legend42

Been away from CH for quite awhile (thanks to Sweet Baby James for answering my question in the code thread btw). A couple general questions to catch me up.

Is the optimal strategy still keeping one account for compiling bonus points and cycling through other accounts? I'm mainly interested in BR, but I could probably find a good 40-50 standard titles I wouldn't mind adding for a few bucks apiece.

Is the surest way to cancel an account still over the phone, or is online/email reliable?

Do they still carry any Criterion titles? They used to have 4 or 5 iirc (Fellini's 8 1/2 was the one I remember for sure).

Any other major developments in the past 4 years or so (wow, has it been that long?) worth knowing about? Thanks to anyone who can help.

BobO'Link

IMHO "bonus points" are still pretty worthless if you are cycling accounts. However, many seem to be purchasing BR and build up bonus points. I think it's mainly due to BR not being available as enrollments and they are not interested in non-BR titles. I *do* keep one account open at all times in case a good deal comes around so I don't miss out.
I've *always* used the online method. "Help", "Contact us", select "account information" (I think) from the menu and then "Cancelling account" from a sub menu. I just used this method a couple of weeks ago and it works great. They no longer seem to have a toll-free number.
Still seems to be the same few they've carried for years.
You can get some TV seasons as enrollment titles. Free shipping seems more rare than in the past. There's probably a couple more items but that's all that comes to mind off hand.

Here's the current *best* enrollment link:

http://www.columbiahouse.com/pages/n....jsp?YSID=1556

It's a 6 for 49 cents + 1 @ $9.95. Buy 2 to fulfill. (a 7/2 enrollment) Free shipping on the enrollment shipment, NO PSN, and a bill me later option. It also has a "bonus" selection for $9.95 option. It's best used *if* you select TV seasons in your enrollment package. Use the "Television" link under Categories on the left side to see the full list of TV seasons available.

legend42

Thanks a bunch, Bob. That's more than enough info to get me back in the game.

JoN8282

I have a pre-order title that I paid for with bonus points, (with other titles) I want to cancel just that one item? Is it worth the trouble? Will I get my bonus points back?

John Galt

Yes, I did this a few weeks ago. I sent an email to customer service and they canceled the item for me. Since they don't actually deduct the bonus points till it orders, you have nothing to worry about there.

That'sAllFolks

IMO, Bonus points should never be looked upon as an incentive to make the purchase. I had some, simply because I took advantage of the 15 off 15. They really are a little misleading because they are applied to MSRP and not the regular discounted price, thus you lose 40% of their perceived value up front.

There was a recent B1Gx% off the rest and triple points. I didn't look at all the details, but the B1 seemed to have to be an expensive set and the discounted BDs that people got were good values, but not great. Some got alot of points, but when you factor in all the other money spent, was it a good deal to pursue? It was too much hassle for me to figure out. Perhaps if they were fulfilling an account it was a great deal. Bottom line, be careful because most incentive programs do not give you any extra value if you make purchases there simply to get rewards.

CalebAndCo

I've been getting reminder emails for Director's Selections I have already declined--and sure enough, when I check it appears not to have been declined. Anyone else seeing this?

joltman

Yup. I notice they say 'Kindly disregard if you've already responded to your Director's Selection' so I wonder if they are just purposely doing it to get more views on their site.

BobO'Link

Exactly! I got the impression that many who are building up points either don't know or don't care. It seems that most of those posting about their "deals" don't look at the "imputed" cost, only the actual cost. When I think of how many titles had to be purchased to get that expensive set "free" I just shake my head in amazement.

movieguru

It depends on what you are buying and wheather you are cycling accounts or not. If you are cycling you may get better deals sometimes. But it's a lot of trouble to cycle accounts and not everyone is successful at getting new accounts open all the time. You also can't get as many DVD's if you're cycling accounts.

The bonus points work for me and some of the dvd's I buy. For instance, I wanted the Sherlock BBC season 1 set. CH's price was just as cheap as everywhere else. When the had a B1 get 70% off with triple bonus points and free shipping, I bought that set plus 19 of the cheap $9.95 and $7.95 titles for my daughter. So for around $73 total I got a season set and 19 other movies. With that I received $120 in bonus points. I value the bonus points at 40 or 50 cents. So, it's not always a bad deal.

g

I agree with you. I take advantage of the kind of deal you mention and get bonus points. The buy 1 get 70 percent off plus triple points is the kind a deal I want more often. Its not worth it to me to open more than a few accounts a year.

John Galt

Bonus Points hold value and should be factored into the cost of a purchase. They're definitely not valued at $1 for $1, but 40-50 cents each as mentioned above is pretty accurate. The Buy 1, get 19 at 70% off was definitely worth it when you factor in the additional ~$3 in savings you receive. I placed four orders for ~$120 each, racked up 480 bonus points which I have used to get the Alfred Hitchcock set and Titanic 3D for free and still have 120 points left to spend by the end of the year.

JoN8282

I also have to agree that bonus points do have value (though not $1 each)... since I am mostly interested in blu-ray I am not cycling accounts as much as back in the day... I had an account that needed to be fufilled. B1G70% + triple points + free ship... wound up fulfilling the account, got 20 blu-rays for $200 but it included 5 3D blu's that go for $25+ at amazon and don't price drop alot, and 6 pre-orders for top tier titles. All in all I probably about broke even to regular amazon / best buy sale pricing if I was patient and got the titles one at a time slowly over the next 2 years...

However, the pot was sweetened and I feel I did rather well in that firstly, it fulfilled my account, which was originally generated during the blu as fulfillment glitch... and secondly, I acquired 120 bonus points. I contemplated using them on Star Trek TNG: Season 1 on blu, however best buy had too good of a deal on it at release, so instead I just recently used a penny shipping code to order one regular pre-order title (to qualify for the code, and pre-order titles always have decent pricing, this one will be about the same as most retail) and 3 other pre-orders that are top tier releases for free. I figured the shipping without the regular pre-order would bave been $7... I'd rather use that towards a disc then not... these 3 titles will retail for ~$20 each when they release, so for me... this is basically $60 saved.

It could be argued that if I wait long enough on these pre-orders that I can get them for ~$10 each... but having them at release date and not having to scour for them later has to be worth something.

All in all the bonus points put me ahead on this account cycle, so it can definitely be done correctly, as long as you know how the game works.

That'sAllFolks

My original post said BP were not worth it for the most part, but I did say that that B1G19 at 70% off might have been worth it, but it was too much trouble to figure out and I didn't want to spend the time to do the math or the money at that time. It sounds like you did OK, but it would probably depend on exactly what you bought to determine it if was a deal for me. Standard catalog titles are often on sale regularly below 10 bucks. But some titles never go on sale. Factoring in postage, tax (for me) and the price of the B1, I did not know if it was a good deal to me. In the end, it really doesn't matter whether I thought your purchase was a good deal. It may well have been.


The point of my post was that for the VAST MAJORITY of the time, BP are not really worth the hassle and add little value. They should almost never be considered as an incentive in purchasing at CH. That B1G19 at 70% code was very good, but to my knowledge, nothing like that has every been offered before ...and may not again... but who knows with CH.

movieguru

[QUOTE=That'sAllFolks;11356666]My original post said BP were not worth it for the most part, but I did say that that B1G19 at 70% off might have been worth it, but it was too much trouble to figure out and I didn't want to spend the time to do the math or the money at that time. It sounds like you did OK, but it would probably depend on exactly what you bought to determine it if was a deal for me. Standard catalog titles are often on sale regularly below 10 bucks. But some titles never go on sale. Factoring in postage, tax (for me) and the price of the B1, I did not know if it was a good deal to me. In the end, it really doesn't matter whether I thought your purchase was a good deal. It may well have been.


The point of my post was that for the VAST MAJORITY of the time, BP are not really worth the hassle and add little value. They should almost never be considered as an incentive in purchasing at CH. That B1G19 at 70% code was very good, but to my knowledge, nothing like that has every been offered before ...and may not again... but who knows with CH.[/QUOTE]

The code comes up fairly often... maybe 3 or 4 times a year. I take advantage of it every time. I can usually get one preorder for $19.95 and 19 of the $7.95-$9.95 titles and pay around $60 for the order, and that gives me $120 in BP's which I can use to buy a set. I can usually get some decent children's titles for my daughter at the $9.95 and below price and some for her to give as gifts at birthday parties. With the BP's I can save up for some nice cheap sets.

Mysteryfan

Are Disney releases going to be available on CH now? I knew Avengers was a special deal, but I noticed Brave is now listed on the website.

rider555

Is it common for CH to list DVDs in their mailings,that are not listed on the website?
I received my enrollment package today,and included was a 6 page pamphlet which says,"new on DVD".
I was surprised to see a couple of Doctor Who titles(Death to the Daleks and The Happiness Patrol)as well as The Raid:Redemption.
None of these 3 titles showed up when I searched the web site.

That'sAllFolks

I just rejoined and for the first time, it did not even allow me to enter a credit card. This is the first time in years I have not gotten an immediate acceptance to the club. Has this happened to anyone else? How long should I wait before I consider the application "lost"?

movieguru

The Raid: Redemption shows up on there. I actually ordered a copy from the website. The 2 Doctor Who ones you mention are not on there though. What are the item numbers of the Who titles?

rider555

Sorry,I no longer have the mailing.Maybe they'll be listed on the site,soon.

rider555

I have a question about B1G1.How many times can this work in one order?
I have used it in the past to buy 2 titles at full price,and get 2 free.But,anymore than that(such as buy 3 get 3 free)never works.Has anyone ever been able to do this?

That'sAllFolks

Has anyone tried to join the club recently? I have tried twice and receive nothing. It's hard to know what to do when they just ignore applications they don't want to accept.

BobO'Link

^It's been a while for me. The last membership I "Cancelled" they converted to a "Freedom" account rather than outright cancel. They send a catalog via mail every 4-5 weeks for 6 months and if I don't order or call before the time is up they'll fully cancel. It could be what's happened to you and they still think you have accounts "open".

That'sAllFolks

^^
Yes, you are right. I'm going to try to get them to cancel this outright. Thanks.

Apple Gooncha

I was looking at the CH site for the first time in maybe 2-3 weeks or so, is there no longer a way to "view all" blu-rays on there? If so, that's not very convenient.