MojoLists

Collecting movies on DVD and Blu-Ray can easily become an obsession. Hang out on any home theater forum and you may be amazed, even shocked, at the movie collections out there. Three thousand DVDs is a lot, and there are more than a couple collectors out there who put the local Blockbuster to shame.

Collecting is easy, but doing it on a budget, dealing with storage, and keeping the disks organized takes work and planning. Taking the time to come up with a careful plan for collecting makes the task enjoyable and pays off for the whole family.

I plan to cover the variables of collecting in several articles, including finding the best bargains, choosing the method of storage, and keeping track of your collection. Collecting DVDs and Blu-Rays seems like a no-brainer until your collection begins to exceed 50 discs or so--at which point organization becomes a must. If you have relatives or friends you loan movies to, things can get even more out of control.

This article covers how to buy discs without busting your budget. The first thing to do is create a wish list with a simple prioritization system.  Creating a list keeps impulse buying to a minimum so your collecting budget doesn’t keep getting dinged with minor wants or dogs. My system is simple and straightforward and can be used in something as easy as an excel spreadsheet, a piece of paper, or an organization system like DVD Profiler, which I will cover in a future article on organization.

Buy it When Released: This category is for the must-have movies, like The Dark Knight. Preordering online can save you money sometimes, but I prefer to hit the local brick-and-mortar for these buys. Home Theater Forum has two hard-working members who put together a list of all the large stores, both online and off, so you don’t have to spend your time searching. Most times the store prices are within a dollar of each other…so you simply visit the one closest to you.

Classics: The first thing about classics is that they are often available in different versions that can have widely varied quality issues.  With some classics, there is only one version available and it simply isn’t worth owning unless you are a die-hard fan. This is another place where an enthusiast’s forum can be handy. You will find other fans out there who know the right version to buy and why. In the case of a single bad version being available, I suggest waiting until a better release comes out.

Really Want: These are movies that have already been released and you know you will buy it. Depending on how recently the movie was released, the price may already be right. For movies released in the last 6 to 12 months--it is worth waiting until you find it on sale or the MSRP comes down. DVD Price Search is an easy online tool that searches all of the major and a number of minor stores. DVD Price Search also lets you enter all or part of your want list and shows you the best store, including shipping costs to make your purchase.

Kind-a-Want: These discs are nice if you find a great deal, but you could live without it. This category includes discs that are most likely to eat away at your budget…so carefully consider what movies you might be giving up from higher on your list when you purchase these. Kind-a-Want discs are about the only time I will consider a used disc and I have had great luck at Half.com. They have a great selection of used and new discs.

Another good way to maintain your collection, getting rid of bad choices and making friends all at the same time is to, once again, give your favorite forum a try. Other enthusiasts take great care of their discs and are looking to trade or sell their copies.

Now that you have a game plan for buying, we can talk about storage next time. See you then!

DVD and Blu-Ray Storage    Organize a DVD and Blu-Ray Collection