We drew names at work for an upcoming Christmas party, and my co-worker would like the new Twilight movie on DVD. I'm thinking of going the Amazon route because of the pre-release price guarantee, the convenience, and of course helping out my favorite message board. However, there is a problem. Per Amazon this is being released on Saturday, December 4th and our party is the following Thursday, the 9th, so I'm a little worried about receiving it in time. When you pre-order something from Amazon do you usually receive it on the release date or is that the date it's mailed? Also, I like to use Super Saver Shipping, but will that slow things down? I recently ordered three CDs this way and received them in less than a week but sometimes it has taken longer. Any advice?

From my experience, if you really need something by a certain time, you can't leave anything to chance. Amazon frequently ships very quickly, but not every time. Furthermore, you're talking about the holiday season, when the mail can be very unpredictable. If this is something that you really need by a set date, you're better off purchasing it in a brick and mortar. I'm sure that with a high profile title like that, Best Buy, Target, Walmart and most big box retailers will have it on sale for a reasonable price. My advice would be to go that route with something that you absolutely have to have by a certain date.

There are things you can do to increase your odds of the package arriving when you need it to, such as pre-ordering with two-day shipping, or checking to see if release-day delivery is available for the titles you plan to buy. (Amazon offers this option on a lot of pre-orders, but not all of them.) But the nature of this particular situation might require that you use a walk-in store for absolute 100% certainty, as Walter suggests.

The more I've thought about it, the more I've decided I'd better go with a bricks and morter store for this, and you guys have confirmed it. When Linda starts suggesting going to a store, you know you'd better take heed.

This is not a pre-release question but it relates to an Amazon order I recently made.

I ordered Avatar Special Edition 3 DVD Box which was $20 at the time, however the next day it was $15,
For some reason Amazon charged me $20 still and has sent it.

Is this right? I thought they always passed on any discounts.

Ran,

The price guarantee is for pre-orders only, and it covers price reductions through the end of the day of release. If you ordered after the release date, then your price is simply whatever the item was listed for at the time you ordered it.

Ok

Thanks Linda