From: raible@cbmvax.commodore.com (Bob Raible - LSI Design)
Newsgroups: rec.video
Subject: Re: Columbia House Changes the Rules
Date: 16 Oct 92 01:19:25 GMT
Reply-To: raible@cbmvax.commodore.com (Bob Raible - LSI Design)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA

In article <81652@ut-emx.uucp> copold@panam.edu (Steve Copold) writes:
>I recently posted a message relating my experiences with the Columbia
>House Laserdisc Club. They were, at that time and continue to be, all
>very agreeable. However, I've just received the November 1992 issue of
>Video magazine and they've changed the rules. Their ad appears to still
>offer 3 selections for a dollar each and an obligation to buy two more at
>full price. The difference is that when I joined, I was allowed to select
>any three titles from their full catalog except for sets and special
>editions. Now they are excluding specific titles. These exclusions
>include the lbx'd Star Wars trilogy, Dances With Wolves, Cleopatra (which
>I believe has always been excluded), The Deer Hunter, Ben-Hur, Doctor
>Zhivago, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Fiddler on the Roof, Total
>Recall, The Doors, The Terminator (lbx not the P&S), JFK, The Right
>Stuff, The Godfather: Part II, How The West Was Won, Patton, and Cape
>Fear. You can still select these discs, but they will count as TWO
>selections.
>
>The list makes absolutely no sense to me. Patton, the Star Wars films,
>and a couple of the others are expensive two-disc films, but Total Recall
>is a 39.95 P&S single disc that's widely available everywhere. The Right
>Stuff is a 2-disc set, but it's the P&S version and a lbx'd set is due
>out on December 31st. The Terminator is lbx'd, but it too is a 39.95
>single disc film and is in stock in every Mall store I've visited. 
>
>I don't have a clue as to why they've picked these particular films, but
>I'd certainly like to know if anyone else does. I've been strongly urging
>others to join to take advantage of the intial offer. As time passes, and
>more discs are ordered, the overall percentage of the discount is
>gradually reduced. CHLC charges you State sales tax and their shipping is
>very high...$17.10 on one of my orders for 7 discs. With this change I'll
>be far less enthusiastic about recommending them. There are still some
>noteworthy films to select from, but most of the real plums have been
>removed, or will count as two choices. Worse yet, selecting one of the
>wrong 2 for 1 titles will quickly wipe out any discount advantage CHLC
>offers over the other mail order houses.
>
>If you're thinking about joining, I'd do it quickly and I'd get my hands
>on the ad from the October issue of Video which has the old offer (no
>disc exclusions other than special sets and Cleopatra). The ad has a
>department number in the box you would fill out to join by mail. That
>number supposedly identifies the ad you are ordering from. The dept.
>number in the older ad is 9D. The new ad is dept. 2L2.
>
>Good Luck...
>Steve Copold

I would have thought you were crazy if I hadn't compared dept. #'s in the
ad you mention and the one in MY November copy of VIDEO magazine(mine is
2L1 !). This ad is closer to the old one and contains no copy referring to 
a list of excluded discs or any counting as 2 choices. The only reason for
a difference I can surmise is maybe you got a street copy while I suscribe,
or perhaps they are test marketing different offers. Really strange stuff.

Now a few words in defense of CHLDC. First most non-MAILORDER sources charge
sales tax. CHLDC is required to charge sales taxes in states they have a
corporate presence in. Also their shipping charges are $3.19 for the first
disk and $1.99 for subsequent disks. Typical shipping for mail order is 
$1.50-$2.00(albeit a few are "free"). Also I just computed my savings after
buying 12 -16 disks and I calculated I saved 50% off retail (when including
dividend dollars). To accomplish this I limited myself to only getting the
disks I wanted when they were on sale or part of a special offer or when
I stumbled onto a misprint in their monthly flyers ( for example Silence
of the Lambs in last months was erroneously listed for $19.95). If you
are insistant they will make good on these via a chargeback to your credit
card. The only other place you can get these kind of deals is in the cut-out
bins of a few discounters. I managed to do this without even leaving the house!
I won't print the details of my accomplishment here for the sake of brevity,
but I would be amenable to doing so if there was enough interest.

PS: in case you are curious, I just got my first defective disk from CHLDC
(impassable skip at 30:07 of the first side). The defect was not visible,
but it was VERY repeatable. Overall 1 major defect in 12-16 disks is pretty
good and probably similar to what you you would expect from a reputable
retailer. Also their return policy is very generous, they will mail you
a replacement disk and a prepaid return label. I don't know of any other mail
order outfit that will do this and I have dealt with several.

PPS: if anybody out there wants to join under the original offer I have loads
of the signup pamphlets which will give me a free disk if I sign up someone
else :3). In any case don't despair of seeing the old offer again. In the
past I have seen 3 or 4 different versions.

-- 
_____________________________________________________________________________
Robert J. Raible		EMAIL:raible@cbmvax.commodore.com
VLSI Program Manager		 or: {uunet|rutgers|pyramid}!cbmvax!raible
Commodore Business Machines     "my comments, not Commodore's, ok ?"
Newsgroups: rec.video