ONLINE DVD RENTALS – AS EASY AS 1-2-3

Reprinted from Renfrew-Collingwood News,
April/May 2004 Edition. Updated: March 2005.

If you enjoy watching movies like I do and you rent a whole tonne of it, you will have inevitably encountered “late charges” at the local video store. Canadian consumers pay a “boat load”, when it comes to “late fees, in fact, they pay millions each year just on “late fees”. According to some statistics done by Video Store Magazine (and yes they have their own magazine), consumers in North America racked up nearly one billion dollars in late fees. Exorbitant late charges consumers pay, typically, add between 15 – 20% to the bottom line of large video rental chains like: Blockbusters and Roger’s Video. In other words, late fees are a gigantic revenue generator for video store owners and probably will never go away.On a recent excursion to visit a family friend in Seattle, I was introduced to an interesting online service called Netflix®. Netflix® is an US-based online DVD rental service for movie buffs. You can rent up to 3 movies at any one time starting at $11.99 US a month. The service promises: over 35,000 classics and new releases to choose from, no due dates, line-ups, hassle free, and best of all – no late charges.

HOW IT WORKS

You sign up by going to their website, fill out the necessary forms and enter your credit card number. Once you have signed in, you create a “wish list” from the library of movie titles on the Netflix® website that you wish to see. The service will then send you up to three movies from your “wish list” with a self-returning postage paid envelop for each DVD shipped to you in 1 – 3 business days. In the US, mail is, also, delivered on Saturdays, ensuring that you can have DVDs to watch on the weekends which is a great plus when you wish to have big viewing parties with family and friends. As soon as you are finished watching one of the three movies, all you have to do is put it in the self-address postage-paid envelop and drop it in the mail box. As soon as the DVD is received by Netflix®, the next available DVD on your “wish list” will go out to you by mail. The number of DVDs you can watch per month depends on how quickly you watch your DVDs.

Unfortunately, Netflix® is only currently available to US customers. But, fortunately for us, three entrepreneurial Canadian companies have just decided, recently, to offer similar but competing services based on the Netflix® concept – Zip.ca, Moviesforme.ca, and Dvdstoyourdoor.com.

Zip.ca offers:

• over 29,000 DVD titles for rent.
• detailed writeups of each DVD.
• availability status of each DVD.
• e-gift memberships you can send to family and friends.
• current entertainment news, movie suggestions, and member ratings of each movie.
• flexible membership plans (i.e. 3 month pre-paid plans, or month to month plans, etc.).
• service at $10.95/month and up depending on the number of DVDs (up to 6 a time) you rent at a time.

Moviesforme.ca offers:

• over 20,000 DVD titles for rent.
• a selection of audiobooks for rent.
• live e-mail support to answer any customer queries.
• 1-3 business days delivery of DVDs.
• service for $24.95/month (4 DVDs) and up depending on the number of DVDs (up to 6 a time) you rent at a time.

Dvdstoyourdoor.com offers:

• service for $14.95/month (2 DVDs) and up depending on the number of DVDs (up to 5 a time) you rent at a time.
• “refer-a-friend” program.
• no member ratings/reviews or option to purchase DVDs.

So, if you are an avid movie buff and want to tryout an alternative method of renting DVD movies, you can take advantage of the free 14 day trials that all three services are offering. Just go to their, respective, websites and sign up. It’s that easy!

Since the introduction of these online DVD rental services, Blockbuster Canada has responded by essentially relaxing their rental policies. Members can, if they choose, return their rentals a day or two late without incurring any late fees. To learn more about Blockbuster Canada’s “the end of late fees” program, click here.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, feel free to drop me an e-mail at: gb.technobytes@gmail.com or by clicking here.

~Geekboy