Blockbuster, Netflix, Wal-Mart...We tried them all.
Written: Feb 22 '05 (Updated Mar 03 '05)
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The Blockbuster store was our sole source of movie rental for many years. I use to walk to Blockbuster when we lived in town but this summer we moved away from the city. One of the biggest things to adapt to when living away from town is not having a DVD store next door! We do have a Blockbuster in town but to get the movie and return it we’re talking a minimum of 30 minutes and a gallon of gas. Since fetching movies was such a hassle we began to consider DVD clubs and since we have used Blockbuster so often it is only natural that we would consider them.
After spending 6 months with Netflix for online rentals I started looking for other options just before they lowered their price to $17.99/mo. I found Wal-Mart had a similar online service for $17.49 and Blockbuster had one for $14.99. Blockbuster also had a bonus of two free coupons to use in their stores each month which you can use for a DVD or a video game. I was a sucker for the 2 free store rentals so I tried Blockbuster's deal first.
Blockbuster’s web address is easy to remember, www.blockbuster.com. Their website is easy to navigate once you log in. There are 30,000 titles to chose from and are sorted by genre, new releases, or favorites.
Browsing for a move is very easy. My favorite category of movie is “Comedy”. When I choose the comedy link I get another list of 23 types of comedies! Examples would be slapstick, stand-up, romantic comedy, etc. This makes it a lot easier to narrow my choices.
Another useful tool for browsing is the ability to search by actor. If I want to see a movie by Tom Hanks but can’t think of the title, I can just put his name in the search box and it will give me a list of movies that he was in.
DVD’s that are New Releases and Top Rentals and Coming Soon are also available to browse. Movies that have not been released yet can be added to your personal queue.
When you sign up for Blockbuster’s rental, you will be signing up to borrow DVD’s only. Blockbuster Online does not rent video tapes like the store does. Rentals will also need to be mailed back to the club; they can not be dropped off at your local Blockbuster. Blockbuster Online charges a fee one time a month for the service which is unlike the Blockbuster video store where you pay for each DVD that you view. What this means is if you get 2 movies in January and you don’t return them until February you will have spent $14.99 on 2 movies. If you return the movies immediately and have a quick turn around experience you might have paid $14.99 for 12 movies for the month of January.
Each month you will get a coupon for two free rentals in store. I thought this was a great idea at first until I went into the local store and realized I had already seen all of the movies. It is so much easier to find what you’re looking for online, and the selection online is much larger I think. Driving to the store is so old fashioned; delivery to your door really spoils you.
Another benefit of renting from Blockbuster Online is that you can see how good the movie is going to be before you rent it. After a member returns an online rental Blockbuster asks the member how many stars the movie deserves. Blockbuster has the average stars in blue next to the movie. I find the grading to be very accurate especially for those that are no longer new releases. This saves so much time because you don’t have to look up every movie that you consider. When you enter your own feedback the stars will turn yellow on your screen which also helps you know instantly what movies you’ve already seen. Once you start leaving your own feedback about movies Blockbuster is able to suggest movies to you based on the information that it gained in past rentals. The account can also be customized if you don’t want to be offered any movies with certain ratings such as "R" movies. Blockbuster Online does not rent “X” or “NC-17” (no one under 17) rated movies.
The process of renting DVD’s is very simple. Once you have logged on to your account you can start picking out the movies that you want to see. You will add them to your “queue” just as you would a shopping cart at any other website. You can look at your queue at any time and rearrange the movies or delete any from the queue. When Blockbuster gets the last DVD back from you they automatically send you the next one on your list. Blockbuster will send you e-mail to let you know when they receive a movie or when a new one has shipped to you. I have never received spam from Blockbuster.
During the trial period, you’re only allowed to have 2 movies out at a time. Once you complete your free trial you can change your membership to 3, 5, or 8 rentals each increasing with price. If things go well you will have one movie on the way back, one on the way to you, and one in your hands. If you work frequently you may also prefer to have 3 in your hand on Friday night.
Movies are mailed out in a paper envelope with no padding. The envelope is clearly marked as the Blockbuster DVD club and includes pre-paid postage for your return. The DVD will be the only thing in the envelope with a paper sleeve. You will not see any descriptions, pictures, or bonus discs with the delivery. The big question is what about lost or broken movies. The DVD’s are not in a padded envelope so damage is bound to occur. I have never received a damaged DVD. Blockbuster allows for a certain amount of lost or damaged DVD’s but their terms are vague. The DVD can be put in your mailbox at home or any other postal box.
We made the assumption that since Blockbuster was familiar with dealing with movies their transition to online rentals would be smooth. Although we didn’t have any “problems” during our rental period, we just weren’t very pleased.
The biggest disappointment was that it took forever to get a movie! The distribution center for my area was about 4 hours away so I expected quick turn around time. Actually I expected a new movie sitting in my mailbox on the 3rd day because that was the experience I had with Netflix. I waited endlessly for my movies from Blockbuster with 6-7 days for a new movie to arrive.
There are a great number of movies to choose from however some of the ones I wanted to order Blockbuster didn’t carry which were mostly kid movies and exercise DVD’s which unfortunately is a big portion of videos that I rent.
One thing that I was impressed with was that the DVD’s were in good condition. We frequently received scratched DVD’s from the local Blockbuster stores, as well as other online services.
Another thing that I found to be better than other services was the availability of new releases. New releases are always hard to get no matter where you shop but Blockbuster’s new releases were usually available or the wait was only a day or two. I was surprised to find releases that were not new on a very long waiting list. An example would be holiday movies, children’s movies, and comedy shows.
Canceling my membership was very impressive. I simply canceled my membership online and received an e-mail verifying my cancellation. My credit card was not erroneously billed and I did not receive further emails begging me to come back. I still had some movies in the queue so they continued to be mailed to me until my month was up as a courtesy. If you are canceling because you will be going out of town I would recommend deleting your queue just in case. Blockbuster Online does not an offer vacation hold. If you cancel your membership you will still be able to see your ratings and your rental history if you ever want to return.
I can’t really find anything “wrong” with this service it just wasn’t as good as Netflix or even Wal-Mart for the location that I live. I'm glad Blockbuster is cheaper, but it's not about the price, it's about if I'm going to ever get a movie to watch! When I learn that Blockbuster's distribution center picks up the pace I’ll give them another try. I would recommend trying Blockbuster for free and write your cancellation date down on your calendar. You will be able to determine within your 2-week trial if you will like the service or not. If you don’t like it, cancellation is free and painless.
Other DVD Rental Clubs:
Netflix
Wal-Mart DVD Rental Club
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Monthly DVD Rental
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xyzwyatt
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Location: Nashville, TN
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