Blockbuster Online
September 1, 2007
After using Blockbuster Online for quite a while we have finally canceled our service.
I happened to log on to our Blockbuster Online account and saw that movies were no longer being shipped to us. Apparently, Blockbuster decided to create new plans which are terrible and overpriced. Initially, we were attracted to Blockbuster’s service so we could exchange in the movies in the store for free in-store rentals. At $14.99 a month for 2 DVDs + free in-store exchanges it was a good deal. However, to get the same deal you now have to pay $21.99 for the exact same plan. They never sent us an email saying they were changing the plan nor did they have anything on the website that was obvious. To top it off, we had not received any DVDs for this weekend so we went to the store to use one of the free monthly rentals we get from the Blockbuster rewards card we have. Apparently, yesterday, when I used my free monthly coupon (for August) it was just fine. But today, when we tried to use the September coupon they said we had to have the piece of paper which she said would print out with the receipt. Nothing printed out with the receipt. So, we spent $4.99 on a stupid DVD from Blockbuster. I think we could have bought a new DVD to own from Walmart for that much. Needless to say, we have switched to NetFlix. They have a distribution center in Honolulu so we should get DVDs in just one day, yay! At least we will save on gas going to/from Blockbuster. Anyone else have any positive/negative experiences with Blockbuster or even NetFlix?
An odd side note - an odd little mongoose is outside the house making a lot of noise and being really odd.
Brian also pulled down this tree limb which hangs over our property on a tree that is in the vacant lot next to our house - totally full of termite tunnels. Yikes.
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I’ve had a terrible time with BB too. They have in the fine print that they can change plans, prices, etc at will and do not have to honor existing customers. It’s awful and they’ve done it a lot. It’s a bait & switch scheme if you ask me.
comment by tj — September 1, 2007 @ 11:20 pm
Thanks again for the template, btw!
I thought it was just really bad business to not even warn customers of a plan change - they basically made the account inactive until the customer chooses a new plan. Plus, the in store prices for DVDs are terribly unreasonable - $5 a piece just seems so ridiculous.
comment by katy — September 1, 2007 @ 11:44 pm
Well, as you know I’ve been a Netflix subscriber for years now. I can change my package at will without any problem. They’re usually pretty quick, reliable and the vast majority of films are in stock. They have a great selection of foreign and independent films, not to mention a great classic scifi section.
In addition, if you decide you want to watch something different than what you receive in the mail, there’s the online solution which is great too. For every dollar your monthly plan costs, you get an hour of viewing.
I will say this, keep an eye on the package costs, because they usually go down, AND offer better more service.
Elaine used to be a manager at Blockbuster, and they were terrible even when she worked there. She knows just how they work, and this is just typical of them.
comment by Dan — September 2, 2007 @ 12:18 pm
I have never been a fan of Blockbuster but initially the BbO service was very good. We liked it mostly because we could exchange in the store for free DVDs. I am sure they are not allowing that to occur anymore because it is taking money out of their pockets. I think we will be much much happier with NetFlix anyway - much more reasonably priced and they have a distribution center here in Hawaii. At least we will receive DVDs faster than 3 days…
comment by katy — September 2, 2007 @ 7:52 pm
The instant watch feature is even better than swapping at the store. You don’t even have to leave the house!
In fact, I used to watch a some BBC TV series while I was at work on the weekends. The selection isn’t huge, but it’s a fairly new service they’re expanding upon. The software requires internet explorer on PCs though.
comment by Dan — September 2, 2007 @ 9:58 pm
I did notice the Instant Watch feature. It required me to actually upgrade my IE and upgrade the Win Media Player but I guess I can live with that. I was able to get it work and the picture quality was great. I think it will be a fun thing to watch while I am working sometimes… I noticed they did have several BBC comedies that I was interested in as well. They also had some weird sci-fi I had not seen. It seems as though it will be worth exploring.
comment by katy — September 3, 2007 @ 9:55 am