Blockbuster Online Raising Rates

I got the email. Canceling next week as soon as my next free video game rental coupon shows up. Nothing like a 40% price hike to fuck over your customers.

Ah, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Now I know what delusion feels like.

???

I got the memo for this my last day working there. Thank Christ I won't have to deal with the (rightfully) pissed off customers for this one.

And oddly enough I get notices from Netflix saying how they're cutting the price of their 3 disc plan by a couple of bucks. I'm not surprised as it's been said for months that at some point Blockbuster was going to have the raise the cost of this plan.

Ah, Blockbuster fucking up their business model. It gives one faith that the world is unfolding as it should.

I've just gone back to Netflix, and yes, their prices are lower now. Nice bonus to justify my decision.

So many friends have told me about how Blockbuster only rents specifically edited versions of movies but I'm way too lazy to figure out if this is true. Anyone want to comment on this AGAIN?

I dropped BB Total Access for Redbox and haven't looked back. $1 a day, what I want, when I want.

Not true. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't even be legal.

Although they don't stock NC-17 films (although they do carry unrated stuff like Irreversible, though). Maybe that's what your friends are talking about.

They only carry the R-rated cut of some films, like Bad Education or Sex & Lucia.

But to say they carry no NC-17 films isn't entirely accurate either. They do carry the Criterion version of Man Bites Dog. It's terribly inconsistent.

This is a rumor that was going around a long time ago. I think its genesis came from the fact that they did commission edited versions of certain big blockbusters for the exclusive purpose of playing in their stores. So you'd walk in and see Titanic, because it was the big thing at the time, but there'd be no nudity.

At least, this is the version I heard.

It was common knowledge that blockbuster was losing money on the service. They were desperate for the Netflix customers and figured the short term gain was worth it. They just really suck at business.

No email yet, but that's probably because I've had it for a couple years now. Hopefully, having it for that long constitutes 'Preferred' status.

Fucking preach it, brother. I left (re: was forced to give my two weeks instead of getting fired because I wasn't selling enough programs) at the end of July (right before my fourth year). I'm so glad I don't have to experience the fallout from this.

Surprise! They're Blockbuster!

This really is a colossally bad business decision. I won't be surprised if they hemorrhage half their subscribers overnight. Which means all those millions of dollars they dumped into creating their online library and shipping infrastructure probably just went up in smoke. Whoops.

I could see raising prices OR eliminating the monthly coupons OR limiting in-store rentals, but doing all three at the same time? Eat my shit.

omg I jst lol'd and lmao at this thread....

not at the posters of course, but the stupidity of BB. I thought they were doing good...at least that's the impression I got from various local business talking heads and mag articles in the bay area.

Way to go Netflix, especially with dropping their 3-disc plan to the current price point BB plans on ditching.

rofl.

One wonders if Netflix caught wind of this early, and acted accordingly.

I remember reading a lengthy article last year about how Blockbuster basically went from one of the staple businesses of the 1990s to the biggest fuck up corporation in America following a slew of horrible, horrible business decisions.

Sounds like they haven't learned much in past years.

Added: Wikipedia says the company's market value is less than $500 million. That's about as worthless as you could possibly get for a national chain.

When I read the article about Blockbuster losing money on this service a year or so ago, Netflix said that they were pretty much going to sit back and wait for this decision to implode. Between this and Movie Gallery filing for Chapter 11, it's a bad time for the brick and mortar stores.

F this, I just got a online voucher for this service. Yes I did abuse it like a red headed stepchild some time back, but I swear I has changed masta.

Have you been in a Blockbuster lately? Not that they were ever paragons of interior design, but the stores used to at least look clean and organized. Now they look like jumbled messes, and you can't turn around without bumping into a used DVD table of some kind. And it doesn't help that if you walk into one on a Tuesday, you're pretty much guaranteed NOT to find any copies of the new releases on the shelf. The few times I've been in one lately I want to leave almost immediately.

their edition of Requiem for a Dream was edited beyond recognition in the climax. Now, it could be that it was some kind of R-rated version. but I had never heard of one.

I statted doing the Blockbuster-in-the-mail service right when it started a few years ago, and I found that it was close to Netflix, but not as consistent. Then they raised the rates. So I told them to fuck off and went with Netflix. Haven't looked back - consistent shipping times, good stock, Blu-Ray availability. Then BB comes out with the in-store exchange thing, and it smells like a bait-&-switch from the start - get folks used to it, lose your ass in monthly fees, then bump your rates and hope their lives are so dependant on the service that they won't jump ship.

I got pissed at them once for the same shit - glad I'm not in this boat again. And to top it ALL off, Netflix just dropped their prices TWICE!

Fuck yeah.

Although ironically, they don't carry This Film Is Not Yet Rated.

Anyway, Netflix has just made its service a buck cheaper so they remain even better. Way to go, Blockbuster.

I responded by cutting back to an even cheaper plan than I had, but after hearing you guys will probably just cancel altogether now.

That R-Rated version isn't blockbuster exclusive, it was released by the studios. Blockbuster doesn't edit their own versions of movies, except in that one case with Titanic and shit like that.

My friend has been trying to get me to switch from Netflix to Blockbuster for a while now. I was tempted by the immeadiate gratification of in store rentals, but I stayed loyal. I guess I win.

That's lame.

Also, hey Digg!

The only thing BB is good for is the occasional ridiculous used DVD sale, like the one here recently where a huge selection was both $2.99 each and buy 2 get one free. I pretty much stay away neyond times when I catch wind of deals like that.

I don't currently use any online rental services, or have a Blockbuster store anywhere close, I do however have a Movie Gallery in my town. Any store that tries to sell used DVDs for $15.99-$17.99 deserves to go under. They try to have "Buy two, get two free", but the price is still retarded. I hope the store closes here, and they have one hell of a going out of business sale.

The McDonalds Redbox is a pretty good deal actually, if you can get around to watching the movie that night. Plus you can pick up some tasty fries while you're there.

I was quite the hype man for BB Online, but this is like a slap in the face. If the plan was unsustainable, better to not try it at all. Couple questions for the Netflix crowd, is the whole "throttling" a reality, or myth. I don't watch 3 movies a night and then immediately mail them back, but sometimes if I have time, I would watch them all over a weekend and get them back in the mail. As far as I know, BB hasn't screwed with me in this area, and if Netflix was going to, I'm sort of between a rock and a hard place. Also, to those who have tried both, is the selection the same? There's certain movies I haven't found on either, but am I gaining a bigger library with Netflix?

Netflix is fairly good about return to ship ratios. I've noted they've lagged sometimes, not shipping until the day after they received a return, but it's tough to tell if that's deliberate, or just part of the outbound shipping location backlog. I'm one day from a return center (if it's in a 2:30PM pick up mailbox, it's there the next day) so my turnaround has been consistently pretty good.

Netflix's only problem I've encountered is on popular smaller scale movies. If you don't time a return to hit the Monday before a film's Tuesday release date, you may find yourself in the "Very Long Wait" limbo for a month or so. The big blockbuster films don't seem to suffer this much, but a lot of horror releases ( "The Hills Have Eyes 2" por ejemplo ) do.

whats funny is that we have this brand new blockbuster (okay maybe its 2 years old) and everything there is umm there.

Heres the funny fucking anomaly. Every other blockbuster sucks. I walk into this new one, and it reminds me of the good old days.

Seriously though, feel your pain, and soon that I'm gonna take the HD dive, I dunno what I'm gonna do yet. Thank god I can delay the dive, but I really want to stick my dick in blu-ray, and maybe I want it to stick its dick in me.

See, I don't consider "only" getting them in the mail a bad thing. That was the whole point of the service, that I never had to set foot in a damn video store again. Outside of the illusion that you were tweaking the system in some kind of unforeseen way, I never understood the appeal of having an online movie service that also involved going into the store.

The appeal of BB Online was twice the movies for the same price as Netflix. Period. I'm out and about enough that I didn't mind going 5 minutes down the road to the store, and like others have said, you could get new releases the day they came out insteadof waiting for a "Very Long Wait".

But yeah, out on principle, I officially cancelled my BB Online plan yeserday and opened one with Netflix. I like their browsing capabilities and recommendations structure a lot better too.

If you time it right, you can get 21 movies per month from Netflix. They're not throttling the movies anymore, so they'll send to you as fast as you send back to them.

It kicks more ass than Chuck Norris and Jet Li in an Ass-Kicking Contest.

Netflix is also constantly upgrading their system. It seems like improvements are up every month. I appreciate that they don't rest on their laurels just because they're successful.

There's also the fact that they have that friend feature that allows you to send recommendations and comments and such. I know four people who are on it, so it's handy.

As I was fiddling with my Queue just now I realized that Netflix has something going for it to help offset the in-store exchange:

Instant Viewing.

I haven't made a full perusal but with 17 hours of online watching, I can damn sure get my monies worth by firing up the laptop while the hard copies are in the mail.

I haven't gotten around to trying that yet, but it's an exciting development. I have been enjoying it on XBox Live Marketplace, but this has the added advantage of not costing more money.

I once got 25 movies from Netflix in one month. I was proud of myself.

I once got 25 movies from Netflix in one month. I was proud of myself.

No surprise. It was only a matter of time. Like everything, it's a cycle.

I started out with Netflix and then Blockbuster introduced the program where you could rent as many movies (in-store, no online at the time) as you wanted - rent 2, return them, same day even, get 2 more, no limit. That was something like $25 and well worth it since I lived close to the shop.

Then it went clear up to like $35 soon after. I switched back to Netflix. Eventually Netflix raised their prices, just a touch.

Along comes Total Access. I drop Netflix again (for no good reason aside from being able to return movies to the store in exchange for more movies while at the same time even more movies are coming in the mail). Now BB raises rates. I'll switch back to Netflix. They'll raise rates again and BB will introduce a new program to rob them of customers for a few months.

Rinse, repeat.

Honestly, the in store rentals weren't working out very well. I always showed up at the wrong time to get the newest releases and I'm terrible at returning movies on time. I constantly get automated phone calls from BB and nailed with the $1.50 restocking fees.

Well the new billing period started recently and I went in to exchange an envelope for a movie and the guy stated that I had used up my in store exchanges for the month. I explained that I had been billed again so I should be at zero swaps. He told me some bullshit, then I went home and canceled my plan. Netflix here i come.

All are welcome...come into the light...

Maybe some of us should exchange e-mail addresses and link up as friends on Netflix. I've rated something like 1600 movies, and I'd be interested to compare tastes with some other people.

Agreed. I'm happy as hell with Netflix, and the deciding factor for me between them and BB was that I didn't have to bother going to the video store anymore. The nearest Blockbuster store is seven blocks away from me, the store's a mess, and they never have anything in stock half the time. I work two jobs right now, and frankly, before I joined Netflix, my movie veiwing had tapered off drastically because I'm just too tired to hike it to Blockbuster, never had time to return the movies, and was too tired to think about what I might want to see on any given night. In-store convenience, in my case, was no convenience at all.

Now, no matter how beat I am, there's a movie waiting for me in the mailbox - which, if I've had a bad day at work, is really a boost to see when I get home. If I change my mind and want to see something sooner, I move it up in my queue. If I decide off the top of my head at work that I want to see something? I pull up my account and add it, rather than try to remember, by the time I get off work, that I wanted to see something and can't remember what it was by that time.

Plus, I'm fortunate enough that one of the Netflix shipping facilities is right in Queens, close to my old neighborhood. If I drop a DVD off in the mail on my way to work, odds are they have it by later on that night, or at the latest, the next morning. I don't need to see something so immediately that I can't wait a day, because if I mail it back on Monday, I have my new movie by Weds, guaranteed.

And I love their replacement policy - I had 2 Days in the Valley waiting for me last night when I got home, but it was scratched and unplayable. I reported it as damaged and that I wanted a replacement, and I'll be popping the damaged one into the mailbox outside my office when I leave work today. So I just checked my queue a couple of hours ago - the new copy is on it's way to me already. You can't beat service like that for a few bucks a month. I don't know how Blockbuster thought they'd win this battle, especially raising their rates right around the time Netflix was lowering theirs.