Online movie rental services are the way of the future. While many still roam the local movie mart, whether blockbuster or otherwise, many are switching to the conveniences of online DVD rental service. Simply order a DVD online, and with the click of a button your movie is queued in for delivery. No late fees, and competitive prices between the two companies make it a great time to sign up. So, which DVD rental service is the best?
Netflix was the company that really started this trend, and so a good look must be given to them. The Netflix service was so popular, that Blockbuster considered it a big threat and launched the Blockbuster online DVD rental service in response. Netflix offers over 55,000 titles, nearly 5,000 more than their competitor, and has about the same turn-around time, for now. I would like to point out the impossibility of finding their phone number online, they expect you to go through their online FAQ's first, whereas Blockbuster has ?contact us? tab that makes it easy to contact them. That aside, Netflix has a reputable name built up from the speed, and quality of their service. So can Blockbuster stop the march of this DVD rental service behemoth?
The answer is yes. While Netflix may have ?gotten there first?, Blockbuster has and plans to remain a store-driven service. In this way, Blockbuster has a huge advantage over Netflix, and knows how to manage their customer service team. Blockbuster has plans in the immediate future to begin using their stores as distribution points, which means delivery could be extremely quick, and make their stores a possible drop off point for the online DVD rental service. While priced about the same, Blockbuster gives free in-store rentals. This is very important to me personally, as it allows me to grab the new release I've wanted immediately for free and then put the older classics on the backburner.
Between the two, it's so neck-and-neck that the Blockbuster free rentals are the deal breaker for me. I'd go with Netflix only if you really don't care about free in-store rentals. Otherwise they are mostly the same price, the same speed, and consumer appreciation is about equal for both DVD rental services. I'm not sure if Netflix just hopes their customers won't notice, but Netflix should take a price dive if they expect customers to pass up the free monthly in-store DVD rentals from Blockbuster.
When you first start to use the DVD rental on line services, you will find that the systems work very effectively. All you have to do is choose the movies that you want to view, receive them in the mail, and watch them at your leisure. There are never any late fees to pay, should you forget to return them, as you can keep the movies for as long as you want. If you have ever forgotten to return a movie to your local store, you will no that this feature alone can mean that the service almost pays for itself.
What I like best about DVD movie rental on line is the single monthly fee you pay, and with most companies if you pay their highest fee, which is about $20 a month, you can rent as many DVDs as you want throughout the month; send the first bunch back and they will send you more DVDs straight away. Once you get used to the system you just rinse and repeat until you have watched every movie your rental company has, but with over 100,000 DVDs at Netflix alone, that could take you some time!
I personally have paid more than $20 in late fees on one set of DVD rentals before, so if you are like me, it is well worth the investment.
The 2 big players in the DVD rental on line industry are Blockbusters and Netflix. Both follow similar business models, and both companies have good and bad points in their favour. I think Netflix edges it slightly because the number of titles they have for you to choose from is just huge, although Blockbusters allow you to drop movies back at your local store and I like that feature too.
DVD rental on line is definitely the way the industry will grow in the future, the centralized nature of operating the business in this way allows the companies to make huge savings, and in a competitive market those savings in part will get passed on to us the consumer.
In summary then, DVD rental on line will work out less expensive than renting 5 or 6 movies per month from your local store, you will never have to pay any late fees because you can keep the movies for as long as you want. On the downside you are committing to pay a set amount each month, but you are not tied in for a long period, you can cancel any time you choose. Like I said before, to me it is a no-brainer.
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