Are CD clubs a good deal?



I have never joined a CD/Record club. Anyone belong to one and is there a catch?
klhender
If you don't subscribe to the theory that BMG discs sound worse than regular discs, BMG is a great disc club. (I've read some articles where people confirm with precise measurement equipment that the BMG disc is identical to a store bought disc, but still claim they hear a difference when played through their system).

You get 12 discs for the price of one. You can sign up online at bmgmusic.com. You pick 7, then buy 1 at regular price ($17 or so), then you get 4 more free. They have popular CD's as well as classical. They will charge you $2-3 dollar in shipping and handling for each disc. When all's said and done, it ends up being an average of a little over $3 a disc. What a deal!

Just make sure to send in the card or go online and say you don't want the featured selection, or else they will send you discs you didn't ask for. Also, they will never give you their phone number, but it's (317) 692-9200. This is useful if you don't feel like waiting to do everything through the mail...they actually have very good customer service by phone.

Once you've completed your enrollment agreement (7+1+4), just call and say you wish to cancel (you can even cancel in the same phone call as you order your last 1+4). If you feel like it, you can then go back online and sign up for the same deal again! I've signed up at BMG about 15 times in my life, many times at the same address. They don't care because they're still making money, and there's enough suckers that stick around after their enrollment agreement and start buying discs for $10-$15.
Matt8268- Actually there are more benefits to sticking it out then signing up time and time again. For example the music points program which allows you to get more free music based on your previous purchases. And many sales that come your way- buy one at regular price(17.99) and get unlimited for 1.99ea. etc... still a great deal! and you get music points to boot! Also the program I am in with BMG there are NO unsoliceted cd offerings, for a long time it was free shipping as well but like most good things that ended long ago :( All being said I enjoy my BMG membership an aweful lot, and due to the lower cost I have bought a lot of music I wouldn't have tried other wise.
The CD clubs are great, IMO, especially for new popular music and backfilling your collection. I agree with Tireguy, there's a lot to be had for staying around in the club as well. At the end of the day, the selection isn't fabulous (though checking fairly often widens the selection), but your avg delivered price will be less than $8 a CD. If you can resist buying the new releases you want when they first come out, you can buy them for $8 new from the club 4-6 months later.

And I don't subscribe to the notion that the club discs sound worse either
Yes, BMG is great. I started with their classical LP club in college back when they called it the "International Preview Society".

To get me to switch to the CD club when they were phasing out LP's they offered me 2 free CD's per year for life, as long as I remained a member in good standing. It has been over 13 years since then, and I still get my 2 free CD's from them every year. (My choice of any 2 regular single disc CD's)