Blockbuster on-line vs. Blockbuster store??

[rockin_rep]

Can anyone give me some info regarding the difference?

Blockbuster on line is offering a new subscriber special and we'd save alot compared to the monthly fee we pay now thru the store.

My biggest concern is getting *new-releases*. Anyone know how easy or difficult it is to rent them on-line? Does it take some time to get them, or is it possible to get them within the first week?

Any other concerns or issues you've had with BB on-line?

Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[Lesley]

I don't really no in comparison to the store...but Blockbuster online is really bad as far as getting you the correct movie, or a movie that works. I did a month free trial and it was so bad I wouldn't even think of signing up with them. At the end they charged me for a movie I never received....plus I received more than one mislabeled disk, and several that were either unplayable or had problems playing. I'll admit their customer service was very good...correcting problems in a very friendly and personable way...but there were just too many problems.

I've now joined Netflix and so far they are much better.

I would think that you're not going to get new releases as easily with an online rental service, with the way the queue system works and all. Probably luck of the draw on popular new releases....but I don't have personal experience with that.

 

[rockin_rep]

Wow Lesley, doesn't sound too good, which is what i was afraid of. Like the old saying, 'you get what you pay for' LOL

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, and so quickly!

Any other experiences, anyone?

 

[Cindy B]

Wow, I had worse luck with Netflix and much much better service with Blockbuster.

First off, use FRIENDS for a free four week trial at Blockbuster online. In the past two weeks we have gotten tons of new releases, and its much easier to get online than in store. Lately, I've gotten Herbie, Bewitched, Revenge of the Sith and Charlie and the Choc. Factory all within the past two weeks. Charlie came out today, mine was mailed out today and will get it Thursday.

I have a harder time getting Weird Science or Animal House movies... as crazy as that sounds.

I just keep all the newer releases at the top of the que and adjust accordingly so that they are on the top when release date comes out.

 

[SherriW]

We have used NetFlix for over a year now and LOVE it!! I have only gotten 2 cds that I could not play and when I emailed and reported it they had a new one of that title out that day.
We get new releases ALL the time. The trick is to keep those soon to be new release at the TOP of your queue. I just received in the mail today Charlie & the Choc Factory and Chritmas w/ the Kranks ............ those movies were just released in the stores today and I got mine today - - not to bad I don't think.
We watch way more movies in the winter then in the summer.
I don't think a person can go wrong w/ NetFlix.
Sherri

 

[simonfam76]

I have never used netflix so I can't give any insight on that but I do have the online blockbuster rental service and I love it. There is a blockbuster right up the road from me and I can just run right up the road and use my two free instore rental coupons (good for games or movies) and now they even do a free dvd rental coupon, so you get I think it has been one movie a month for free. Ofcourse it is select titles but that's still not bad. And then just now I got two coupons for instore rentals for any rental at 1.99 each. So all of that plus three out at a time for under 20. And I haven't had problems with their movies getting here and what not. So I give blockbuster a thumbs up
but again I have nothing to add about netflix being bad or good.

 

[WDWBetsy]

I have had both Netflix and Blockbuster online - started out with Netflix - had no problems, quick delivery. Then DH wanted to check out Blockbuster and we had problem after problem with scratched/damaged DVDs and it took longer to receive. So we switched back to Netflix. We love it.

 

[DianeV]

I love Blockbuster. Sometimes I get the movie the next day after they send it and it usually only takes 2 days to return and have them send the next one.

I have probably had at least 40 movies so far from them and not one was scratched or incorrect or anything. Also if a movie hasnt arrived within 3 days you let them know and they will send you the next one on your list in the meantime.

I have always had great service and good luck getting new releases. Sometimes its harder getting them in store

Also they send you 2 coupons via email for a free movie or game rental instore and that covers about 1/2 the cost of the membership (or pretty close) plus sometimes they send extras like choose a free previewed dvd to keep from a list or special prices on previewed dvds etc.

I cant recommend Blockbuster highly enough

 

[arizonacolbys]

We did Blockbuster for about 6 months & never had any problems getting movies. We really enjoyed it! We would frequently get new releases the same week that they came out as long as you put them at the top of your queue that week.

We also enjoyed using the 2 free in-store coupons - my hubby uses these for games which is a really good deal. With no late fees, you can keep the games 1 day shy of 2 weeks without any fees/charges on your account.

We stopped our account about a month and a half ago due to school starting back up & tv shows starting again, but I think we may sign back up again soon with the cold, snowy weather coming!

 

[elgerber]

I love Blockbuster too, I get much faster service than I did with Netflix. I usually get new releases the day after they come out, two days later at the most. I rarely use the in store coupons, since the nearest one is 25 minutes away, but it is a nice option if I need it.

 

[rockin_rep]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I think we're going to try BB on-line.

I really appreciate your feedback!

 

[melmel]

We have BB online and I'm ready to switch to Netflix. We've had it for about a year, and we've only had 2 broken dvds, BUT it takes 6 days to get movies, 3 for them to register that they recieved it and another 3 for them to send the new one. We only get our money's worth out of it because of the free instore rentals. As soon as our promotional period is up and we're paying the same as we would to Netflix we're going to switch, it's just not worth it. We're big movie fans so only being able to get about 9 movies a month is not a good deal for us.

Melissa

 

[donnabc]

We did the 2 movie at a time unlimited rentals at Blockbuster for about a year...it was GREAT.

But all things must come to an end and we were cutting our expenses so we switched to BlockBuster online about 30 days ago now.

The cost is much less (about $10 less per month I think) and you get 2 in store coupons and can have 3 movies out at a time.

We have already gotten one FREE DVD, 2 free instore "rentals" and a couple other coupons I didn't use.

All in all it seems to be a good deal to me. We get the movies about 2 to 3 days after we turn one in. To speed it up, we drop the DVD we are returning in to our local blockbuster (they check it in RIGHT then so your next DVD is sent out sooner).

No problems so far...Netflicks on the other hand I HAD heard some negative comments about which is WHY I chose BlockBuster online and not them...

 

[donnabc]

We have BB online and I'm ready to switch to Netflix. We've had it for about a year, and we've only had 2 broken dvds, BUT it takes 6 days to get movies, 3 for them to register that they recieved it and another 3 for them to send the new one. We only get our money's worth out of it because of the free instore rentals. As soon as our promotional period is up and we're paying the same as we would to Netflix we're going to switch, it's just not worth it. We're big movie fans so only being able to get about 9 movies a month is not a good deal for us.

Melissa

Melissa, did you know you could turn them in to MOST local blockbuster stores? I think it really speeds it up...The person at the counter keys it in and one is sent out within 2 days....not bad I don't think.

We have only been signed up for 30 days and have had 2 instore rentals, 1 free DVD and 11 movies online...kept some for about a week too...DS likes to see them over and over and over

Thats 14 movies in a month for just $18 bucks...

 

[SassyTexas]

We decided to go with Blockbuster online because they are really good. We have been with them for about 6 months now. We have had some discs arrive that would not play but we reported it and got a disc to replace it promptly.
We decided to go with Blockbuster online because we can never return videos on time. This was before they gave up late fees. We have been Blockbuster customers for years and really like them. There service is really good compared to NetFlix and others. We receive coupons where we can go in the store and rent movies for free and we can also get a discount on previously owned movies.

A happy Blockbuster customer

 

[LisaNJ25]

I have been using bb online for over a year now. For me they are very fast. I have a 1 day turn around time. It al depends on where your distribution center is. Some weeks if we have time to watch them we rent 6 videos.

The plus for me in the instore free rental coupons. Videos games are around $7.00 not so I give my son the 2 coupons to use. My membership is $14.99 a month so that pays for it there.

Dont forget to go though mypoints when you sign up. They give you 1,000 points.

 

[MKCP5]

Is there a service commitment with either? We used to have nextflix, (a couple of years ago) it was great for a while then the service got really slow so we bailed. Then we used the in store BB, but it has gotten too expensive so we bailed. Now we are considering BB or Netflix and the BB is attractive because of the in store freebies. I hate poor service though and the reviews here are so mixed I don't know what to do!!

 

[ksoehrlein]

I have had both Netflix and Blockbuster online - started out with Netflix - had no problems, quick delivery. Then DH wanted to check out Blockbuster and we had problem after problem with scratched/damaged DVDs and it took longer to receive. So we switched back to Netflix. We love it.

Same experience here. I liked the coupons for the two in-store free rentals each month, but MUCH prefer Netflix over Blockbuster online with regard to everything else. Netflix has a faster turnaround time, greater availability, more accuracy, fewer damaged disks, and a more user-friendly website IMO.

In the 3 months we had Blockbuster Online, we received 2 incorrect movies and 2 others that were badly damaged. When I reported these problems online and chose to have the original movie reshipped, they never did manage to reship them; I had to place them in my queue again.

The variability shown in this thread leads me to believe that most of the problems are regional. If you live near Birmingham, Netflix distribution is much faster than Blockbuster (we have our own distribution center here). If you live elsewhere, YMMV.

 

[poohj80]

We used the BB stores for years (no monthly fee) but tried the online rentals and it is so much more convenient. We have had to wait for a couple new releases, but we just used our in store coupons to go get them for free so no problems. Also, I didn't see anyone mention that the online membership also offers free previously viewed DVD couposn quite often.

There is no minimum commitment required.

 

[rockin_rep]

We did the 2 movie at a time unlimited rentals at Blockbuster for about a year...it was GREAT. But all things must come to an end and we were cutting our expenses so we switched to BlockBuster online about 30 days ago now.

We get the movies about 2 to 3 days after we turn one in. To speed it up, we drop the DVD we are returning in to our local blockbuster (they check it in RIGHT then so your next DVD is sent out sooner).

...

We're also trying to cut expenses and BB on-line seems much more economical.

And i didn't realize you can return the dvd's to the local store ~ thats great.

Also in regards to mypoints ~ do you have to wait until it's offered, or is there a way to go into their system / home page and subscribe?

Thanks for your replies everyone!