Columbia House DVD Club provides an easy way to build up a movie library. The Columbia House DVD Club offers thousands of movie and game titles. The DVDs are new, and customer service is good.
The introductory offer, currently 7 DVDs for $0.49 each sounds too good to be true. What’s the true cost of the Columbia House DVD Club offer? Is it worth joining the Columbia House DVD Club? What should you consider ordering from them, and what should you buy elsewhere? This article reviews the Columbia House DVD Club and offers the best strategies for using it.
ColumbiaHouse DVD Club introductory offer – the true cost is good but not great
The Columbia House DVD Club initial offer is currently 7 DVDs for $3.43. The small print however adds “plus shipping and processing, with membership.” Columbia House DVD Club shipping charges are $2.99 for the first movie, and $1.99 for each additional one. Charges for sets are up to $7.99 each.
When you add the shipping and processing cost, the initial offer price totals $18.36 for 7 movies. That’s still an outstanding value, but you need to consider the full cost of Columbia House DVD Club membership.
Columbia House DVD Club membership requires you to purchase 5 additional DVDs at regular prices over 2 years. The regular price is $19.95, which is where the club makes up for the low price of the introductory offer.
If you purchase Columbia House DVDs one at a time the cost is at least $22.94 each. Your total cost is thus $133.06 for 12 movies or an average of $11.09 each. Order an eighth DVD with the initial offer for another $14.95 plus $1.99 shipping and processing, and you reduce your club commitment to 4 DVDs. This decreases your cost to $127.06 for 12 movies or an average of $10.59 each, which is a good though not astonishing value.
Columbia House DVD Club sends you a catalog (via USPS or email) every 3 weeks or so. The “Director’s Selection” will be shipped to you unless you decline it via USPS, phone, or on their website.
Columbia House DVD Club offers on a regular basis 50% or 60% off any number of DVDs after a highest-price item at $19.95 or higher. Some offers include free shipping and processing, but rarely for sets or games. Other offers include 3 movies for $25, but these are usually older, less popular movies, and shipping and processing increases the cost to $31.97 for the 3.
Columbia House DVD Club has a “Fun Cash” rebate program. When you buy movies from the club they credit your account with Fun Cash dollars which you can use to order more movies. Restrictions on how and when you can use your Fun Cash change from time to time. In my experience this feature provides some value, but the restrictions limit its usefulness.
ColumbiaHouse DVD Club best strategy #4 – only buy what you plan to watch repeatedly
Before buying any movies from Columbia House DVD Club or elsewhere, consider if you’re likely to watch them more than once. If not, borrow from a local library or rent from Blockbuster or Netflix. Not only will you save money on the purchase, you will also need less storage for your movie collection.
ColumbiaHouse DVD Club best strategy #3 – comparison shop before ordering
Before ordering anything from Columbia House DVD Club, check if you can find the same item cheaper elsewhere. Make sure to include sales taxes and shipping and processing charges when making the comparison.
Some good places to check are Amazon.com, Target.com and Walmart.com. You can also look through bargain movies at a local Target or Walmart. If you don’t mind buying used, you can find excellent deals at a local Blockbuster or second-hand CD/DVD store.
ColumbiaHouse DVD Club best strategy #2 – go negative
Once you complete your commitment, ask to change your Columbia House DVD Club membership to negative option. With this option Columbia House DVD Club no longer sends you anything unless you order it. Columbia House DVD Club rules require you to order at least one item every 5 months to maintain negative option status.
ColumbiaHouse DVD Club best strategy #1 – group purchases into larger orders
To minimize your costs, group your purchases into larger orders. This provides significant discounts on all but one item per order, and lowers shipping and processing charges by $1 for each except the first DVD in the order. If you plan to order say 12 DVDs/year from Columbia House DVD Club, group them into two orders of 6, spaced 5 months apart. This will maintain your negative option status, and reduce your cost by as much as $10/DVD.
ColumbiaHouse DVD Club – the bottom line
The Columbia House DVD Club offer is a good deal, but not as outstanding as it seems at first. If you do your due diligence and comparison-shop you’ll get good (though not great) deals from Columbia House for most movies by ordering several DVDs at a time. The Columbia House DVD Club charges substantial shipping and processing fees as a fraction of item prices. As a result, you can often find better deals elsewhere for specific movies and especially for sets. The Columbia House DVD Club is a good deal for movies you plan to watch more than once. Otherwise, borrowing from a library or renting from Blockbuster or Netflix is a better way to go.
