[sapphiremodena]

I've been seeing a lot of old albums that I missed out on, and they are in the catalogue for the BMG / Columbia House CD clubs. A few of you here say that you like ordering from BMG or Columbia House, but, I mean, come on, 12 cds for the price of 1?! What's the catch?
So please, anyone who's ordered from them before, please tell me, what are the pros and/or cons of ordering from them?
And most importantly, after shipping and all that, how much on average is it for a CD when you buy 12?

 

[Odeen]

Catch: Must decline various "offers", CD's overpriced, with high shipping charges.

However, sometimes they have great sales (Buy one, get unlimited at $1.99, buy one get four free, etc), which brings the price into very reasonable level.

Basically, where they make money is shipping is $2.50 PER CD - so a box of eight discs will cost $20 to ship. But, even with those charges, the first 12 CD's will cost you:
12 * 2.50
+ $19 (the one CD you buy)
-----------
$50 for 12 CD's, just over $4 apiece. I like.

 

[Tim D]

The pro is you can get your average CD price to be at least half-retail.

The biggest con is just convenience...it isn't something that you go on and just get one CD. You usually need some inkling of planning and research (as you search through titles). Shipping charge isn't so bad, shipping time is probably worse. Which again means that you need to plan and buy things in bulk along as when great deals come by. With music points, referrals, and good deals you will get great price savings.

It isn't something that you want as your only way of buying CD's...but its a great way of buying tons of CD's you missed while saving enough money in doing so to afford buying other CD's normally from elsewhere.

So basically I use BMG when convenience isn't a factor, save money for when I do want to buy any new release on an impulse which I'd probably get gouged on at some retail store or other, so its basically a win win situation if you use it right.

Grrr, when I came back from Europe, they were giving me buy 1, get 2 or 3 free (don't remember exactly) and 1.99 unlimited...yet because I didn't really have a stack of CD's in mind to take advantage of it already has switched to 2/3 off...which although sounds good, with shipping and high normal price it is only a mediocre deal compared to what it was before (which would have definitely averaged to around $4-5 a CD including tax for me).

I have noticed lately that a lot of "original" CD prices have been inching upwards towards 17.98!!! When I first joined the average original price was probably 14. This basically means that the 1.99 unlimited really is a great deal compared to % type savings. A high % off isn't too great if they jack up the price. Why CD prices still are going up when they actually have saved a lot of money using Internet transaction in bulk, when people still can have Mp3 as a cheap alternative, or forthcoming new media formats, etc., is something to wonder about from record companies.

 

[Beagle]

Stay miles away from Columbia House. I actually had 3 or 4 CH items that were actually pressed off-centre. I was wondering why they skipped and got noisy as the disc progressed, and by accident I spun a CD upside down on the transport (while I was cleaning the lens) and the silver side entire music area was on an off centre wobble! It drove the error correction system nuts. I am NOT joking.

 

[jerikl]

Well, I've never had a problem with Columbia House, or BMG for that matter. Actually, I just joined both of them because I've been needing to catch up on CD's lately. So I'll let you know if I get any cd's that are pressed off center

 

[coolvij]

edit:

 

[grrr223]

I checked them both out at the beginning of the summer, and I believe the BMG one is better by a lot. It just seemed a lot more hassle free. Also, CH just doesn't carry a lot of big name bands like Metallica and Led Zeppelin that BMG does. And the best use of music clubs is just to build a CD library, but I normally research what I want to buy on Allmusic.com first, it's an excellent site.

It can be annoying to have to send those reply cards back, although I don't think Columbia House uses them anymore, and BMG does it through e-mail. But thanks to the good ol' USPS, there are laws somewhere that say that you don't have to pay for unsolicited products that get mailed to you, and fortunately, not sending a card in saying you don't want something doesn't imply you requested it, so all you have to do is write "return to sender" on anything they send you that you don't want.

In conclusion: Music clubs are usually in the long run worth it, just pay close attention to all the extra charges like shipping.

 

[jonpile]

When I finally quit BMG, they sent me an "account summary" which was very enlightening. In the two years I was a member, I had purchased ~ 75 CDs for a total of ~ $600 Canadian (including the outrageous shipping). This of course works out to around $8 a disc...

As has been pointed out, they're not as convenient as a record store. However, it is pretty fun to get a big box of 10 discs in the mail...

I quit because I was moving to Europe, but now that I'm settled in the US, I'll probably join again, especially now that it's easier to decline their (always crappy) disc-of-the-month.

-jP

 

[sapphiremodena]

Is BMG still available in Canada ?

Otherwise I'd just order about 60 cd's to my grandpa's house along with other various large amounts of electronics, then pick em up all at once.

 

[jonpile]

I assume that BMG Canada is still going, I can't see why they wouldn't be. IIRC, the discs were shipped out of Hamilton, Ont....so no customs or anything to worry about.

I don't see anything specific about it at bmg.com, but if you look at the inserts in Mclean's, I'm sure you'll find the address to send the card in to is within Canada.

-jP

 

[jaskin]

I don't think there's a club anymore. Guess we only have Columbid house left.
http://www.bmgmusicservice.com/acq/clubs/canada/

 

[gloom]

One con: artists typically receive no money for discs sold through these "clubs". The discs are classed as "promos", and the label gets all the profit (I presume this is at least partly why the discs are cheaper, though buying them this way also removes the walk-in store's cut). I don't know if this matters to anyone, since the difference between an artist getting completely vs. almost completely screwed is minimal. Still, it's something to keep in mind.

 

[coolvij]

gloom - the artists get paid by the record companies FOR their music when they sign on.

And if you REALLY want to support the artist so much that you care about the 5 cents or so they'll be getting if you buy the CD normally, you should forget CDs completely.

Go to concerts....THAT is where most artists make money..

 

[sapphiremodena]

man, i hate when there's really good music, and the artists get screwed before they can even have a couple bucks in their pocket.

 

[gloom]

Coolvij: As I understand it, artists do receive a (miniscule) cut of the profit from cds sold through conventional channels. As I said myself, though, it isn't that big a deal, just worth a mention. Politics don't often enter my, or most people's, buying decisions.

I do go to concerts occasionally, though some of the artists I like don't perform publicly very often. Of the ones that do, I've seen a few, either at local events, or at The Quest up in Minneapolis. That's neither here nor there.