What is your Blu-ray buying philosophy?

[danielsan4610]

My initial rules were to replace my existing DVDs and buy only my very favorite movies. Now, I'm pretty confident that Blu-ray will unfortunately be the last physical media movie format so that mindset has changed.

I will buy any and every move I even remotely enjoyed when a good deal pops up so I can have a permanent hard copy of the film for when the day comes that we just own the "rights" to watch a digital copy streamed over the internet.

[biglou114]

My philosophy has always been, buy what I want, when I want it for the best price I can find, when I can afford it. Which has done me well so far, but as I am ending college soon (and being semi-supported by my parents), I feel that my consistent buying habits will soon slow down, as I will soon need the money to pay for more things (rent, utilities, food, etc.). Right now I'm in a last gasp of buying, rushing to get the BDs I feel I should own before I am on my own.

[vicissitudes]

1. About 90% are blind-buys. I've only started watching more movies recently and missed out on a lot of classics. Blind-buying is like going to the theater but it's cheaper.

2. No more than $10 (it's been $8 recently) with very few exceptions.

3. No digibooks, I wait for the regular release

4. No boxsets, I wait for the individual releases

5. Do not care about slipcovers, for blu-rays like Transformers and Iron Man I wait for the non-slipcover version with the words on the box

6. I would say 50% of the reason for buying is to watch the movies and 50% is to have a bigger collection.

#3,4,5 are because I'm kinda OCD about needing to have every blu-ray look exactly the same on the shelf

[s2mikey]

As many others have stated - I only buy films that I feel have a lot of rewatch value or happen to be favorites of mine. Ive actually been very good about NOT getting crazy - hence my collection is just 100 or so strong and that includes some films that the wife and/or kids like. Ive traded and sold some titles here and there but mostly I keep what I have.

Someone made an iteresting point about blu-ray being the last physical format and I tend to believe that also. So, that being the case, it *might* be worth it tp pick up a few fringe titles just to have them....but then you have to wonder where to cut it off so you dont end up with a bunch of borderline films that you'll never watch. The recent rash of $6.99 to $9.99 deals are making it hard to resist though.....ARGH!

Netflix has saved me a lot of money too. I can always rent something first and if it blows me away I can buy it but usually that doesnt happen.

Another thing I avoid is what I call "80's-itis" which is a disease where films we liked as kids get released on blu-ray and we scoop them right away only to find that many of them havent aged too well or the fact that we are older and wiser reveals the films cheesiness. Suddenly, that 80's classic aint so classic anymore.

[sumawo13]

I have a lot of movies in my wishlist, some I've seen and will buy when I have the money, and some I haven't seen and won't buy until I've seen a rip and I know if I like it or not.

[maverick22]

As others have stated, at first I was doing a lot of upgrading--getting my favorite old DVDs on blu ray. I was also buying something every week it seemed like and doing more blind buying. I have slowed the blind buying down (will rent at Redbox first) and really thought about if I'm going to watch this movie in the future multiple times.

I've cut down my spending, and I like that. I'm not making as many unnecessary purchases, and my shelf is filled with movies I know I enjoy/will enjoy in the future.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by maverick22

I've cut down my spending, and I like that. I'm not making as many unnecessary purchases, and my shelf is filled with movies I know I enjoy/will enjoy in the future.

^^ This is the bottom line - I want my shelves filled with the right films, not just anything and everything.

[maverick22]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

^^ This is the bottom line - I want my shelves filled with the right films, not just anything and everything.

Yep, too many people go crazy with some $4 and $5 sales. I mean we see on here people purchasing like 20 titles at a time during that Blockbuster sale. I'm not just going to buy stuff because it's cheap, knowing I will not watch it again. I don't have enough room on my shelf to just fill with "junk".

[Allforce]

I just really started "collecting" I guess over the last 6 months. I won't pay more than 10 bucks for a flick, usually no more than 8 and I prefer buying used if I can help it. I don't go to the movie theater but maybe once or twice a year so for that price I can more than justify purchasing it to own it and enjoy it forever.

I'm really trying to build an awesome library that I can have and share with friends and family, maybe I have a few films that someone wants to borrow that they otherwise wouldn't have ever seen so that is cool to me.

I'm not opposed to buying a shitty movie because there may only be 2-3 scenes I want to watch in it (Matrix Reloaded springs to mind). I'm ok with that since I set the price barrier so low. I don't mind having a "clip" night and just blasting reference-level scenes for a few hours instead of diving into an entire film.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by danielsan4610

My initial rules were to replace my existing DVDs and buy only my very favorite movies. Now, I'm pretty confident that Blu-ray will unfortunately be the last physical media movie format so that mindset has changed.

I will buy any and every move I even remotely enjoyed when a good deal pops up so I can have a permanent hard copy of the film for when the day comes that we just own the "rights" to watch a digital copy streamed over the internet.

Amen, Brother. That's exactly my story. I do believe that this WILL be our last chance to get movies on disc so I've started slowly replacing two-thirds of my collection and taking a punt on some odd films, especially catalogue titles.

There are some films in my DVD collection that I know I'll never watch again in my lifetime so I won't be replacing them unless they get to a ludicrously low price-point. But if I think I'll watch a film even once more, I can't settle for less than HD.

[broganreynik]

I actually have a list of title that I want, and they're separated into different categories. Must-have, Not quite must-have, wants, and sorta wants. I won't allow myself to buy one from a lower category unless I have all the ones that are released in the category above it. Right now money is tight, and I'm getting behind, so I might never get to my wants, lol.

Of course, when there's a hella deal or a sale on Criterions, I bend my rules a little bit.

[Ben_UK]

I refuse to buy a film unless its £10 or under (or in a 2 for £20 offer etc).

[C-Knights]

I buy anything that I think I'll enjoy, the missus and I will watch anything that keeps our attention, if we don't like it my friends and family usually get a donation to their Blu Ray collections...

[painted_klown]

Originally Posted by Allforce

I don't mind having a "clip" night and just blasting reference-level scenes for a few hours instead of diving into an entire film.

HEHEHE....I am glad I'm not the only one who does this.

When I still lived alone, I did that ALL of the time. I would pop in BD after BD just to watch a few select scenes that sounded cool, looked cool, or I just enjoyed a lot.

Good times when you can turn the system up to insane volume levels.

[blugojira]

I buy what I want. Usually 20 bucks or under is my limit unless I really really want something. Like i'm willing to spend more on movies I absolutely love.

[SimonMDK90]

I think as long i live at home with my parents i will keep buying a lot of movies.

My only "rule" is that i need to be able to watch the movies several times.