DVD and Music Clubs: Not Worth It

Signing up for a Columbia House DVD or CD club may appear at first to be very worth while. Upon initial sign up they offer an unbeatable deal, such as half price movies or music CDs for a penny each, plus shipping. This offer seems too good to pass up, so you take it. The only catch is you must make future purchases, for instance the DVD club asks you purchase four more DVDs in the next two years. Well that doesn’t seem difficult, who doesn’t buy two movies a year?

I recently belonged to Columbia House DVD Club. I joined it due to a great offer on DVDs of a television series. I was able to get the complete first season of Lois & Clark for only $8.00 plus shipping. I purchased two DVDs for that price, on the condition that I would purchase another four within the next two years. I marveled at my savings.

Now here’s where many people find they have trouble. Once a month Columbia House will send a “Director’s Selection”, which is a DVD (or CD if you belong to that club) that they have chosen to feature that month. In order not to receive this selection you must respond to the offer. By not responding they automatically ship the selection to you and charge you for it. If you’re one of the unfortunate souls who signed up through the Internet and have your credit card information on file through their site, the charge will hit your account before you even know what’s going on. This is easily rectified however, all you must do is return the unopened DVD or CD and receive full refund… eventually. You’ve also learned a valuable lesson and will make a point to respond to all “Director’s Selections” from here on out. However it is still possible that one can slip by unnoticed, or perhaps there is a computer glitch that claims you didn’t respond when you actually did.

The even bigger problem is the actual full price cost of the DVDs or CDs through the club. Remember you already agreed to purchase more products through this club. So you’re in the market for a movie and decide to order it through Columbia House to fulfill your commitment. The DVD through Columbia House at regular price is about $21.99. This is the same movie you can get from your local Walmart for no more than $19.99. Not so bad, so you pay an extra two dollars, oh but wait, there are shipping charges too. Columbia House charges approximately $8 for shipping. So you are now paying $30 for a movie that you could get for $20 or less at Walmart.

Just in case anyone is wondering, Columbia House does charge a hefty fee for early cancellation. It can be nearly $100 for the DVD club. For those interested in how I know this, I’ll tell you the story.

As I previously mentioned, I joined the DVD club due to a great price on a television series on DVD my husband and I wanted. I made a point to deny every “Director’s Selection” I received. I belonged to the club for six months with no problems. I occasionally looked around for a DVD to purchase to fulfill my commitment, however I would become annoyed at the total cost, and ended up not purchasing anymore DVDs through them. I still had eighteen months in which to purchase four DVDs, not a problem. Here’s the problem: because I signed up for the club and made my first purchase through the Internet, I was one of the unfortunate souls who had my credit card (actually my bank debit card) on file with them. Then came the day I found a $40.99 charge from Columbia House.

I first checked with my husband to ensure he didn’t purchase something without my knowledge. I then spent hours scouring the Internet for a way to contact Columbia House. I eventually found a phone number, and as is typical of any business, had to deal with the automated system for approximately half an hour before I finally reached an actual person (I was rather impressed she didn’t have a thick accent I couldn’t understand). She had informed me I received the charge for failure to deny my “Director’s Selection”. At that very moment, the eighth season of Dallas was on it’s way to me. Dallas is a television show that was on before I was even born. I’d never heard of it until that moment.

Needless to say I was outraged. I was convinced I had denied every “Director’s Selection”, but there was no sense arguing with them. My only option was to return the DVD once it arrived and await my refund, a process that would take about two weeks. In my rage I demanded they cancel my account as I had no intentions of shopping with them again. They did so gladly, failing to mention that I would then receive a bill for $71.00 due to my unfulfilled commitment. This $71.00 bill is for three DVDs since they assume I already purchased one, although I did return it, I have yet to see my refund.

Perhaps the whole situation was my own mistake. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so foolish to sign up for the club in the first place. Perhaps I did miss my “Director’s Selection” e-mail, although I am positive I didn’t.

I have learned a lesson through all this. I signed up for this headache due to an offer I couldn’t refuse. The prices were too good to be true. Well you know what they say.. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is”.