Disposable DVDs return, but cheaper. Would you be interested?
 

Many of us remember the disposable "FlexPlay" DVDs that Disney tried a few years ago. The discs cost about $9 and they became opaque and unplayable a couple of days after you opened them.

I've seen them cropping up again, but for a lot cheaper, marketed as "disposable rentals." You pay about the same amount as a Blockbuster rental. (The discs I saw were about $5 a pop.) At that price point, is anyone interested in a rental that you don't have to watch right away and don't have to return?

We have these at my work for $4.99, but customers normally turn their nose up at them saying "that's so stupid," then proceed to drive across the street to Blockbuster and pay $4.50 for a rental. Most of them honestly think they can just buy newer releases like There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd and Transformers for $5 and just "rent" it forever until I explain the technology.

I'll never touch these.

Moved from HD Talk Forum.

I have no desire to ever use these.

It amazes me the premium people will pay to be lazy. I've started renting movies from Redbox, it's $1 per night.

Speaking of lazy, do you mean I have to go get these? NetFlix mails movies to me, so no I'm not interested.

Yep, I've seen these pop at my local Staples, of all places.

Pass.

Never.

I not be interested. :)

I'd never buy one mainly because they are a waste product. And I don't rent, I'd rather own to be able to watch again in the future.

I get movies from CH for around $5 each. So why would I pay the same price these pieces of crap? rotfl

Not one of the best marketing ideas. I also will pass on these.

Disposable DVDs have already proven to be a disposable idea ..... dumb to try it again.

Even if they were the same exact price as a rental I wouldn't do it. It sometimes takes me a week or more to get throught watching the movie and all the extras on a rental.

Pass.

I think the only way those will work is if they are $1 a piece, just like a rent from RedBox. I know you cannot buy a new release for $5, but there are plenty of new DVDs for $5, you can watch alll the movies you want in month for $15 in Blockbuster or Netflix. I just don't see why anyone would pay $5 for a DVD that can only be watched once.

Nooooooooooooooo, please, nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I'm constantly amazed that ideas like this pop up once, but twice? Even new releases I can sometimes find a couple of weeks after release date at the used stores. And there's a couple of Redbox units within our area, even if we keep them out for 4-5 days, that's still cheaper, and we're not filling up the landfills.

I remember Disney calling them EZ-DVD, and it doesn't matter if it is $8, $5 or $2, they still are a waste of time and all they do is become more waste in our garbage that we don't need.

Come to think of it, it would be an interesting variation of Netflix. A company like Netflix could mail you the FlexPlay disc, which you would never have to bother mailing back. Maybe your rates would be cheaper because they're only paying postage one way.

I do agree with the comment about how long it can take to get through a movie and the extras. Two days isn't enough. A week would be better.

No.

I suppose they logically make sense. You "rent" the movie for two days and then toss it out for the same price as having to drive back to the video store to return the movie & worry about getting it back on time.

It encourages a lot of waste and contributes to the "disposable" mind-set that everyone seems to have.

Ethically speaking, not a good idea.

I'm going to go out on a limb here & say that these could have their place. These would be great to have available at airport newsstands for instance. Or even hotels.

I'm not sure people shopping for Post-It's at Staples is the user they should be going after.

I was going to scream, "DIVX! DIVX! DIVX!" But the last couple of posts really make sense! It would save netflix a ton of money in shipping and really make sense in airports!