Saving Money on DVDs (and Videos)

Tips and ideas for saving money on videos and DVDs as suggested by the ThriftyFun community.

Preview Movies from the Library

Before buying a video for your kids make sure to rent it at the library for free first, if it's worthy of money then buy it.

By Melanie

Buy Used

You can buy them used at many record stores, and even trade them on line! (Also trade in old ones for new ones!)

You can get good deals on educational videos online, too. Google "free videos" and you will find sites that only charge for shipping - i.e. about $5-6 per video.

Cheap Movies

Here are some ideas on where you can find movies cheap!

1. Depending upon where you live, check pawn shops. I have found some great movies there (new releases) for under $5.00.
2. Flea markets and yard sales are great places to find movies.
3. If your area has one, your local yard sale type website online.
4. Freecycle(TM) or CraigsList are great places to find movies also.
5. Check your local thrift stores or consignment shops. Sometimes they do have movies there also.
6. Dollar stores. I know that the larger Dollar Tree stores in our area carry movies.

Hope this helps someone.

By Janet

Use The Library

We don't spend money on purchasing a lot of DVD's or videos, so practically all the movies we watch are ones we check out from our local library (free, of course). We have a great library system, and I can go online and do searches and put movies on hold to pick up, or we can just go to the library and browse for what looks interesting.

The same goes from music CD's. My son really enjoys Lord of the Rings, so I surprised him and brought home the music soundtrack from the library, so now as he plays and recreates the scenes, he has the background music.

By Trudy

Don't Pay More Than $2.00

When we buy movies, we rarely pay more than $2.00. Most thrift shops are charging $1.50 now. DVD's are replacing VHS's for popularity, and people are donating their old videos to the thrift shops. We hit a sale at one and got a terrific film for .50. I only pay more than $2.00 when the movie is brand new (not necessarily a new release.) Yesterday I bought Big Fish and Annie on a buy-one get-one free deal for $10.00. We also swap with friends who have similar taste in shows.

By Coreen Hart

Download Movies From Amazon.com

If you want an inexpensive rental for the weekend, sign up for the amazon.com DVD mailing list. The selection is limited, but every weekend they have about six for 99 cents and sometimes offer free movies you can download and keep. Note: It takes a while to download the file, so start early to have it ready for evening viewing.

By JM

Red Box Rentals

We rent DVDs from Red Box (www.redbox.com). There's one in the Albertson's a couple of blocks from our place. It's $1 per day, but we actually never pay any money because on Mondays and Wednesdays, there are codes for one-day free rentals, and the other days, you can go to www.insideredbox.com for other codes.

By Christine

Swap With Friends and Family

I often swap movies between my friends and family. My brother loves movies and buys several. I can often borrow them and then return them later. If I really love the movie, I can always consider buying it later, when it goes on sale.

Kids movies are especially good to trade. Most times, kids want to watch it over and over again until they are sick of it, and then never see it again. If you know a family with kids, this can work out very well. We also do this with video games.

Another way that I get movies is by recording them on our DVR. Movies are played on cable so quickly now, it rarely seems like a hardship to wait. We are paying for the cable already, it would be a waste not to take full advantage of it.

By Jess

Donate Your Old Movies To The Library

Rent them at your local library most of the time they are free or $1 and you keep them 2 weeks mostly kids movies. Also, donate your unwanted movies to the library so they have more for the ones wanting to check them out.

By Julie

eBay

I love eBay. I ask my son for his Christmas List in September and buy a lot of his movies in September and October before anyone else is really thinking of Christmas. I get some really good deals. He is 15. He does not care if they are new - just if he can get his hands on them!

We also rent a lot at the library. Our library is so you can lookup on-line and order. They will email you when they come in and you can pick them up. It is such a great system!

By Savings Assistant
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Thrift Store

We get our free from the library. they have a huge selection. I get them at a local thrift shop for a quarter a piece (and sometimes they will buy them back even).

By mom-from-missouri

Use Your TV

I go to the good will or salvation army store for videos for my daughter who watches more videos than daddy and I do. I still have a new DVD in the case that he has not opened. I get some from the library sometimes but mostly we just watch TV. We have Dish and we like it a lot. They give you free preview of different channels sometimes and it is no cost. We just have what we watch a lot like ESPN, Playhouse Disney and Nick Jr. and the local stations.

By Barbara

Buy And Sell Used Movies Online

I frequent used movie stores both in person and online. My favorites are Movie Stop and www.secondspin.com. Both places will even take your old movies off your hands for you. We have gotten about $500 total in the past two years by trading in old movies. Also, it helps to buy the movie after it has been out a while. I find the home theater experience is much more enjoyable than the public theater experience.

By Sandy

Swaptree.com

I have just recently found a great site called swaptree.com. You post your unwanted CDs, books, video games, and DVDs and then you can swap them for any of the above items. There is not a membership fee and the only cost is shipping and handling to ship the item. It is pretty cool! Also freecycle groups in your area and also your local church library can have some pretty good kids videos.

By Sheila

SwapaDVD.com

Also check out this site: SwapaDVD.com; they're great! I also use their sister sites, SwapaCD.com and PaperBackSwap.com.

By Lynn Marler

Saving at the Theater, Online and at Home

I live in a small town where the latest movie is only a week behind the metro areas. Perk to this is $4 tickets and $5 for pop and largest popcorn. Grandpa and I take the 2 little granddaughters OFTEN to the movies, at least 1 x per month. And this allows me to see a movie to see if I want to buy it for the family library.

I also go in early on Friday nights (movie release night) and if it is a family HOT movie, they always need the extra help for 20-30 minutes to get the last rush in before the movie starts. I 'donate' my time, my pay is my ticket, the large bag of popcorn and the medium pop. And the thank you for helping get maybe a couple hundred $ extra sold as parents with kids DON'T like to stand and wait to be waited on.

The family library: I watch the sales between Target and Best Buy starting before November until about March. They run the $3-5 deals on good movies. And you can get rainchecks at Target to pick it up if they are out of stock.

I make a list of what movie DVD I give to which of my family members, and then borrow when I want to watch. Do the same thing for friends. We loan each other movies and books.

The total free movie is from the public library.

And lastly, I make the list of good movies I did not find, which ones will be great as house movies, etc I go to eBay and know what I want, what I will pay. This is great when I can't find it locally, or it is full price and that is not what I want to pay. Many on ebay preorder a certain amount which then allows them a big discount. It may be 24-40% difference for the latest hot movie at Walmart, Target, etc.

By Grandma J

Buying Used Movies

I'm a movie collector. I have about 800 movies. This has always been my family's main source of entertainment. We never go to movie theaters. I have gotten most of my movies from http://www.half.com which has fantastic prices! People post their movies (books, games, cd's etc...) there for sale. You don't have to bid. You just buy from who you want.

I only buy from people that have 99-100% rating in their feedback. They are the more reliable sellers. They rate the item according to condition. Make sure you read descriptions. That way you know what you are getting. I'm picky when it comes to the condition of the movies I buy. I try to buy movies that are described very good or like new.

I have a CD/DVD cleaner kit that I use on my dvd's that I get. It was a cheap kit to buy and well worth it! Also, take in consideration the shipping costs. Half.com has a wish list feature. You can put in what you are looking for, condition and price you want to pay. They will send you an email if something fits your wish list item.

Another place I buy movies is at thrift shops. I don't like to pay more then a couple dollars for a movie. So you do have to wait until a new release isn't new anymore. We converted a coat closet into our movie closet. I have a notebook in there that has all the titles listed. Don't worry! I don't park my kids in front of the TV all day. My kids are grown and my husband and I live out in the country (no theaters around here) so it's nice to have these available when we get some free time or have visitors.

I have gotten movies from freecycle before and also when your friends and family know that you enjoy watching movies they will give you their cast offs or doubles.

By Haley

Do you have any tips to share? Feel free to submit them below.