DVD Purchasing Practices

[Guest notJames]

So I'm browsing Amazon.com for stuff and I find out that X-Men 1.5 is coming out 01 February. Extra disc, more features, etc. So now I have to think about whether or not I should part with the original version I got for Christmas last year. More than likely I will sell it and get the new one, since the price isn't so high compared to other Special Edition DVDs.

 

Which brings me to my question: How do you go about buying DVDs? Are you a hardcore movie buff who buys everything that comes out? Do you only buy movies that are really, REALLY good? Do you wait for the SE's or do you buy whatever comes out and then get the SE's later?

 

I'm of the type that values great films over movies that are merely okay. I also have limited disposable income, so I wait for only great movies with a lot of extra features before I plunk down the ducats for a DVD. This is especially tiresome because some of the really awesome movies I want don't offer much in the way of extras (Breaking the Waves, American History X, or wouldn't be considered technologically worthy of owning on DVD (Waiting for Guffman, The Opposite of Sex).

 

I need to hit the lottery big, I think...

 

So what say you? How do you buy your DVDs?

[Guest areacode212]

If there's something that I really, really want, I'll usually buy it while it's on sale (i.e., the week it's released).

 

I make a lot of blind buys, actually, based on word of mouth & reviews. There are times when I'll miss a movie while it's in theaters, and if I've heard good things about it, I'll buy the DVD. It's usually cheaper than the price of 2 movie tickets where I live.

 

I also have limited disposable income, so I wait for only great movies with a lot of extra features before I plunk down the ducats for a DVD. This is especially tiresome because some of the really awesome movies I want don't offer much in the way of extras (Breaking the Waves, American History X, or wouldn't be considered technologically worthy of owning on DVD (Waiting for Guffman, The Opposite of Sex).

I think it's a fairly safe bet that Waiting for Guffman & The Opposite of Sex won't have SE's coming out, so it's really a matter of how badly you need to own them. It'll probably be hard to find those two movies on VHS in a typical brick & mortar chain store, so picking up the DVDs might be the easiest way of getting them. (I was lucky to find WFG at a pawn shop)

[Guest MarvinisaLunatic]

For new releases that I know I want, I try to get them at Wal Mart when they are first out and $14.xx (I just got Signs for $14.32)

 

Then theres the whole Impulse buy at the Video Store thing that I've just started. Mainly, I have gone from renting DVDs for $3.75/2 nights (this isn't Blockbuster btw..just a local place..) to buying a previously viewed DVD for $7.99-$9.99. Sure its a bit scratched up (not nearly as bad as one would expect) but it still plays fine and there is a 30 day guarantee if it doesnt..I realized that the occasional 1 day late fee was ending up making some of my rentals cost $7.50, so why not spend the extra $2 and buy it preowned?

 

For Box sets, I usually get them from Amazon. For instance, Buffy Season 3 (Regularly $49.97 + tax ($52.47 total here in MD) at Wal Mart) for $39.99 ($44.99- $5 off $35 coupon) plus free shipping and no tax. You could also take advantage of the Share the Love thing (where someone buys a DVD and sends you a 10% coupon good on the same item) which would have made the Buffy Season 3 set $34.99. I see no reason to rush out to a store and pay the full price for a Box set of a show I've already seen when I can wait a week and save $13-$18 easy by just being a bit patient. Im not made of money either..

 

Pass the Love

 

You can use that site to try and get people to send you Share the Love 10% discounts, although I haven't had any luck yet with it.

[Guest El Satanico]

If there's a new release that i'm interested in i will buy it the first week when it's on sale.

 

For older releases or new releases that weren't big enough for first week sale price. I will usually wait until the price drops.

 

Price drops now happen more often so i usaully won't have to wait too long.

 

On normal I buy at least 3 DVDs a month.

[Guest Bosstones Fan]

If there is a DVD that I want and the price is right, then I have no qualms about buying it.

 

I don't give a damn about whether it's a "bare bones" release or a SE because, quite frankly, I don't give a damn about the special features they pack into most DVD's. I enjoy movies, but I'm not really interested in all that crap so I almost never watch them...

[Guest NoCalMike]

When I used to have a better paying job, I would average about 2 DVDs a week. Now I have a pretty shitty paying job so I have had to be a lot more selective about DVD purchasing, but it has helped me to only stock my movie racks with shit I really like.....I have about 100 dvds

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

Me and Mike are very similar with how we buy DVDs. Although, I got to say that I bought some really crappy stuff(the NWO disc and WM 18, oh and Final Fantasy: TSW which my brother bought), I will normally buy only what I know I'll like. And be the compulsive anime mark that I am, I got to at least see a few shows in order to be persuaded to buying the DVD collection sets like Robotech, Slayers, Records of Lodoss War, and Evangelion.

 

As it is, every disc I have is something that I've seen already and liked enough to buy. If it isn't, then I just don't fuckin' bother.

 

I think I may make one exception to the the rule when I pick up The Shield: Season 1(I've never seen more than like 2 episodes due to a lot of reasons), but I think it will be a worthwhile purchase, so I'ma cop that.

[Guest Lethargic]

If it's something I really like I buy it. I have a million movies that I like a whole lot, but I also know that no matter how much I like them I'll never watch them again, so just having a copy of the movie is fine with me. Don't need the original. But if it's something I know I'll watch more than once and will be willing to spend the hours it takes to watch a bunch of commentaries and extras I'll buy an original.

[Paul Stanley 0]

I get what i like, and what old stuff is on DVDs..like "What's Love Got To Do With It?" and i'm waiting for Fred Savage's "The Wizard" to be released on DVD

[Guest imajackoff?]

I try to limit myself to one new dvd a month. I also look around pawn shops and blockbuster for good prices on used. If under $10 bucks, I'll get it. ex: I got the latest Margaret Cho concert dvd for 6.99 at bbv yesterday. I also try to do the Columbia House thing a couple times a year to catch up on the titles I missed.

[Guest MDH257]

Movies I really want I get the day they come out, especially when Wal-Mart, Best Buy, or Circuit City have them on sale.

 

I won't get something if I know their is a special edition coming out eventually. Most of the time I'm lucky enough to know for sure, since I visit DVD news sites everyday, but sometimes you half to go on gut instinct. For example, I'm not going to buy the current versions of Black Hawk Down or Panic Room.

Last spring there were interviews where Ridley Scott talked about how he was working on special features for the DVD, a few weeks later a releasedate is announced a low and behold there are no bonuses. That's your warning sign right there. David Fincher's films Seven and Fight Club have incredible special ediion DVDs. Another one of his films, The Game, had a special edition laserdisk from Criterion. So Panic Room is annouced and there are absolutley no bonuses. What does that tell you? Also notice how The Game was a loaded laserdisk, but a featureless DVD. That should tell you to expect a special edition eventually.

 

As I said sometime you just go on instinct. My favorite movie is Pulp Fiction. But I never bought the original DVD because it didn't even have the features that the Video had.

 

You just have to look at each title and take into account how popular the movie was/is (either mainstreem or cult) and if the director has of history of special edition DVDs.

 

Personal exceptions I've made were Almost Famous and Traffic. I wanted those movies bad enough that I bought them on sale the day they came out. When the special editions were released I used gift certificates I had gotten for my birthday and Christmas to get them.

[Guest Lethargic]

I buy whatever I want, when the SE comes out I sell the original on Ebay. Morons on ebay will buy anything.

[Guest C.H.U.D.]

I buy whatever I want, when the SE comes out I sell the original on Ebay.  Morons on ebay will buy anything.

I hear that. I sold my old DVD of Sixteen Candles on eBay for $90. Oh yeah!

[Guest Ravenbomb]

it depends on what the movie is and what the features are, who has it and how much it costs. If we're talking about a huge movie that'll have 3 different releases and one of those cardboard stands at Sam Goody and it's own rack section at Best Buy etc. I'll wait a little while depending on if there's a just came out sale or something. And if there's plenty of different versions, I'll probably get the one with the best features, so I have something to watch if I don't feel like watching an actual movie. If it's something like Battle Royale, which NOBODY has, I'm fine with getting the practically barebones DVD for £18.99 at Amazon.co.uk so it all depends on what we're talking about. If it's something like Taxi Driver, which I have, and they come out with a 2-disc set with commentary and features galore, I'll gladly give them my $30 and find something to do with the other disc.