Blockbuster.com: How to make $10 a month go a LONG way
I got tired of shelling out $3.99 for videos and waiting in line only to find shelves that were as bald as Britney Spears' head. So I went online and couldn't be happier.
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I'm a technology laggard, which is kind of surprising coming from a guy with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. I've just never been real keen about adopting the latest fashions - whether it's square-toed shoes or electronic gadgetry or online commerce.
I watched all the hype surrounding Netflix and then watched the inevitable "me too" businesses spring up in their attempt to cash in on Netflix's success once it caught on. It wasn't until I ended up with quite a bit of time on my hands due to a lengthy disability from work that I decided to take the plunge, since I was starting to watch more than 2-3 movies a month and the economics of an online "club" for video rentals would make sense.
I did some homework and ultimately decided that blockbuster.com was the best deal going, at least for my particular situation. For $9.99 a month I can get one movie at a time. But here's the deal: instead of mailing the movie back, I can simply turn it in at my nearest Blockbuster store (which is only about one mile away) and exchange it for a movie on the shelf. Blockbuster mails it back for me and I'm automatically sent the next movie on my list. Basically, it means I never have to be without a movie. The regional blockbuster warehouse for my area is in Northern California and the mailing time is generally only two days so the whole process works like this:
- I make a list of the movies I want on blockbuster.com
- They mail me the first movie on my list
- I receive it about 2 days later
- I watch it and keep it for as long as I want
- I return it to my local Blockbuster store
- They allow me to pick out any movie on the shelf at no charge
- They immediately enter my returned movie into their computer, triggering the warehouse to send me another without them having to actually wait for it to arrive in the mail back at their warehouse
- I get the next movie via mail about 2 days after picking one off the shelf at my local Blockbuster store
The bottom line is that I end up with something like 12-15 movies a month for $9.99, which is obscenely cheap - In fact, it seems to me that the fee would barely pay for the 2-way postage charges, but if Blockbuster ins't complaining, I'm not either.
The online selection allows me to rent music videos, old TV series (like my favorite, The Avengers), and other hard-to-find stuff that isn't carried in the typical Blockbuster store inventory. I end up using the online inventory for the hard-to-find titles and just get the more popular new releases or easy-to-find stuff at the local store.
Any way you slice it, it's a good deal. Blockbuster locations are as ubiquitous as Starbucks and McDonalds these days, and it this gives them a big advantage over their purely online competitors like Netflix: since they have actual, physical storefronts, you can "exchange" your mail order movies for another one without having to wait for the mail cycle. If you live in the boonies, this obviously isn't an advantage, but with me being a mile away from the nearest Blockbuster, swapping a movie is nearly instantaneous and effortless. By the time I finish watching the one I got at the store, the next mail order movie is waiting for me in my mailbox. They even give me an online coupon that I can print out and redeem for one free movie a month, in addition to my dozen or so available through mail order and in-store swapping.
No, this isn't a paid ad for Blockbuster, I don't own Blockbuster stock, I'm not a Blockbuster employee, and I'm not even related to any Blockbuster employees that I know of. In fact, I normally don't like giving my business to the big chains. But until just a few months ago, Blockbuster was the only video store in my town and I got tired of bending over to the tune of $3.99 per movie so decided to see what my online rental options were. I looked at Netflix and all the others, but Blockbuster.com was a no-brainer because of their "swap" program - something only a brick-and-mortar chain can offer. Now, I'm paying something like 85 cents per movie, I have a great selection, and I'm never without a movie.
What's not to like? So far - at least for me - nothing!
