Amazon's Irresistible Criterion Deals, Pt. II

[nando820]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

Stacking only works sometimes and has been widely shut down.

Lets help with the math here.

40*50% = $20
10% Membership discount = $18
20% off stacked coupon = $14.40
Tax (lets assume 6%) = $15.25

If you are not a member = $16.96

So you save a mere $1.71 per title. Now since you are paying $25 for membership you need to by 15 titles to break even.

Still sound like a great deal? Sure doesn't to me.

And that assumes every transaction you make stacks.

yeah i only get 1-3 Criterions per sale so nowhere close to 15 per year to break even, stopped getting that membership long ago

[BluRayBuddy98]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

Stacking only works sometimes and has been widely shut down.

Lets help with the math here.

40*50% = $20
10% Membership discount = $18
20% off stacked coupon = $14.40
Tax (lets assume 6%) = $15.25

If you are not a member = $16.96

So you save a mere $1.71 per title. Now since you are paying $25 for membership you need to by 15 titles to break even.

Still sound like a great deal? Sure doesn't to me.

And that assumes every transaction you make stacks.

Where are you getting the 16.96 non-member price from?

[BluRayBuddy98]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

Assuming:
50% sale
20% off coupon
6% tax

Problem being that a 20% non member coupon is unusual so more likely price (again with the major assumption that a 15% coupon would be allowed).

50% + 15% off coupon + tax =$18.01 (so net price differential closer to 2.75 per item)

So I'm guessing the membership isn't worth it just for two criterion sales and a few books a year?

[BluRayBuddy98]

Sounds good. I'm just worried the coupons won't work and don't want to waste my money on the membership. Any idea how good the "$50 of coupons" are when you sign up?

Maybe I'll just do the free trial....

[diskspinner]

Originally Posted by BluRayBuddy98

Sounds good. I'm just worried the coupons won't work and don't want to waste my money on the membership. Any idea how good the "$50 of coupons" are when you sign up?

Maybe I'll just do the free trial....

There is no free trial anymore...

[BluRayBuddy98]

Damn well never mind then. So much for that.

[BluRayBuddy98]

I guess it just depends on if you can use coupons. Otherwise it isn't much of a saving:

15 criterions at half price in a year ($20 each) would be $300
10% off (18$ each) would be about $295.

I'll just wait to see if the coupons work I suppose!

[gkolb]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

Depends on how many Criterions you buy a year and which deals are eligible, but many people here find it quite useful. 12 Criterions per year breaks even without a single coupon being used. Using coupons I can break even with 6 titles (or less) and it's gravy the rest of the year.

I pretty much saved nearly $25 in a single order of seven Warner Archive discs last week compared the best deal I could get anytime the rest of the year from any store. These were all May and June titles that haven't been on any sale yet.

Just for example in last week's bluray sale, I bought 10 Warner Archives (@ $10 ea), 6 Kino's, a $40 Arrow title and Unforgiven 4K (srp $45) all free shipping with membership, and used a coupon (combo of 15% and $5 off's) per title.

These sales are twice a year, and Criterion sales twice a year. Also TV title sales, Arrow sale, and sometimes in-store only sales. My membership is like hunting season.

[UncleBuckWild]

They Live by Night ~ $15.87


https://www.amazon.com/They-Live-by-.../dp/B06XNW5NPW

Edit: Dropped a lil more in price.

[xxnomad]

Originally Posted by UncleBuckWild

They Live by Night ~ $18.31


https://www.amazon.com/They-Live-by-.../dp/B06XNW5NPW

Ugh not even a day after I purchased it for 19.50.

[BluRayBuddy98]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

I was about to call you on the Math, but then noticed how you got the total by adding the MemberCost to the $270
If all you plan to buy are Criterions and zero coupons are allowed then you are correct.

If coupons are allowed or Member Appreciation overlaps with the sale again though numbers change in a hurry.

Buy 30-40+ a year like some of us or buy other items at the various sales with various coupons and my membership pays for itself 20 fold -- certainly far more valuable that my Amazon Prime when I might break even on since I have almost zero use for anything other than FS and there thoroughly lackluster price on Media and even Flagging CS reps

. Use the Free Shipping option to magnify sale items stacked with single item coupons

Using discounted GC can drastically amplify the savings at BN in general, but those are available to nonmembers as well obviously. These are regularly more generous at 10-15% off than most reward programs though are

Yeah I'm gonna wait to join until I see if coupons work this sale. Even then I'm still hesitant as I don't shop there enough to warrant a membership.

[Quake1028]

Originally Posted by UncleBuckWild

They Live by Night ~ $18.31


https://www.amazon.com/They-Live-by-.../dp/B06XNW5NPW

Yep, this got me to bite. What a fantastic price on a brand new release.

[Braktastic]

Originally Posted by xxnomad

Ugh not even a day after I purchased it for 19.50.

What happens when you order it and it drops in price before it ships? Do you get the lower price? Can someone refresh my memory? Thanks.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by Braktastic

What happens when you order it and it drops in price before it ships? Do you get the lower price? Can someone refresh my memory? Thanks.

That only happens with preorders.

[alvarez468]

Amazon used to give a price difference refund after shipping if the price dropped in the next seven days but they stopped doing that some time back.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[BluRayBuddy98]

But is the "20% coupon" something I'll get when I sign up? Is it a common member coupon is what I'm saying

[BluRayBuddy98]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

It's one of those things when you learn their system (and a little luck) that can change. Most folks just look at the usual daily prices which are laughable and dismiss them out of hand

If you're one who wants things immediately or want the usual Mass release items or aren't patient enough to wait for teh right moments then BN is really frustrating esp from Dec 26 until mid June though this year they did have a decent Arrow sale in the spring. If you can wait, want mostly specialty studios (WAC, Crtierion, to a lesser extent Shout/Kino/Olive) then it's pretty nice.

Their vinyl selection is pretty nice though not cheap. If you like to hold your LP first, don't order LP through the mail, and don't happen to have an old fashioned good Record Store available it's not bad.

Starting with the June 40% sale through the XMas 40% sale, BN gets much of my money esp if they have another Sept Arrow 50% sale. Last year that sale and the BritishTV 50% sale in December got a lot more attention that normal

I'm fine on waiting for the sales. But are the coupons good enough so that I'm getting something out of it? I'm seeing this 20% off around here but is that always an option during the sales?

[BluRayBuddy98]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

There aren't any signup 20%. They are snail packs that come every couple months on average that usually have 2 20% codes with 4-6 weeks exp dates. Unfortunately those don't go out to everyone for some odd reason, but 1st time members seem to get them more often than not after the first full cycle. If you sign up now or mid July, you aren't likely to see those until Aug/Sept and a couple sets through the holidays

There are also email coupons that generally get sent every couple weeks with the std coupon being 20% off One item (a few bigger coupons during Nov/Dec and often weekly) -- usual one time use good for 4-5 days and mostly Online or store, though occ holiday it will be store only. When you sign up for membership (I also register that email address in teh Be In the Know box for redundancy) those email should start within 2 weeks. There are also generic Universal customer 15% that are available, plus a few extras I try to keep in the Coupon thread when they're available.



Depends on the item, the sale, and how each individual sale is set up. The 15%, 20% (or more) are commonly available through the year.

So do these snail pack 20% coupons refer to one item or 20% off the whole order? Also how soon before July's sale is wise to register?

[dex14]

Originally Posted by unclebuckwild

they live by night ~ $17.94


https://www.amazon.com/they-live-by-.../dp/b06xnw5npw

edit: Dropped a lil more in price.

17.94

[UncleBuckWild]

Originally Posted by BluRayBuddy98

So do these snail pack 20% coupons refer to one item or 20% off the whole order? Also how soon before July's sale is wise to register?

The B&N 20% off coupons are only good on a single item.

Those snail mail coupons take a while to arrive once you sign up for membership.

If you're certain about joining, now's the time to get started so they'd reach you by the first or second week of July.

Also note they email discount codes every now and then... which can used online/in-stores.