Let's take a look at the two "500 pound guerillas" in the movie rental business: Netflix and Blockbuster. We have a brief description of the programs outlined here:



Netflix launched its online movie rental service in 1999 and currently has more than 3,000,000 customers.

With Netflix you can rent as many movies from the comfort of your home and have them delivered to your door in about 1 business day via U.S. Mail. There are no late fees and no due dates, and shipping is free both ways. Plans range from $9.99-$17.99 plus any applicable tax. When you finish watching a movie, simply put it in its prepaid envelope and mail it back to them. After they receive it, they'll send you another movie.

They has a wide selection of movies - everything from classics to new releases, with 40,000 titles. Their web site is available 24 hours a day and makes finding movies simple and convenient. New customers can try it free for two weeks. You can cancel your membership anytime with no cancellation fees.

Blockbuster now has a very similar online mail delivery movie rental program. Their program started in March 2005 and they have a online movie library with more than 30,000 titles. Their monthly fee is $14.99 (plus applicable taxes) for an unlimited number of movies. You can have up to three out at one time. Return them in the postage-paid envelope and you'll receive others that you have selected. Also as a member, each month Blockbuster give you two ecoupons for free in-store movie or game rentals. You can cancel at anytime. They also have a free trial membership.

The up-side of these online, mail delivery rental programs is there are no due dates or late fees, you don't have to go into the store and there are more available selections than the stores carry. The downside is that you have to wait for delivery in the mail.

Visit them online and make your choice. In fact, why not try the free trial on both of them. Then you can make an intelligent choice. And choice is a good thing.