So sick of streaming that you just want to get back to your CD wallet and DVD collection? I hear you!
I’ve researched where to buy DVDs, Blu-Rays, 4K Ultra HD, vinyl, CDs, and books, as well as where to find media players for CDs and DVDs. You can find both local ideas and options as well as independent retailers with online ordering and more corporate entities.
Note, I’m using DVD as a catch-all term for DVDs, Blu-Rays, and 4K Ultra HD.
Buy Nothing Groups: You can both find and request physical media and physical media players in Buy Nothing groups. Connect to your local Buy Nothing group through Facebook or their app
Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace: Check local listings to see if anyone is selling physical media and/or physical media players, you can often find good deals or even for free with pickup.
Thrift Stores: Thrift stores often have books, DVDs, records, CDs and more physical media, though selection depends on donations. Thrift stores also usually have cheap DVD or CD players, and you can definitely get great deals. You can find your local thrift store by searching “thrift store near [your city]” or using TheThriftShopper.com. It’s a national directory run by one person so it’s not always up to date, but you may find it helpful.
Estate Sales: Estate sales are like the holy grail for old media. You can find tons of stuff at estate sales including DVDs, VHS, books, records, CDs, DVD/Blu-Ray players, CD and record players. You can find your local estate sale at www.estatesales.net or www.estatesales.org
Library Sales: Local libraries will often have sales for DVDs, books and more that they no longer need. Check out your local library to see if they have a quarterly or annual sale.
Flea Markets: Can find cheap DVDs or other physical media like records (though records may not be cheap). I feel like it’s less likely you’ll find a DVD player, etc. at a flea market but I think it really depends on what your local market is like.
Garage/Yard Sales: Often people will have books, DVDs, VHS, records, CDs, and physical media players for cheap.
Pawn Shops: I will admit I’ve never been to a pawn shop, but a lot of people on Reddit mention they can have cheap DVDs or other physical media. I’d imagine they’d also have cheap DVD players as well.
Record Shops: Record Shops often not only have records, but CDs and DVDs too. You can find a local record store by searching “record store [your city]” or websites like VinylMapper in the US, or RecordStores.love for worldwide options. You can also check out this Reddit-curated map of record stores (Reddit post with more info). For any of the websites, I’m not sure how often they’re updated/maintained but wanted to share in case they were helpful. If you are looking specifically for Black-owned record shops, there’s not a website with listings but here (Revolt, OkayPlayer) are a couple articles to get you started.
Local Bookstores: Beyond books, used bookstores will often have DVDs and CDs as well. The African American Literature Book Club maintains a directory of 175 Black-owned bookstores if you want to find one near you. If you want more information on where to buy books and support local bookstores, check out my article. But if you can, stop by your local bookstore in person!
Half-Price Books: One company that I didn’t mention in my original article on books but a lot of people talk about in my social media comments is Half-Price Books.
The Details: Family owned and operated since 1972. Half-Price Books does have a page on OpenSecrets for lobbying in 2011, but it says they spent $0 and there are no more recent records of lobbying spend. However, Half-Price Books has been accused of harassing and intimidating unionizing workers while the CEO owns 23 acres in Texas as a second home and a local hardware store.
My thoughts: Support the unionized locations, and if your local store is organizing or striking support the workers if you can. If you are a worker at Half-Price Books, you can fill out this form to start the unionizing process at your location and get resources.
Union Store locations: Coon Rapids (Northtown), Roseville, St. Louis Park, and St. Paul, MN; Niles, IL; Dublin, CA. There are additional stores in Kansas City that are organizing to form a union but have not verified the contract yet (similar to the Dublin, CA location).
Bull Moose: Independent music retailer with movies & TV, video games, books, and more. You can shop online or visit one of their locations in the Northeast.
The Details: 100% Employee-owned! Cut Off the Spigot Gold Star awarded! BullMoose does not have a profile on OpenSecrets or a public diversity policy, but that is common for small businesses.
What they have: Their music selection (vinyl, CDs, etc) is the most robust, but their DVD/Blu-Ray/4K UltraHD selection is pretty decent too.
Good deals? Vinyl clearance section
Store locations: Across Maine and New Hampshire
Available in: US only, though it seems like they ship to Alaska and Hawaii
Zia Records: Independent record store that sells both new and pre-owned vinyl, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, books and more. You can shop online or in-store at one of their locations in the Southwest.
The Details: 100% Employee-owned! Cut Off the Spigot Gold Star awarded! Zia Records does not have a profile on OpenSecrets or a public diversity policy, but that is common for small businesses. Zia Records does have a community improvement effort though, with a recent Q3 2025 update. In Q4 2025 they are focusing on supporting local food banks.
What they have: Similar to Bull Moose their music selection is the most robust, but they also have a pretty expansive DVD/Blu-Ray/4K UltraHD selection. For books, they have a Manga & Light Novels category which is more unique.
Good deals? Check out their pre-owned vinyl selection
Store locations: Arizona and Las Vegas
Available in: US only, though they ship to all states and territories
Orbit DVD: Run by movie enthusiasts encouraging customers to try new things with curated selections by staff.
The Details: Based out of Asheville, NC and owned and operated by Marc McCloud. Orbit DVD does not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy, which is common for small/local businesses.
What they have available online: New & Used DVDs, Blu-Rays, and Ultra-HD 4K. Used VHS. If you go in-store they also have collectibles and other fun items.
Good deals? They have a clearance section and damaged discount section
Store locations: One location in Asheville, NC
Available in: I believe they ship worldwide, but shipping and tariff rates may vary.
Diabolik: Specializes in cult and horror movies from around the world, especially hard-to-find titles.
The Details: Owned by Jesse Helson, who also owns Cauldron Films. Diabolik does not have a profile on OpenSecrets or a public diversity policy, but that is common for small businesses.
What they have: DVDs, Blu-rays, 4K UltraHD
Good deals? They have a sale section
Available in: I believe they ship worldwide, but shipping and tariff rates may vary.
Discogs: Online used media marketplace connecting vinyl and CD lovers across the world.
The Details: Discogs is owned by Zink Media LLC, which I believe is owned by the founder, Kevin Lewandowski. Discogs supports Diversity and Inclusion and does not have a profile on OpenSecrets.
What they have: Huge selection, including rare releases across vinyl, CD, cassette, and other formats.
Good deals? You may be able to get a good deal on rarer releases.
Ship to: Worldwide, though rates and availability will vary based on the seller you’re trying to buy from.
Bay St. Video: Toronto-based staple since 1993 for movie rentals and DVD purchasing. Note – they do not sell to the US via their website, but if you are interested in something they have you can call (416-964-9088) or email (baystreetvideoto@gmail.com) them to find a workaround.
The Details: Owned by Michael Bernick.
What they have: Extensive catalog of DVDs/Blu-rays/4K Ultra HDs available with movies from the early 1900’s through today. If you go in person you can rent DVDs!
Good deals? In person only: Films for Free is a rotating list of titles available for *free* rental
Store locations: One location in downtown Toronto
Available in: Canada and internationally, but they do not ship to the US.
DeepDiscount.com: Low-priced DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs, and Vinyl
The Details: Owned by Alliance Entertainment Company, a publicly traded company with 94% of the shares owned by insiders, with Jeffrey Clinton Walker (CEO) as the largest insider holder. Alliance Entertainment does not have a profile on OpenSecrets, nor a public diversity policy – though they do have a woman of color, Amanda Gnecco, on their board which is fairly rare.
What they have: Their DVD/Blu-Ray selection is extensive, and I think if you want to find any popular titles its likely to be on there. They also have CDs, vinyl, books, video games, electronics, apparel, and toys and gifts.
Good deals? Check out their Movies/TV, Music and Books+ daily deals sections
Ship to: US, and they do ship internationally but note “If your country is not listed in the shopping cart, we are currently unable to ship to you.”
Vintage Stock: In-store and online media retailer with both new and used offerings.
The Details: Vintage Stock owns and operates their website, as well as 70+ stores under the Vintage Stock, Movie Trading Company (MTC), Entertainmart, and V-Stock names. Vintage Stock is owned by Live Ventures, a holding company that also owns Flooring Liquidators and manufacturing companies. Live Ventures is publicly traded with insiders owning approximately 72% of shares,. They do not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy.
What they have: Over 14.7K+ movie titles on DVD & Blu-Ray, nearly 5K CD and vinyl titles, and tons of games, toys, posters and trading cards.
Good deals? Over 8K+ DVD/Blu-Ray titles and nearly 2K CD/vinyl releases for under $10
Store locations: Across the lower Midwest and some Western states
Available in: They don’t have a clear shipping policy on their website, so to be safe I will say US-only though they may ship internationally.
GameXChange: Franchise-system of stores that buy and sell DVDs, Blu-Ray, 4K Ultra HD, Vinyl, electronics, music equipment and instruments, and even battery powered tools.
The Details: Game XChange is a franchise system, so stores and owned and operated by the local franchise owners. I can’t find a ton of information on their corporate employees or leadership, which is frustrating. Game XChange does not have a profile on OpenSecrets or a public diversity policy.
What they have: Available in-store only and will vary by location. Used DVDs, Blu-Rays, Ultra-HD 4K. Gaming consoles, PC systems, streaming, VR; home (TVs, cameras, etc) and mobile (phones, laptops, tablets, headphones, speakers) electronics.
Store locations: Mostly in the South and Midwest with a few in Connecticut.
Alibris: Online marketplace for books, movies, tv shows, and more connecting sellers across the world.
The Details: As of 2017 seems to be owned by an unnamed private investor. I did a lot of digging but couldn’t find any additional details beyond Wikipedia, which does not have a source cited for that fact (ugh). Alibris does not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy.
What they have: Skews more towards books, but their vinyl, CD, DVD and Blu-Ray offering is quite extensive
Good deals? An entire bargain section
Available in: Worldwide except Afghanistan, Algeria, Belarus, Brazil, Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Russia, Sudan and Ukraine.
Poshmark: Online seller marketplace similar to eBay.
The Details: Owned by the Naver Corporation, a publicly traded South Korean company that built the largest search engine in South Korea. Both Poshmark and Naver support DEI, with DEI being written into Naver’s Human Rights Management Policy. Neither Naver nor Poshmark have a profile on OpenSecrets.
What they have: You can definitely find physical media (Vinyl, CD, DVDs, Blu-Ray, 4K Ultra HD) and media players (CD, DVD, record) on Poshmark, but you will need to search for them as they don’t have an entertainment section on their site navigation.
Good deals? It’ll be based on what people are listing things for, but I definitely think you can get a good deal.
Available in: US, Canada
Hamilton Book: Similar to TJ Maxx/Marshalls, Hamilton Books sells media with discounts of up to 80% by buying overstock inventory.
The Details: Owned by Edward R. Hamilton, who also owns Edward R. Hamilton Bookseller Company, a mail-order business. They have not spent any money on lobbying in the last two years nor have a public diversity policy. Their management and employee donations to political organizations/causes/candidates ($36K in 2024) was almost 100% Republican, but I could not find any direct donations from the owner on OpenSecrets, so I’m not sure if it’s a lot of their employees or other management figures.
My thoughts: While I don’t love that the majority of employee/management contributions skew Republican, I can’t find anything that indicates the owner is a big MAGA nut, and their contributions are relatively small overall at only $36K.
What they have: New books (including large print), DVDs, Blu-rays, CDs
Good deals? They have books under $5, DVDs under $5, Blu-Rays under $5, CDs under $5
Available in: US only, including Alaska and Hawaii. They do not ship to US Territories like Puerto Rico.
Blu-ray.com: Aggregator site that mostly links to Amazon listings, versus being able to directly purchase.
Barnes & Noble: Owned by private equity.
Best Buy: Spent $2.52 million on lobbying in the last two years.
Gruv: Owned by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, which in turn is owned by NBC Universal, which is owned by Comcast. I covered Comcast here.
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