I used to lend out DVDs all the time, but I won't anymore. I've had a bunch disappear and having to go out and re-buy the same titles, when I have 200+ more on my wishlist, is not fun.

I'm still waiting for a friend to return 2 that I lent him nearly 8 months ago. I see him a few times a week and at least twice a month he says something like "Yeah, I have to remember to bring those DVDs back to you".

If anyone asks now, I point them in the direction of their public libary. Our town's library has 90% of what people are looking for anyway (including a huge foreign movie selection) and access to even more through the county's interloan system. The best part is that the local library will even lend them to you FREE for 2 days.

Austin, I hope you have a Maine Coon Cat... otherwise put that kitty on a diet!

Seriously though, many of us spend more on our DVD collections than some people spend on their cars. Next time a friend comes over and asks to borrow a truckload of DVDs just tell him "Sure, no problem. But first I want you to go buy a new Mercedes and let me drive it around for a few weeks for free".

Never lend. They can go to Blockbuster!

I never loan out anything. Most of my friends and associates already know I'm a jerk. For the rest, it's an opportunity to learn.....

In total agreement!

Hell I would even tell them to go to HWV or the library.

For me it all depends on the friend. I'll lend my family (mom, dad, sister or brother-in-law) flicks and a few select friends that I know takes care of my stuff. One friend I refuse to lend anything to anymore. Several of my DVD's came back scratched, boxes ripped up or burned, etc. Not pretty. He's also destroyed several books I've lent him.

Why can't people take care of others stuff? Is it really that hard?

No I'm getting depressed and angry thinking about it.

I loan to family and 2 friends only. People with kids? No.

Funny story -

I once lent a dvd (Rear Window) to a girl I really liked - she seemed like a responsible person, clean, immaculate, smart and made the Dean's list every year at her college. I thought this would be a good opportunity to expose her (ahem) to some Hitchcock, and see her again and maybe watch some more Hitch together.

Well 6 months go by, and I get the dvd back in the mail - apparently she had gone away to grad-school and taken the dvd with her. She still hadn't watched it, but at least she mailed it back in the same condition she borrowed it in.

I don't have a lot of friends coming by to borrow DVDs. So it's not much of a problem. Occasionally, I'll loan my brother a couple of DVDs - which involves me dropping them off the next time I'm in town visiting. I have a lot of DVDs, so it's not a big deal if he has them for a month or two. Last time he had s1-2 of Curb Your Enthusiasm and hadn't watched them after two months. After five months, the next time I visited he said he'd forgotten them and hadn't watched. Well, if you don't watch 'em in five months, your time has expired. It's not like he's all that busy. Well, ok...watching them might have cut into his porn downloading.

He at least takes good care of them. So, for the most part, nobody borrows the DVDs. I used to loan CDs and have had some problems with them in the past. I'd only loan the closest family and friends a DVD. I do have one good friend that I brought my DS9 s1-7 collection...but he's very responsible and reliable and I have no doubt he's treating them perfectly. We're on the same page on things like that.

I lend my DVDs out, and so far I haven't had any major problems. The worst things that have happened so far is that one of my friends accidentally gave my $5 Hot Shots Part Deux to someone else because he thought he'd borrowed it from them (I never got the DVD back, but I probably could make him buy me a new one if I wanted to) and then a "friend of a friend" borrowed Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and then I didn't see him again for about three months. I finally got that one back.

Most of my family and friends look at my collection and scratch their heads...trying to figure out where I get my taste from, so no issues, there. I don't think I would loan anything, as I don't ask to borrow anything and I've had a couple family members come into my home to sit and wait for a repairman in the past, while I was out and they helped themselves to video games....just left a note saying they'd taken them, then months later I had to go to them to get the games back! It's not worth the hassle and it's hard for me to ask for my own things back...I get embarrassed!

I have 3 rules and I must trust you.

1.1 at a time
2.No Box sets
3.If it's scratched,ruined or unplayable when I get it back,you wont be able to borrow another movie untill you buy me back the movie that you ruined.

I enjoy loaning out DVD's. To me it's one of the joys of owning a collection of movies. I get to share my favourite films with my friends and family and hear their opinions of them. It sparks great discussion, and enables me to expose people to films they might otherwise never see.

Sometimes loaning out my DVD's allows me to right a grevious wrong. For instance, two co-workers had never seen Casablanca. Can you believe that? Well, now they have.

Being a loaner means you get to be a borrower, too. I've seen some wonderful movies that I've borrowed from friends. Out of the Past was one I borrowed recently that I enjoyed immensely.

I think there are three groups here:

a) those who will never loan out anything because of the pain involved
b) those who are one bad experience away from joining group "a"
c) the independently wealthy / insane

I've been burned too many times now to even think about loaning my DVD's to people. Unless they are people like me who really take care DVD's, and I trust them. I don't even loan my parents my DVD's, and they live in the same house. If they want to watch one of my movies I'll go put it in the dvd player for them. It's kind of redicules I guess but hey, I want these things to last.

no loaning, here. my friends know that about me by now. my gf borrows them on occasion, but i make sure she's careful with them.

Good for you dude, I wouldn't trust my parents either, mine are a bit too old to know how to handle the disks.

I really like these. I think I am going to make these my new rules. Until now, I lent out movies but very rarely. I think I am going to add another one.

4. If you don't return a movie within 2 weeks, you are banned until you buy me a dvd off of my wishlist.

I trust my parents.
They are the ones who buy the discs for me, and they know how valuable the DVDs are to me.

Lending DVDs to friends is like lending them money. Some people are conscientious, but there is a good chance you won't get either back. And when that happens it can affect the friendship. It's not worth it.

As I've said on one of the 239 other threads on this topic, I lend out like crazy. My friends even call me their own personal Blockbuster and in all that, I've yet to have ONE damaged disc.

I've even distributed the link to my Aficionado site so that they know what they're choosing from.

To me, people who are so anal about not lending out should really reexamine their priorities. Is a DVD really that much more important than friends? I, for one, would feel really uncomfortable about ever saying no to a friend who just wants to borrow something.

Just my opinion.

Well, let's see if you change your tune if your discs start being returned scratched, broken, months later, or not at all.

But like someone else said, lending things to people who don't end up showing the proper respect to the gesture or the item can lead to strains on a friendship.

Plus, I buy DVDs so I can watch them, and inevitably, whichever DVD has been loaned out is the one I want to watch.