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81 Comments
- kevinrose, on 10/12/2007, -32/+96Oh no, everyone, please..please.. remember the late fees. They screwed us for years.
Alternatives:
http://www.peerflix.com/
http://www.netflix.com/ - mattchow, on 10/12/2007, -8/+27@kevinrose
Is it really that hard to return a movie back to the store? - jer084, on 10/12/2007, -5/+24The ability to swap out DVDs in the store for free without having to send it back is a huge plus for me. You ALWAYS have a DVD in your posession. They get my vote.
- PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -4/+22777lucky, they have advertised "no late fees" for a couple of years now... yet... keep a movie for more than a week or two, and I guarantee you will get a "restocking" fee or some other thing.
I have never used peerflix, however, yes, use Netflix, I haven't looked back, however my dvd burner hates me now. - skylights, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13Blockbuster now has the better deal, but the Netflix website has a much better movie recommendation system.
- baxtermaddux, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15not only did they screw us for as long as they could, they only changed their ways because NetFlix came along, they were most definately not a company doing the best they could to deliver the best service possible. they were not looking out for the customers best interests. hey were not looking to make life easier for us. They absolutely do not deserve to have market dominance anymore. Netflix revolutionized video rental, a business practice that had not changed at all since the day stores started renting VHS tapes. I wont even consider being a blockbuster customer for the next few years. they really should suffer, the same way they made us all suffer for so long with outrageous prices, lackluster libraries, absurdly confusing return hours that varied from store to store, and the late fees.
- amandaw33, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Blockbuster online has come a long way. Here's the real plus -- when you hand in a movie in store - you take one home AND the movie clears your online queue AND the next movie is sent. So you can really max out if you're into that. Yes, it kind of kills the purpose of renting online but it's not a bad deal if you're like me and almost always have one lying around wishing you had a different movie to watch.
AND -- you get 2 free rentals/month you can use on movies OR games (I think games are like 8/rental)!
yes, b&m blockbuster screwed a lot of people back in the day (Kevin Rose for example) --- but these are a good enough reasons for me to go blockbuster over netflix (which last time I checked had equal per month charges)
Downside is their new site kinda blows when you want to move movies around your queue. But for now, I'll deal with it for the free game rentals. - canti32, on 10/12/2007, -8/+15Does anyone here know the return policy?
It goes like this. You rent a movie. They give you a due date(either printed on the receipt or told to you). You then have until the end of the rental period, plus an additional 10 days to return the movie free of charge. (11-12 days for the newest releases, in upwards of 16 days for older stuff.) Then they charge you a flat 1.25 restocking fee. It doesn't change, ever. From the day that they charge you(and you will know, because Blockbuster forces us to call customers twice, one when the movie is three days past due, and another when the movie is 6 days past due, and they send you a letter) you then have 30 additional days to return the movie to whichever Blockbuster you rented from. So in total, you could have a movie or game out for 45 days before returning in and only pay 1.25 extra for it. If you fail to return it in that span of time they automatically charge the full price of the movie to you. That charge cannot be reversed.
The system is fair now. There are no compound late fees, and the only way you get charged more than 1.25 is if you have more than 1 movie late, or you kept it a ridiculous amount of time. - Scopitone, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I'm not a spaz that keeps my discs beyond a week, I've since canceled Netflix, my 3 rentals at a time turn into 3 more in-store rentals, and NOW I can print out free game rental coupons? I hated Blockbuster as much as any 20 something Cooler-Than-Thou, but they've won this battle.
Done. I anxiously await seeing how other online DVD rental companies even attempt to compete against this.
The only way to improve this service would be to add porn to it. I said it; porn! - ClassicJBC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6It really just depends on the kind of movie watcher you are. First of all, keep in mind that Netflix doesn't want you if you're a really heavy viewer. Your turn around times put a strain on their system, and they'd much rather get the guy down the street who only watches a few movies a month but likes the convenience. Why do you think it was demonstrated that they actually try to slow down heavy viewers? Blockbuster, on the other hand, is rewarding those of us who really love watching movies. So I don't feel any ethical problem taking advantage of that, especially when Netflix both practically and demonstrably doesn't want me as a customer.
EDIT: Didn't mean to abuse reply. Oops. - angelp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I'm on a trial period with Blockbuster and so far, I still prefer Netflix. It takes no less than two days for those returned movies to the store to clear my queue. They often ship movies out of order even if the movies are listed as available. Their delivery rates are slower. Sometimes they receive movies and don't ship them the same day. Half the time when I go into my local Blockbuster's, most of the new releases are out of stock. Navigating that ridiculous site is painful, especially when I first started looking for the HD DVD and Blu-ray versions of movies.
So for me, even though the coupons are nice, the service and ease doesn't beat Netflix which is sad considering they giving away rentals. - PecanHead, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8@kevinrose - that's pretty immature.
Isn't this how a free market is supposed to work? Blockbuster had ***** practices for years and I couldn't stand them. They now have a better offering than Netflix and are doing their customers right. So now they get my business. What is the point of holding a grudge even after a company has seen the light?
That'd be like permanently deserting digg even *after* it fixes comment threading. ;-) - crapple, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5My old roomate and I ran a test to see who would get movies sooner, he had NetFlix, I had BlockBuster and I won every time. It may vary on how far you are from your warehouse, but NetFlix seemed to throttle his movies after the trial was up. And the sooner he returned them, the longer it took for a new one to come.
- unicornhunter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The Netflix selection is larger, but Blockbusters in-store exchange is hands-down unbeatable.
I've used both services, and in Raleigh, NC the delivery times were the same.
The only problem with blockbuster online is that when you want to get a DVD set, you can't individually select a DVD within the set. I wanted to watch season 2 of The Wire in order, but the online functions will not allow me to do that.. I ended up getting disks 3 and 4 right away instead of disks 1 and 2. This is however not unrepairable.
Either way, online renting/downloading is the way to go. - meetjoeblack, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My roommate has Netflix AND Blockbuster on line rentals. Having that free rental thing is cool... but get this! The Blockbuster in my town was allowing my roommate to bring in his stub (that extra piece of paper that you throw away) off of his Netflix movies for a free rental! He cashed in three Blockbuster and three Netflix and we walked out with 6 free rentals!!! It reminded me of punch drunk love ;)
- kjk437, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@ClassicJBC
Ditto. Especially due to the fact that Blockbuster lets you trade in the online movies for free in-store rentals. I pay $9.99 a month, get one movie at a time (which usually translates to 7-8 movies a month with turnaround time), trade those in for free movie or game rentals, and I get another free rental every month just because. That means I'm basically getting 17 rentals a month for $9.99. Netflix can't touch that deal. - TimmyGUNZ, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You can't really blame them for devouring the local video stores. This is what drives our economy.
If the local video stores were smart, they'd do what the ones in my town did: rent porno! It helped, because they are still open to this day with a Blockbuster literally directly across the street. - TexRob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm sure someone has mentioned it, or maybe not, but in addition to Total Access, a VERY cool thing is that the 1 coupon you get a month for an in store rental can be used for games. For someone like me, 29 (today, woohoo) and married, I can't justify spending $50-60 on a game for Xbox 360 that I am not very serious about playing. I'll buy stuff that I know will give me long term replay value, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mind playing say Lost Planet, or another story based game that once you are done, you're done. The current game and movie offerrings are intelliflix and gameznflix. Only gameznflix has HD-DVD or Blu-ray, and the selection for HD-DVD, DVD, and games as well as turn around time, is bad. So for me, Blockbuster is the only big name that allows me to rent an occassional game. I currently love Netflix, but I might give BB a try for this reason.
To me, whomever ponies up the money to buy Gamefly is going to win this war. Are the rental companies forgetting that video games have surpassed movie sales and that it's steamrolling on towards dwarfing movie sales? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I have started using netflix since I went to college and I don't think I will ever stop. The nearest mailing center in SF, where I live, sends em out the next day. I started using blockbuster again a few years back when they advertised the "no late fees" junk and was charged tons of restocking fees (heyy im lazyy i don't always remember) so I stopped renting $4 movies and got smart. I'll have to check out peerflix though, haven't heard of it before. Screw Blockbuster!
- canti32, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Renting video games isn't as profitable as you might think. With movies, you can sometimes rent them out 50-60 times before they break or get scratched to hell. With video games, the mortality rate is much higher, resulting in only about 10-20 rents per game, IF the store is lucky. Plus, games cost so much more than movies to buy and replace, it's extremely hard to make a profit off of them.
- weddle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Simple solution to avoiding late fees.................return the movie on time!
I agree that now that my local BBV store has finally gotten on board with the Total Access program they are better then Netflix. Now, if BBV can only improve their website so that it does not lag so much things will be perfect. - xSEED, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5my turn. i'll stay with netflix. their selection is better, delivery times are faster next day(been with NF for 4 years now) and availability is better. i'm on my second month trial with bb. similar deliver times but organization and title selection is poorer. the instore free dvd thing is a huge plus but i live 50mi from my nearest bb store. i don't take advantage a lot. however when college starts again i'll be over there 5 days a week. who knows maybe i'll stay. but for now nf i'll stay.
NF owns BB in anime selection - skylights, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4It shouldn't be hard to differentiate between mail vs. store movies, because the mail movies are in a little sleeve, and the store movies are in a plastic DVD case. As for the late fees, for me it would be worth the risk if I could continually have a movie in my possession. Of course, I say that now, but maybe I'd change my tune if I missed a few deadlines.
For me, I think Blockbuster's deal trumps Netflix's superior recommendation system. I'll just use other good online recommendation services, like Amazon's or What To Rent. - PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"online renting/downloading is the way to go."
~fin~ - ChewyBass, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I had Netflix for 8 months until Blockbuster came online. The thing that made me switch was Netflix's throttling. After getting the movie's in 3 at a time we would watch them and send back all at the same time. For a while it was kosher and then the throttling started. We'd send three back and one would come in then 2 or 3 days later another one. At one point it would take over a week to get all three in. With BB I haven't been throttled yet and now with the added benefit of taking them back to the store and getting free movies while at the same time the next one in my queue being sent, I don't see a reason to change. I am in no way a fanboy of any company. If it benefits me that is the direction I will head.
- OhSmashing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Hmm, which corporate behemoth do I like best? It's so hard, they all have such nice logos.
Tell you what, my local library rents a cool selection of DVDs, many new releases, and they charge like a buck a week for rental. If you pay a late fee you're actually helping your community. The library then has more money to spend on those fat papery things (called 'books' I think) which also tell stories.
Support your local library! - dstew74, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've recently made the switch to Blockbuster from Netflix. I miss Netflix's website, but the ability to receive free in-store rentals was too hard to pass up. I found blockbuster has slightly quicker turn around time too, even though I have both mailing centers in Atlanta. For every three netflix movies you could grab, I can get six blockbuster movies.
- dadood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I stopped going to Blockbuster about 3 years ago because of the scandalous ***** they pulled on me and drove the extra 1/2 mile to get movies/games from Family Video. I started the on-line rentals with Netflix about 6 months ago and recently switched to Blockbuster for the Total Access. Blockbuster is offering a nice deal with the in-store exchanges and now the monthly coupons are good for games. If Family Video were to match Blockbuster with on-line rentals, in-store exchanges, prices and all that, I would sign up with them in a second (bonus: hidden corner selection!).
- Jrr6415sun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I was at blockbuster the other day and they try to get everyone that comes in to sign up online. They even have a computer in the store where they sit down and do it for you. The employee said something about a monthly quota they had to fill getting people to sign up. I guess it's working.
- evansls, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I'm one of those movers -- i don't trust my mail man to pick up my movies. he's a shady dude...
- PecanHead, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Wow - I have no idea why you ***** are digging canti32 down. That was probably the most informative post I've seen on digg in a week. You might want to fix the moderation system too, kev.
- dan9876, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4does this 2 Million still include all the ones who moved to Netflix?
- bacon_skoda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2if you are late and still able to return it within a month, it's $1.25 restocking fee.
no biggie.
that's $1.25 for 30+ days.
you could have pasted it around to all your friends and co-workers by then. - dracostimpy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yeah, I gotta give the nod to Blockbuster now. The in-store thing is a huge plus, since you can have 3 in hand while the next 3 are in the mail. You can watch a movie a day, forever. Netflix has a better movie catalog, but Blockbuster can keep me watching newly released mindless drivel every night. Sorry Netflix and movie channels other than HBO (at least until Sopranos is done), but you just got pwned.
HOWEVER, if Netflix were to start peddling hardcore PORN, something Blockbuster CANNOT do in-store without a huge backlash from soccer moms everywhere, then Netflix would be my daddy. C'mon Netflix... be my daddy!!! - JohnnyZito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It's interesting to me that Blockbuster managed to survive the transition to a digital economy but Tower Records, which one could argue had a larger diversity of products, was crushed under the weight of iTunes.
- PuffyC, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2No way I'm rewarding Blockbuster with my business again after being screwed over so many times with their outrageous late fee's. They had their chance to do the right thing and blew it. If it wasn't for NetFlix we'd all still be getting the shaft so a Netflix customer I'll stay.
- Neourotick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2wow. i need my movies shipped to me....................next thing you know i am gonna need someone to come to my house and ***** my girlfriend for me................
- canti32, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That was for employees only.
- rubicante, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That's a good point. Blockbuster wouldn't have changed unless NetFlix came around and practically put them out of business. Only now, in the 12th hour, are they offering online movie rentals. Why come running back now -- and so readily?! It's like Batter Women's Syndrome.
- gmark13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Block Buster invented nothing!! Did nothing!! Netflix brought us this technology!
Go if you must. Be with them. ACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - radio1mike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Man, I have tried Blockbuster Online a few times in the past year. The only thing that BO has over Netflix is free in-store rentals and game rentals. As far as movies go, Netflix has a better selection and a better turn-around time, which is weird considering both distribution center (for me) are located in the same city.
BO's availability index bites. I have had one movie repeatedly at the top of My Queue(s), it's available and yet it does not get sent to me? Tired, tired and tired. - rjcarr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think the new "total access" plan is the smartest move a major company has made in a very long time. It has gotten me to switch from netflix as a 4-year member. The plan really benefits everyone ... if you want a quick film and haven't dropped your movie in the mail, run into blockbuster and swap it out for a new rental (plus immediately send the next movie in your online queue). Also, each online rental you bring into the store saves blockbuster $0.40 in postage, but the in store rental is essentially "free" since they aren't stocking any more than they normally would.
Compared to netflix, blockbuster online sucks in terms of availability and usability, but the total access is a very smart move. This is what competition is all about! - eurokc98, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just signed up with BB yesterday with the month free promo and friends discount code. I was impressed with the new system and price.
- bacon_skoda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1netflix used to have porn.
- kilmer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@bacon_scoda
Actually if you read the fine print it says that the place you rent from can charge you whatever they want. I'm not sure where the $1.25 or 30 days came from that you got, but I would bet that if you go to a blockbuster that is miles away from another blockbuster or other rental shops you are going to be charged more than $1.99.
Here is what the fine print says:
"In-store movie rentals are subject to store rental terms and conditions, including due dates and charges which may apply to rentals not returned by the due date. See store for complete in-store rental terms and conditions." - raymore, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The ***** late fees. I owed like 173 bucks once, it was all on Beast Master too. Damn you Beast Master hiding under my bed.
Oh and I gave Neourotick a digg for his comment. I would happily setup the "*****" if you'd like. - t.toe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I may be mistaken, but I don't think Blockbuster invented the late fee.
- TexRob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Do they really throttle AFTER the trial? You BB folks talk about shady...if this is true, this is shadiest of all, giving better service to non-paying, to get them paying. You know, we just moved over from the free part where it was awesome, to paying. They started taking 2 days to process and 2 days to send us stuff. I thought it might just be New Years and Gerald Ford's observance and the USPS messing things up, but now I am wondering. I'll give it a few weeks, and then if it keeps this way, I'm going to give BB a try.
- ellen20, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I joined Blockbuster Total Access Online Movie Rental got 1 Month Free.
Get In-store coupon for Game Rental per month. My kid rented Loco Roco Game for the PSP.
3 DVDs out at a time Unlimited rentals.
I return DVD to store to exchange free movies.
You should try with Promo Code 1230ta expire 3/31/2007
https://www.blockbuster.com/signup/rp/regPlan/c.bbfamily/pc.FFTA?promoCode=1230ta
Before the end of the trial you can:
Cancel your account or Continue using 1 of 3 price plans
1 out $9.99/month,
2 out $14.99/month
3 out $17.99/month - kilmer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1From one of the comments above seems like BB is the right choice for you. I barely find time to watch three full movies in a month. I may have to give Netflix a try since I have a distribution center fairly close and BB has screwed me one too many times.
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