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"Figured I'd drop a quick heads-up for anyone new to these Criterion Collection sales:These movies cost more than your usual Blu-rays and 4Ks, even when discounted, but the restorations, packaging, and extras are what you're paying for.You won't find many blockbusters here because Criterion focuses on classics, indies, and foreign films.No digital copies come with the discs. They're really made for people who like collecting physical media.If you prefer streaming, Criterion has its own service (The Criterion Channel) with a lot of overlap plus some exclusives.This 50% off Barnes & Noble sale only happens twice a year (July and November), so it's a good time to stock up."
Are there any good prices in here? Half off these things are still crazy expensive. I know, "niche market", but $25 is a lot for one movie.
If you don't like the price then don't buy it'.But to take time out of your day to complain is illogical because it isnt going to bring the prices down.People like myself are willing to pay a premium for the best and this company consistently puts out the best versions of these films.I understand this is slick deals and you think everything should be going away.But for the time and money this company takes to deliver great products.it's worth the price to us and is still a slick deal
Are there any good prices in here? Half off these things are still crazy expensive. I know, "niche market", but $25 is a lot for one movie.
I been buying 4k since they released.And on average I have paid about $25 unless it was a random sale or black Friday priced and I look for deal all the time.So can you tell me what you were thinking I'm assuming you didn't realize that this collection of films cost more or your comparing 4k to dvd and blu-ray prices in which they never were.Can you please going the average as I just did and it said between $25-$30 bucks
Last edited by FaithfulMoon8086 November 8, 2025 at 04:09 AM.
I been buying 4k since they released.And on average I have paid about $25 unless it was a random sale or black Friday priced and I look for deal all the time.So can you tell me what you were thinking I'm assuming you didn't realize that this collection of films cost more or your comparing 4k to dvd and blu-ray prices in which they never were.Can you please going the average as I just did and it said between $25-$30 bucks
I've been paying $8-$13 for 4K blu-rays. I understand Criterion is niche, but a $50 MSRP is just staggering.
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One thing to note
I have a small collection of Criterion Collection discs - both Blu Ray and 4K. One thing to look out for (for me at least) is to see if the disc has been bought before, unwrapped, ripped, then returned, re-shrink wrapped, and resold. I have seen some movie forum comments about this in the past as well.
I am fairly confident that the disc is new from the manufacturer if it has a round Criterion sticker in front on top of the shrink wrap - the Blu Rays have a blue sticker and the 4Ks have a silver sticker. In the past time or two when ordering from Amazon, I received a disc without the sticker on the shrink wrap. I always returned those.
I have also bought some directly from Criterion when they have a sale and 100% of those direct from them had the sticker. With Amazon it has been hit or miss.
I also agree that going to Barnes and Noble B&M is preferred just to support them. You might not find the disc you are looking for there since they tend to get picked over when they have this sale, but at least you can look for that sticker before you make your purchase. And they do seem to restock the store (near me at least) quite frequently.
If you have a different experience with how to determine if your Criterion disc is new, let me know but from what I have seen, that sticker is a good sign. I wanted to bring this up if having something brand new is important to you (after all that is what you are paying for).
A comment on if these discs are worth it - I have a number of regular (non-Criterion) Blu Rays of films that are also available as Criterion. I don't intend to upgrade because to me it is not worth the expense. However if a film is critical to your top 25, something especially important to you, or something you want to re-watch many times, I have found the Criterion transfers and extras to be excellent and worth the extra cost. Otherwise for most films I want to casually watch a time or two, for me the standard Blu Ray is just fine.
I've been paying $8-$13 for 4K blu-rays. I understand Criterion is niche, but a $50 MSRP is just staggering.
One thing you can count on with criterion collections getting reference quality!
Those $8-$13 ones are widely hit n miss on reference quality.
This all starts with content.
I would imagine most people that buy these value the quality because they have the equipment to take full advantage of it, I know I do.
Are there any good prices in here? Half off these things are still crazy expensive. I know, "niche market", but $25 is a lot for one movie.
There is nothing I'm willing to pay $25 or more so I don't need to look at this sale list. I've always been priced out of the Criterion nice market by design. It has long been obvious that Criterion is one of the niche producers of physical media and their buyer base are rich people like the bitcoin and Magnificent Seven stock multi millionaires to whom money is no object.
Criterion chooses to do small production runs and sell them at very high prices. One can sell a lot at low prices or a few at high prices, and Criterion knows there's enough demand from rich people to support the latter without them having to keep huge inventory.
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I've been paying $8-$13 for 4K blu-rays. I understand Criterion is niche, but a $50 MSRP is just staggering.
Same with me. I hardly own any Criterions except for a few I got used dirt cheap back when there was a healthy used media market which has mostly dried up in my area.
On the positive side, the Criterion discs I have watched but don't own usually have lots of special features which help justify a higher price. I've seen other overpriced niche dealers, such as Olive I believe, who make BD-25 discs with little to no extras or audio or subtitle options. Kino Lorber is a step down from Criterion, I believe, but sometimes they have sales making their discs in the affordable range. Criterion considers $25 a sale.
was the same situation for bestbuy doing 20% off all new video games. amazon matched, everyone went with amazon, BB shut down the program, now neither of them do the 20%. Just mentioning it to really reiterate your point to go with Barnes and Noble otherwise these sales will not happen when amazon isn't forced to price match their competition.. its never amazon starting the good sales, only copying them
Plus, if you're buying these, you're likely 'collecting' to some extent and are interested in the packaging. At B&N you can make sure it's in nice shape, whereas Amazon will likely stuff it in a padded envelope and you'll get it crammed into your mailbox.
I've definitely learned my lesson getting special editions through them where packaging integrity matters.
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"Figured I'd drop a quick heads-up for anyone new to these Criterion Collection sales:These movies cost more than your usual Blu-rays and 4Ks, even when discounted, but the restorations, packaging, and extras are what you're paying for.You won't find many blockbusters here because Criterion focuses on classics, indies, and foreign films.No digital copies come with the discs. They're really made for people who like collecting physical media.If you prefer streaming, Criterion has its own service (The Criterion Channel) with a lot of overlap plus some exclusives.This 50% off Barnes & Noble sale only happens twice a year (July and November), so it's a good time to stock up."
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It is very rare to find used criterion movies and by the unicorn chance you do, good luck it being lower than these prices!
I have a small collection of Criterion Collection discs - both Blu Ray and 4K. One thing to look out for (for me at least) is to see if the disc has been bought before, unwrapped, ripped, then returned, re-shrink wrapped, and resold. I have seen some movie forum comments about this in the past as well.
I am fairly confident that the disc is new from the manufacturer if it has a round Criterion sticker in front on top of the shrink wrap - the Blu Rays have a blue sticker and the 4Ks have a silver sticker. In the past time or two when ordering from Amazon, I received a disc without the sticker on the shrink wrap. I always returned those.
I have also bought some directly from Criterion when they have a sale and 100% of those direct from them had the sticker. With Amazon it has been hit or miss.
I also agree that going to Barnes and Noble B&M is preferred just to support them. You might not find the disc you are looking for there since they tend to get picked over when they have this sale, but at least you can look for that sticker before you make your purchase. And they do seem to restock the store (near me at least) quite frequently.
If you have a different experience with how to determine if your Criterion disc is new, let me know but from what I have seen, that sticker is a good sign. I wanted to bring this up if having something brand new is important to you (after all that is what you are paying for).
A comment on if these discs are worth it - I have a number of regular (non-Criterion) Blu Rays of films that are also available as Criterion. I don't intend to upgrade because to me it is not worth the expense. However if a film is critical to your top 25, something especially important to you, or something you want to re-watch many times, I have found the Criterion transfers and extras to be excellent and worth the extra cost. Otherwise for most films I want to casually watch a time or two, for me the standard Blu Ray is just fine.
Those $8-$13 ones are widely hit n miss on reference quality.
This all starts with content.
I would imagine most people that buy these value the quality because they have the equipment to take full advantage of it, I know I do.
Criterion chooses to do small production runs and sell them at very high prices. One can sell a lot at low prices or a few at high prices, and Criterion knows there's enough demand from rich people to support the latter without them having to keep huge inventory.
On the positive side, the Criterion discs I have watched but don't own usually have lots of special features which help justify a higher price. I've seen other overpriced niche dealers, such as Olive I believe, who make BD-25 discs with little to no extras or audio or subtitle options. Kino Lorber is a step down from Criterion, I believe, but sometimes they have sales making their discs in the affordable range. Criterion considers $25 a sale.
I've definitely learned my lesson getting special editions through them where packaging integrity matters.
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