This is topic Blockbuster "No Late Fees" policy - opinions? in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 12-31-2004, 10:48 PM:
 
I have decided I'm through with Blockbuster altogether. The new policy of no late fees ACTUALLY means "return 'em early, on time or a couple of days late and you now will pay a buck ewxtra for every movie!" In other words, you'll be paying the equivalent of a late fee for every 4 movies you rent.

So why don't they just say "Hey, you customers are gonna LOVE what we've done for ya! ... so now bend over and get what's coming to ya!" ???

I'm going to Hollywood Video - no more of this "2 day" idiocy, no more of any of it.

Opinions?
 

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 01-01-2005, 01:19 AM:
 
How much does it cost to rent a DVD these days?? You can buy most of them for under $15 new. Just buy them and if you dont like it sell it on ebay and get what you can for it.
 

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Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 01-01-2005, 06:56 AM:
 
Good idea, and I do that - especially for titles Best Buy doesn't carry but I still want to see (has everyone seen SCHLOCK and MAU MAU SEX SEX - great look at grindhouse cinema from the guys who made the movies!)

However, it works better to sell on Amazon - listing is free and remains in effect until sold (not eBay's 10-day limit), customers can find their desired movie easily and compare prices (just offer yours 25¢ below the lowest and you'll sell in a day).
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-01-2005, 03:19 PM:
 
Ugh! I thought the 5-day rentals were a pain in the ass. You never knew if the movie was going to come back tomorrow or in a week so you'd better go to the next store. Not a probelm for new releases since there's a billion copies, but try to rent something from a few years ago, and good luck.

"No Late Fees" means that video will be sitting around some schmoe's house until he/she feels like getting their ass up to return it.

And don't count on Hollywood Video. Blockbuster is buying them out anyway. After that, they will own more than 45% of the "Home video rental market."

I miss the old days of indie video stores. Bring it back the next day, or it's $1 a day. That, and the row of arcade machines in every store

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 01-01-2005, 07:32 PM:
 
NO!!! BLOCKBUSTER CANNOT BUT OUT HOLLYWOOD VIDEO!

I love Hollywood video! Blockbuster sucks on hundreds of levels. Hollywood has a huge library of old hard to find titles, wheras blockbuster only stocks current or popular titles. Don't believe me? I dare you to find any of theese titles at Blockbuster.

-Tiny Toons: How I spent My Summer Vacation
-Pure Luck
-Pirates of Silicon Valley

Not that these are great movies, but sometimes you're really in the mood for watching a stupid slapstick comedy with Martin Short and Danny Glover.

Blockbuster will probably sell out Hollywoods vast library for a quick buck in the Previously Viewed market. F'ing Viacomm.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-01-2005, 10:25 PM:
 
Yes, Blockbuster's so-called "selection" blows. I have never rented anything from them, ever, just on principle. What's the point of a video rental store which only carries "new releases"? Doesn't that sort of defeat the whole purpose of watching movies at home (easy access to a wide variety of titles from different time periods)?
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 01-01-2005, 11:29 PM:
 
I stopped renting from Blockbuster back in about 1993 when I could only get R-rated versions of films like Peter Jackson's Dead Alive in their stores. Now I rent exclusively from Netflix.
 

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Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 01-02-2005, 12:51 AM:
 

quote: Thomas Procyk

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and the row of arcade machines in every store

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quote: Chris Hipp

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How much does it cost to rent a DVD these days??

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quote:

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-Tiny Toons: How I spent My Summer Vacation

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quote: Thomas Procyk

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"No Late Fees" means that video will be sitting around some schmoe's house until he/she feels like getting their ass up to return it.

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quote:

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The world's largest video rental company will still have due dates for their rental products -- one week for games and two days or one week for movies, depending on whether it's a new release.

But customers will be given a one-week grace period after that to return the product. After that grace period ends, the chain will automatically sell them the product, less the rental fee. If the customers don't want to purchase the movie or game, they can return the product within 30 days for a credit, less a restocking fee.

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quote: Christian Volpi

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Rent 'em and burn 'em. It's the only way to go.

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I have an idea... you can put five bucks into a fund and tell the fund how you want it split up, depending on how much you liked the film and for the reasons..

a crappy actor gets crap, while a great sound designer gets paid for a blow your brains out mix,,, and so on..

ciao baby

dave
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-02-2005, 10:11 AM:
 
I want my $5 split up evenly among the 8 midgets who played Howard The Duck in that classic film. But only if they release it on dvd. In widescreen. With the 6ch 70mm mix. And the deleted Lea Thompson nude scene.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 01-02-2005, 09:57 PM:
 
Forget the midgets. One chapter-stop - right to the restored nude scene.
 

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Posted by Eric Webb (Member # 2772) on 01-03-2005, 09:00 PM:
 
quote from Daily Tribune

quote:

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Blockbuster eliminates late fees starting Saturday

By Catherine Kavanaugh

Daily Tribune Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: December 31, 2004

Ray Gorney of Royal Oak is looking forward to the rental relief Blockbuster customers will get on Saturday when the company drops its late fees.

He took his movie back on time Thursday but still had to shell out an extra $3.50 for one of his nine-year-old son Mack's delinquent rentals.

"He's notorious for returning video games late," Gorney said. "This is my biggest complaint with the company. It seems we always owe a late fee."

Gorney admits he's to blame once in a while. He has checked out new DVD releases and been unable to watch them in the three-day viewing window. Sometimes he holds onto the flick and pays a late fee and sometimes he just returns movies without even having opened the box.

"Then I check them out again a week later," Gorney said. "This new policy will help us a lot."

That's the idea, said Kelly Ciaciuch, manager of the Blockbuster at 27942 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak.

"Late fees are our biggest complaint, especially when people return things a couple hours late," Ciaciuch said. "We hope this brings some of our unhappy customers back."

Blockbuster, the No. 1 video rental chain, has been losing business to mail-order services like Netflix, which lets customers keep movies as long as they want without a late fee.

Blockbuster's policy isn't as generous, but it is a welcome change for customers like the Gorneys, who will save money and the hassle of rushing back movies and games.

Blockbuster products still will have due dates, but customers will get a six-day grace period to return them. They also will get two phone calls and a postcard to remind them their rental is overdue, Ciaciuch said.

"After that, we sell it to you," she added.

When the grace period is over, customers will go from renters to buyers. On the seventh day, the company will automatically charge the person's credit card or membership account for the cost of the movie minus the rental fee, which is $2.99 for DVDs and $6.99 for games at Ciaciuch's store.

The cost of becoming the owner of a Blockbuster product will depend on whether it is a movie or game and whether it is still in print. In most cases, customers will pay the price for previously viewed materials — $10-$17 for DVDs and $10-$13 for videos — and not the retail price, Ciaciuch said.

Anyone who doesn't want to own the movie will have a 30-day period from the point of sale to return it and have their account credited minus a $1.25 restocking fee.

Some customers are worried the more lenient return policy will make it harder to rent the hottest releases, but Ciaciuch said Blockbuster plans to increase its stock of new titles to keep its shelves full of the movies customers want the most.

There will be a drawback, however, for people so eager to get a movie they hang out by the drop box hoping someone brings one back. Blockbuster clerks used to be able to tell customers with some certainty whether it's worth the wait.

"We could say, 'We expect five copies back by midnight' and people would wait," Ciaciuch said. "Now there's no telling. We will have more copies available, however, so that should help."

Contact Catherine Kavanaugh at cathy.kavanaugh@dailytribune.com or 248-591-2504.

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quote:

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When the grace period is over, customers will go from renters to buyers. On the seventh day, the company will automatically charge the person's credit card or membership account for the cost of the movie minus the rental fee, which is $2.99 for DVDs and $6.99 for games at Ciaciuch's store.

The cost of becoming the owner of a Blockbuster product will depend on whether it is a movie or game and whether it is still in print. In most cases, customers will pay the price for previously viewed materials — $10-$17 for DVDs and $10-$13 for videos — and not the retail price, Ciaciuch said.

Anyone who doesn't want to own the movie will have a 30-day period from the point of sale to return it and have their account credited minus a $1.25 restocking fee.

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Wow, who would've thought that Blockbuster would've ever gotten to the point of a 29 day rental for only $4.24!
 

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Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 01-04-2005, 12:27 PM:
 
the last time i rented from blockbuster was 3 years ago. i returned 2 PS2 games a day late, a week later i got a card from blockbuster saying i never returned the games just the empty cases. they said i would have to pay for the games, i don't remember what the cost was.

i threw away the card and a few days later they sent another card saying it was just late fee. how can you accuse a customer of stealing the games, then a week later, say we found them and you owe us money. screw them

what pisses me off is they accused me of stealing the games and now they want me pay for them, now they say i owe them late fees , WTF

the funny thing now is, i'm a sign installer for Anchor Sign Company, they have the accounts for blockbuster, starbucks and quizno's. we install every blockbuster sign in america and every sign is made in charleston,sc.
 

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Posted by Don Cross (Member # 2980) on 01-28-2005, 07:50 PM:
 
Although somewhat unrelated to the no late fee issue...

Industry insiders have unofficially stated that its unlikely that Blockbuster (as it exists presently in retail) will be around well within the next five years. The company might very well cross over to other industries though- or may merge with another company. Consider how future internet advancements might effect a company such as that. The next internet advancements will likely be tripple what current technology is capable of.
 

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