Red Box is a Great Source But Screws UP

[SGOS]

I'm a big fan of Redbox movie rentals.  If you want access to current movies, I think it's the best and cheapest thing out there.  Obviously, the nature of the delivery method limits the selection, so it has to focus almost entirely on current releases much the way Pay per view does, but it's significantly cheaper.

But there has been a major screw up with their release of Thor II.  Apparently, they didn't order enough copies so that some states don't even offer it, and in my case, it's a 50 mile one way drive to rent it.  Then another 50 miles one way to return it.  

The customer movie reviews section at their on line reserve site was 95% devoted to complaints about the availability of Thor II, which has kept Red Box busy deleting these negative comments, I suppose under the assumption that they don't review the movie.  I even added my own complaint.  It's gone now.

None the less, I'm still an enthusiastic fan.  Redbox says that more copies of Thor II are soon to be stocked.  We will see.  The company is relatively new, and unlike Netflix, it's still working to satisfy it's customers.  

I got snowed in for three days and couldn't get my 4 wheel drive out of my long driveway.  I had to pay an extra three days rental for three movies I was holding.  That's not Redbox's fault.  It was an act of God so to speak.  I almost felt like I was wasting my time even calling Redbox to explain my problem.  Their response was to give me credit for three additional free rentals of my choice.  Two days later, they sent me a notice that they were giving another free rental.  Now, I'm still out a couple of bucks because of the freak winter storm, but Redbox met me half way for something that wasn't their fault.  Imagine, a large corporation in today's business climate doing something to make a customer feel grateful.  It's downright unthinkable.  I'm floored.

[aitm]

How coincidental, I was just looking at signing up yesterday afternoon, and then saw the reviews and thought, maybe wait a few months. Thanks for sharing.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I can get new releases for $2.75/day and fairly new releases for $3.95/five days. This at a local video store that has all kinds of vids, not just new releases. No membership fee and it's about a mile from my house.

[SGOS]

I can get new releases for $2.75/day and fairly new releases for $3.95/five days. This at a local video store that has all kinds of vids, not just new releases. No membership fee and it's about a mile from my house.

Using Redbox requires no membership fee, and all releases are $1.50 for a DVD and $1.70 for Blu-ray.  For most people, they are conveniently located.  Not to say video stores aren't as good.  They are, and I wish there was one locally available to me because there are so many older movies that I'd often rent if I could.  Then I could use Redbox for new releases and the video store for those older movies I crave (and believe me, there are many of them).

I also use amazon prime.  It's OK, and I use it.  I also get free shipping on most things I buy at amazon, but it's $70/year.  I haven't bothered to calculate the actual value, but between the free shipping and the free movies, at least the ones I might actually care about, I think I'm going to get my money's worth.  However, like most streaming services, it's loaded with a lot of horribly undesirable content.  It's hard to find the good stuff, but there is some there.  One real disadvantage is that you can get hooked by a series that keeps your interest until the third season, when it's no longer part of "prime".  Then they want to charge you as much as $5.00 to watch a one hour episode, which seems like highway robbery to me.  Well, I just don't watch them.  It's that simple.  I'm not going to buy a membership to have the right to buy something that's cheaper at a video store.  I've even opted at times to buy the seasons set of disks on Blu-ray, which offers greater resolution and better sound.  In addition, they often offer a early release option of some movies before the normal DVD release date.  If you missed the movie at the theater, the cost is about twice the price of a theater ticket, for a movie that is three months old.  I'm not a big fan of streaming.

[SGOS]

How coincidental, I was just looking at signing up yesterday afternoon, and then saw the reviews and thought, maybe wait a few months. Thanks for sharing.

There is no signing up for Redbox, unless you are talking about their streaming option, which from what I've read, doesn't offer a lot of desirable content.  Netflix, I hear is a little better, but I haven't actually tried either one.

If you are just going to rent disks from Redbox, you would only sign up (it's free) if you want to be able to reserve the disks so that they will be at the box when you get there.  This makes a lot of sense, especially if you have to drive a long way.  Also, if you sign up to be able to reserve on line, they sometimes send you a credit for a free movie (maybe once every six months).  They used to send me a 50 cents off credit every weekend, but they quit doing it when they realized I was addicted and would rent movies whether I got the credit or not. :-D

[Shiranu]

I think Redbox must be more expensive in New Mexico, because I remember DVD's being more like $3 or $5 dollars and thinking, "Holy shit, that is a terrible deal, why do people use these things?".

[SGOS]

I think Redbox must be more expensive in New Mexico, because I remember DVD's being more like $3 or $5 dollars and thinking, "Holy shit, that is a terrible deal, why do people use these things?".

Hmmm.  That's interesting.  I dunno.  Maybe they realized people wouldn't rent them at that price and brought the price down, or the cost varies geographically.  In fact, my experience is that Redbox has raised prices.  When I first started, DVDs were $1.00.  Now they are $1.50.  I wouldn't pay to rent a movie for $5 anymore than I would pay $5 for a pay per view.

I remember when Pay Per View was first introduced.  It was something like $5 and I thought that was high too.  They pitched it as "you don't have to go to the video store".  But I'll go where it's the cheapest, and the video store then was only $3 and on the way to the grocery store, so travel was not a factor.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I can get new releases for $2.75/day and fairly new releases for $3.95/five days. This at a local video store that has all kinds of vids, not just new releases. No membership fee and it's about a mile from my house.

Using Redbox requires no membership fee, and all releases are $1.50 for a DVD and $1.70 for Blu-ray.  

I pay no membership fee. And five nights would be $8.50 on Red Box.

It would be interesting to see how many people keep a movie for more than one night with Red Box.

[aitm]

Your are correct, I was looking at the streaming option and their quantity is limited at this time.

[SGOS]

I can get new releases for $2.75/day and fairly new releases for $3.95/five days. This at a local video store that has all kinds of vids, not just new releases. No membership fee and it's about a mile from my house.

Using Redbox requires no membership fee, and all releases are $1.50 for a DVD and $1.70 for Blu-ray.  

I pay no membership fee. And five nights would be $8.50 on Red Box.

It would be interesting to see how many people keep a movie for more than one night with Red Box.

Yes, to make it pay, you have to work within the parameters set by the loaner.  Towards the end of my video store days, I also found certain movies available for 5 days.  I think you had to rent 5 at a time, and if I remember right, I think one place charged $5/5 videos/5 days.  Not all videos of course, and I raced through the cheap ones in about three weeks.

Then I spent a winter in Alaska on my boat.  There was a video store in town, but it got pricey.  I watched movies during the long winter nights and I was happy to have the store there, so I accepted the price.  But then, it was Alaska.  When I noted the price of sheet of plywood at the hardware store, and told the lady how much I paid for plywood the last time I bought it, she laughed and said, "Oh, you must have bought it in America."

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The Blockbuster stores around here are closed or on the verge, but this chain is expanding. Better business model. They also rent children's movies at no charge.

[SGOS]

The Blockbuster stores around here are closed or on the verge, but this chain is expanding. Better business model. They also rent children's movies at no charge.

Maybe they want to follow Netflix into the streaming business.  I've heard one talking head saying that the video disk will soon be phased out.  It seems unlikely to me, but then I'm not the one that decides these things.