More Expensive Than Amazon and Harder to Navigate
Laser's Edge
DVDs have quickly become a commodity product. Consumers can rent them online from Netflix, Blockbuster or many small competitors. For those who want to buy, there are even more choices. Unfortunately, except for certain niche titles, Lasers Edge may not provide the best bargain.
That is not to say that the site's functionality is poor or that the service is bad. In fact, I found a DVD my youngest son wanted for less than $10. Ordering, shipping and arrival all went fine. I thought I had found my new place for discount DVDs, but after some checking, I learned that Lasers Edge was not necessarily the price leader.
4 out of 5 Is Not Just For Trident
Using the top movies showing on Lasers Edge, I compared their prices to Amazon and Deep Discount DVD. One of the movies was an adult title, something Lasers Edge has in abundance, so I actually compared five of the top six movies according to their site.
In four of the five cases, Amazon, and sometimes Deep Discount, had a lower price. The difference was typically small, but the DVDs were more expensive at Laser's Edge. For example, The Passion of the Christ was selling for $18.94 at Lasers Edge, a dollar cheaper at Amazon and another dollar cheaper at Deep Discount.
Other movies had more wider variances. The Bambi: Platinum Edition DVD was $3 cheaper at Amazon while The Flight of the Phoenix was $1.50 cheaper. Lasers Edge beat Amazon in only one instance. A Lizard in Woman's Skin was selling at Lasers Edge for $1.50 less than Amazon.
Even the "specials" may not be so special. Lasers Edge touts a $20.99 pre-release price for Elektra, the Jennifer Garner action flick, which is the exact same price offered by Amazon.
There are specials available, but they are not categorized well and the sort function does not seem to work well either. When I last looked, Lasers Edge was touting 683 DVDs at "special prices". That is far too many titles to wade through. You can find the occasional deal. Brendan Fraser's Bedazzled, for example, is less than $10, but it is less than $10 at the mall as well.
My Experience Using The Site
Leaving aside the functionality in the specials for now, the site is relatively easy to use if you know what you want to buy. The search function works well with either title or actor's name. There is a quirk in the results, however, and the display for actor's name is not alphabetized if there is more than one actor with that name. The movies are also categorized, but there are literally dozens of categories, and it is far too easy to get lost when trying to drill through the menus to find a movie.
After I found and ordered my movie, I received an immediate email with the order details, including the order number and a breakdown of the various charges.
I received a second email the next day telling me the exact time my order was shipped, or more likely, loaded in a vehicle somewhere. The elapsed time from order to shipment was 36 hours — not awful, but not great when you're paying for shipping and order during the week.
We received the movie three days later through the mail in sturdy packaging with a detailed packing slip.
The Bottom Line, Clicks and All
The service was okay, but not great. The prices, unless you search very hard, are more expensive than other sites. Lasers Edge is currently running a promotion that offers free shipping with no minimum purchase, presumably to counter Amazon's free shipping for orders over $25. The fine print on the Lasers Edge offer says that orders will be sent via media mail and can take up to two weeks to arrive — a long time to wait to save on the very inexpensive shipping charges.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. Lasers Edge is not the cheapest provider. Amazon's prices were consistently better when I compared sites.
2. Niche television and adult titles that may not be available at Amazon are sold here.
3. There are a variety of inexpensive shipping options.
4. The site's search function works, but results are returned in a strange order. Drilling through the menus is an impossible task.
5. Our order was shipped relatively soon and arrived quickly.
