so far i've gotten every dvd in order. and i don't see their selection as that bad. i'm not looking for any out of the way dvd's or obscure titles you can't find anywhere.

The main reason I'd use (i.e. pay for) an online rental service is if they had DVDs that I couldn't find anywhere locally. So in my case it's a different situation compared to yours. :)

Concerning WalMart, DVDude! wrote: I've learned with all these DVD rental sites that I should not put anything in the queue that I really don't want to see. What happens, is that a) they ship out the one you don't want, and then b) what you really want may come back in stock during the time period where they have already shipped your full allotment, and won't ship anything until you return the disk(s) that you don't really want.

That results in more quantity of disks shipped, because one is shipped as soon as they receive one from you, but since you really don't want the movie, it is no improvement.

Instead, just list the ones you really want, and then you may not get anything shipped the day they receive a disk, but you will have more chance of getting one you really want.

All the rental sites do this from time to time. I'm pretty sure that the availability information is an educated guess by the computer, based on previous patterns of renting. Also remember that hundreds or thousands of other people may add that "available" disk to the top of their queue at the same time.

The best for that is GreenCine, unless your taste is different than theirs. The second best is Netflix, and few of the other sites have anything that you won't find locally.

Is there any way to search Netflix's DVD selection without becoming a member? All the other DVD rental sites let you, but I couldn't find a way to do that at Netflix.

Wal-Mart seems like a cheaper alternative to Netflix, with similar selection, but some quick searches shows that when there's an unrated and an R-rated version of a movie out, they seem to always have the R-rated version only, which seems pretty useless. I searched for American Pie (1 & 2), Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Wicker Man, and Old School, and they were all the R-rated versions. So much for signing up with Wal-Mart...

Yes you can. Just click one of the links on the bottom of the page. Like privacy policy, etc. then you will be able to search the catalog.

Just want to say that I had a horrible experience with GreenCine. I signed up for the two-week free trial and had to enter something like 18 disks into the queue before I could find three in stock. Then, I received shipping notices for all three disks, but never received a single one (and, yes, my address was correct).

Then, at about the 10-day point, they send me an e-mail stating that if they did not receive back the disks by the end of the two week period they would charge my credit card (Netflix, let's you keep the disks for the full two weeks and THEN ship them back without charge).

So, I advised them of the situation and asked them to close my account. They did NOTHING to investigate why I didn't receive the disks, AND they insisted that my account stay open, "in case the disks showed up." Sure enough, about a week later, they tried to charge my credit card. Luckily, I had changed the number to an MC giftcard which didn't have enough money on it.

When I wrote to complain about their efforts to charge me, they claimed it was all a big mistake on their part and FINALLY they agreed to close my account.

What a bunch of crooks!

That sucks brother Crumps. I tried out GreenCine about a month ago and had a great experience. I decided to join up. My main reason for joining is this - they have dvd's totally unavailable anywhere else.
I highly recommend GreenCine for anyone who enjoys foreign, cult, art house and indie film.

Eddie Vanzetti

They both suck. I was able to get 8 movies in 3 weeks with flimcaddy. Walmart is faster on shipping time but takes longer than netflix to ship. I am in love with those netflix guys, they rock. I sent movies on Saturday and they receive them and sent new ones today. Of course we have to appreciate the fast service of the USPS but the strategic location of the distribution centers makes netflix #1. With them I get 3-6 movies a week which I cannot get even close with the other services

I guess it has to do with "location, location, location". I was able to get 16 with Walmart and 12 with Filmcaddy.

I'm giving Netflix a try now (signed up on Friday).

Wal-Mart has very few distribution centers (one?) so the movies take forever. Netflix is really fast.

Also, walmart takes forever to process the order (time to get the DVD, and ship the next) They are not worth at all. I mean they suck baaaad

Netflix rocks, the rest suck,
nuf said.

I have stock on NFLX, let me call them tomorrow and I will let you know

What he said. I've had netflix for almost a year and I LOVE it.

i've had absolutely no problem with walmart. it only takes 2-3 days coming to me or going back. they've sent all of my dvds in the order that i put them in. sometimes they even send out the next one if i mail one back directly from the PO

Netflix has a distribution center in FL, I bet you would be getting the movies in 1-2 days with them (and a bigger selection)

Well, Netflix has been great with me. Shipments take exactly 1 day both to and from. My only gripe is that they don't process anything on the weekend.

with a new kid i can't watch a movie every day so an extra day doesn't bother me. they selection isn't that bad. i would say it's a generic netflix and works just fine for me.

Netflix :up:

I live near Tucson, and Netflix sends their movies out of Phoenix
so I get them next day. Every once and a while, I get an
'unavailable' title that comes out of California. this takes up to
4 days. I think your milage will vary with all of these companies
depending on how close their shipping center is to your home.

Jason

any new info/update regarding this topic? thx

So far I've tried Netflix, Film Caddy, and Green Cine.

1) Netflix - They have the largest total selection of dvds and their shipping speed is excellent. It generally takes 2 days to ship to me and 2 days for them to get it. The trial is for 3 dvds out during a 2 week period

2) Film Caddy - They also have a large selection but have much less foreign dvds then Netflix or Green Cine. I'm trying them out as we speak for their free trial month and so far I've been pleased. So far shipping takes 2 days to ship to me and 2 days for them to get it. The trial is for 4 dvds out during a month long period.

3) Green Cine - They easily beat out Film Caddy and Netflix when it comes to cult/foreign/independent films (that being their selling point). Their shipping speed is slower then the above two, it generally took 3 days to ship to me and 3 days for them to get it, making the turnaround time 2 days more then Netflix or Film Caddy. Also, they tend to have long wait times on anything remotely popular, as I had to put quite a few dvds in my queue before I could find something that didn't have a long wait in front of it. The trial is for 3 dvds out during a 2 week period. (Also note that you have to have your dvds in before the 2 week trial ends if you don't want to get charged, as opposed to Netflix and Film Caddy where you get about 10 days to get your last batch back in to them

Which one has the closest distribution center to Columbus Ohio?
Just wondering. I was a Netflix customer when they first started I was getting 4 titles for $14.95. Then they raised their prices.
If they can mail me titles within 2 days I would be happy to return to them.
Thanks.

mentura.com?
 

Anyone tried mentura.com? They are offering 30 days free trial, three DVDs out at a time. They have lots of education titles. thx

I receive my first three dvd's from mentura.com yesterday. I live like 5 miles from their distribution center which is in Santa Rosa, CA so it takes 1 day shipping and receiving. I am dissapointed with them because they only carry full screen version DVD's, some DVD's include both versions.

Has anyone had a problem returning DVDs to FILMCADDY using their prepaid mailers? I tried dropping one off at the post office window the other day and the clerk told me it required 12 more cents (it had a prestamped amount of 37 cents on it.) You would think filmcaddy would put the correct postage on their mailers, so I was skeptical, but the clerk asked the clerk next to her, who confirmed the insufficient postage. So I walked out and dropped the mailer in the box outside. (I didnt have any money on me.)

I've been in the filmcaddy trial period for about 3 weeks so far, and it seems like it takes a lot longer for them to receive and check in dvds I send back than it does for me to receive dvds that they send out. Could this be due to the insufficient postage?

Anyone else have this problem?

Very strange, the first two batches from film caddy were 2 days to me, 2 days to them. But the 3rd batch was 2 days to me, and maybe 3 or 4 days back (they didn't all arrive at once). So I guess the times vary but I never bothered actually going into a post office to send the dvds back.

EDIT: Ok this last batch has taken forever, at least 10+ days worth, film caddy has just gotten progressively longer in their shipping times as the trial went on.