Anyone Use Disney Movie Club?

[ladybastilla]

Hi guys!

I bought a copy of Inside Out today and it came with a little voucher telling me about Disney Movie Club. Apparently there is a Canada branch, which actually looks pretty neat. I found a deal online that will let me get 5 free DVD / BluRay + a 6th that counts toward the amount I agree to purchase for $15 and a 7th (that does not count) for $10. So all together, you essentially get 7 DVD / BluRay for $25 and S/H is free.

In exchange you buy 4 more DVD / BluRay at $20 / $30 over a 2 year period. S/H for Canada is $5 for the first film in an order and $3 for each film after. Not flawless, but not bad either. The real "catch" is that it's like an old school Columbia House / BMG CD club where you need to tell them you don't want a feature of the month every few weeks or they'll charge your card and ship it out. Apparently you can say "No thanks" via e-mail, which (again) sounds epic.

What I want to know is: has anyone here tried this? Are you still doing it? Did you love it? Hate it? Any advice for anyone thinking of giving it a go?

I'd also like to know if the $20 / $30 pricetag is what's normal for the DVDs / BluRays or if I'm going to find a shocking increase that they're trying to keep a secret. (That's what separated the good music deals from the bad ones back in the day. )

Anyway, thanks for taking a look. Have a great day!

[melodys_angel]

I stay away from things like that so I wouldn't know specifically.

Is there information about it online? Maybe reviews?

[shelvesofwhimsy]

Hi So my family (sister) has been a Disney movie club member for probably ten years now. Its nice if you don't already have a lot of Disney movies, and I know she's been able to give some of them as gifts for holidays, and the deals and prices are pretty good. She's also gotten special feature pins with some titles. The rewards are nice too (if you save up enough points you can go on studio tours, get broadway tickets etc.). I think she has had one or two months where she's forgotten to say no, but has still gotten movies she likes. As a family I have no complaints so far. If you want to buy any new or rereleased titles when they come out, I think this is the way to go

[kaoskat]

Sounds interesting. Maybe I'll look into it too....

[kestral_kitsune]

its good as long as you don't forget to say no to movies you already have or if you know you can't afford that month lol

[SwordPony]

It is a subscription plan so if you forget they send you a movie and pull money from your account. So if the money isn't there they still pull it. I use to do it a long time ago. I stopped because even on months I wasn't getting a movie they where still pulling money from my account. I'm not the hugest fan because of that. I had a lot of back and forth with them over the money and I eventually had my lawyer friend talk to them for me. As they were refusing to give me my money back.

Maybe it has gotten better but I will never do that again.

[scarletjul]

I have a friend who's been in it for awhile and seems to like it. 

However, since I tend to own most Disney movies already, this wasn't worth it to me.  If you have some holes in your collection and are diligent on telling them "no" if you don't want something, then it's probably worth it.  You just have to be careful.

[cricket]

I have been a member for years and love it.  I've had no issues with them as long as you say no to the deal of the month.  I've gotten a lot of great movies and all of the free movies they give you in the beginning makes it worth while.

[ladybastilla]

I'm pretty much planning to start a collection from scratch. I have Inside Out and Rapunzel. I owned a lot of the older Disney films on VHS as a kid, but I'd like them in a more stable / modern form. Thanks for all the feedback, guys.

[ringwraith10]

I'm a member, and it's a good deal if you want to buy lots of movies. Basically, after your big free wave of movies, the prices do start to look expensive, especially if you compare to Amazon. But usually you also get a deal for 40% off or so any more movies you want to get at the same time, so the price evens out if you buy several.

Also, there's a deal for extra free movies for both parties if a current member (like me) refers a new member (potentially like you).

SwordPony: I've been a member of several "subscription plan" clubs like this, and all you have to do is return the movie if you receive it, and they give your money back. If I accidentally forget, I always just write "return to sender" on the package and it counts as a return. Usually they actually advise you to do it that way. I don't usually forget, though, because they make sure to alert you that your next movie is coming up by sending both emails and physical mail.

But usually the monthly "deal" is a brand new movie, anyway, or at least a new release (like the new Blu-Ray release of Aladdin).

[SwordPony]

I wasn't receiving any movies they were just charging me. I always said no on time. Until I called wanting to cancel then they gave me the run around and hung up on me several times. I just don't care for them at all. That's the way I feel.

I know how it works. I was a member for a few years.

[Katgyrl]

I've been a member for several years, it was a fun way to get a bunch of movies at the beginning for a good deal! It's a little bit of a pain to have to remember, but not really, since you can do them online and they email me way ahead of time so it's easy enough to decline that month's feature title. They do a lot of sales and good deals. They also send you a mailer, and sometimes they'll includes stickers or movie tags or at christmas usually gift tags, which is fun. If you buy movies at the store, they are usually $20-$30 for a regular DVD (more for BlueRay). I just make sure to save my email that confirms I've declined that month's feature title in case an issue ever comes up. And you can always return a movie if you forget to decline.

[ringwraith10]

I know how it works. I was a member for a few years.

The OP asked for information about the club. No need to take offense at that. It is definitely odd that they would charge you and then not send you the movie. I've never experienced anything like that. Though I know that they do say in the contract that you have to buy four movies within the given time frame (2 years, I believe) -- maybe you had reached the end of that time and still hadn't purchased the required number of movies?

[SwordPony]

Never mind.

[ladybastilla]

SwordPony's situation is not totally unheard of in contract purchase media clubs. I use to do Columbia House and BMG back in the 90s and I read horror stories about such practices with them, too, despite having no issues for myself. I thank you, SwordPony, for your honesty and for sharing your experience.

Fortunately, the vast majority of what I'm reading here (and what I've read online) has been positive. It kinda has to be, to a certain extent. We're talking the house of mouse here. They do not want bad publicity. However, I have come across something a little bizarre...

The standard deal that I am seeing is 4 movies for $1 and then I can get the two additional movies at the varied rates and need to buy four more. The worth of those four films need to be $20 for DVD or $30 for BluRay. On the other hand, I can get 5 movies for $1, plus the two films at the special rates using a link I found to the Canadian site. The problem with this is that when I looked at the terms of agreement, the movies I need to buy under this alternate deal are $25 for DVD and $35 for BluRay. *is confused*

What are the prices of films through the Disney Movie Club? Am I going to end up having trouble meeting the requirements of my contract if I join? I'd love to get an extra film, but not if it's deliberately setting me up to fail. (And with that in mind, the ethics do concern me.)

Alas, RingWraith, I don't think the US and Canadian branches are compatible or I would totally sign up through you so it would benefit us both. I'm not quite ready yet, though. If I am mistaken and the two branches do co-exist in that manner, that would potentially be a good idea.

Many thanks to everyone who has posted for their honest and very helpful feedback. I do not enter lightly into anything where a contract is involved, as that is essentially giving me word--something I don't do without a lot of thought. I must admit I'm really tempted though. My Disney DVD collection is totally in its infancy and I'm just discovering Pixar films, too. (I've only seen Inside Out and Brave) so the idea of joining, provided it's safe, is very appealing.