discount card membership? I am only really going to take advantage of it for this sale. What say you?

Originally Posted by jonschmidt

Thank you. Math is lost on me, so a simple answer like that helped me out.

Originally Posted by skylog

even if someone is only going to pick up a few titles? i have a registered account, and i tried a trial once (maybe twice?). would i be able to utilize enough coupons to make the math worth it versus just taking advantage of the sale as a commoner?

well, math is not lost on me. I'm an accountant and a world class cheapskate. my opinion (this now being the third time that I have expressed it here) is that it is not worth it. but since you present a simple scenario, let's look at it this way:

you plan to buy 4 to 8 titles.
let's say that when the next sale comes up, you will do the same, so you are buying 8 to 16 titles a year.
you say that you plan to only take advantage of this sale.

if you buy only 8 titles (4 and 4,) you must answer for yourself this question... can I do better than $21.23 per title plus tax?

if you buy 16 titles, can you do better than $19.54 per title plus tax?

out of 13 $39.95 titles that I own that were bought while still in print, I have only paid more than $21.23 once and that was for the first CC title I bought. I average $17.08 per title and if I don't consider that first title, I'm averaging $16.47.

many people like the peace of mind of inspecting the packaging and getting a clean copy with the blu sticker and whatnot, so it could, in theory, be worth it for you. I, personally, just plan to buy digipacks directly through the CC during their semi-annual sale and take it up with them if a package is damaged, which, as I understand, happens rarely.

I might take advantage of the B&N sale. Without the membership, $20 plus tax is still a pretty good deal. I'd keep your 25 bucks it I were you. That's just my opinion.

I better acknowledge.. yes, they give you coupons, but as Scottie said, having them processed to your maximum advantage is hit or miss.

[brandon_260]

Use the code FLOWERS on Deep Discount today for 15% off. Ace in the Hole is available for just under $20 with the code. I ordered it, Godzilla, Il Sorpasso and Overlord.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

well, math is not lost on me. I'm an accountant and a world class cheapskate. my opinion (this now being the third time that I have expressed it here) is that it is not worth it. but since you present a simple scenario, let's look at it this way:

you plan to buy 4 to 8 titles.
let's say that when the next sale comes up, you will do the same, so you are buying 8 to 16 titles a year.
you say that you plan to only take advantage of this sale.

if you buy only 8 titles (4 and 4,) you must answer for yourself this question... can I do better than $23.25 per title plus tax?

if you buy 16 titles, can you do better than $21.56 per title plus tax?

out of 13 $39.95 titles that I own that were bought while still in print, I have only paid more than $21.56 once and that was for the first CC title I bought. I average $17.08 per title and if I don't consider that first title, I'm averaging $16.47.

many people like the peace of mind of inspecting the packaging and getting a clean copy with the blu sticker and whatnot, so it could, in theory, be worth it for you. I, personally, just plan to buy digipacks directly through the CC during their semi-annual sale and take it up with them if a package is damaged, which, as I understand, happens rarely.

I might take advantage of the B&N sale. Without the membership, $20 plus tax is still a pretty good deal. I'd keep your 25 bucks it I were you. That's just my opinion.

I better acknowledge.. yes, they give you coupons, but as Scottie said, having them processed to your maximum advantage is hit or miss.

It appears your math does not include the 10% member discount.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

It appears your math does not include the 10% member discount.

ahh.. s**t. not a very good accountant, am I?

I've crunched these numbers before and forgot to include it this time. I'll edit the original post.

[Abdrewes]

I just bought Ace in the Hole from Deepdicount for $19.54 after using their 15% coupon.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

well, math is not lost on me. I'm an accountant and a world class cheapskate. my opinion (this now being the third time that I have expressed it here) is that it is not worth it. but since you present a simple scenario, let's look at it this way:

you plan to buy 4 to 8 titles.
let's say that when the next sale comes up, you will do the same, so you are buying 8 to 16 titles a year.
you say that you plan to only take advantage of this sale.

if you buy only 8 titles (4 and 4,) you must answer for yourself this question... can I do better than $21.23 per title plus tax?

if you buy 16 titles, can you do better than $19.54 per title plus tax?

out of 13 $39.95 titles that I own that were bought while still in print, I have only paid more than $21.23 once and that was for the first CC title I bought. I average $17.08 per title and if I don't consider that first title, I'm averaging $16.47.

many people like the peace of mind of inspecting the packaging and getting a clean copy with the blu sticker and whatnot, so it could, in theory, be worth it for you. I, personally, just plan to buy digipacks directly through the CC during their semi-annual sale and take it up with them if a package is damaged, which, as I understand, happens rarely.

I might take advantage of the B&N sale. Without the membership, $20 plus tax is still a pretty good deal. I'd keep your 25 bucks it I were you. That's just my opinion.

I better acknowledge.. yes, they give you coupons, but as Scottie said, having them processed to your maximum advantage is hit or miss.

Where do those figures come from? I have always presumed a standard BR during the sale was $20 the minus 10% membership discount = $18 a BR????

[LPMA]

You can also get a free trial:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Memb...ial/379002829/

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

...and less if you stack coupons.

It is sensible to leave off any coupons as they are not a certainty

[dorothyv]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

...and less if you stack coupons.

Exactly. With my B&N membership, the most I pay for a $39.99 msrp Criterion is $16.33 (plus tax). (50% off sale + 10% member discount + $5 off $50 member coupon when you buy 3 titles at the same time).

Whenever 15% or 20% coupons are released during a Criterion sale, I am always able to use these as well with the above mentioned discounts / coupon.

[skylog]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Just order another if you want better quality one, but tbh wanted an item to arrive in perfection condition isn't OCD, its just wanting an item you've paid for to arrive in perfect condition, gets annoying hearing people throw OCD around when it actually really affects people.

that was not my intent. i just know many people here do not appreciate the "complainer" threads so i wanted to give a warning. that said, i should have used another term.

[bwdowiak]

if you buy only 8 titles (4 and 4,) you must answer for yourself this question... can I do better than $21.23 per title plus tax?

if you buy 16 titles, can you do better than $19.54 per title plus tax?

Originally Posted by Clare2904

Where do those figures come from? I have always presumed a standard BR during the sale was $20 the minus 10% membership discount = $18 a BR????

yes, it would be $18 plus tax for a $39.95 MSRP title. $17.98 plus tax to be exact. but to determine if the membership ($25) is worth it for you, allocate that cost to each title you buy. hypothetically, if you bought 25 titles, add a dollar for each title, so...

if you buy 25 titles, can you do better than $18.98 ($17.98 + $1) plus tax elsewhere?
if you buy 16 (previous example), can you do better than $19.54?
17.98 + 1.56 (that's $25 / 16 ) = $19.54 plus tax
or if you buy 8...
17.98 + 3.13 (that's $25 / 8 ) = $21.11 plus tax (sorry, I had $21.23)

it works for some people for some intangible reasons like the one I mentioned (pick your package) or for some who buy things for which you do no comparative shopping (cookies, coffee, or whatever they sell) or for some who just are happy to get a 'good' deal if not necessarily the best one.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by skylog

that was not my intent. i just know many people here do not appreciate the "complainer" threads so i wanted to give a warning. that said, i should have used another term.

People are entitled to moan if you are paying for something and receiving it poor condition ^^ especially when its Criterion

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Judex

What makes you suspect it's "fake"?

It was in a blue Bluray case with printed artwork from a computer lol and even cropped badly >.< and no booklet :/ and disc is funny

The Man Who Fell To Earth came to day (PERFECT condition), £117 or so but is SEALED with sticker (I thought it was second hand) - not sure if I have guts to open now lol reallllly want to watch and read booklet and stuff... but debating to keep sealed for resale value :/

[skylog]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I haven't had a membership in quite some time, so I apologize if I'm not answering any of these things accurately or correctly.

Barnes 'N Noble marks all of the Criterion films 50% off of the MSRP price. From there, you can use your Barnes 'N Noble membership ($25 per year) to get an additional 10% off the sale price. You can also use coupons, such as $5 off of $50 purchases.

Getting all of these coupons to work is truly a "your mileage may vary" situation, as all of the clerks have different policies. For me personally, I was able to split the order into three or four separate transactions, stack coupons, and use my membership. I can't remember exactly the price I ended up paying for each Criterion, but it was definitely a nice discount.

thanks iScottie, i have tried to dabble in the past, but the "your mileage may vary" part was an issue for me as was getting to a store conveniently. i typically have made smaller purchases, but i just wanted an idea if it was "worth it" even with a slightly larger purchase.

Originally Posted by octagon

The short version is if you can get to an actual B&N store and you have decent luck with coupons the membership can still be a very good deal.

If you're going to be doing most of your shopping online it's a lot harder to justify.

And don't worry, there will be a dedicated thread when the B&N sale rolls around and membership benefits and coupons and whatnot will be discussed at length.

At great length.

At great, mind-numbing, eye-bleeding length.

lol, well then i will be covered. i would most-likely be an online shopper, so i was having trouble seeing the value unless i made some much larger purchases than i typically do and found some coupon luck along the way.

thanks

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

It is sensible to leave off any coupons as they are not a certainty

I don't know what the fine print on any of the coupons reads, but if you want to add that into the equation of discounts, I'd go with that - that is, whatever B & N does allow per their coupon rules.

"friendly old lady" cashiers who might not know what they're doing is not something you should count on or consider as part of the sale.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Use the code FLOWERS on Deep Discount today for 15% off. Ace in the Hole is available for just under $20 with the code. I ordered it, Godzilla, Il Sorpasso and Overlord.

Good deal! Too bad (for me) I can't find anything else I want to get the free shipping.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

It was in a blue Bluray case with printed artwork from a computer lol and even cropped badly >.< and no booklet :/ and disc is funny

The Man Who Fell To Earth came to day (PERFECT condition), £117 or so but is SEALED with sticker (I thought it was second hand) - not sure if I have guts to open now lol reallllly want to watch and read booklet and stuff... but debating to keep sealed for resale value :/

open it. watch it. enjoy it. that is what you bought it for. even 'like new' discs have good resale value.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

open it. watch it. enjoy it. that is what you bought it for. even 'like new' discs have good resale value.

ahhhh can't resist ok :P

Is the bluray meant to be bad quality? :/ the transfer is REALLY bad... Looks like Breaking the waves DVD before criterion got their hands on it.

Parts are so patchy and grainy in a bad way and the blacks are really messed up and patchy :/.... Really doesn't look good. :s

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Good deal! Too bad (for me) I can't find anything else I want to get the free shipping.

Don't know how extensively you looked (DD's search can get pretty frustrating), but if you've got any Olive or Cohen media discs on your list, some of those prices are pretty good. I picked up Beauty of the Devil and The Swimmer along with Ace.

[Scottie]

I just finished La Cage aux Folles.

It was definitely better than I anticipated it to be, especially because there are quite a few funny moments. Overall, it's just not my kind of a movie.

I'm sure many will enjoy it, though.