Review of Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, and Netflix DVD Rental Services
04-17-05, 01:42 PM
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Review of Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, and Netflix DVD Rental Services
I have recently made use of free trials for Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, and Netflix DVD rental services. I tried them one after the other.
Before summarizing my experiences, I will point out the obvious. For frequent renters, the best DVD service is almost always going to be the one with the closest distribution center. I am sure that there are exceptions and other quality/selection/customer service factors, but proximity is key for shipping through the mail. I live in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona.
While I enjoy many older films, my primary use of this service was to rent all of the interesting new releases that I had missed in the theater, or that I had seen and wished to share with others.
I started with Wal-Mart's free 30-day trial in early February. This was their 2 DVDs out at a time plan, and normally costs $12.97 per month, plus tax. My DVDs were distributed from North Las Vegas, Nevada, and I usually received them 2 days after they were sent. WM usually received them back in 2 to 3 days. 1 of the DVDs went missing on its way to me for about 9 days, but it did eventually show up. I reported it missing, and another DVD was sent to me. With an eye towards racking up as many rentals as I could, I always watched and returned the films as soon as possible. I was able to rent a total of 8 DVDs, all new releases.
The worst part of my WM DVD rental experience occurred near the end of my trial. I know that it is best to cancel any free trial a day or 2 ahead of time to avoid charges. This was a 30 day trial (not 4 weeks), and yet when I cancelled on day 28, I had already been charged for a month. I cancelled anyway, told them of their error by e-mail, and my credit card was credited with the money a few days later. But I should not have had to do that. Aside from other factors, that experience alone would be enough to keep me from re-joining.
Next, in early March, I signed up for a free 4 week trial of Blockbuster DVD rental using the promotional code "COOPER." This was their 3 DVDs out at a time plan, and normally costs $14.99 per month, plus tax. My DVDs were distributed from Phoenix, Arizona, and I usually received them in 1 to 2 days. BB received them back in 1 to 2 days. I was able to rent a total of 13 DVDs by mail, all new releases. 2 of the DVDs were broken and had to be re-shipped. I was able to rent 2 additional DVDs with their free in-store coupons, for a total of 15. I cancelled on Day 26 to avoid any "misunderstandings." The cancellation went smoothly.
Finally, in early April, I tried the originator of this type of service, Netflix. I was unaware of any promotional codes, and so I was only able to sign up for a 2 week free trial. This was their 3 DVDs out at a time plan, and normally costs $17.99 per month, plus tax. My DVDs were distributed from Phoenix, Arizona, and I usually received them in 1 to 2 days. NF received them back in 1 to 2 days. I will cancel my trial on Tuesday (1 day early), and if 1 ships on Monday, I will have received a total of 6 in the 2 week period. I did notice that NF delayed shipment of my next DVD until Monday, despite the fact that they received 1 on Friday morning and the top 3 in my queue are "available now." While website quality is a low priority for me, the NF site is superior to WM and BB in terms of features and ease of use.
Based on cost and the number of DVDs rented (including the 2 store rentals), I have to choose Blockbuster. I will be re-joining them. As long as they keep up the fast delivery pace and good new/recent release availability, I will stick with them.
Before summarizing my experiences, I will point out the obvious. For frequent renters, the best DVD service is almost always going to be the one with the closest distribution center. I am sure that there are exceptions and other quality/selection/customer service factors, but proximity is key for shipping through the mail. I live in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona.
While I enjoy many older films, my primary use of this service was to rent all of the interesting new releases that I had missed in the theater, or that I had seen and wished to share with others.
I started with Wal-Mart's free 30-day trial in early February. This was their 2 DVDs out at a time plan, and normally costs $12.97 per month, plus tax. My DVDs were distributed from North Las Vegas, Nevada, and I usually received them 2 days after they were sent. WM usually received them back in 2 to 3 days. 1 of the DVDs went missing on its way to me for about 9 days, but it did eventually show up. I reported it missing, and another DVD was sent to me. With an eye towards racking up as many rentals as I could, I always watched and returned the films as soon as possible. I was able to rent a total of 8 DVDs, all new releases.
The worst part of my WM DVD rental experience occurred near the end of my trial. I know that it is best to cancel any free trial a day or 2 ahead of time to avoid charges. This was a 30 day trial (not 4 weeks), and yet when I cancelled on day 28, I had already been charged for a month. I cancelled anyway, told them of their error by e-mail, and my credit card was credited with the money a few days later. But I should not have had to do that. Aside from other factors, that experience alone would be enough to keep me from re-joining.
Next, in early March, I signed up for a free 4 week trial of Blockbuster DVD rental using the promotional code "COOPER." This was their 3 DVDs out at a time plan, and normally costs $14.99 per month, plus tax. My DVDs were distributed from Phoenix, Arizona, and I usually received them in 1 to 2 days. BB received them back in 1 to 2 days. I was able to rent a total of 13 DVDs by mail, all new releases. 2 of the DVDs were broken and had to be re-shipped. I was able to rent 2 additional DVDs with their free in-store coupons, for a total of 15. I cancelled on Day 26 to avoid any "misunderstandings." The cancellation went smoothly.
Finally, in early April, I tried the originator of this type of service, Netflix. I was unaware of any promotional codes, and so I was only able to sign up for a 2 week free trial. This was their 3 DVDs out at a time plan, and normally costs $17.99 per month, plus tax. My DVDs were distributed from Phoenix, Arizona, and I usually received them in 1 to 2 days. NF received them back in 1 to 2 days. I will cancel my trial on Tuesday (1 day early), and if 1 ships on Monday, I will have received a total of 6 in the 2 week period. I did notice that NF delayed shipment of my next DVD until Monday, despite the fact that they received 1 on Friday morning and the top 3 in my queue are "available now." While website quality is a low priority for me, the NF site is superior to WM and BB in terms of features and ease of use.
Based on cost and the number of DVDs rented (including the 2 store rentals), I have to choose Blockbuster. I will be re-joining them. As long as they keep up the fast delivery pace and good new/recent release availability, I will stick with them.
04-18-05, 08:06 PM
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I am glad that some folks found the review of my 3 trial subscriptions helpful. I will post an update on the quality of my BB service after a couple of months as a regular customer.
