from slickdeals:

Quote :

"Blockbuster is giving NetFlix users free rentals by bringing in the tear-off address flaps from the rental envelopes to local Blockbuster stores. Thanks sunnytags."

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=387510

12/6/2006 11:52:56 AM

god they are going down fast

12/6/2006 12:02:01 PM

Hahahaha, I have one sitting on my desk right now.

I wish there were more movies at Blockbuster that I actually wanted to rent.

12/6/2006 12:03:43 PM

god some people on tww are so gay

12/6/2006 12:05:22 PM

^^yeah...I haven't been in a blockbuster in years, so we'll see how that goes

12/6/2006 12:06:17 PM

Quote :

"I wish there were more movies at Blockbuster that I actually wanted to rent. "

agreed....no porn section is the suck.

12/6/2006 12:08:32 PM

Netflix has Caligula. That's about the most porn you'll find at either.

12/6/2006 12:20:31 PM

I don't get why Blockbuster can't get a decent hold in this market. I guess Netflix just had the free capital at startup to build an expansive library, but it just seems like Blockbuster has so much going for it. For one, you can now return your online blockbuster movies at a store and rent something else. Thus, if you have a movie you specifically want to see, you can go swap for it right then and there.

I would have bet the farm on Blockbuster pwning the market in online videos, but I think they're just too low on capital to fight properly.

12/6/2006 12:44:41 PM

Except they have shit for selection, whereas Netflix has just about everything.

12/6/2006 10:37:41 PM

Quote :

"Except they have shit for selection, whereas Netflix has just about everything. "

yeah that was the argument i used to use too.sounds like they both have around 60k titles now so there isn't much of a difference.


as much as i hate BB i'm thinking of switching. whats the delivery times in this area like?

12/6/2006 10:50:58 PM

so this isn't like take your netflix address flap in and get a free blockbuster in store rental, you have to do the online thing?

12/7/2006 1:55:03 AM

i took 5 old sleeves to the blockbuster on avent ferry and got 5 free movies, they said the limit was 10 at a time though

12/7/2006 2:03:53 AM

Quote :

"yeah that was the argument i used to use too.sounds like they both have around 60k titles now so there isn't much of a difference."

Hahaha, I just searched Buñuel on Blockbuster online only to discover that they fucked up his name to "Buquel."

I honestly wonder how much they care about foreign films.

12/7/2006 2:09:40 AM

no one cares about foreign films

i think what happened is, netflix got an early start on blockbuster and very few have been dissatisified enough with netflix to bother switching to BB

plus i think netflix started advertising a lot earlier too

12/7/2006 5:40:00 AM

^ Right on all 3 counts.

12/7/2006 8:36:24 AM

Bigman is right. Being early to the buffet allowed them to scarf up most of the food.

I still think that in the long run, Netflix may have a hard time competing with Blockbuster once Blockbuster decides to price war them. But they need to get some capital together and get a move on.

12/7/2006 1:03:07 PM

bigman is right...those reasons are also why the IPod became so popular...being first is everthing

12/7/2006 1:06:15 PM

^so is being good

12/7/2006 2:07:47 PM

I would rather wait for two days to get my movies than drive the twenty minutes to an hour it takes to get to Blockbuster.

And with Netflix I don't end up being disappointed because I drove all the way out to find out they didn't have what I want.

12/7/2006 2:08:53 PM

I currently just use the Blockbuster in store program so I can trade more. I'm quitting after this month though. Seen everything worth seeing...and some not.

12/7/2006 2:30:57 PM

my boyfriend and I had netflix and bb at one point... there weren't any major differences between teh two but netflix seems to be more flexible when it comes to customer service. BB also never had in-store what my boyfriend wanted to rent.

point being, he cancelled his bb, and i don't care enough to cancel my netflix

12/7/2006 2:37:12 PM

BigMan157 is the winner.

With service based industries (the product is essentially the same here), unless you are dissatisfied with service or get a significant difference in price (and its hard to get a significant difference when you can get 15 or so movies for < $20 a month if you watched them really fast), odds are no one will bother to switch.

I put my Netflix on hold because I've simply watched my entire backlog of movies and TV shows I've been wanting to see.

12/7/2006 3:04:58 PM

I switched from Netflix to Blockbuster because I live near a blockbuster and it makes it convenient.

I don't know how fast you guys receive your movies... BUT, Netflix definately has faster service than Blockbuster. Sometimes I takes 4-5 days for me to get a movie from BB.

12/7/2006 3:19:20 PM

I think the main thing here is where the movies come from. Most of the Blockbusters in the area wouldn't have some random-ass Korean film and it'd have to ship from farther away. I've only had that happen to me once on Netflix. Netflix is usually one or two days from when they email me, and that's nice.

*I'm slightly miffed that neither of them has one of my favorite films, but that's okay because I just bought it from the distributor.

[Edited on December 7, 2006 at 4:54 PM. Reason : .]

12/7/2006 4:52:08 PM

I would like to support netflix, as "the underdog" and as Blockbuster being the "evil, corporate giant" and all that, but the Blockbuster Total Access deal is just too good to pass up.
I pass within yards of a Blockbuster store on my way to and from work. So once a week I go in there with 3 envelopes and my printed weekly coupon (and the printed monthly coupon, once a month), and walk out with 4 or 5 new discs without spending a dime. The Total Access program effectively doubles the amount of DVDs you can get (actually, more than double when you use the weekly and monthly coupons)
So I use the online account for TV series and maybe more obsqure movies, then in the store I can get all the new releases and big hits and stuff.

12/7/2006 5:10:15 PM

i have like 10 of these things laying around

12/7/2006 5:14:34 PM

^^I have slacked off my watching somewhat and am considering doing this. My previous job was in such a rural hole that I was probably over an hour from the nearest Blockbuster, and I live in a small town 30 miles from the nearest BB. Since then, I am working where I ride right by one every day. But here is my main question and what might get me to switch. Do the free instore rentals include renting videogames?? If so, this might seal the deal for me.

Also another reason I am hesitant to switch is my queue is simply massive. Do you know if NetFlix will let you suspend your account or whatever, but keep your queue on file for you?

[Edited on December 7, 2006 at 5:17 PM. Reason : ]

12/7/2006 5:16:21 PM

Yeah, you can stop Netflix from sending you movies without doing any harm to your queue. I mean, you formally "cancel your account" but all your info is still there when you renew your subscription... I don't know if you can access your ratings and queue in the interim, but I'd assume so.

12/7/2006 5:34:02 PM

Back in the olden days, you had to delete your queue to cancel your account.

You don't have to do that any more, but I didn't know until it was too late

12/7/2006 5:58:45 PM

Quote :

"those reasons are also why the IPod became so popular...being first is everthing"

No, from my experience they're more popular for other reasons as well.

12/7/2006 6:06:26 PM

Quote :

"I would rather wait for two days to get my movies than drive the twenty minutes to an hour it takes to get to Blockbuster. And with Netflix I don't end up being disappointed because I drove all the way out to find out they didn't have what I want. "

are you missing the fact blockbuster sends you dvds in the mail, and you mail them back...just like netflix? driving to a store is a bonus, above and beyond what netflix offers. you return your dvds to the store, your next set of DVDs are then mailed out from the warehouse (meaning you get the next set quicker than if you had mailed them back), AND and you get a free in store rental for each dvd returned in-store.

so now that blockbuster has the same number of titles, BB online sounds to me like Netflix+ (+ being the in-store stuff). i'm a netflix customer but am thinking of swtiching over.

the only thing that concerns me is delivery time. If I put a set of DVDs in my mailbox on Wednesday, I have a new set on Saturday. Will BB be that quick?

12/7/2006 6:40:51 PM

Quote :

"No, from my experience they're more popular for other reasons as well. "

yeah its pretty easy to jump on the hate bandwagon and say oh the ipod sucks the only reason theyre so successful is because they were first to market...but its bs. they easily have a superior product (in terms of mass customer appeal).

12/7/2006 6:42:39 PM

^Agreed. I went through a few other brands before the pod and they all crapped out on me. As much as I loathe Apple, the pod is superior.

12/7/2006 8:17:25 PM

blockbuster is better than netflix

12/7/2006 8:22:29 PM

Quote :

"But here is my main question and what might get me to switch. Do the free instore rentals include renting videogames?? If so, this might seal the deal for me."

they use to do this (and I actually still have the plan with two free DVD or game rentals a month, its pretty sweet for 360games) around January they switched to new subscribers having to get 4 free DVDs/month and gave current customers the choice to switch.

12/8/2006 12:43:41 AM

i noticed a subtle difference between netflix and blockbuster last year. netflix gets you most movies with a quick turnaround, while blockbuster takes a long time on obscure stuff, but is quick with popular stuff. both eventually pissed me off becuase i ordered a lot of tv shows and I was always getting the wrong disc. so now I have cable

12/8/2006 4:32:59 PM

Yea I am going to take about a half dozen flaps in today and go get some extra free movies to watch, but if they have taken off the whole no free game rentals then they can go screw. Between my cable shows I already watch (BSG, Heroes, etc.) and my time at work, school, with the kids, etc. I just don't have fucking time to watch movies like I used to. Unless BB relents and gives folks the chance to rent in-store games with the e-coupons again for new accounts, then I am not interested.

12/9/2006 9:11:01 AM

Quote :

"blockbuster is better than netflix"

you're an idiot


blockbuster is terrible

12/9/2006 12:06:14 PM

i've never had any problems

12/9/2006 12:57:03 PM

lets say im a blockbuster total access member

and i order 3 dvds online

i then return those dvds to the store and get 3 in-store new releases


if i don't have them back in two days or whatever do they hit me with a late fee restocking fee of $1.50 or whatever? Or do they give total access people longer?

12/12/2006 1:15:36 PM

restocking fee is charged a week after the movie should be due. So you have 9 days on new releases....at least thats what I think it is as I always get an automated call telling me that.

12/12/2006 1:29:09 PM

^ that's correct. take whatever the standard checkout time is (2 days for new releases, 4 days for normal, i think), and add a week before anything is charged. Even then, you have up to a month at only $1.50 before they charge you more.
The free exchanged in-store rentals are treated just like normal rentals, including you have to show your BB card. They're not really linked to your online account at all.

12/12/2006 1:34:11 PM

I have never subscribed to either service, but I've given NetFlix gift certificates to friends and family over the last year, and have some in line for this coming Christmas. None of the recipients have ever complained about services, and have renewed their memberships. (I go cheap - 1 month)
After reading the original post in this thread last week, I called the Blockbuster to see if it offered anything that compares to the NetFlix gift subscription, and it doesn't. You can buy a gift card that is redeemable at a store and/or online, but knowing my family, they would just go to the store ... so, I decided to stay with NetFlix because compared to going to Blockbuster, I think it's a better value to do the NetFlix online.

12/12/2006 2:38:47 PM

^ i thought 1 month trials were free?

how much do you pay for 1 month subscriptions?

12/12/2006 3:01:36 PM

it was a gift subscription ... it actually gave me one free for myself as well. for 2 DVDs at a time it's $9.99, 3 is $14.99.

12/12/2006 4:41:31 PM