Good Rental Service Especially for Instore Exchanges
Written: Jun 29 '08
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I have been a BlockBuster (BB) online rental customer for several years. I have not had any major issues with them. Occasionally, about 1 in 15 discs, I receive a cracked DVD. But this is due more to rough treatment by USPS than BB. USPS runs all mail here through their automated system and sometimes it cracks the disc. I guess the USPS machines were designed before mailing DVD's became popular. We're probably going to have to put up with cracked discs until the USPS machinery is too old to repair and must be replaced. ;^)
One problem I've had with BB is with ONE DVD title: "The Thin Red Line", 1964. I rented it 3 times. Unfortunately, the first one they sent me was cracked and the last 2 they sent me were the 1998 version staring Sean Penn. BB has since fixed this problem by no longer offering the 1964 version. Thanks to USPS, I'll probably never see the 1964 version. Apparently BB only had 1 in stock.
One irritating feature of BB's queue is when they say "Coming Soon", "Very Long Wait", and "Long Wait." For DVD's I have added which have these availabilities, their status has never changed. Essentially, this means "YOU'LL NEVER RENT THEM." Even DVD's which say "Short Wait", their status do not change for a month.
Luckily, most popular movies show as available for rent.
Last month, I also started a Netflix membership trial. I wanted to rent "ER - Season 7" and the BB status was "Very Long Wait", meaning I'd never rent it. Nearly every single Netflix title has an availability status of "Now." Netflix has a much larger selection of DVD's which are available for immediate rental.
The most notable difference between Netflix and BB is speed. Both companys' DVD's return to #25,xxx PO Boxes, same zip code. They are probably in the same USPS building! BB claims when I return a DVD to their retail store, they will ship faster. Yet, if I return them in the morning, NOTHING HAPPENS until the next day. It's the same when I return them via USPS. NOTHING happens for 2 days. When I return Netflix DVD's, they receive them the NEXT DAY and immediately mail the next DVD the same day. Netflix is ALWAYS one day faster.
Finally, Netflix's website Queue is much quicker and easier to use than BB's. When you change a DVD's position by dragging and dropping, it's immediate. For BB's Queue, when you do the same, it redraws the entire page and your CPU usage jumps to 100% for several seconds, causing FireFox to freeze or stutter. Netflix's Queue is far better.
If you want to exchange DVD's in a store for an immediate rental, then use BB. If you don't want to pay extra for this or don't have a BB store near you, use Netflix instead.
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? 3-At-a-Time Rental Service with 5 Instore Exchanges
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Epinions.com ID:
cypherdude
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Reviews written: 3
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