8 years ago
5
Four Columbia House insiders explain the shady math behind “8 CDs for a penny”
Any music fan eager to bulk up their collection in the ’90s knew where to go to grab a ton of music on the cheap: Columbia House. Started in 1955 as a way for the record label Columbia to sell vinyl records via mail order, the club had continually adapted to and changed with the times, as new formats such as 8-tracks, cassettes, and CDs emerged and influenced how consumers listened to music.
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That office with the PILES of files in it is insane. It's the equivalent to the users at my old job who had icons packed so tightly on their desktop that they all blended together.
Great Video.
I remember this ColumbiaHouse when I was a kid. Never really understood how it worked by my father always told me there
is always a catch.TL;DR
they didn't really explain the shady math (unless it was in some part of the video). They were basically saying that it was intentionally hard to understand. They also explained the 'negative option' where they will send you CDs and charge you unless you tell them not to.
I didn't think the math was too complex but I could see how it was a huge ripoff for some people, but I joined for a month just to game their system. I got 12 CDs for $0.01 each plus $5 shipping = $5.12, then a month later I ordered 1 CD at $18.99 plus $5 shipping = $23.99. Then I cancelled because I fulfilled my membership requirements. $23.99+$5.12=$29.11. $29.11/13CDS=$2.24/CD. Even if you had to order 2 at full price before you cancelled (I think that was the rule for a while, but I did it during a promotion) it works out to $3.79/CD.
Incredibly interesting post. Thanks so much for sharing this, my parents forbade me doing these as a kid/teen, so it's really interesting to read about it so many years later.