Blockbuster Takes on Redbox with $1.99 One-Night DVD Rentals

This past weekend I visited Blockbuster for the first time in a while. I’d written them off to a certain degree after my discovery of The New Release, Redbox (and Insideredbox.com), who let you rent DVDs for $1 or even $0. To be honest, the only reason I even considered entering Blockbuster was because I desperately wanted to watch a particular movie and it was out of stock at the $1 rental box closest to my home. And I’m not quite up to speed on the online movie watching, nor do I have an on-demand type cable or satellite TV service. I’m a bit old school when it comes to movies. Hey, at least I don’t watch VHS anymore.

So, reluctantly I stepped into the nearest Blockbuster, knowing I was about to pay $5 for something I could have rented for $1. Still, I was pleased to find the movie I wanted heavily stocked on the shelf. Then, I proceeded to the register where the person checking me out asked if I wanted to rent it for the one-night price of $1.99, or keep it for a week at $4.99. Obviously, since I was planning to watch the movie that night, I happily opted for the $1.99 price. Does anyone know when Blockbuster began offering this price and if it’s a nationwide offering?

Anyway, I left feeling good about my purchase, and at the same time, pleased with Blockbuster (a Dallas-based company) for altering their pricing structure to compete with the $1 boxes. The way I see it, this move will keep the brick and mortar Blockbuster stores around for a bit longer. Eventually everything will be digital and you won’t need a store, but for now it’s nice to see them making the smart changes required to stay competitive.

I realize $1.99 still isn’t $1.00 or $0 (the Redbox price with promo code), but Blockbuster has the advantage of being able to stock more DVDs. Thus, increasing the chances you’ll actually leave with the movie you want. I think I’d pay $2 instead of $1 if I knew the movie would be there. Also, Blockbuster allows you to turn the movie in by store closing, whereas the $1 boxes seem to give you a 24 hour window to return the movie (correct me if I’m wrong about that one). All this to say, I think going forward, I’ll probably be using Blockbuster more for my movie renting needs.

By the way, I’m not really a movie rental subscription service fan, but I have tried both Blockbuster Online and Netflix. Both have their advantages over visiting the store.

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Abigail

I'm a Blockbuster subscriber - we love being able to trade in movies the same day! At any rate, I don't know about the $1.99 promo (did you call that store and ask if it was a short-term thing?). I do know, though, that lately whenever we trade in a movie, a coupon prints out. After the next Tuesday, we can use it to rent a movie for $1.99, even new releases.

Honestly, I'm not sure if this only happens for Blockbuster Total Access members or for others. If it's the former, it's brilliant. My husband suggested using one the other day because we were out of trades for the month. I pointed out that we could simply put it in our queue. While we wouldn't get it immediately, it seemed silly to spend $1.99 on a movie we could get a couple days later for free. Especially since the next plan up was only $3 more and included TWO more trade-ins.

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Oh I feel so bad, My Journey. Sorry, man. I'll go look for the official press release from Blockbuster to get the scoop.

My Journey

PT,

Went to blockbuster last ONLY because of your post, and the saleswoman looked at me like I had 4 heads!

She told me that the 1.99 was a short promotion and it was only on certain movies.

JUST FYI

Thanks for the info, Shelia. Good to know. Good point about the dropoff thing too. I didn't factor that in. Now that I think about it more, I know I've heard of people using Redbox while traveling long distances by car for the car DVD. It sounds like you've got a good system down. Thanks for your comment. :)

Sheila

When I rent from Redbox, it tells me they are due back by 9:00 p.m. the next evening - regardless of the time of day I rent. Frequently (with kids) I go get the movie in the morning, so I get quite a bit more than 24 hours. No big deal if you are late, they just charge you $1 more. I'm not sure what it says if you rent late in the evening. I also like the I can drop the Redbox movie off at any Redbox, not necessarily the same one I got it at. For me, Redbox is very near the Blockbuster (which I very rarely go to), so I can easily check Redbox and then go to Blockbuster if needed. I never watch movies myself, and limit how many I get for my kids, so Netflix is not anything I would ever be interested in.

GaelicWench

I have a subscription ($8.99)to Netflix, but since our favorite shows on the telly (read that: the TNT channel) have been renewed for the summer, I am gonna downgrade to $4.99.

I am not a huge fan of BlockBuster; never have been. ***Nor do I like belonging to anything - membership-wise - that has a deadline. I like the freedom of being able to return the DVDs next week because something comes up during the week which prevents us from watching a movie.

***DISCLAIMER: This does preclude projects on a deadline at work.