Rent DVD Movies for $1 with The New Release and Redbox
$1 DVD Movie Rentals
This past weekend I had a few extra hours to kill so I thought I would catch up on some movies. At the suggestion of a wise and frugal friend I decided to try one of the $1 rental machines you can find at McDonalds or your local super market.
Only Bad Movies?
I’ve seen these machines for a few years now, but wasn’t interested because of what I thought was a limited selection of bad movies. Am I wrong in thinking that in the past these machines only offered up failed box offered efforts (i.e. movies with a fresh-o-meter below 50%)? Can you say Daddy Day Camp?
Blockbuster In-Store and Online (I’m done-zo!)
In the past I’ve used Blockbuster to rent movies because of their proximity to my house and large selection. I even tried their online version. However, life has slowly crept into my quality movie watching time and so I don’t watch as many movies in the theatre as I used to. Therefore, there are now plenty of movies in the generic new release sections that have their appeal. This is why I thought the $1 machines might now apply to me. Another way of saying “this movie snob isn’t ‘above’ the $1 machines anymore.”
The New Release: My Experience
So, I ended up going to Kroger (my local supermarket) and using a machine labeled “The New Release!” (also known as Moviecube). I was honestly impressed by the selection and quality of the movies inside. There were several Oscar winners within a collection of about 100 titles. About half of the movies were unavailable though. I suspect this was due to the holiday weekend. I rented two movies: Good Luck Chuck and Eastern Promises.
These machines only take credit card, so I swiped my ING DIRECT Electric Orange debit/credit card, grabbed the DVDs, and headed home to “watch them up”. The machine informs you that your card will be billed $1+tax for each movie when you return the movies.
The next day I returned the movies to the same machine at Kroger. I had to swipe my credit card again and follow the prompts to complete the return. The machine doesn’t issue you a receipt which I thought was strange. Also, it didn’t charge me for one of the movies (my total charge was $1.08). I guess they figured Good Luck Chuck wasn’t worth a dollar anyway. 
Some questions I had after my experience I was able to answer by checking out thenewrelease.com FAQ:
Q: Does the kiosk issue receipts?
A: At this time, the kiosk does not issue receipts. If you have a dispute, would like to review your account or if you would simply like a receipt issued to you, please contact customer service at 800-518-1574.Q. What is the deadline for returns?
A: You have up to 14 days to return your movie. If you do not return the movie, the credit card that you rented the movie with will be automatically charged a “no return fee” of $21 plus the 14 days of rental and tax.Q: How many movies can I have out at the same time?
A: You can rent up to 3 DVDs at the same time on one credit card.
I called the customer service line and (after a 20 min hold) they said that on some kiosks you get your first rental for free. Nice. If the machine does not automatically give you a free rental use this code: USFNF
Redbox: A Better Option?
A similar product is Redbox. I’ve seen these outside of most McDonalds for the past few years. They look about the same as The New Release machines in terms of quality and selection. However, I haven’t used one so don’t hold me to that.
A few unique features of redbox according to the website:
1. Rent Online and Pick Up is Guaranteed at the Kiosk. …that’s cool.
2. Return to any Red Box. …very convenient.
3. Multiple FREE Coupon Codes to Use. I found this site: insideredbox.com, which appears to have plenty of codes to use for free rentals. My friend Peter at Bible Money Matters uses these all the time apparently.
From the redbox.com FAQ:
Q: What if I lose the DVD or DVD case?
A: Oh boy. Now you’ve done it. Just call our Customer Service Group at 1.866.REDBOX3 for instructions to return DVD’s without a case. For lost DVDs, your credit or debit card will automatically be charged $25.00 + tax after 25 days. We’re all adults here.
Final Thoughts
Used properly, these machines look to be a legit way to save some time and money on your normal movie renting routine. I’m sure they are taking a big bite out of Blockbuster and Netflix profits. Just be sure you are the type that is disciplined enough to bring the movies back within a day or two.
Also, Redbox appears to have some features that give it the edge. However, I haven’t checked the selection at the actual machines, so that may be the difference keeping The New Release machines in business.
Have you used these machines? What are your thoughts?
Other Posts on Redbox:
15 Responses to “Rent DVD Movies for $1 with The New Release and Redbox”
By danandmarsh on Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
no we haven’t used these as of yet, although here lately we have been contiplating trying them out!! Thanks for sharing your experience.
By Pete on Mar 26, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for the mention. I’m very happy with Redbox’s selection -they come out with new releases every tuesday, and the movie selection is very good. It’s easy to check and see if the redbox near you has a movie in stock, and if it doesn’t you can check the others near you for that same movie. We have 3-4 redboxes within a couple of miles, so we can almost always find a movie we’re looking for.
As you mentioned, just check out that insideredbox.com site, and you can almost always get your movie rentals for free.
By Daniel on Mar 30, 2008 | Reply
I’ve recently used both of these services and much preferred redbox. The simple fact that if you provide them with your e-mail address they’ll send you a receipt gives them the edge. In my area, redbox seems to have a better selection, seems to get way more use (read: I have to wait in line to rent which means other people like it) and is more fair if you lose a movie (Movie Cube can cost you $39 to “keep” a DVD you lose, redbox is only $25).
By 1stopmom on Mar 31, 2008 | Reply
Hmm, you are the second person to bring this up in the past few days. I might have to give that a try. My brother and his girlfriend really like it.
By Tight Fisted Miser on Apr 1, 2008 | Reply
I use Redbox pretty often and never pay for a rental. There are always free rental codes to use and each code is good for each credit/debit card you have. That makes it easy to get free movies. They probably come out okay though since I often get some food while I’m there.
By PT on Apr 1, 2008 | Reply
@danandmarsh - no problem. thanks for stopping by.
@pete - no, thank you. i wouldn’t have known about insideredbox.com if it weren’t for you. going to try it out soon.
@daniel - great summary of the pros and cons. i actually think the pricing on late is the opposite…either way i agree that redbox appears to be the better service.
@1stopmom - let us know how it goes.
@tight fisted miser - to yur point, i wonder how interrelated redbox and mcdonalds are? I’m sure they have to pay McD much moola to be there.
By Pete on Apr 7, 2008 | Reply
just a quick warning, redbox recently stated that some of their machines have been hit with credit card skimmers - which steal your credit card information. click on the link in my name to check out how to avoid being scammed at my blog.
By Jan, San Francisco, CA on Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
I really like Redbox and DVDPlay kiosks since I have not yet had to pay for one rental. The online free code sites keep me in free movies every week.
By yvette on May 1, 2008 | Reply
woa! I got screwed by NEW RELEASE in the HEB supermarket in my area. I returned 2 movies on time and they claim they were never returned. so I got charged $37.86 for each movie.
They said they have no proof of return and they do not give you receipts.
I am going to dispute with them.
IF YOU RENT FROM NEW RELEASE MOVIE KIOSK DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. CHECK THE HOUSTON BBB!!
By PT on May 1, 2008 | Reply
@yvette - thanks for the heads up. gotta hate when that happens.
By Jamie on May 8, 2008 | Reply
DON’T DO IT….these machines are a total rip off and their customer service is a joke.
On 4/13/08 I went to the movie box located inside a Kroger grocery store. I was going to return 3 movies, however the movie box was out of order. I was instructed to call customer service, which I did. I spoke with a CSR who told me to place the movies inside the box on the right of the machine with the incident number she provided. I did so and kept a record of the conversation.
When I checked my bank statement on 4/28/08 I realized I had been charged $1.07 for one movie (the correct price) and then charged $74.90 for the other two(obviously incorrect). At this time I called customer service for the second time and spoke with another customer service rep. who told me that this would be corrected and that I would be charged $2.14 for the two movies (the correct price) and that I would receive a refund for the $72.76 overcharge.
04/29/08, I look at my bank account and I have been charged $74.90 with no refund and my bank account has incurred overdraft charges in the amount of $65.00. I called “The New Release” customer service center for again and Chris Borner is the supervisor that I spoke to in trying to correct this. He asked me to fax a bank statement and a written statement and he would get back to me in 24-48 hours. I disagree with the time-frame Chris gave me but I decided to fax the information and check back with him later in the day to confirm receipt. (when I called back, Chris was “in a meeting”)
After sending this fax and receiving no phone calls from Chris or any other supervisor I called back to the customer service department where I was hung up on and then when I called back I was lied to and then hung up on (I obviously have a super power that allows me to call whenever the “supervisor handling my complaint” is out to lunch, in a meeting, or out of the office). I called several more times and after escalating slowly up the ranks in the company I came to speak to Nathan Gilbert (”the supervisor handling my complaint”) who, by the way, should be fired. Nathan was supposed to have called me on several occasions and each time I ended up having to call him because he apparantly does not have time in his busy schedule to make the phone calls he has promised to make.
When I FINALLY spoke to Nathan on 5/2/08 I was informed that the “New Release” had issued a credit to me in the amount of $65 and that it would take 2-5 business days to process. So, I confirmed that I should receive my refund by Wednesday 05/07/08 and Nathan said yes.
TODAY IS THURSDAY 05/08/09 I still have received no credit to my account and upon calling the customer service department AGAIN I was told that the credit was issued on 05/06/08. I supposed I should be shocked but since I have not encountered anyone with this company who can be honest I expected this to happen. Now, one would beg the question ‘why would Nathan tell me something had been processed on Friday that was not yet processed until Tuesday?’ I however can answer that question myself….Nathan thought he would get rid of me and have me stop calling by lying, but when I am trying to recover money that was essentially STOLEN from me I am not going to trust someone who has repeatedly lied to me. At this point I am so angry that I want to tell everyone NOT to use these boxes. I want to warn consumers about giving their personal information to a company who has no regard for their customers and their money. It is much cheaper to visit a local video store or digitally rent a move…..these movies cost much more than ONE DOLLAR….BEWARE!!!