The Criterion Collection

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I agree with all of this, but the last sentence is where I see the disconnect. Prime members pay $100 every year for shipping their orders. To me that makes their good deals not such good deals.

I placed 272 orders with Amazon during calendar year 2015, and 275 during calendar year 2014. My average shipping cost per order was therefore less than 37 cents. Most of these were very small orders ... some of them less than $5.00 total. I didn't have to pad these orders with extra merchandise, either. Some I had shipped to me; others I had shipped directly to friends and family members.

I didn't have to spend the time and money to drive 90 miles round trip to Joplin or 60 miles to northwest Arkansas to go shopping. And when I needed to return something, I printed out a label and left it out on the front porch for UPS to worry with the next day.

In my particular case, paying for Amazon Prime makes perfect sense from any angle I look at it.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Amazon.com has delayed my shipment of Chungking Express and the projected date is now April 13.

They also split the order, so that I'll be getting The City of the Dead in a few days, because it's "Preparing for Shipment."

They also went ahead and mailed me the trashy 1970s exploitation movies that I ordered before then (Bonnie's Kids/The Centerfold Girls, The Roommates/A Woman for All Men), as well as my film noir, The Red House. All of these Blu-rays arrived today, so I'm glad that Amazon is not holding them hostage anymore while they wait for the shipment (or imaginary shipment) of Chungking Express.

I had no idea these existed. I need to develop a keener spidey sense for vintage trash cinema so I can find these on my own. Thanks.

[jayembee]

My wife and I pay one Prime fee, and both of us get to use it with our separate accounts. Each of us orders things at random, and often one thing at a time (a couple of years ago, it was her ordering books that she needed for her Masters studies). We both think it's worth it.

One of my first purchases after we got Prime was our Sony BDP five years ago. I was expecting that it would be exempted from the free shipping, but no, they shipped it to me free. That paid for the Prime membership right then and there.

[theater dreamer]

Great info, thank you. I've never heard of Rakuten.com before, but I'll definitely check it out. I'm all about saving money whenever possible.

Oh, who am I kidding, I'm all about lower prices on things so I can spend the money saved on other movies. Those savings rarely go into my pockets.

Cheers!

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I buy from eBay, B&N during sale time and Rakuten.com. That last one is my big secret although the well has run dry a bit.

They have a "super points" program in which they'll offer up to 20% back in pts on purchases. During the last year or so, they've only done it on like a couple days, but they used to do it like once a month. They also give a you a quarter when you review your purchase, a quarter when you review a product, and an extra 3% when you purchase on their site w/ their credit card.

They also do something like $15 off $75 w/ Visa Checkout and give $5 in free pts like twice a year.

So all you used to have to do is get started... I bought some protein powder or something and got $15 off $75 and 15% back. Now if you only buy when they are giving extra bonus pts back, it's almost a never ending well of discounts - use $5 in pts to get yr purchase to $19 and get $4.05 back in pts.

Nobody EVER has blinked an eye at what Rakuten does, but over the last few years I've bought Criterion blus from them from anywhere from $10 to maybe $16 or $18 at highest.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I agree with all of this, but the last sentence is where I see the disconnect. Prime members pay $100 every year for shipping their orders. To me that makes their good deals not such good deals.

I pretty much order everything from Amazon. The $100 I spend on Prime every year not only negates shipping charges (which, even at $2 per order, is only 50 orders, and I have way more than that), but it also negates the cost of gas running to and from the store, and the time you spend in the checkout line, etc. And time is also money, as they say.

What I find iSN'T a very good deal is getting a B&N membership just for 2 Criterion sales every year. The cost makes at least one of those sales not a very good deal, and I order from the Criterion store during the flash sales anyway and regularly get $50 gift cards form them on top of that.

[Arawn]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

I pretty much order everything from Amazon. The $100 I spend on Prime every year not only negates shipping charges (which, even at $2 per order, is only 50 orders, and I have way more than that)

$2 per order???

It was at least $3 per order for a long time, now it's $5 the last time I checked!

[pedromvu]

I guess with Amazon it depends on your buying habits, before having prime I just saved enough stuff to order with free shipping, that has become harder with the increasing threshold of free shipping for non prime members, but I won't be fooled into thinking that I need prime.

The only situation where it is really needed is with short sales of low priced items, usually on black Friday when they usually give a month of free trial anyway.

Then for those small orders there are usually several other online stores where you can get those items for the same price or cheaper, no need to go to retail stores.

But my case is very particular as I don't live in USA, so I don't really order everything I need to live, just electronics and entertainment stuff, also this is why I don't really care for two day shipping as I usually wait for enough stuff to pile to drive to the border and get everything.

Amazon is very convenient I give it that, great customer service, and it is easy to use, so I see why someone will use it for everything and won't even bother looking somewhere else.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Arawn

$2 per order???

It was at least $3 per order for a long time, now it's $5 the last time I checked!

Well, there you go. I haven't paid for shipping for 4-5 years now, so I wouldn't know.

[easydreamer]

Originally Posted by zorbonaut

Same here- If Hulu ever drops Criterion then I will be promptly dropping Hulu.

Me, too. Hulu has Cohen too, but the number of Cohen titles is so little that I could simply drop Hulu if Criterion leaves there.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by oildude

I had no idea these existed. I need to develop a keener spidey sense for vintage trash cinema so I can find these on my own. Thanks.

The double feature Blu-ray for Bonnie's Kids/The Centerfold Girls was released almost a year ago, but it somehow escaped my attention entirely. I recently saw it mentioned in a thread where someone was looking for pre-1980 "slasher movies", and I had to do a double-take.

Bonnie's Kids was a big influence on Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and, in fact, the chapter title, "The Bonnie Situation", is an homage.

Would it be shallow to say that I first decided to see Bonnie's Kids simply because I love the DVD cover art?

[Show spoiler]

[Donnie D]

Originally Posted by belcherman

I subscribe to Hulu Plus just for the Criterion Collection. With over 800 titles on Hulu, there's no way I would ever buy them all. Even though the Criterion Collection films and extras are the only thing I watch on Hulu, it's still totally worth it to me.

That's a great point. Everyday, I scrolled thru the Criterion selections and know that I wouldn't buy all of them. I get to watch films that I am unsure about getting from Criterion and discover so many new (to me) brilliant films.

Also, obviously the added benefit of having the choice of non-Criterion selections from Hulu paired with my Prime Amazon. I thought when I cut the cord, I'd have a hard time getting things to watch. Boy, was I wrong! I am totally overwhelmed with the options. Takes longer to decide then when I used to have cable and watch a show with commercials.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

What I find iSN'T a very good deal is getting a B&N membership just for 2 Criterion sales every year. The cost makes at least one of those sales not a very good deal, and I order from the Criterion store during the flash sales anyway and regularly get $50 gift cards form them on top of that.

I purchased 25 Criterion titles between the July and November sales last year. And about the same the year before. $25 annual membership gets me an additional 10% discount in-store. I am very fortunate to have three B&N within 20 minutes drive; I buy all Criterion in-store, getting B&N to ship out-of-stock items for pick up. Membership saves me almost $2 on a regular-priced Criterion BD during the 50% sales; less on a DVD, of which a small number are included in the total of 25. So, it pays for itself after about 13 or 14 titles. I make other purchases throughout the year, getting 10% in-store every time and Express shipping for online (which isn't actually that fast and certainly not comparable to Prime). Throw in a few random 20% coupons, and overall B&N membership is a good deal.

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

What I find iSN'T a very good deal is getting a B&N membership just for 2 Criterion sales every year. The cost makes at least one of those sales not a very good deal, and I order from the Criterion store during the flash sales anyway and regularly get $50 gift cards form them on top of that.

I only use my B&N membership during Criterion sales and 40% off all Blu Ray sales. Taking into account the extra 10% but also the 20% member coupons, the membership EASILY pays for itself.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

What I find iSN'T a very good deal is getting a B&N membership just for 2 Criterion sales every year. The cost makes at least one of those sales not a very good deal, and I order from the Criterion store during the flash sales anyway and regularly get $50 gift cards form them on top of that.

Originally Posted by Reddington

I purchased 25 Criterion titles between the July and November sales last year. And about the same the year before. $25 annual membership gets me an additional 10% discount in-store. I am very fortunate to have three B&N within 20 minutes drive; I buy all Criterion in-store, getting B&N to ship out-of-stock items for pick up. Membership saves me almost $2 on a regular-priced Criterion BD during the 50% sales; less on a DVD, of which a small number are included in the total of 25. So, it pays for itself after about 13 or 14 titles. I make other purchases throughout the year, getting 10% in-store every time and Express shipping for online (which isn't actually that fast and certainly not comparable to Prime). Throw in a few random 20% coupons, and overall B&N membership is a good deal.

I got the member card just because of the Criterion sale, and I saved $20 from the July sale alone. Add in the November sale and the now-higher instances of online orders, and I've saved much more than the $25 fee. I work at B&N, too, and the member card--especially during sales or with any other in-store discounts--gets me better deals than my employee discount most of the time (which is sad, but true).

I guess, with all this talk of Prime and the B&N member card, it all depends on how you much spend and where you shop. I can't imagine paying $100 for Prime up front because I would only be buying Blu-rays, and those I don't need right away. Of course, now with the minimum $49 shipping fee, I've turned to buying from B&N. Since I'm already working at B&N, it makes more sense to have that card because I would probably already be buying something there anyway.

(It's also pretty terrible to buy books from any online retailer. While the difference in price is wonderful, it's actually hurting the publishing business. Ever wonder why college textbooks are so high? It's because the publisher has one shot at selling a book. Just one. After that, most college students sell it back to their college bookstore, which can then sell it used to other students. That can go on for years, and that's money the publisher will never see. I try not to buy books online, but rather at the bookstore; people already complain, on a daily basis, that there aren't enough bookstores. If Amazon continues their monopoly on selling discounted items, then there might only be Amazon bookstores that carry just--and I'm guessing here--5% to 10% of the books B&N carries.)

[ThisKid]

I'm thinking of getting the B&N membership because of the extra benefit in the Criterion sales. And I would need it. Here is what I'm planning on getting...
Mulholland Drive
The Brood
Naked Lunch
Red River
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Heaven's Gate
The Blob
The Graduate
Watership Down
The Fisher King
The Complete Jacques Tati
The Essential Jacques Demy
Godzilla
A Hard Day's Night
and
The Beastie Boys Video Anthology

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

I've heard of that site, but never about those kind of promotions and specially nothing regarding Criterions, will have to check out.

I personally do keep all my Criterion purchases under $20 waiting for big sales, just big orders since I am patient too, that's why I feel hard to justify to pay $20 or more for other label releases, since Criterion seems to be the gold standard.

Another way to get cashback I used is eBates although it doesn't work with every retailer(but most major ones) it's still something extra, specially if you have many people to play the 'refer a friend' bonus thing.

Next time they have something worthwhile, I'll post here about it. For me, there's no added level of difficulty in being patient and having a buying plan. So, if your goal is to spend the least amount of cash, trust me - you can't do better than the 3 places I regularly buy at.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by ThisKid

I'm thinking of getting the B&N membership because of the extra benefit in the Criterion sales. And I would need it. Here is what I'm planning on getting...
Mulholland Drive
The Brood
Naked Lunch
Red River
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Heaven's Gate
The Blob
The Graduate
Watership Down
The Fisher King
The Complete Jacques Tati
The Essential Jacques Demy
Godzilla
A Hard Day's Night
and
The Beastie Boys Video Anthology

The Essential Jacques Demy is single-handedly the best Criterion blind-buy I ever made. A true gem.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

I only use my B&N membership during Criterion sales and 40% off all Blu Ray sales. Taking into account the extra 10% but also the 20% member coupons, the membership EASILY pays for itself.

The thing that I wonder about is whether people realize that at the point in which these pay memberships "pay for themselves," you've netted zero discount, so it had better pay for itself and then some.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

The thing that I wonder about is whether people realize that at the point in which these pay memberships "pay for themselves," you've netted zero discount, so it had better pay for itself and then some.

Yeah. I probably buy at least 40 Criterions a year from B&N including almost all of the higher priced ones, so even before member coupons I'm probably saving well over $100, which makes the $25/year well worth it.

If Amazon gave me 10% off purchases, they might lure me to team Prime.

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

The thing that I wonder about is whether people realize that at the point in which these pay memberships "pay for themselves," you've netted zero discount, so it had better pay for itself and then some.

As I said, I use it 4 times a year (at each 40% off all Blu Rays sales and Criterion sale). I'd estimate that it pays for itself during two of the four sales. So, yes. Pays for itself and then some.