Best way to deal with unwanted DVDs?

[Smokey]

One question guys....

After watching a movie or show on DVD and don’t want to watch it again, what would be the best way to dispose of DVD (and hopefully get some money in return)?

Would Blockbuster or Hollywood video stores be interested as I like to deal locally (no Ebay :))

Thanks.

[PeruvianSkies]

Well, I have two thoughts...

The first would be to find a placed that does 'trade-in'. You can usually retain more money from them if they give you store credit, and while you are not really getting 'money' you are getting (hopefully) a better title. You can keep this cycle going too.

The second option would be to gather a bunch of them and find a few buddies who would pay you a few bucks to shoot them out of the sky with a shotgun for fun.

[Smokey]

The second option would be to gather a bunch of them and find a few buddies who would pay you a few bucks to shoot them out of the sky with a shotgun for fun.

You are one sick puppy LOL :D

Your first idea sound good. I can live with store credit if they have good titles to choose from. I usually go for older titles anyway :)

[L.J.]

I just got rid of a bunch of DVDs. I made a list and emailed it to a bunch of friends and asked them to ask around. I was able to sell off most of them, but still have a handful left.

This (http://www.secondspin.com/) site buys used DVDs, but I've never looked into it. If I can't sell em, I'll just put em back on the shelf. It's not like I paid alot for em. And who know's, I may just pull em off the shelf in a year or two and watch em again.

[Smokey]

I can't sell em, I'll just put em back on the shelf. It's not like I paid alot for em. And who know's, I may just pull em off the shelf in a year or two and watch em again.


That probably be the best way to go about this, but I’m simply running out of space for DVDs. They almost occupy a full closet, and another closet is full of CDs, LPs and audio accessories. So I am closet-poor :D

If I could swap out older DVDs as to make room for new ones would be an ideal scenario

[Troy]

If you live in a big city or college town, there are usually used music and video stores that will give you trade or cash. I've bought the majority of my media used since the late 70s.

[PeruvianSkies]

Smokey,

If you are patient I would suspect that in the next year or two there will be a huge number of people also dumping off their unwanted DVD's and you can snag up the good ones for next to nothing. I have noticed over the past 4-5 years that huge increase in people getting rid of their junky DVD's. They are either junk for 1 of 2 reasons: bad movie or bad DVD. In most cases it is the onslaught of new edition after new edition of titles, which cause people to either trade off or sell the previous edition in order to obtain the newer one. Also, places like Wal-mart sell DVD's so cheap these days that people rush the bins and just buy on impulse (you know movies like SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT 2).

So they get a bunch of DVD's really cheap, watch the movie once, a year or so goes by and they never watch it again, it collects dusts, people who look at your collection wonder why in the heck you own such crappy movies, and before too long you are wanting to get rid of it in order to save yourself from embarrassment and to free up some space. If you go to a USED CD place they typically have tons and tons of unwanted product. Like 200 copies of DIE ANOTHER DAY on their shelf selling for about $4.

I have taken back a huge amount of HD-DVD's and Blu-rays already because I get them for the website that I write for and I can usually trade them in for $10/each, which is a great deal. I figure it also enables people to buy the titles used for cheap to get the ball rolling on the new formats. In the next year or two we are going to see DVD's plummet in price big time in the used market and you should be able to get some great deals, but I would start selling yours off now before they get reduced in price to the point where it's hardly worth selling them or trading them in. I have minimized my collection in the past two years as well and I only keep KEY titles at this pointl, although my collection is still well-over 1200 DVD's.

While I might have that many movies, majority of them are imports, rarities, and classic movies that I will not part with even with the new formats. I like to keep them around for reference point as well and supplements if nothing else. I still have nearly 80 Laserdiscs still for that very reason and I have at least a few of them that have yet to meet their match on any format, they are:

European Cut of BLADERUNNER
Criterion Ed. of BRAM STOKERS DRACULA (still the ONLY color-accurate version on home video)
TAXI DRIVER (with Scorsese commentary)

[noddin0ff]

If you hang them from strings outside your windows, birds won't fly into them (the windows, I mean).

OR

attach felt circles to one side and use them as coasters or trivets.

[Smokey]

Also, places like Wal-mart sell DVD's so cheap these days that people rush the bins and just buy on impulse (you know movies like SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT 2).

That is the way I used to be.....buying on impulse. In Sam's club, their prices on DVDs fluctuate. Some times their prices on DVDs are so ridiculously low ($4.88 for movies and $12 for TV shows) that one can't help but to buy. But I am getting more conservative :)

[Gerald Cooperberg]

If you live in a big city or college town, there are usually used music and video stores that will give you trade or cash. I've bought the majority of my media used since the late 70s.

I spent some time working at one of these establishments and it's a pretty cutthroat business; you will get a much better return if you sell off yr stuff online. Still, I suppose there's an opportunity cost to that. The resale market for used media is pretty poor; either way you do it, my guess is that you'll be disappointed about what you get (especially with the low-list-price DVDs that it sounds like you're flush with). My personal advice is to pass yr unwanted stuff on to someone you know. After all, if it interested you enough to buy it in the first place, wouldn't the greatest benefit be to let someone else get some enjoyment out of it? Not a very capitalist solution, but...

-Coop