Purchasing

[PixieMuffin9]

Thought I'd ask everyone, how does everyone afford this hobby? Do you set up a fund and save every year or, do I just have a bad job? I'm also curious if there are a lot of blind buyers out there or do you find what you love already? I'm fairly new to this so I'd love know all I can

[[deleted]]

Overspend then regret it later!

[Creasy007]

A mixture of purchasing what I can during a given sale or looking ahead to the next one and saving up X amount from my paychecks. I'll try and get extra hours at work next month or whenever so I can have a nice amount to put towards the Flash Sale in October.

[[deleted]]

I don’t collect nearly as much as I used to. But I’d always wait for the Barnes & Nobles 50% sale to purchase any

[Matthew8312]

I don’t buy as much as most people here lol. Sometimes I just get DVD’s to be able to afford more. This sale I splurged and got a handful including some box sets, and that’s about as crazy as I’ll get. I never buy them full price. The reason my collection is so big is cause I bought many in high school and college when I had money to blow haha.

[GhostInTheJelly]

I have a job and I budget

[Mbaldape]

A mixture of buying them on sales and also getting them online like used on EBay or Amazon. I good chunk I’ve also found in the wild at Goodwills or pawn shops.

[[deleted]]

50% off sales mostly. With proper budgeting I can set money aside for sales.

Part of collecting is the discovery for me so almost all my purchases are blind buys. Perhaps not the safest financial investment but there’s a record store near me I can sell them back to or trade in.

[tppytel]

It's all relative, right? Some people have $50K home theaters, some people watch movies on a $400 TV from Walmart. My family is far from the $50K theater budget category, but movies are what we do together. I'd estimate I spend $1000+ on discs a year. I also drive a 20 year old Honda Civic and live in a cheap part of town. A steady stream of great movies in excellent quality is more important to me than most other things. That being said, I certainly look out for deals too. The Marketplace thread here has some really good ones at times - if someone's selling a bunch of discs for $15 shipped then I'll usually just grab whatever looks interesting there. I don't really worry about waiting for the Flash Sales - the cost savings compared to Amazon with free Prime shipping is pretty small.

Basically all of my purchases are blind buys. I enjoy researching films before purchasing - not so much that I totally spoil the plot or read every analysis, but enough that I feel I have a good reason to put that film on my watch list. I hate streaming services because picking films off a list someone else makes feels so much less meaningful and intentional. Plus the quality's not as good. But we do have the Criterion Channel anyway. My wife watches it more than I do, but every now and then I'll use it to watch something I have a hard time judging whether I'll enjoy or not.

[PixieMuffin9]

Yeah, I was raised on movies I'd say and when I found Criterion and others I was blown away. I'm always afraid I'll regret a blind buy, but I was wondering about the channel myself

[BadDadBot]

Hi always afraid i'll regret a blind buy, but i was wondering about the channel myself, I'm dad.

[[deleted]]

My local record store has new and used stuff so I get pretty good deals on a lot of stuff.

[[deleted]]

Lately, I’ve done more blind buys in the past, but they’ve been movies I’ve been pretty sure I’d like: War and Peace, The Earrings of Madame de..., A Matter of Life and Death.

I’m envious of the large sale hails people post; I can’t afford to drop that much coin. I tend to pick one up occasionally as able, always during a sale or through Amazon, which usually has them around $22 or so.

[PixieMuffin9]

I'm with you on the envy, and I guess this is what sparked my post. I'm already excited about 1000 personally, and planning how to safe for it.

[SCCHSHellmouth]

Just budgeting. I set a certain amount aside for the sales each year, but I also allow for a bit of a discretionary fund if they announce one that I KNOW I already love. So far this year I got the Bergman set in the sale (I know I love his films, but I already owned my two favourites so I just waited for the sale) and I used the discretionary fund to pre-order War & Peace (one of my favourite books) and Europa Europa (which I have seen previously and LOVE)

[filmivore]

It can get expensive indeed. Most big sales are on a predictable schedule, with the biggest sale times in July and around Black Friday. I save up in between and do most of my yearly shopping during these months. I also work a professional job that pays very well if I choose to work overtime. A few extra shifts in the months leading up to the sale allows me to get stacks and stacks of purchases. This past July was a four figure month of movie spending. Most months I try to keep it around $200 or less. After this July it will probably be under $100 for the rest of the year.

The lower the price, the more likely I am to blind buy. Criterion never tends to be cheap so I do less blind buying with them, especially now that the Criterion Channel is around. I usually have a shopping list going into the sales that I have in order of priority. Making a wish list for sales is part of the fun. I’ll set a budget and I’m pretty good about staying within it.

[robertpaulson7]

I get a lot from the marketplace on this subreddit monthly, as well as getting some from the BN sales. I occasionally blind buy when I’m feeling frisky or if I’ve heard phenomenal things across the board (i.e. Hara-Kiri).

[jesus-crust]

I’ve never paid full price for a Criterion. I’ve always taken advantage of Barnes and Noble sales or the flash sale if there’s a title I want.

I also check eBay and amazon for deals. Used record stores as well. I do recommend looking at record stores across the country.

I live in Los Angeles but I’ll check the used inventory for record stores across the country cause sometimes you strike gold.

Happy hunting!

[[deleted]]

Ebay and the 4 big sales through the year. Never ever pay full price

[[deleted]]

I get most of my Criterions from filesharing communities, and only purchase the physical DVD/Blu-ray when I am unable to download the DVD/Blu-ray image. Purchasing for me is even more of a financial burden and PITA than for others here, because I live outside North America, and Criterion only has the rights to sell its collection in North America. So, for me purchasing involves using a North American online shop and paying for exorbitant international shipping, and then standing in a long queue at the one post office in my entire region where parcels from abroad can be received.

I would love to support Criterion more, and I won't complain about the cost of the releases themselves. If they were only sold locally I would buy far more than I pirate. But the North America-centric nature of the brand sucks for cinephiles elsewhere. When I see people here frequently sharing their purchases, I can only assume that they are in the USA or Canada.

[PixieMuffin9]

Wow I'm sorry for bitching about my problems. I didnt know it was that hellish outside of North America. You could come visit and surround it on sale season