Good morning! And what a wonderful morning it is for fans of
Desperate Housewives, who are planning to run out this morning to pick up the first season DVD set (if you haven't pre-ordered it online, that is). Die-hard fans are probably wondering if there are any bonus discs available for this release, such as
Best Buy did with Lost a couple of weeks ago. The answer is "yes," but this time Best Buy isn't the place to go get it.
Instead, Target has the cool bonus disc to get, with their exclusive bonus DVD of the special "Sorting Out the Dirty Laundry" recap episode. This is available in very limited quantities, so get there fast this morning before they're all gone. That episode is not available anywhere else, nor is it likely to be in the future. Target is selling the set in most markets for a $36.99 discounted price, good this week only.
UPDATE: I ran by the Target location closest to me this morning to check out their offer, but they had no copies of the set in stock! Other new DVD titles were in evidence, but surprisingly this title - which should reasonably be expected to be the hottest of the week - had not made it to the store, and the employees (who were otherwise very courteous) had no knowledge of when or if it would arrive. You may want to call ahead to be sure your local Target store has them, especially if you have to go out of your way like I did.
If you do miss the Target offer, though, then you may be interested in Wal-Mart's bonus disc offer! While not
DH-specific, they DO have a bonus DVD packed onto the back of limited quantities of their copies of the first season. This one is an "ABC Fall Preview Disc," with the cast of
Housewives on the outer sleeve, but which reportedly covers all the new shows and returning hot shows that are part of the network's 2005-06 season schedule. Wal-Mart's prices vary from store to store, based on competition in the nearest few miles, so expect to pay accordingly in your market. I have verified that this is in-stock at my local Wal-Mart, and that it has the bonus disc shrinkwrapped to the back of the package.
Best Buy does have a bonus item for this set, even if it's not a DVD. They are giving away an exclusive
DH-themed 2006 calendar while supplies last. The cost structure is sort-of confusing at Best Buy for this release, so I'll try to cover it and hope I get it right: After this coming Saturday, the price at most locations will be $39.99 or possibly a few dollars more. In most markets, though, the cost for most customers will be $37.99 for a
DH - Season 1 set (plus the free calendar, if still available). If you are part of Best Buy's "Reward Zone" program, though, then your cost is $34.99 instead. On the other hand, if you picked up
Lost at Best Buy two weeks ago, and if it came with the bonus disc, then there is a coupon on that disc's sleeve which will make your cost $29.99 (or perhaps a few dollars more) instead (good for "$10 off the regular everyday Best Buy price"). On yet another hand, though, if you didn't buy
Lost yet and get it at Best Buy at the same time you get
Desperate Housewives, they will take $10 off whatever your total is at the register. Holy crap, that's confusing...and honestly, I expect a lot of cashiers at the chain who will have a hard time getting it right. Good luck if that's your destination...you could get a great price, but it may cost you a bit of patience in the process.
Here is a quick look at the Target bonus disc (top left), Wal-Mart bonus disc (top right) and Best Buy calendar (bottom, shown over the actual box set).
That Best Buy combo offer may sound tempting, but if you've already gotten
Lost then there's no need to worry: TVShowsOnDVD owner Gord Lacey has learned, though, that there is a SEPARATE
Housewives/Lost offer found by way of a sticker on the
DH package. The sticker says "Save $10 by mail with purchase of Desperate Housewives Season 1 and Lost Season 1." It notes that the offer expires December 31, 2005, and is good in USA and Canada only. "Void where prohibited." The offer card inside specifies that you need to send in (A) Proof of purchase tab from
DH season 1; (B) Proof of purchase tab from
Lost Season 1; (C) Cash register receipt from DH Season 1 set purchase imprinted with store name and dated between September 20, 2005 and December 31, 2005 with price circled (photocopies are okay); (D) Original, hand-printed, complete certificate (no photocopies). Gord was told that this is something on every
DH set, and the mail-in certificate is included inside. Note that getting the $10 instant rebate at Best Buy (mentioned above) for buying
DH and
Lost on the same transaction this week might take the place of this mail-in rebate; Best Buy often does deals to do an instant rebate version temporarily for what would otherwise be a mail-in rebate.
Just to round things out, we checked out if Circuit City has any offers on the set, and they do: Save $5 off the in-store purchase of
Desperate Housewives if you buy any music CD at the same time. Their suggestion, of course, will be the soundtrack to
Desperate Housewives, but you're free to choose anything else you want. That soundtrack hits today and CC's got it for $11.99, but you'll get it for $6.99 if you buy it at the same time as you buy the $39.99 DVD set. Not a great offer, but it may appeal to some of you. There are no exclusive bonus items mentioned in this chain's ad.
So, lots of offers, and we've explained them as plainly as we can. My thanks to Mike Frezon for his help on this. We hope the explanations are plain enough, and helps our readers decide what to do today. Good luck, and good hunting!
