Blockbuster rental by mail

[badger]

Has anyone tried Blockbuster's equivalent of Netflix? They are adding vidya to their mail-rental service and I was wondering if they suck less than Gamefly

Link (http://www.blockbuster.com/gamesbymail)

I am very happy with Netflix, so i would only do this for game rental. Gamefly takes about a week to get a new game returned and them sending you a new one, sometimes longer, so I would be very open to trying a new service, since the costs appear comparable. Gamefly likes to say "$8.95 to start," but just like the waiters in Nawlins, they don't ask you for a refill, they ask you "would you like to order another?" haha, so "to start" are the key words. I currently play about $22 for two games out per month.

If there are any people considering Netflix, I 100 percent recommend them. Very fast shipping (there's a center in OKC, so fast return, fast shipping) and the insta-view options through Internet, Xbox 360 and PS3 (I think Wii now too) is excellent. NP and I are watching Mystery Science Theatre and Futurama a lot with it, for only about $10 a month.

So... anyone out there ever tried Blockbuster's option?

[badger]

nobody shops blockbuster anymore, I know, I'm talking about Blockbuster ONLINE! The intraweb! The thing you're on right now!

(crickets chirp)

[HBick]

I do know that Blockbuster is getting ready to relaunch this service with Comcast, details are sketchy, but if you're a Comcast subscriber you'll get a discounted rate which would be worth it.

[badger]

So, Blockbuster is a billion in debt and is Texas-based, and is going to declare bankruptcy soon, but the only money comparison I see is this:

1 game = $8.99 or $15.95
2 games = $13.99 or $22.95

Gamefly is the devil and always has been and I've been considering dumping it for a long time, but didn't because I liked renting offbeat games instead of plunking down too much cash for if they sucked, and they had no competitor if Netflix offered games, I'd have dumped them on the spot!

But... even if the company is a Texas company, even if they're probably gonna be outta biznezz by the time I finally decide, I really, really want to give Gamefly the finger and would love it if other subscribers did too so their rental biz got better... cheaper and more efficient. Gamefly rentals routinely take a week to be reported as "returned" and then they ship out another, which takes several days (Netflix takes 2-3 days tops).

Arrrrrrrrgh. decisions, decisions. I've been with Gamefly for several years.

[kbsooner21]

Sounds to me you've already got your mind made up. Just pull the trigger :D

[badger]

Sounds to me you've already got your mind made up. Just pull the trigger :D

Just to be clear. After three years of mostly negative experience, in which I had decided to become an 2-game subscriber, I started the Hollis Board, I had a 46,000 spek rating based on real spek not betting over two season and 1500 posts, in the last four days I can see this service is a company I don't want to patronize. There are two other services which I believe have at least equivalent mail rental without the abusive environment. I am taking my business elsewhere.

John W. Helander
President & CEO
GrayBox Services Ltd. &
eState Auction House Ltd.

[soonerhubs]

The entire story about helander needs to be a FAQ.


Also, I hate Blockbuster.

[badger]

The entire story about helander needs to be a FAQ.


Also, I hate Blockbuster.

Nah, it's much more fun to see how many n00bs take the bait each time. :D

[Crucifax Autumn]

When's the last time a nOOb read the FAQ anyway?

How many times a day does someone say they don't know how to post a YouTube vid for example?

[soonerhubs]

Good point. Someone just peem me the full story. I gather that he left the board back in 05ish, but I was wondering what his handle was, and if there was any follow up. Is he back under a different name, etc?

[badger]

No need to peem, all that you need to know is that some people leave SF.com really ticked off at the world and want to let us all know that they are leaving forever.

Some have more memorable exits than others. To this day, none have topped Mr. Graybox's exit. That is why is such popular n00b bait and to this day, still gets copied and pasted into threads, especially football threads, to see if anyone takes it seriously.

That's really all about there is to it.

EDIT: Blockbuster update! No new releases until a few months after their release. They still expect you to go to their brick and mortar locations for that, hahaha, 'fraid not! There actually is one about a mile away that would be easy-access if I actually wanted to help this company out, but hey, they should have known Netflix would be a viable competitor back when they were the top dog. The non-availability of new releases does not bother me (yet) as it was difficult to rent new releases through Gamefly also (Availability listed as "Very low!") and I ended up getting older games most of the time.

Another nuisance is that you can't rent portable console games, but then again, those games are cheaper, so shouldn't be enough to crawl back to Gamefly yet.

[Scott D]

ok baj since you've asked...and I briefly swindled my way to re-employment there for a short period of time earlier this year.

Blockbuster Online works pretty much the same as NetFlix except for a few small facets. You can still make your list, and have an order to get movies just like Netflix, but you have the ability to return your DVD's to a nearby brick and mortar if you should want. Also, as a Blockbuster Online customer, your account can be tied into a brick and mortar store account. The only real benefit to returning to an actual store is that you can rent online, and take that back to the store and depending on what you are signed up for either exchange it for a free rental (all rentals are the same price almost everywhere now), or for a discounted rental.

So, theoretically you could rent a DVD online, and return that to exchange for one of those new releases that isn't available to Netflix or Redbox for that 30 day window that brick and mortar rental places and pay per view has exclusive rights to.

[badger]

So my renewal (i.e. autopay) day for Gamefly was Aug. 14. I put both games I rented in the same mailbox on the same time, yet, only one "arrives" on Aug. 14, while the other one gets marked "returned!" today, Aug. 16. Did they expect my defection and want to get an extra month's pay outta me?

Well, Gamefly is toast tonight. Bye, bye to Gamefly. I have heard that they put on an epic effort to retain customers (I quit Netflix once, and they didn't put up much of a fight, have since returned since learning about insta-view with Xbox/PS3), so I will not only quit, but will also chronicle what Gamefly does to keep me through tons of screenshots. Just for you, South Oval. I've also heard they have gotten a few BBB reports based on some retention tactics, hence me getting the games returned before quitting (and then clearing my queue, so they don't send more!).

Good bye, Gamefly. You suck

[bent rider]

Has anyone tried Blockbuster's equivalent of Netflix? They are adding vidya to their mail-rental service and I was wondering if they suck less than Gamefly

Link (http://www.blockbuster.com/gamesbymail)

I am very happy with Netflix, so i would only do this for game rental. Gamefly takes about a week to get a new game returned and them sending you a new one, sometimes longer, so I would be very open to trying a new service, since the costs appear comparable. Gamefly likes to say "$8.95 to start," but just like the waiters in Nawlins, they don't ask you for a refill, they ask you "would you like to order another?" haha, so "to start" are the key words. I currently play about $22 for two games out per month.

If there are any people considering Netflix, I 100 percent recommend them. Very fast shipping (there's a center in OKC, so fast return, fast shipping) and the insta-view options through Internet, Xbox 360 and PS3 (I think Wii now too) is excellent. NP and I are watching Mystery Science Theatre and Futurama a lot with it, for only about $10 a month.

So... anyone out there ever tried Blockbuster's option?


We use the Blockbuster-by-mail service. I works just fine. My only complaint is my wife keeps fiddling with the online selection queue. Also there once was a time the movies were coming from OKC, now they come from Tulsa and it seems to take a day longer, but not a big deal. Anyway the advantage over NetFlix is that you can trade-in your mailed movie at the brick-n-mortar store for another movie at no additional cost. Also you get one coupon a month that you can print and get another free movie at the store. So you get all the advantages of both by-mail and brick-n-mortar options.

Downside: Unlike NetFlix they don't yet have a download over the Internet option, but we can get movies-on-demand via Cox cable if we want to be total couch potatoes.

We don't rent games, so I couldn't tell you about that.

Hope that helps.

[badger]

NP and I love Netflix, so we aren't looking for a movie alternative. For less than $10 a month, they quickly ship a Blu-ray disc, and we can endlessly watch tons of old TV shows (Futurama and Mystery Science Theatre 3000!) and movies (Adam Sandler's "Bedtime Stories" actually didn't suck!) off the Xbox or PS3.

But this Gamefly thing... argh. Canceling tonight! :D

[badger]

In case anyone's holding their breath, I did cancel last night, but it wasn't the kicking and screaming I expected. Five screens and I was out. Also, if anyone on here is a Gamefly subscriber, pretend that you're gonna cancel and get a discount for your next month. :D