Blockbuster online problems - Page 2

fujishig · 09-16-08, 04:38 PM

yes. Returned a movie to the store this weekend (status updated almost immediately) but still nothing is shipped out. Sure, a lot of the top of my queue is not available, but there are available titles below. I know they don't ship out over the weekend, but geez.

TheOne · 09-17-08, 03:18 PM

Found this in another forum and not sure if this will relate to you (from my previous post):

Googling BBonline problems, this one website had one person said there is a new allocation system. For instance, if the top 4 title is not in available in your queue, nothing will ship on day 1. If no titles are available in your top 8 next day, then nothing will ship for day 2. And so on. Then on day 5, the whole queue will be searched.

fujishig · 09-17-08, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOne

Found this in another forum and not sure if this will relate to you (from my previous post):

Googling BBonline problems, this one website had one person said there is a new allocation system. For instance, if the top 4 title is not in available in your queue, nothing will ship on day 1. If no titles are available in your top 8 next day, then nothing will ship for day 2. And so on. Then on day 5, the whole queue will be searched.

That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I know they're trying to make a profit for their online business, but geez... it doesn't help that sooo many titles in my queue are not available (and they were available or at least had a wait before).

edited to add: i wonder if this is a way of stopping people from griping that they always receive movies at the middle of their list. If so, it'll still cause more problems than not. If there's something that's listed as "short wait" or "long wait" they should know ahead of time if someone is returning the movies (as I think they still get scanned at the post office or the store). I can see NOT shipping out a movie further down my queue if they know that a movie with a wait is on its way back to them. But just waiting a day, then moving further down my list, up to a whole week (considering they only ship four of five days out of the week anyway?)

mattysemo247 · 09-19-08, 12:14 PM

Ya, this is just stupid. Because some of their movies say in Short or Long status for a LONG time. So what are you supposed to do if you can't keep them at the top and hope that they ship out at some point?

eigafan · 09-21-08, 11:04 PM

I started getting the "error 500 - internal server error" on August 29th. I emailed customer service and received an email with instructions on how to get rid of my cookies/cache on Internet Explorer when I clearly stated what browsers (Safari, Opera, Firefox) I used, and what operating system (Mac OS X 10.4.11) and computer I was using. I replied back that resetting my cookies and deleting the cache didn't solve the queue problem and they wanted me contact another department on a toll free number. At this point, I decided that I didn't want to get billed on the first of September without having full access to my queue, so I canceled my BB online account. I'm totally happy with Netflix and glad to finally get rid of BB online (rate increase, slow shipment, bad customer service).

Quatermass · 09-22-08, 12:25 PM

FWIW, I deleted the only movie I had in my queue that said "Very Long Wait" and it sped things up tremendously. No more 8-day turnarounds.
That's really a crappy algorithm, my local library is able to handle a waiting list for DVDs and I don't think I've ever waited more than two weeks for a title, so it's hard to believe blockbuster can't figure out a better way to manage queues.

mattysemo247 · 09-24-08, 04:47 PM

^^^

I did the same thing, and 3 movies shipped out the same day. It sucks, but I guess it works for now. Hopefully they get their shit straight soon...

fujishig · 10-01-08, 12:28 PM

Err... how is "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" still not available?

bigtedshred · 10-01-08, 04:50 PM

I've noticed a ton of movies now have not available.. Just looking at their top 100 rentals most are now 'We're sorry: this movie is not available for rent by mail.' No clue what is going on.. I'll email them and see if I get a reply.

edit: just to add confusion, even movies that I currently have out are listed as 'not available for rent by mail' Who knows.. I think my queue got cut in half just now with this issue.
edit2: 10/2, everything looks back to normal, although I'll need to re-add stuff to my queue. blah!

SI78 · 10-03-08, 03:40 AM

Ruh-roh. I went in to do my Oct. exchanges (well, 2 of them) and was told that the computer isn't letting anyone do trade ins anymore and that there is some sort of new policy and to check my email.

Well, I have no email...

Was that particular clerk on crack? Or is another policy change approaching?

fujishig · 10-03-08, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SI78

Ruh-roh. I went in to do my Oct. exchanges (well, 2 of them) and was told that the computer isn't letting anyone do trade ins anymore and that there is some sort of new policy and to check my email.

Well, I have no email...

Was that particular clerk on crack? Or is another policy change approaching?

I got a movie trade-in on Oct. 1. I also don't have a new email... I doubt they can just change the policy whenever they feel like it, considering we pay in advance for this.

Quatermass · 10-03-08, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fujishig

Err... how is "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" still not available?

I just sent it back this morning. Maybe they only have the one copy.

SI78 · 10-04-08, 09:00 PM

I went to a different Blockbuster yesterday to attempt a trade, and again, the register would not let me.

This clerk was more friendly and knowledgeable, and called around trying to figure it out. However, he never did. His theorey, which seems plausible is that Blockbuster has switched from Calendar month to billing month without telling anyone.

Anybody else having trade in problems yet?

TheOne · 10-06-08, 12:22 AM

Hi SI78,

I was at my local Blockbuster today. I was going to do a trade in if there was a movie I wanted to rent but it was still out. So I couldn't test if the "October" trade in is working.

One thing I've notice in my Sept 30 trade. Usually on the receipt, I would tell you how many trade-ins you've used. Last month, it would say, used 5. But it wasn't there this month. It may be because I also used a free rental coupon on the same receipt.

fujishig · 10-23-08, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SI78

I went to a different Blockbuster yesterday to attempt a trade, and again, the register would not let me.

This clerk was more friendly and knowledgeable, and called around trying to figure it out. However, he never did. His theorey, which seems plausible is that Blockbuster has switched from Calendar month to billing month without telling anyone.

Anybody else having trade in problems yet?

I just got an email today verifying this:

Quote:

We just wanted to let you know about a change to your BLOCKBUSTER Total Access™ subscription. Starting this month, your in-store exchanges will now reset on your billing date, rather than on the first of each month. For your reference, your billing date is XXXX, 2008.

Remember, once you have used your included in-store exchanges for your billing period, you can still bring in your DVD mailers and exchange them for $1.99 movie rentals. It's just another benefit of being a BLOCKBUSTER Total Access subscriber!

Thanks for renting online with us,

Your friends at BLOCKBUSTER®

tbwmp88 · 10-23-08, 05:40 PM

I choose the American Gangster and James Bond Blu-ray's, but when it gets added to my queue, the format says DVD. Has anyone received the Blu-ray's when you did it this way?

TheOne · 10-26-08, 03:39 AM

Thanks for your heads up fujishig.

I didn't get an email but check the faq online and it did say the exchange is based on billing period instead of calendar month.

I would have lost 1 exchange since my "billing month" is coming up and was going to do my last of the 5 exchange on that date. Now it should reset to 5 on that day.

fujishig · 10-27-08, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOne

Thanks for your heads up fujishig.

I didn't get an email but check the faq online and it did say the exchange is based on billing period instead of calendar month.

I would have lost 1 exchange since my "billing month" is coming up and was going to do my last of the 5 exchange on that date. Now it should reset to 5 on that day.

yup... note I got this message right AFTER my billing date, which is probably intentional.

TheOne · 10-30-08, 12:48 AM

I didn't even get an email. But it did reset right on the billing date.

nemein · 10-30-08, 06:28 AM

Shows you how much attention I was paying... I thought it was already based on billing date

phntomgamer · 02-17-09, 02:13 PM

I realize this is 4 months after the fact but the problem continues:
1) I have the 3-at-a-time program.
2) I do not get 3 unless I do the "Contact Customer Service"
3) Their standard answer is: You do not have AVAILABLE movies at the TOP of your Queue" (Which is incorrect because the FIRST time they told me this, I always move at least three movies with AVAILABLE to the top of the queue)
4) The Customer Service Rep responding to my E-Mail obviously is not reading my full details. I explained that I move AVAILABLE to the top of the queue but they STILL sent back the EXACT same response as I got the past four times!!!
5) This is now looking like a scam. A way to throttle mailings, thereby increasing their profit-per-movie.
6) Tried an ACTUAL phone call to Blockbuster but that was unsuccessful! They just transfer you around till your call is dropped. (Went through that game three times till I gave up).

So. Is there another Class-Action Lawsuit brewing? If so, I need to add my name to the list.

Lance

Quatermass · 02-17-09, 05:12 PM

I suspended my account back in December. Not just because of the service, but because there just wasn't that much I wanted to see. Since they haven't improved, I'll probably just go ahead and cancel it.

In a mostly unrelated gripe, two of the last movies I ordered from them were The Godfather & Godfather II. The picture and description were for the brand new Coppola restoration, and they were listed under "new releases," which they were at the time. I noticed when I put them in my queue that it didn't say anything about which version, but since I clicked through their "new release" image, I assumed it would get the correct UPC or whatever behind the scenes and I'd get that one. WRONG! I got the old versions of both (which are available free at my local library 2 blocks away). To make matters worse, one of the discs for Godfather II was cracked in half. Since I didn't have the "in store exchange" thing, I had to report it and send it back, which meant 8 additional days before I actually got the movie (again, the old version). Shortly after that, I suspended my account.

I also hear Blockbuster is toying with the idea of a Redbox-type of kiosk system.

Dean Kousoulas · 02-17-09, 05:19 PM

I signed up for BB Online in July...sadly some titles I added then are STILL listed as very long wait or long wait. These are titles I would not blind buy and ones my local Blockbusters do not carry. If I didn't take advantage of their in store exchanges so much (my local franchise Blockbuster breaks street date the Friday before release date) I would have switched to Netflix already.

iamiam · 02-19-09, 12:10 PM

Blockbuster has gotten worse and worse over the years. I used to get all my movies the next day, now 1-4 days, I have a suspicion they're not shipping it out when they say they are. Some new releases I see in store are unavailable and lot of them will have "long wait" that never changes. If I had to actually pay for it, I would never use it.

Maxwell Smart · 02-19-09, 01:21 PM

never really had a issue w/ them, I always get my movies a day after they ship.

09-19-08, 12:14 PM	#29
mattysemo247 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 903	Ya, this is just stupid. Because some of their movies say in Short or Long status for a LONG time. So what are you supposed to do if you can't keep them at the top and hope that they ship out at some point? __________________ 56’’ Samsung DLP 1080P HDTV • 7.1 Pioneer Elite SC-05 THX Certified Receiver • 120 GB 360 Elite • 320 GB PS3 X Box 360 Gamertag: Skillz 247 LP • PS3 ID: KJK • Wii Code: 3960 3828 1411 7474 My Blu Ray Collection

09-24-08, 04:47 PM	#32
mattysemo247 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 903	^^^ I did the same thing, and 3 movies shipped out the same day. It sucks, but I guess it works for now. Hopefully they get their shit straight soon... __________________ 56’’ Samsung DLP 1080P HDTV • 7.1 Pioneer Elite SC-05 THX Certified Receiver • 120 GB 360 Elite • 320 GB PS3 X Box 360 Gamertag: Skillz 247 LP • PS3 ID: KJK • Wii Code: 3960 3828 1411 7474 My Blu Ray Collection

10-01-08, 04:50 PM	#34
bigtedshred New Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 6	I've noticed a ton of movies now have not available.. Just looking at their top 100 rentals most are now 'We're sorry: this movie is not available for rent by mail.' No clue what is going on.. I'll email them and see if I get a reply. edit: just to add confusion, even movies that I currently have out are listed as 'not available for rent by mail' Who knows.. I think my queue got cut in half just now with this issue. edit2: 10/2, everything looks back to normal, although I'll need to re-add stuff to my queue. blah! Last edited by bigtedshred; 10-02-08 at 04:09 PM.

10-30-08, 06:28 AM	#45
nemein Moderator Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: 1bit away from total disaster Posts: 32,703	Shows you how much attention I was paying... I thought it was already based on billing date __________________ "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism, but under the name of liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program until one day America will be a socialist nation without ever knowing how it happened." -- Norman Thomas, Socialist Party of America "Do the right thing even if it means dying like a dog when no one's there to see you do it." - Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale My Countdown Counting down to: End of the 5th world age 1124 days 9 hours 6 minutes

02-17-09, 02:13 PM	#46
phntomgamer New Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Glandale, AZ Posts: 3	Re: Blockbuster online problems I realize this is 4 months after the fact but the problem continues: 1) I have the 3-at-a-time program. 2) I do not get 3 unless I do the "Contact Customer Service" 3) Their standard answer is: You do not have AVAILABLE movies at the TOP of your Queue" (Which is incorrect because the FIRST time they told me this, I always move at least three movies with AVAILABLE to the top of the queue) 4) The Customer Service Rep responding to my E-Mail obviously is not reading my full details. I explained that I move AVAILABLE to the top of the queue but they STILL sent back the EXACT same response as I got the past four times!!! 5) This is now looking like a scam. A way to throttle mailings, thereby increasing their profit-per-movie. 6) Tried an ACTUAL phone call to Blockbuster but that was unsuccessful! They just transfer you around till your call is dropped. (Went through that game three times till I gave up). So. Is there another Class-Action Lawsuit brewing? If so, I need to add my name to the list. Lance

09-16-08, 04:38 PM	#26
fujishig DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 8,887	yes. Returned a movie to the store this weekend (status updated almost immediately) but still nothing is shipped out. Sure, a lot of the top of my queue is not available, but there are available titles below. I know they don't ship out over the weekend, but geez.

09-17-08, 03:18 PM	#27
TheOne Senior Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 724	Found this in another forum and not sure if this will relate to you (from my previous post): Googling BBonline problems, this one website had one person said there is a new allocation system. For instance, if the top 4 title is not in available in your queue, nothing will ship on day 1. If no titles are available in your top 8 next day, then nothing will ship for day 2. And so on. Then on day 5, the whole queue will be searched.

09-21-08, 11:04 PM	#30
eigafan New Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Central Georgia Posts: 14	I started getting the "error 500 - internal server error" on August 29th. I emailed customer service and received an email with instructions on how to get rid of my cookies/cache on Internet Explorer when I clearly stated what browsers (Safari, Opera, Firefox) I used, and what operating system (Mac OS X 10.4.11) and computer I was using. I replied back that resetting my cookies and deleting the cache didn't solve the queue problem and they wanted me contact another department on a toll free number. At this point, I decided that I didn't want to get billed on the first of September without having full access to my queue, so I canceled my BB online account. I'm totally happy with Netflix and glad to finally get rid of BB online (rate increase, slow shipment, bad customer service).

09-22-08, 12:25 PM	#31
Quatermass DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Upright, in a cool, dry place Posts: 2,575	FWIW, I deleted the only movie I had in my queue that said "Very Long Wait" and it sped things up tremendously. No more 8-day turnarounds. That's really a crappy algorithm, my local library is able to handle a waiting list for DVDs and I don't think I've ever waited more than two weeks for a title, so it's hard to believe blockbuster can't figure out a better way to manage queues.

10-01-08, 12:28 PM	#33
fujishig DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA Posts: 8,887	Err... how is "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" still not available?

10-03-08, 03:40 AM	#35
SI78 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 376	Ruh-roh. I went in to do my Oct. exchanges (well, 2 of them) and was told that the computer isn't letting anyone do trade ins anymore and that there is some sort of new policy and to check my email. Well, I have no email... Was that particular clerk on crack? Or is another policy change approaching?

10-04-08, 09:00 PM	#38
SI78 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 376	I went to a different Blockbuster yesterday to attempt a trade, and again, the register would not let me. This clerk was more friendly and knowledgeable, and called around trying to figure it out. However, he never did. His theorey, which seems plausible is that Blockbuster has switched from Calendar month to billing month without telling anyone. Anybody else having trade in problems yet?

10-06-08, 12:22 AM	#39
TheOne Senior Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 724	Hi SI78, I was at my local Blockbuster today. I was going to do a trade in if there was a movie I wanted to rent but it was still out. So I couldn't test if the "October" trade in is working. One thing I've notice in my Sept 30 trade. Usually on the receipt, I would tell you how many trade-ins you've used. Last month, it would say, used 5. But it wasn't there this month. It may be because I also used a free rental coupon on the same receipt.

10-23-08, 05:40 PM	#41
tbwmp88 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: USA Posts: 477	I choose the American Gangster and James Bond Blu-ray's, but when it gets added to my queue, the format says DVD. Has anyone received the Blu-ray's when you did it this way?

10-26-08, 03:39 AM	#42
TheOne Senior Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 724	Thanks for your heads up fujishig. I didn't get an email but check the faq online and it did say the exchange is based on billing period instead of calendar month. I would have lost 1 exchange since my "billing month" is coming up and was going to do my last of the 5 exchange on that date. Now it should reset to 5 on that day.

10-30-08, 12:48 AM	#44
TheOne Senior Member Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 724	I didn't even get an email. But it did reset right on the billing date.

02-17-09, 05:12 PM	#47
Quatermass DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Upright, in a cool, dry place Posts: 2,575	Re: Blockbuster online problems I suspended my account back in December. Not just because of the service, but because there just wasn't that much I wanted to see. Since they haven't improved, I'll probably just go ahead and cancel it. In a mostly unrelated gripe, two of the last movies I ordered from them were The Godfather & Godfather II. The picture and description were for the brand new Coppola restoration, and they were listed under "new releases," which they were at the time. I noticed when I put them in my queue that it didn't say anything about which version, but since I clicked through their "new release" image, I assumed it would get the correct UPC or whatever behind the scenes and I'd get that one. WRONG! I got the old versions of both (which are available free at my local library 2 blocks away). To make matters worse, one of the discs for Godfather II was cracked in half. Since I didn't have the "in store exchange" thing, I had to report it and send it back, which meant 8 additional days before I actually got the movie (again, the old version). Shortly after that, I suspended my account. I also hear Blockbuster is toying with the idea of a Redbox-type of kiosk system.

02-17-09, 05:19 PM	#48
Dean Kousoulas DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 3,539	Re: Blockbuster online problems I signed up for BB Online in July...sadly some titles I added then are STILL listed as very long wait or long wait. These are titles I would not blind buy and ones my local Blockbusters do not carry. If I didn't take advantage of their in store exchanges so much (my local franchise Blockbuster breaks street date the Friday before release date) I would have switched to Netflix already. __________________ "Earnest Hemingway once wrote 'The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for.' I agree with the 2nd part." - Morgan Freeman, Se7en

02-19-09, 12:10 PM	#49
iamiam Needs to contact an admin about multiple accounts Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 448	Re: Blockbuster online problems Blockbuster has gotten worse and worse over the years. I used to get all my movies the next day, now 1-4 days, I have a suspicion they're not shipping it out when they say they are. Some new releases I see in store are unavailable and lot of them will have "long wait" that never changes. If I had to actually pay for it, I would never use it.

02-19-09, 01:21 PM	#50
Maxwell Smart DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Texas Posts: 2,663	Re: Blockbuster online problems never really had a issue w/ them, I always get my movies a day after they ship.