TimeandTide

Did a search for this but couldn't find it in this forum.

Made my once-monthly trip to Hollywood Video yesterday and was quite surprised to see signage around the store announcing their new .25 per DVD insurance option. Listened politely as the salesperson rang up my rentals and tried to sell me .75 worth of insurance for the three DVDs I was renting. Apparently, for a quarter, I can protect myself against charges incured for damage to my rentals. Part of the sales pitch is a promise to donate the money to a children's charity. I politely declined, but left scratching my head at a.) why did anyone at HV think this would be a money maker for them and b.) who in their right mind would fork over an extra quarter to insure their rentals? I mean, unless you're going to back your Expedition over your recent rentals, what kind of damage, exactly, are you protecting yourself against?

JMG

kids!!!! thats the only reason I can think anyone would spend 25cents on this scam.


I can't wait for them too try and make someone pay for a dvd that doesn't play cuz they didn't get the 25 cent coverage

EdTheRipper

I heard the schpiel the other day too. I like the fact that the proceeds are for a good cause but I just can't bring myself to spend any extra money for something that seems so unneccesary.

so it goes

This is something they got from Movie Gallery. Playguard or damage protection it's called. The majority of the damaged discs that get returned are from dogs chewing them. Between 2 stores I've seen about six examples of this in the past year.

If it doesn't play when you rent it you can just bring it back and exchange it. This service is for if it get's broken, cracked, or something of that nature, doesn't cover loss. It is mostly unneccesary though.

MG's money does not go to any charity though, just into their pockets.

nohoaudiovideo

From their website:

http://www.hollywoodvideo.com/specials/playguard.aspx

"My dog ate it!" This is just one example of how rental product becomes damaged. But don't worry...accidents happen!

Guests now have the option of purchasing Play Guard for only 25¢ per rental item. Play Guard is a damage-waiver fee that saves you from having to pay for a rental that is accidentally damaged.

Play Guard protects guests from the unexpected - whether you accidentally leave your movie or game rental in a hot car or it drops out of your shopping bag and you run over it. Simply return your damaged rentals back to us, no questions asked!

"Your dog ate it? No problem...you purchased Play Guard."

Play Guard is peace of mind.

See your local store for complete details...

(A portion of all Play Guard sales goes to Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation.)

Alan Smithee

Hmm, I'd be inclined to just break every disc before returning them

TheMovieman

^ I was thinking the same thing... lol. For only $0.25, you can take your aggression out by breaking a disc! Better than your own!

renaldow

Or better yet, you can buy an undamaged disc to replace your own broken one.

This is a stupid idea.

mike7162

Maybe this was just a catchy gimmick to drum up some charity money; I'll admit it's not very amusng, but it makes more sense.

Doc Moonlight

I remember some of the mom and pop stores doing this back in the early days of VHS rentals (althought they never donated it to charity). I also remember that Circuit City was offering replacement protection of DVDs they sold for $1. If you bought this and you damaged your disc they would replace it.

Dave C

Of course the fine print is that "a portion" goes to charity.

tonyc3742

Exactly. What portion?
If it is more than, say, 75%, it might be worth it. Of course, since you are getting something for it, you might not be able to write it off as a charitable donation.

Do people have loose disks laying all around, for dogs to chew on? I'll admit, my dog has chewed a CD before [Printmaster Gold]. Once. Eight years ago. If I were to have paid an add'l quarter for each cd/dvd/game I've rented or bought since then, I could buy an Xbox 360.

Replacement/performance plans/extended warranties on most consumer goods are virtually pure profit. Stick that money in a 'replacement' account and you're much better off.

TimeandTide

Exactly. I've probably rented hundreds of DVDs--either BB, HV or Netflix--and I've NEVER broken a disc. Really, how many people have ever backed over their DVDs or had a dog munch on one? Will probably cost HV more in publicity/signage costs than they'll actually make from this scam.

Abob Teff

And yet amother pristine example of why corporate America is screaming and crying that the video industry is dying. Hello? this idea is 20 years old! As a previous poster said, mom and pops were doing this in the 1980s!

Maybe the corps (or should that be corpse, pun intended) should take some of their "high money thinkers" and jettison them . . . oh wait, been done. Then they hire them back!

(I have been in such a cantakerous, anti-corporation, anti-government mood lately. POWER TO THE PEOPLE! VIVA LA REVOLUTION!)

Gizmo

Exactly what I was thinking!