Considering Joining DMC - Some Questions

[drfsupercenter]

Hey guys

I've known about Disney Movie Club for a few years, but was always afraid to join it since I don't like being obligated to buy things. However, after reading the membership details... I'd have no problem buying 5 movies over the period of 2 years, I usually buy about one a month anyway (not only Disney though) since I take pride in my large DVD and Blu-Ray collection.

But I'd like to clear up some questions I have before committing to anything.

1. Once you buy the 5 movies, are you "off the hook" for good? Or does it renew after the 24 months?
2. If you buy a bunch of movies at once, say DMC exclusive titles, can you fulfill your 5-movie obligation instantly or does it *need* to be spread out every month or two?
3. On the note of renewing... is a membership only valid for 24 months, since the club requires the 5 movies in 24 months? Or can you keep your account afterwards with no obligations? OR, do you have to buy another 5 movies once it renews after 24 months?
4. Is it limit one per person (especially for DMC exclusives)? Or are you allowed to buy duplicates? I ask because some of the high-demand titles go for quite a lot of money on eBay so I'd like to make some money off of this and sell them for more than my $20 purchase price
5. For movies that aren't DMC exclusive, are they essentially the same as what you would get in a brick-and-mortar store? E.g. new titles having a slipcover, DMR points, an actual box and not just sending me a disc in a sleeve?
6. What is the "vaulting" like for DMC exclusives? I know titles that I really wanted (like The Reluctant Dragon, which I asked about in the Trading section of this board) that aren't available anymore, and I see that the Gargoyles part 3 exclusive that JUST came out earlier this week is already de-listed... if a title sells out (like that one did), do they restock them or is that it?


I think that's all I have for now, but if I think of more I'll add another post. I'd really appreciate if anyone can answer at least one of my questions, and I'm looking forward to getting some DMC exclusives soon!

[milojthatch]

I tried to answer this once, but the computer was being dumb. So here we go again!

1. Once you buy the 5 movies, are you "off the hook" for good? Or does it renew after the 24 months? - Yes, once you have fulfilled your commitment, you become a V.I.P. member and the only thing you have to watch out for is the movie of the month. If you don't decline it, they will send it to you automatically.

2. If you buy a bunch of movies at once, say DMC exclusive titles, can you fulfill your 5-movie obligation instantly or does it *need* to be spread out every month or two? You can buy them all at once, so long as they are the $19.99 DVD (if you are part of the DVD club) or the $29.99 Blu-rays (if you are part of the Blu-ray club).

3. On the note of renewing... is a membership only valid for 24 months, since the club requires the 5 movies in 24 months? Or can you keep your account afterwards with no obligations? OR, do you have to buy another 5 movies once it renews after 24 months? - Check out my answer for number one.

4. Is it limit one per person (especially for DMC exclusives)? Or are you allowed to buy duplicates? I ask because some of the high-demand titles go for quite a lot of money on eBay so I'd like to make some money off of this and sell them for more than my $20 purchase price - I believe the limit is 3 Exclusives per member. The whole idea is that the DMC wants people to join the DMC to buy these and not buy or be gifted the titles by someone else in the club.

5. For movies that aren't DMC exclusive, are they essentially the same as what you would get in a brick-and-mortar store? E.g. new titles having a slipcover, DMR points, an actual box and not just sending me a disc in a sleeve? - The exact same as if you bought them from Best Buy, Target, Amazon or Walmart.

6. What is the "vaulting" like for DMC exclusives? I know titles that I really wanted (like The Reluctant Dragon, which I asked about in the Trading section of this board) that aren't available anymore, and I see that the Gargoyles part 3 exclusive that JUST came out earlier this week is already de-listed... if a title sells out (like that one did), do they restock them or is that it? - Based on my intel, they print about 30,000 DVD for each Exclusives title. Once they sell out, they sell out and are out of print.


I think that's all I have for now, but if I think of more I'll add another post. I'd really appreciate if anyone can answer at least one of my questions, and I'm looking forward to getting some DMC exclusives soon!

Good luck!

[drfsupercenter]

Thanks, that was pretty helpful, as was the FAQ on the DMC site.

I'm still a bit confused about a couple things:

You can buy them all at once, so long as they are the $19.99 DVD (if you are part of the DVD club) or the $29.99 Blu-rays (if you are part of the Blu-ray club).

I was reading in the FAQ that if you buy Blu-Rays using the 4 movies for $1 promotion, then you're part of the Blu-Ray Club and you have to pay $29.99 for the DVDs as well as the Blu-Rays? That's correct, right?

So for my initial six, I'm using all DVDs, the most-wanted from my DMC exclusive list. (4 being $1, then the one for $14.99 and one for $9.99, one of those counts towards my five as well)

So that will put me in the "DVD club"? Can I still buy Blu-Rays for the $29.99 and have it count towards my 5 movies, or will ONLY DVDs count at that point then? It's slightly confusing how that system works. However, I don't see myself buying Blu-Rays from DMC anyway as almost all of them are less than $30 at brick and mortar stores, and on Amazon... and there aren't any DMC exclusive Blu-Rays.

The exact same as if you bought them from Best Buy, Target, Amazon or Walmart.

What about slipcovers? I know that Disney does "limited issue" with their slipcovers, where only the first so many copies have one, then after that they don't anymore. I've run into issues with that for older titles that I didn't buy when they were new. Is DMC the same way? I'd hate to buy a movie that should have a slipcover and not get one (for example, I used my DMR points to get My Neighbors the Yamadas for free for my Studio Ghibli collection, and it had no slipcover or chapter insert! I ended up giving that one away and buying a copy from Amazon, which did have the slipcover and chapter insert, rather than DMR points)

Should I just assume that any DVDs and Blu-Rays over about a year old won't have a slipcover?


And one last thing - does my VIP status then reset after 24 months, or do I keep it forever and basically can be a commitment-free DMC member forever?

[Disney Guru]

Also remember to decline your monthly featured title if you are not interested. A lot of people like to complain about getting a DVD every month and try and blame the Disney Movie Club and put them in a bad light. It all boils down to if you don't decline it and their are funds on your card on file you are going to get it. You can return it upon receipt for a full refund but it is wise to keep track of the monthly titles so you can decline it if you aren't interested.

[milojthatch]

Thanks, that was pretty helpful, as was the FAQ on the DMC site.

I'm still a bit confused about a couple things:

You can buy them all at once, so long as they are the $19.99 DVD (if you are part of the DVD club) or the $29.99 Blu-rays (if you are part of the Blu-ray club).

I was reading in the FAQ that if you buy Blu-Rays using the 4 movies for $1 promotion, then you're part of the Blu-Ray Club and you have to pay $29.99 for the DVDs as well as the Blu-Rays? That's correct, right? - If your initial order is for DVD's, then you are part of the DVD club and have to buy DVD's to fulfill your commitment. If you buy Blu-rays, you will need to buy Blu-rays to fulfill your commitment and you will be in the Blu-ray club. You can buy DVD's if you are in the Blu-ray club or Blu-ray's if you are in the DVD club, but I don't believe they would count for your commitment. DVD's definitely would not for Blu-ray club, I'm not fully sure about the other way around. The main difference between the two versions of the club is it effects which format your commitment is based on and which format your "Movie of the Month" will be.

So for my initial six, I'm using all DVDs, the most-wanted from my DMC exclusive list. (4 being $1, then the one for $14.99 and one for $9.99, one of those counts towards my five as well)

So that will put me in the "DVD club"? Can I still buy Blu-Rays for the $29.99 and have it count towards my 5 movies, or will ONLY DVDs count at that point then? It's slightly confusing how that system works. However, I don't see myself buying Blu-Rays from DMC anyway as almost all of them are less than $30 at brick and mortar stores, and on Amazon... and there aren't any DMC exclusive Blu-Rays.

The exact same as if you bought them from Best Buy, Target, Amazon or Walmart.

What about slipcovers? I know that Disney does "limited issue" with their slipcovers, where only the first so many copies have one, then after that they don't anymore. I've run into issues with that for older titles that I didn't buy when they were new. Is DMC the same way? I'd hate to buy a movie that should have a slipcover and not get one (for example, I used my DMR points to get My Neighbors the Yamadas for free for my Studio Ghibli collection, and it had no slipcover or chapter insert! I ended up giving that one away and buying a copy from Amazon, which did have the slipcover and chapter insert, rather than DMR points)

Should I just assume that any DVDs and Blu-Rays over about a year old won't have a slipcover? - So far, every DVD or Blu-ray I've bought from the DMC (even older titles) that had slip-cover have come with those slip covers. I'm personally not a slip-cover guy (I re-package all of my discs), but for folks that are, you should get them. Like I said, I have so far. DMC titles by the way don't have slip covers.


And one last thing - does my VIP status then reset after 24 months, or do I keep it forever and basically can be a commitment-free DMC member forever? - As long as you don't cancel your membership and start again (I've done that a few times on purpose actually), yes, it is commitment free and you have it so long as they stay in business. All you have to worry about is the "Movie of the Month."

Also remember to decline your monthly featured title if you are not interested. A lot of people like to complain about getting a DVD every month and try and blame the Disney Movie Club and put them in a bad light. It all boils down to if you don't decline it and their are funds on your card on file you are going to get it. You can return it upon receipt for a full refund but it is wise to keep track of the monthly titles so you can decline it if you aren't interested.

Great point!

[teej]

I am looking to join the "Blu-Ray club" and have a quick question:

Do the releases come with slipcovers?

[gardener14]

They come with slipcovers whenever they are issued just like in stores. What that means is some titles are/were not issued with slipcovers. Just like in stores, some titles that originally came with slipcovers will later be shipped by Disney without slipcovers. Ordering a new release that originally came with a slipcover is your best bet. If you wait to order a titles until it has been out for a while, then you will take a chance that the slipcover is no longer being shipped with the product.

Basically, if a slipcover is available upon the initial release, and you order while they are still available, then yes, you will get one.

[teej]

They come with slipcovers whenever they are issued just like in stores. What that means is some titles are/were not issued with slipcovers. Just like in stores, some titles that originally came with slipcovers will later be shipped by Disney without slipcovers. Ordering a new release that originally came with a slipcover is your best bet. If you wait to order a titles until it has been out for a while, then you will take a chance that the slipcover is no longer being shipped with the product.

Basically, if a slipcover is available upon the initial release, and you order while they are still available, then yes, you will get one.

Thanks for the response! Do you know if there's an email address or some form of contact where slipcovers can be requested, or do they not really do that?

[gardener14]

Thanks for the response! Do you know if there's an email address or some form of contact where slipcovers can be requested, or do they not really do that?[/quote]
Both the Disney Movie Club and Disney Home Entertainment have customer service reps that can easily be reached by phone. I don't know the number off hand, but it is available. I think I've heard that they no longer replace slipcovers like they once did, but you could always inquire with them. Maybe someone else has tried this more recently.