I recall many years ago when people were saying that movies were
a thing of the past, that people would be entertained with the
internet and video games. Well, not so! In fact, the movie
business (including movie rental) is big business and it's not
likely to go away anytime soon.
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.
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