Netflix back in the day sold dvd's. They sold them through half.com. I bought about 4 or 5 of them, you didn't get the original box though. They were 6.99 then.

Also as far as Blockbuster online is concerned, arverage time for a dvd to arrive is 2 days compared to 1 with Netflix. I use both services and my Netflix ones come alot faster and with Blockbuster almost every movie in my que has a short wait with it, while Netflix pretty much has everything I want in stock.

Plus Blockbuster SUCKS and most won't EVER use them again because of that.

Yeah, you only get 2 extra rentals that Netflix doesn't offer, for less money per month. They suck alot ;)

I haven't used a Blockbuster in about 5 years probably. As many have already said, their business practices and lack of consideration for their customers has turned many off from their company.

In my case, I had rented one movie and returned it one day late (not even one day, it was just past their deadline time). I didn't think much about it; I figured the next time I was at the store I would pay the late fee. A couple of weeks or so later, I received a letter in the mail from Blockbuster saying that if I didn't pay my late fee within a week that my account would be forwarded to a credit agency. How much did I owe? $3.75. They were going to go through all that hassle of dealing with a credit agency just so they could gouge a loyal customer out of $3.75. Talk about bad customer service.

I would never use Blockbuster online. I have had heard too often about long wait times for almost all movies, a problem I have never had in the 3 or so years I have used Netflix, and unreliable shipping. Plus, I don't think Blockbuster would have nearly the selection that Netlflix boasts. I rent a wide variety of films from Netflix: mainstream, independent, foreign, TV, grade-Z flicks, exploitation horror, you name it. A lot of these things I just can't see Blockbuster carrying, especially with the puritanical approach they have toward stocking their stores.

Only reason I use blockbuster is because they have some older movies I can't get on Netflix, as soon as I get those, I'm dumping Blockbuster. The service isn't that great and sometimes it takes them a week to remove a movie from my que.

Shagrath,

The link is in the top right hand corner of almost every page...you might need to be a member to access it, though.


As for this debate, Netflix will always, always have a better selection of odd, offbeat, and independent fare that the Blockbuster crowd doesn't look at. My business will always go to them.

Really? Can you recall some of those examples? I'm just curious. The only titles that I sometimes haven't been able to find on Netflix are really obscure, low-budget titles. And it does pretty damn well with those as well.

Im not a memeber, cause I dont rent often, but how is the selection for the used dvds, any criterions or seasons of Batman:TaS, or transformers available. I can get most newer stuff around me at a mom and pop B&M for around $7 a dvd a few weeks after it comes out, but Criterions are harder to comeby used around here.

Yeah movies like, Popcorn, Alice Sweet Alice, Peter Pan, Black Christmas

Just C level horror movies.

Originally posted by Shagrath:

Again, I'm gonna ask if someone can confirm my previous question:

Do you have to be a member to buy used discs from them?
_______________

It sure seems like these guys are ignoring you, doesn't it?

My answer? I don't know, Shagrath. I just don't know.

I will never use Blockbuster for anything other than a wall to pee on if I'm completely loaded and can't find a restroom. I know of so many people that have been burned by Blockbuster, and quite a few of them will drive the extra distance to King Soopers, Safeway, or Hollywood Video.

I'm still a huge fan of Netflix, and will check out the used DVD's. Most discs that I get from Netflix are in pretty good shape. If it comes with artwork, etc, It could be a good deal.

For what it's worth, I agree with pretty much everything Jackskeleton has said in this thread so far.

I just loaded it up and didn't see anything, so I'm guessing this is something available to members only. I'd really only be interested in Criterions, and if those were even available, they're probably all gone by now anyways. So I guess it doesn't really matter for me at this point. Thanks, Mao.

They are only selling like 20 titles and they are all stuff that came out like a year ago.

Collateral
The Incredibles
House of Flying Daggers
Mean Creek
The Terminal

Stuff like that.

The selection is pretty limited -- no Criterions anywhere to be seen. Here's what they're offering me:

The Incredibles
House of Flying Daggers
A Love Song for Bobby Long
Anchorman
Collateral
The Terminal
Mr. 3000
Ladder 49
The Princess Diaries 2
Luther
Hotel Rwanda
Hero
King Arthur
Closer
Wicker Park
Alfie
Mean Creek
Around the World in 80 Days
De-Lovely
The Manchurian Candidate
Without a Paddle
Being Julia
The Village
Shark Tale
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie

They're all $9.99, which isn't bad for most of them if you're specifically looking for one of those films. I wouldn't hold your breath about any Criterions showing up, though. (Netflix gets DVDs extremely cheaply from major studios in exchange for profit-sharing agreements, so they can buy up a surplus of popular releases from major studios and then sell them off once the popularity dies off. I seriously doubt Netflix has such an agreement with Janus.)

Not only older movies, Blockbuster usually carries alot of new releases that Netflix only has previous releases of, and don't seem to be upgrading. A good example would be the new release of the 60's TWILIGHT ZONE series. While Blockbuster has all 3 "definitive" editions available on their queue, Netflix only carries the old sets which were not remastered. There's a reason I switched to Blockbuster...because a big company like Blockbuster will restock their library, while Netflix will still live with their old stock. Thanks Netflix for 2 great years, but now that the big boys are in town, they'll be getting my money.

Huh, you're right, they don't carry those. I rent a lot of those type of horror films from Netflix so I'm surprised they don't carry these. Whenever I find a movie like that which they don't carry, though, I just kind of shrug because I have been able to get so many other movies that I didn't expect to be able to see. I guess you just take the good with the bad.

Does anyone know if there is a place to request movies on Netflix?

And cocopugg, as far as not always making upgrades, I don't have too much of a problem with that. Unless a title was released in a truly disgraceful fashion, I don't mind watching an older version, especially if that means they will end up using that money to purchase other titles. I'm happy to sacrifice a few upgrades for a better selection any day.

This topic is really old, but thought I'd bring it up to see if anyone has purchased DVDs from them recently. They're offering quite a few for $5.99, which is a great deal. But I have reservations because most DVDs I get from them are scratched so badly I'm surprised they even load. Just wanted to get some thoughts from those who may have experience buying used DVDs from Netflix.

I've gotten a few used DVDs from Netflix. Each disc had no scratches and worked great plus they have free shipping. I got titles such as Saw and Hostel ($5 each) which I don't want to pay much at all. Last week I also got Munich for $5.00. Not bad at all.

Glad someone bumped this thread. Game me a chance to read the quote from back in June of '05....

Looks like you called that one correctly. Any other tips on companies you want to give? I have some extra money I want to put in stocks....

:)

Is Netflix closing? Have you heard this or is this speculation?

My wife used to work for Netflix (as of last week). They aren't closing. As far as she is aware, business is doing well. I think Blockbuster has taken a little of their business now that you can return movies at your local store, but beyond that, they're doing great and in no danger of closing down. I think they also still own the largest chunk of the internet movie rental business by a pretty fair margin. Blockbuster still has a lot of catching up to do.

Remember to bring your sarcasm detector when venturing onto internet forums...

Along with plenty of fresh batteries. :D

BB has far less of a selection than NF.