Columbia House, the 71-year-old mail-order music club that somehow managed to survive into 2026, has announced it's shutting down for good. In a message on its website, the company says, "After 9/15/26, The Columbia House will no longer be accepting new orders," though it assures customers they can still buy books with credit cards or credits "as normal." The news was first spotted by YouTube channel Channel 33 RPM and then covered by Cord Cutter News. We've reached out to Columbia House for comment, but they're probably too busy boxing up unsold copies of 'NSYNC's *No Strings Attached* to respond.

Founded as Columbia Record Club in 1955 by the music label of the same name, Columbia House was designed to send albums directly to consumers who couldn't easily get to record stores. The deal was simple: get a stack of LPs for pennies, then pay full price for more records later. It worked spectacularly, reaching 16 million members in 1996, thanks in part to those ubiquitous TV commercials - including one soundtracked by what sounds suspiciously like the guy who sang the *Full House* theme song, joyfully belting about "the best in entertainment" and keeping the company's "value high." (You can almost hear Uncle Jesse's hair.)

But times changed, and Columbia House didn't. After multiple ownership changes, it filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and ditched music entirely, clinging to DVDs. It also never quite escaped its reputation for shady practices, like negative option billing - where customers kept getting charged unless they explicitly canceled, a move that's basically the business equivalent of "if you don't call us, we'll assume you want more crap." Now, the final curtain falls. Rest in peace, Columbia House. You'll be missed about as much as a skipped CD.

So long, and thanks for all the junk mail.