Sticking with them.
I just lose the e-coupon and I already swapped DVDs about 4-5 times a month. So this doesn't really change anything for me. This plan is already far superior to Netflix's.
The turnaround is a day or two less than Netflix and I don't have to wait 3 months to get new releases as I did with Netflix.

I had a real problem with getting a lot of my movies from BB. New releases came fast, but damn if it didn't seem like they only had a copy or 2 of certain Dr. Who episodes. Same with lots of anime.

So did anyone else cancel and get their "offers" to keep you? I did and all the offered plans say "plan no longer valid" after you select them. What a croc.

I think I might stick with Blockbuster and the 14.99 plan, you get three trade ins, I'll save those for the must have movies released on Tuesdays..

I left Netlfix 2 years ago because the new releases were a big issue, I suspect it has not changed much.

Haven't got an answer from BB on this question. Does anyone know?

What happens if you choose the fixed 5 out plan for $17.99 and it begins in the middle of the month. And you had the unlimited in store return prior to that during the beginning of the month. You have 5 or more in store exchanges during that time.

So during all those 5 or more in store exchanges counts toward the "new" limited plan when it starts at the middle of the month. Does that means when you start the new plan, you are screwed and have to wait till next month to get 5 in store exchanges?

I think your "5/month" would really be better stated as "5/billing cycle"... that's just a guess on my part but doing it any other way would be silly IMHO.

I noticed Blockbuster.com now is advertising Movielink for DOWNLOADABLE movies....interesting, keeping up with Netflix.

I have a question:

I canceled Blockbuster Online this weekend with a few movies still out. I returned two to Blockbuster yesterday and today I got an e-mail saying they had shipped a few more. Will they keep shipping up until the end of the month? If so, will I get charged as long as I have those discs out?

Got my email a few days ago, so I canceled today. Eff them. Gonna save my money for now, but might sign up for Netflix in the future.

I also noticed that their cancellation deals are not actually valid - hilarious since so many people will be canceling.

To update, it appears the MOVIELINK is only an ad, nothing for free.

I still have 1 month left at my $4.99 promo rate for 1 movie. We will see what I do after that month...either Blockbuster or Netflix. Maybe Netflix since BB is getting rid of the game coupons too.

this all just makes me wonder what exactly their plans were when they started total access less than a year ago


top exec: let's offer a really great deal. we'll gain lots of customers.

smart exec: but we'll lose money

top exec: let's cross that bridge when we get there



8 months later...



top exec: we're losing a lot of money. let's completely change pricing for everyone.

smart exec: shouldn't we grandfather in old accounts to keep customers happy and not look idiots who couldn't plan out 1 year into the future?

top exec: no, because we're losing money. let's also add lots of options, i'm sure customers like choosing from 11 different plans that fall under 3 sets of rules just to watch a movie.

smart exec: let's at least make the limited exchanges an even 2x multiple of the plan. so 2-at-a-time get 4 exchanges, 3-at-a-time get 6 exchanges

top exec: no, i don't like even numbers. 3 and 5 make more sense.


------------------

imo there should only be 2 types of plans:
1) by mail
2) unlimited total access for $3-4 more

I wonder how many BB customers are jumping ship after these price increases. I suspect that a lot of their lower paying members will be going.

For me, if I wanted to keep unlimited in-store returns, it was basically a 70% increase ($9.99 to $16.99) on the one-at-a-time plan PLUS I would lose the monthly coupon. So that's like paying $7 more an getting $8 less value (used the coupon for game rental). So for those in my shoes, that's way out of line for a price increase.

I'm going with a $4.99 NetFlix plan just to get a few HD-DVD rentals each month (had already started doing this) and rent my SD rentals for a $1 locally. Besides the price increase, the loss of the game rental coupon and the major lack of available HD-DVD stock online did BB in for me.

I liked TotalAccess, but now I hope NetFlix wins the battle after this stunt.

Does Netflix have a better HD/BD selection? I have 23 HD/BD in my BB queue and all are on some kind of wait. So, I get the 24th movie...non HD.

You'll find titles with waits as well at NetFlix, but I find they a lot of times they ship anyway regardless of the wait. Either way, they're much better IMO than BB when it comes to HD-DVDs.

There are some titles that aren't even available in HD-DVD on BB website. When "The Departed" first came out on HD-DVD, it wasn't even available thru BB. I got it on the day of release thru NetFlix.

Personally I'd rather have both of them around. I'd hate to see what the pricing plans would be like if there was only 1.

I have always added the upcoming releases to my que before they were out, and I almost never have a wait. This is just my personal experience with Netflix.

Can you still return TWO envelopes at once for two in-store rentals? I Thought they changed it to one at a time, but I totally forget....I have two envelopes at home, as one movie was a few days late.

I have 4 i'll be returning tomorrow for 4 new releases so yes you can. I got a second email stating that I needed to pick a plan before my next renewal date so I guess they are giving a one month grace period.

Bob

I get the occasional slowdown with BB and Netflix. I mailed back the DVDs on Thursday, BB received one on Friday, and the other two on Saturday. Netflix received all three on Monday and shipped out all three the same day.

I don't rent HD/BD, but I noticed that BB added this statement to their FAQs topic "Why haven't my movies shipped?": "On occasion, if your top selections are not available at a center near you, and you have fewer than 30 "Available" movies in Queue, a shipment may be skipped."

Since I had only 14 selections in my queue with 12 marked as "Available" they've managed to "skip" one of my 3-at-time "unlimited" mailings. I removed the "Short Wait" selections and added 18 "Available" selections to my queue this morning and by this afternoon they finally got around to shipping my third one.

BB continues to change their rules to accommodate their poorly run/incompetently staffed distribution centers. Netflix has better distribution centers and more available selections. BB ships whatever available selection they can find at their local distribution center with absolutely no regard to your queue order. I suspect that it's probably too much work for them to search for available selections at other distribution centers. Netflix sticks to your queue order and doesn't hesitate to ship from other distribution centers.

I don't know if it is related by I'm coming up on my renewal time now and my account has seemed to have come to a halt. I turned a couple of DVDs into the store over the weekend and usually when I do that the new ones ship out Mon. but nothing happened. I turned another one in today and while it says it has been turned in, nothing is being sent out for now. I still haven't re-subscribed because I wanted to see what happens, but I guess now I know. Anyone else seeing something similar?

Just curious Nemein. How many days before renewal? 1, 2 or 3 days? Or a week out.

Want to make sure I choose a new plan since mine's is not automatically renewed unless I choose a new plan.

Thanks.

About a week. I went ahead and resubscribed/picked a new plan last night so we'll see if anything ships today. It could just be coincidence, but I'm not a big believer in that ;)

I returned 5 online rentals to the local store yesterday and rented 6 by using my monthly coupon so it is still one for one. They did ship one yesterday but that was a replacement for a bad disc. I still haven't picked a new plan yet since they already charged me until my next renewal date.

Does anyone else get a lot of wrong movies from Blockbuster? I had problems before but most recently I got disc 1, of a 2-disc series, in a disc 2 envelope, I reported it on-line saying I wanted the correct one re-sent, and got a second disc 1 in a disc 2 envelope in a few days. I didn't think it was humanly possible to mess up that bad but they are proving me wrong.

Bob

That's happened to me several times in the 6 months or so I've been using BB Online. A couple of times they've also sent me a remake when I've queued the original. At this point I just use Netflix for any multi-disc sets... it's too much of a hassle to roll the dice with BB.

I'm seeing the same thing as nemein. I returned all three of my on-line rentals to the local store on Sunday. The returns were immediately reflected in my queue when I got home. I have 33 movies in my queue, of which the top 8 are all available. It's now Wednesday afternoon, and they have yet to send me a single movie this week.

This "must have 30 available movies in your queue" crap is definitely something new ...

Seeing the same situation here as far as a halt in my queue - and several are listed as available. What are they doing?

Glad I decided to switch to a combination of NetFlix and my local Family Video ($1 rentals).

I have had the same thing happen to me I returned 3 movies on friday and should have got 3 more on monday or tuesday. forgot about the price change because I really didn't read the one email that I got just glanced at it. Ihave been emailing there stupid customer care. Here are the emails so far hope this helps. Read from bottom up.


----- Original Message -----
From:
To: Blockbuster Online Customer Care
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 7:28 PM
Subject: Re: sent reply to email with no response yet [Incident ]


I understand why the price increase and I sure hope that they hire some more people that actually read emails and care about customer service . The issue here is why my service have been deactivated not about the price.
----- Original Message -----
From: Blockbuster Online Customer Care
To:
Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 5:33 PM
Subject: Re: sent reply to email with no response yet [Incident: ]




Subject
Re: sent reply to email with no response yet [Incident: ]

Discussion Thread
Response (Germiniano, Blockbuster Online Customer Care) 08/29/2007 04:33 PM
Hello ,

The reason why there is a slight changes in the pricing of our subscription plans is to give a better service to the continuously growing family of Blockbuster Online. Through this, you can expect a faster than the already fast delivery, lesser DVD issues, and more. Thank you for your cooperation.


Germiniano
Customer Care Associate
BLOCKBUSTER Online
Customer () 08/29/2007 12:49 PM
Yes I understand how to reactivate but not sure if I want to continue services with this company. the only warning I received was a email on 08/17/07 that states the following:

Dear ,

We have introduced a new pricing structure for our lineup of subscription plans.

As a result, the price of your current monthly plan, Unlimited Online DVDs up to 3 at a time plus unlimited in-store exchanges each month for $17.99, will increase to $24.99, effective August 31, 2007.

We will not automatically renew your subscription on your next billing date.

If you choose to continue, please select a new plan.


Nowhere on that email did it express the importance on responding in a timely manner or my service would be interrupted by picking a new plan. There is no certain date that I must respond to or you would cancel my account and service would be interrupted as long as I did it by the 31st. I have never had my services cut off from time that I paid for on at least two other times that the plans have changed since 03/06.
The statement in your response : Per our terms and conditions, we automatically stop all shipments approximately 15 days before your next bill date once your account has been canceled. This allows time for all outstanding DVDs to be returned to avoid charges. If you'd like to continue receiving shipments, you can reactivate your account by visiting the "My Account" section of our web site. If you choose to do this but still intend to cancel before being billed again, please make sure you cancel before August 31, 2007 to avoid being charged for your next month of service. According to the Terms and Conditions on blockbuster.com your above statement falls under the category of Cancellation by You.
I did not cancel services you did so this should fall under the category in your Terms and Conditions of : BLOCKBUSTER Online Rentals At Time of Cancellation or Termination: The rental period for BLOCKBUSTER Online Rentals is the Membership Term remaining as of the date of rental. All outstanding rentals must be received by BLOCKBUSTER Online no later than ten (10) days past the end of the Membership Term. For example, if your Membership Term ends on June 5 and on June 4 you receive a BLOCKBUSTER Online Rental in the mail, that BLOCKBUSTER Online Rental must be received by BLOCKBUSTER Online on June 15th. If Blockbuster does not receive any BLOCKBUSTER Online Rentals by 10 days past the end of the Membership Term, your Payment Method will be charged $19.99 (plus applicable taxes) for each outstanding BLOCKBUSTER Online Rental. If Blockbuster later receives any BLOCKBUSTER Online Rental for which you have previously been charged, Blockbuster will refund to your Payment Method the amount of the charge, less a restocking fee of up to $4.20 per item. Blockbuster may change both the amount that you are charged for unreturned product and the amount of any restocking fee at any time.
In conclusion I still feel that I should receive something by the means of in store rental coupons for the days lost and the number of dvd's that I could have rented if my service was not interrupted by you. before I decide to pick one of the new plans.


----- Original Message -----
From: Blockbuster Online Customer Care
To:
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 7:42 PM
Subject: sent reply to email with no response yet [Incident:]




Subject
sent reply to email with no response yet

Discussion Thread
Response (Elda, Blockbuster Online Customer Care) 08/28/2007 06:42 PM
Hello ,

Thanks for contacting BLOCKBUSTER Online Customer Care.

I am sorry, for you to continue your membership, you'll need to choose a new plan. Reactivating your account is rather easy. Simply click the "Sign In" link at the top of http://www.blockbuster.com, and log in using your previous e-mail address and password. If you have forgotten your password, you may reset it by clicking the link next to "Forgot your Password." If you've forgotten the e-mail address associated with your account, you may contact Customer Care at 1-866-692-2789 Monday through Friday 8:00AM through 6:00PM Central and we'll be happy to search for your account (we do this for your protection.) You may also use a different e-mail address to create a new membership.

Once logged in to your account, you may reactivate by clicking on the "My Account" link at the top of the page. Within the "Manage Account Settings" section on the left, click on the "Re-subscribe" link within the "Subscription Plan" section. You will be prompted with a list of our current membership plans to choose from. Click on the desired plan, then click the "I Authorize" button. You'll be asked to review the Terms and Conditions and click "I Authorize" again.

That's it! Your account will be reinstated immediately. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Per our terms and conditions, we automatically stop all shipments approximately 15 days before your next bill date once your account has been canceled. This allows time for all outstanding DVDs to be returned to avoid charges. If you'd like to continue receiving shipments, you can reactivate your account by visiting the "My Account" section of our web site. If you choose to do this but still intend to cancel before being billed again, please make sure you cancel before August 31, 2007 to avoid being charged for your next month of service.

I hope this information helps, . Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.


Elda
Customer Care Associate
BLOCKBUSTER Online
Customer () 08/28/2007 03:10 PM
I sent the reply below and I have not received a response to.

Ok so does this mean that the service that I paid for until the end of the month has be cut off until I decide what plan I want to chose?
Somehow I don't think that is fair and should receive some sort of compensation for the week of paid service lost. The E-mail that I received said's: We will not automatically renew your subscription on your next billing date. It doesn't say anything about freezing my account a week early.


----- Original Message -----
From: Blockbuster Online Customer Care
To:
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 8:43 AM
Subject: Please send next available movies [Incident:]




Subject
Please send next available movies

Discussion Thread
Response (Dania, Blockbuster Online Customer Care) 08/28/2007 07:43 AM
Hello ,

Thank you for contacting Blockbuster Online Customer Care.

Like all retail businesses, we must periodically review our pricing structure. In introducing a wider range of subscription plans, we considered a number of factors including the number of in-store exchanges on a given account. We’re giving our most frequent renters like yourself the option of either continuing with unlimited in-store exchanges at a higher price point or moving to a plan where the number of in-store exchanges is fixed if you'd like to continue with the same rate.

We feel we are still delivering a great consumer value and encourage you to continue your membership by selecting one of the new plans we offer. You can find the details of what is available via "My Account" in the "Subscription Plan" area. Please remember that if you do not select one of the new plans we have to offer before your next regular billing date, we will not be automatically renewing your membership.

I hope you will not take this against me. Please let me know if I may be of further assistance.


Respectfully,

Dania
Customer Care Associate
Blockbuster Online
Customer () 08/28/2007 07:22 AM
I returned the last three DVD's to store #18639 on the afternoon of 08/24/07 the DVD's where received at the store that shipped them on 08/27/07. You should have had my next available selections shipped by the next business day that was 08/27/07. I understand that you don't ship on saturday or sunday. Also I have over 60 movies in my Queue and there are 59 of them listed as available. please ship my next available movies.

My next billing date is in a few days and I've still yet to receive an e-mail stating any changes in pricing.

Stop wasting time with their customer 'service' and just dispute the charges with your credit card. Blockbuster bills you monthly, not per movie, per week, etc. If you do not receive the month of service you paid for, they can't charge you for it. Well, they can, but they know they shouldn't. Since they don't have any set value for each disc or week of service, you can dispute the charges in full. Take that money and try Netflix for a month.

The whole 15 days before the end of the cycle is over is ridiculous. I typically join Netflix or Blockbuster for a month, then cancel and rejoin in 2 months. If you time it right, you can cancel the day before your renewal date and still have movies coming in the mail. Each gives you 7 days to return the movies after you cancel.

After all this, I was going to choose to new plan to prevent any interruptions on my rentals.

I'm not sure what to do yet but have emailed BB. When I went to respond to my email notification by clicking on the $17.99 plan with 5 in store exchanges, my account shows next billing date as August 31, 2007. But I was billed and paid last month to the 12th of September. Does this mean if I choose a new plan, I'll be billed August 31, 2007 for $17.99 even though my next billing period supposed to be 9/13?

The other funny thing is on MY ACCOUNTS, the next billing shows N/A and date as blank whereas before it was September 13, 2007.

Anyone else checked their accounts or have choose a different plan before 8/31 and see the same thing? Guess can't ask if you are billed yet since 8/31 haven't come around even though you may have paid thru some date in September.

Decided to "resubscribe" and see what happens.

Now it shows, my next billing cycle is 9/13/07 although current plan now show Total Access Basic (where as before my plan change it was Total Access Premium).

And it also said:

Account Updates...

* If you change your plan, the new price will go into effect on your next billing date.
* If you switch to a plan with fewer DVDs at-a-time, this change will go into effect on your next billing date.
* However, if you switch to a plan with more DVDs at-a-time,this change will go into effect immediately.We will send you additional DVD(s) from your Queue right away.

So I guess it confirms what my previous email to BB: that I'll still can have unlimited in store exchange till 9/12 but once 9/13 hits, it's 5 swaps a month only. And if I had 5 or more before 9/13, I won't have any swaps till October.

Mine went straight into my nortons junk folder almost missed it and really didn't pay much attention to it because of all the junk emails blockbuster sends.

the last time that blockbuster charged me was at the begining of the month. I used my debt card can I disbute charged that have aready gone thru almost 4 weeks ago? I would love to get a refund.
All I want is free rental coupons for the amount of movies I could have rented. Then I'll sign up for there new plan. I think I'm going to try netflix for a while. unless blockbuster gives me what I want. I'm able to easly get 12 movies (6 sent by mail 6 trade at store) a week thru blockbuster and don't think anybody can beat that. I really don't have time for that many movies anymore and hardly even watched the ones that I did rent. It is just the fact that I paid for there service that they stopped providing.

Have you e-mailed Blockbuster....any time I complain, they always send me a free rental coupon online. It is pretty painless....

Plus, you basically just said you are copying movies above, as you don't even watch them.

I decided to email them again to make sure that I still have unlimited swaps (after "resubscribing") up to my next billing period about mid Sept even though my accounts NOW shows current plan is 5 swaps.

Now they said I am under the new plan rules even though previous email said I still have unlimited swaps. What gives?

I smell a class action lawsuit later.

Anyways, since my next billing period is mid Sept, what would happens if I change plan to $24.99 for unlimited swaps now and switch a few days before mid Sept to the 5 swap plan?

Yes I had problems shortly after the total access thing started where I'd return a movie to the store and a new movie would not ship for 2 or 3 days later and all I would do is email get one of there automated responses and then complain again that they do not read there emails or care about customer service and would get some coupons.
What I meant by the hardly even watched the ones that I did rent is that because I was able to get 12 movies a week there were a lot of junk title that I'd start and where just so bad couldn't finish them. There were also many times that I'd rent a movie twice so friends or family could see it.

Nemein, do you get anything shipped yet?

2 shipped yesterday, I suspect the 3rd will ship tonight. Matches the order I turned them in in (2 one day and 1 the next).

Followup on my experience with the change to one of their new plans:

I was on the 3-out at a time, unlimited in-store exchange plan with my next billing date being 9/2/07. When I stopped getting movies this week (which other people have experienced), I changed over to the 3-out at a time, 5 in-store exchange program on Wednesday, 8/29/07 - which should go into effect on my next billing date. WRONG!

I returned three envelopes to the store tonight to exchange for a few of the House Season 3 discs. When I went to check out, they said that I had exceeded my quota for in-store exchanges for the month! It's flagged automatically when they scan the barcodes for the returns from Blockbuster online. So, apparently I'm on the NO in-store exchange program until my next billing cycle. This sucks - so I sent an email to BB customer service telling them that treating long-term customers in this crappy manner means I need to cancel my account (like they care, anyway).

Hmmm. Interesting. When I emailed BB earlier a few weeks ago, they said don't worry and that you have unlimited in store exchanges till my next billing period which is around mid September. Otherwise that would mean I can only have 5 swaps in September instead of unlimited thru mid September.

Guess I can bring the printout of the email response to the store and sees what happens.