Blockbusters VERY confusing 'End of Late Fees' campaign

Interesting. I thought they were doing it to compete w/ Netflix. Looks like they just wanna screw people over instead.

 

Don't see that as misleading. If you turn the video in more than a week late, you buy it. If you return it within the month, they credit your account minus an admin fee. Gets rid of late fees, but doesn't expose them to people never returning the video. Good, fair solution IMO.

 

I sent a PM to an fchatter to see if some light can be shed on the subject. Hopefully we'll hear a little more on the subject.

 

This is a great solution unless you're one of those who doesn't like to return things rented or borrowed on time...

Sunny

 

I think it is deceitful as well. I think the average user may not be sophisticated enough to understand the risks.

 

You're still part of the "problem." Return things on time and you or anyone else won't have to complain about the solution.

 

I've not used netflix , and I heard the stock was not doing well, but it seems to me they have a good business model.

I think the rental store will have market share eroded over time regardless of their gimmicks.

 

Can people download (rented downloads) movies to their Tivos and then they self-expire after the period of time? I think something similar to this exists (I don't like Pay-Per-View though), but I haven't heard that much about it. I'd think it would replace the rental stores and Blockbuster would be just online and reduce a crap load of overhead.

I was also curious during the commercials if someone could keep a movie for a year, but I actually think their terms are fair after reading them. I usually return my movies early anyways and 8 days after is a very long time. I like it

 

If not now, soon.Gotta be. I heard they have DVDs that self disintegrate after 3 days exposure to air. It's going to be tough business with a lot of loosing technologies. Hard to know what the ultimate winner will be, but I bet it wont be the local late fee generating store!

I think netflix takes a little planning; how can the ultimate technology not have these features:

Download directly to your house with out leaving.

Choice of virtually every movie ever made.

Totally on-demand, no preplanning needed.

Cheap or at least competitive.

No need to return anything so no risk of extra fees.

 

How much is the restocking fee? I think that's a scam right there. This new campaign does not do the consumer any favors and they are just repackaging a new type of "gotchya."

All these video rental companies are holding on for dear life as the competition is getting stiff i.e. Netflix is being hounded buy Walmart and now BallBuster is doing the same thing. They are nervous as payperview and it's soon improvements will take a serious whack at the rental companies business.

 

Scam? A new type of "gotcha?"

For those people who get a new rental and something happens, like there's a major accident where innocent beers lost their lives on some dark highway.... or the Olsen twins invited you over for a hot tub paty for instance, waiving the late fee is a great thing.

We're talking about 8 days AFTER its already due. Shut your pie hole!


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I don't belong either, but everyone I know who joined has followed the exact same progression. At first, they had a huge boner over the format. "I can keep these as long as I want! Then they send me MORE!" A couple months go by, and all of a sudden there aren't quite so many movies they want to see, and they get bitter because Netflix is taking their money for s**tty movies they don't really want to see but order to justify their membership. Or worse, they're not even ordering anything.

What I think is funny is the new Netflix knockoff for video games. They have to have some sort of limit on how long you can keep it since, unlike a movie that you watch once or twice, a video game you'll play for months!

 

Where's that damn flashlight when I need it.......

Not much I am able to tell you other than what has already been publicly shared about the elimination of late fees. I can, however, tell you that MANY customers were involved in the study to determine what customers like and didn't like about BB - late fees being at the top of the list (many = much more than a hundred and less than 100,000). The feedback we received was resoundingly positive on the no late fee policy and developed incorporating what would work and not work from people just like you.

BB earned $300 million in late fees last year. $300 million of revenue at 100% margin. You can do some quick math to figure out how many rents minus product cost it takes to make that kind of money. Why would BB eliminate late fees? Many of you have already answered that question. It's called competitive edge. All the examples of technology previously listed are all out there trying to cannibalize the rental movie business. In the case, BB is using the avenue of customer satisfaction and doing what the customer's want to maintain it's lead. Many of you have differing opinions on whether it will work or not. That's o.k., we have those internally too. I guess only time will tell.

It's up to you whether you want to sign the terms of agreeement with BB or any other rental company you would like to do business with, whether it be a movie, a car, or even a lawn mower. Try asking a rental car company to waive a late fee or give you an extra couple of days no charge . For those of you who return what you agree to back on time, this give you the opportunity to take a little extra time. For those of you who were always a day, two or three late, then you save some bucks. For those of you end up keeping it 8 days and still don't make it back before 30 days to return it for credit, then you still end up saving some bucks and you have a movie to boot. 8 days of late fees = more than the current retail price of the movie minus the initial rental fee (which is what you will end up paying for it.) And for those of you who make it back within 30 days and get the refund, the re-stocking fee is less than you would have paid for being even one day late "back in the day"

O.K. time for lights out now. Hope that helps. And now, back to a much more interesting and personally my favorite topic......Ferrari's

 

I have their movie pass. It's $30/month and you get 2 movies a day. I've kept movies for 2 weeks before and nothing happens. It's kind of like the deal NetFlix has.

 

You might want to check with your store the next time you stop in...the 2 out movie pass should be $24.99, the 3 out is $29.99

 

**** no wonder my tab is 94 dollars as of today. **** blockbuster i hope they go bankrupt. i have never ever had that much of a late fee ever

 

I have several hundred DVDs, I would be happy to rent them to you and I'll only charge you 1/2 the late fees.

Would you forget to return a rental car for a month too if you only borrowed it for a week? Some people just don't get it.

 

this is a viscious act by blockbuster. not to mention malitous as well. it was a mistake i made you azzhole. the stupid movies and game slipped into the cracks of back seat and i forgot all about them. the clincher is that i sold the car last week

 

Well, folks, this response alone answers your questions about why there are late fees.

What you are describing isn't just "a" mistake, it is actually your mistake so I having a hard time understanding why you shouldn't be accountable.

I sure hope no one this board let's you take their car for a test drive.

 

Update: Just learned through a friend that the DVD that is charged to your credit card is credited back to your BB card when you return it, NOT YOUR CREDIT CARD! They charge you $17 - 20 for the DVD/video if it's not returned within the week. So you can see how if your are the type that procrastinates you'll easily rack up a nice charge on your credit card. In addition to the $4 rental charge they get up to $20 extra. Nice little scheme and money maker for 'em

 

BB deserves to go out of business. Is it a publically held company?

 

Um, what if they don't have your credit card number...? What if the renter doesn't even have a credit card...? Since Augustine bought me a DVD/VCR player for Christmas, i've been renting from Blockbuster DAILY and they don't even have my real name... i'm sure they have far too many renters who pay cash for the credit card scheme to be viable...