A woman has expressed her disbelief after one particular item caught her eye on the DVD shelves of a charity shop during a recent visit. Indeed, the Friends DVD boxset - titled Friends: The Complete Series on DVD Extended, Exclusive & Unseen - currently holds a £119.99 RRP. Thankfully, however, the shopper paid much less for the privilege.
Beloved Sitcom
American comedy series Friends starred Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry which aired from 1994 to 2004. One of the most popular programmes of its generation, it comprised 236 episodes across 10 series.
Now, the woman has hours of television viewing ahead of her it appears. "Looks like they've never been watched, as good as new and has a booklet with photos too, well chuffed!" she wrote in a caption alongside a photo of her purchase on Reddit. "So glad I bought them."
Bargain Find
The boxset is currently on sale at HMV for an eye-watering £119.99. Released in September 2009, its synopsis reads: "This is a show about love and sex and careers and a time in life when everything is possible... about the search for commitment and security... and the fear of commitment and security."
Most of all, it's about friendship - for when you're young and single in the city, your friends are your family." The charity shop shopper paid merely a tiny fraction of that sum, though. "£5.95," she enthused.
Online Reactions
Responding online, one Reddit user enquired: "Do you still have a DVD player in your home? I don't know what happened but I know longer have DVD/Blue Ray or even CD player anymore. The ease of streaming has eaten away the devices in our house until there isn't any. Now we never own anything."
In reply, the woman revealed: "Watch them via PS5. Also rebuilding our CD collection, I regret giving them all away." DVDs and CDs much better. I can watch these in the order I want to watch them, no random jumping between series and no constant AD breaks. Listen to the CDs in the car. I am enjoying middle age lol!"
A second person remarked: "Such a good find given that watching this show is so hard on streaming now. Physical media for the win!" A third recounted their own similar discovery: "I found the same set, good as new £4. I had to buy it, even though I already own it - but I had previously lost a disc from mine (left in a DVD player on holiday) and so the new charity shop set is for spares and repairs. Four quid!"
Physical Media Decline
A fourth commented: "What an amazing bargain! And it seems to be in good condition too." While a fifth Reddit user joked: "The one with the amazing box set deal."
According to the Donation Hub, a staggering 2,500 tonnes of DVDs and CDs are discarded by UK households each year. "A significant barrier is the lack of recycling options for these items, as most councils don’t offer CD, DVD, or Disc recycling services, and many charity shops lack the space to store them," they advise online.
"With the rise of streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify, physical media has become less common in UK homes, yet billions of CDs and DVDs remain in circulation. According to Statista, only 31% of UK households now have a DVD player, and less than half still own a CD player. Many of these discs will never be used again, taking up unnecessary space."
