Here’s a collection of reactions to Blockbuster’s rate increase culled from our tipline:
I responded by immediately canceling my account – I gave them the benefit of a doubt the first time, but this is too much.
One thing I enjoyed, when you cancel your account through their website – there’s a text field for “How Can We Improve”….but it’s limited to 255 characters….I don’t think they can really improve in only 255 letters. -Scott
“I don’t know what planet you are from, but the marketing technique of “make the company richer at the expense of existing customers” does not translate well to consumers. I would understand a price hike for new customers, but to slap your current customers in the face with these OUTRAGEOUS prices is absurd. This is especially true when said consumers can get a drastically better deal from your competitor and they are still dropping prices. Have you thought about how your pricing plans compare with Netflix, your main competitor in the online movie rental industry? Its no wonder Blockbuster has lost so much money in the past quarter. Not to mention losing over half a million customers.” -Kris
i just got this email from blockbuster, this sh#$ is getting rediculous?!? i was happy with my 14 dollar plan with unlimited trades, now im going to be paying 20 bucks a month for 5 trade ins and a lousy 4 movies a month? what a scam! -Chris
Your plan restructure took effect this summer and I received a notice that my rate and features would be grandfathered in and remain the same. I would not personally consider this rate hike part of that restructuring; several months have passed. I have subscribed to your service for a long time, since shortly after it started. Now I am about to leave. I understand the realities of business and appreciate your candor. The question is what are you willing to do to keep me as a customer? -Tim
Ugh. -Naomi
I have been using blockbuster online now for a few years and have been enjoying instore exchanges. Back in July they changed their subscription plans, but to my suprise i was grandfathered in under my old plan and was told i would not have to change my plan (at this time). Well last night was time. I got an email saying the price would go to 19..99 from 17.99 and only get a limited number of instore exchanges. Granted i probably use about an average of about 4 instore exchanges a month (some months i use 10 but some i use 1), but this might be the straw that breaks the camels back and send me BACK to Netflix. -Will
First they drop me from unlimeted in-store exchanges down to 5 in-store exchanges per month. The number 5 is idiotic…movies come 3 at a time in the mail…why not allow 6 in-store exchanges per month? At least then you could feel somewhat fulfilled by having 2 opportunities per month to exchange everything that you get in the mail – it’s not what I signed up for in the first place, but I understand that you can’t have unlimited everything. The biggest kick in the teeth is that when I follow the rules and make my 4th and 5th exchange in a month (turning in 3 envelopes, picking up two in-store excahnges) the in-store reps ALWAYS ask me why I’m not taking advantage of all 3 exchanges! I’m tired of explaining their own policy to them!
Now, after I get less than what I signed up for and have to do all the brainwork for their reps, Blockbuster has sent me a notice telling me they will be raising the price of my monthly fee $2 per month, from $17.99 to $19.99…so for the past few months, I was paying the same for less…now, I’ll be paying more for less.
As I have explained to Blockbuster before, I am sorry that I signed up for their offers and made them so successful, but I won’t do it anymore. I’m going back to Netflix ASAP. -Greg
I got a Christmas supprise from Blockbuster Online this morning. They sent me a E-Mail telling me how much I love them and hidden in the 3rd chapter was informed that they were so awesome that I was going to be able to pay them $2 more ($11.99) starting in a week.
What a great Bait and Switch. They make me realize that there store down the street is too expensive, then they make me switch to Netflix. At lease Netflix does not hold movies back when you exchange too many in a month. -Jeremy
They must be out of their damn minds.
I am switching to Netflix. -Bill
They say it so nicely, don’t they… how many people do you think actually read this email? -MarkMan
Blockbuster is now trying to raise out rate by two bucks a month after sending an e-mail a couple months back telling us our service nor price was changing. They really know how to keep customers! I’m out of there! -Wayne
Good job Blockbuster!
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Blocks ain’t the only thing being busted.
Wow. I must say, as a non-Blockbsuter Online customer, that this seems like a lot of ire over what mostly seems to be $2/month. Still not a good move by Blockbuster, obviously, but I’m surprised the reaction is so strong and widespread.
@punkrawka: Yes, but it does add up over the years. Plus, the more expensive plans have a corresponding increase as well. AND, don’t forget that they’re dropping what you get for that plan (if you even read the post)
I left late last year when the movies started coming in slower and slower, and then failed to show up, and then my returned movies failed to be returned….
I’m laughing now. I’m sure Netflix is great, but I don’t use any mail service now. I use Redbox DVD kiosks that I can find at neighborhood Albertson’s grocery stores.
If you have a Redbox near you, give it a try. You can reserve movies on the internet, and pick them up on your way home from work, etc. They are only $1 a day +tax, and after 25 days ($25) the movie is yours to keep. I’ve only returned one movie late so far, and that was only $2.
What’s better, no subscription fees.
Seriously, how hard is it to spell “surprise”?
*Note: I had to type that out in Word to make sure I didn’t flub it.*
This is why I stick to my on demand movies. Same price, if you get the ones that you pay for, and no return fees.
That is, if my cable works, which as of late, its flaky, but thats another story.
Man, I’m glad I jumped ship last time they tried to raise prices on me. Granted, I was a beta tester and had some pretty nice pricing (14.99 for unlimtied 3-out, unlimited in-store). I allowed them to raise my rate about 3 times and then by the 4th time I had it.
I switched to Netflix and have been very satisfied with them. I actually ended up enjoying the on-demand streaming movies over the store trade-ins anyway. It’s a great service (and cheaper!).
@HRHKingFriday: I took the comments to mean that they PREVIOUSLY dropped the benefits, and are now raising the prices. I did read the whole post. I was just stating my surprise that the reaction was this strong, not saying that the people had no right to respond negatively.
@punkrawka: I think that the $2/month isn’t the entire reason, probably just a catalyst (or the straw that broke the camel’s back as a person pointed out). After being promised that current customer’s rates won’t increase and having their benefits reduced, now they are being told that not only are they getting less, but they are now paying more. That just rubs some people the wrong way.
My Blockbuster x-mas present was an increase from $24.99 to $34.99 — if my increase were a dollar or two I’d still consider it, but a 40 percent increase on top of a 40 percent increase a few months ago?
@stopNgoBeau: Does RedBox have more than just major movies? All I ever see are the relatively recent Hollywood movies.
My rate increase is from $9.99 to $11.99 (1 movie out), and it supposedly says none of my benefits will change (unlimited in-store returns, 1 free game/movie per month). As long as that stays the same, I’ll probably keep my subscription. To me, a huge benefit of BB over Netflix is being able to get that 1 game per month. I’ve been utilizing the in-store exchanges as well, and considering the prices for individual game or blu-ray rentals, even if I only get 1 free game and 1 exchange per month, I’m still coming out ahead.
I would say that if I was going from $14-$20 or $25-$35 as some people have been saying, I’d definitely be cancelling my subscription at this point.
-Jeff
[alinktothefuture.com]
@gokor:
No, they don’t, but if that’s what you’re interested in, they are extremely convenient and economical.
Wow, an increase of $24 a year. Ouch, that hurts, gimme a break.
But since they are cutting down on service along with the increase, then I see a reason to bitch. They could have at least made the changes a little more reasonable. Companies change their plans all the time though, you can’t always expect to get the same thing for the same price, for infinity. People just don’t like change.
Wow – and I was saying when the writer’s strike started that Netflix and BB should LOWER their rates to add on movies-per-month to get people to increase their plans. Looks like BB went the other way – pushing people out.
I love my netflicks and just watch movies online now
@mdkiff: Thank for Youtube!!!
Did I really just say that?
so netflix is handing them their ass and they respond by raising prices? Ok..
Last time blockbuster went up, netflix dropped prices so maybe ill get lucky and they will do it again so i can switch to the 5 movie plan.
I’ve been with netflix for a couple years now, never thought about switching. Blockbuster couldnt entice me to do in store exchanges because the whole reason i joined netflix was cause i hated going to the damn store in the first place.
Even if Blockbuster was $10 a month for 3 movies at a time I wouldnt join. I love HD-DVD and Blu-Ray and only netflix gives me both and more often then not i get them the day of release!
@punkrawka: My email stated that my $24.99/mth plan would change to $34.99/mth…that’s $10/mth difference, Mi Amigo!
I’ll probably down grade to a plan thats less than $20 or cancel altogether.
They’re like Comcast on HGH! “Not only are we going to raise rates, but we’re going to raise them by 40% and you’ll be ok with it because you really don’t want to leave us for our competitor who lacks a local B&M office/store.”
@Xerloq: Whaddya mean, inserting something between right and left carrots makes the system think you’re using tags?!?! #$@(*#$& System!
It should be Thank [insert diety name here] for Youtube!
Well slap my forehead and pour me a V8.
@FightOnTrojans: Firefox… It’s not just for breakfast anymore.
I received this email last night as well. I canceled my account last night. Sure, the rate increase was only $2, but this has been happening regularly over the past year. This was the last straw. I’ve been a customer since almost the beginning of their service, but nothing was being done to keep their service competitive with Netflix, so why stay?
This really doesn’t suprise me. This is Blockbuster after all, they attempted to charge me rewind fees for DVD’s when they first started renting them in my local store. And also had the $5.00 late fee for a movie a day late (considering movies rent for $3.95 for 3 days thats simply insane).
They launched blockbuster online competitively because netflix was kicking their butts, but now that they’ve got a pretty good user base theres no more reason for them to “play nice”. This will definately put Netflix back on top of the DVD rental tower of power.
I love Netflix, absolutely love it. Basically, for every plan you get twice the benefit because you can watch online too. I have the two-a-time plan so even if I get two movies in the mail, if I don’t feel like watching either one, I can just hop online (no they don’t support Macs, but aha! They do support Intel based macs with XP or Vista) and watch something else.
Movies from Netflix have never arrived late, and some have even arrived earlier than what the notifying e-mail estimated.
I wonder whats next- 2 year commitments a la cell phone and cable companies? Cause you know they’re jsut dying to alienate their customers more.
The problem as I see it is that Blockbuster has a flawed system. They are losing money and losing customers and their home delivery system still has the same flaws it had back when I tried them more than a year ago. The fundamental flaw is their inability to handle their inventory and logistics. They created a bad system and now don’t know how to fix it because in order for it to be a money maker for them, they have to charge more. Right now this service is close to break-even for them. It’s not as profitable as they want and these attempts to squeeze more money from every customer.
Since you are not going in their stores, you are not subject to the suggestive selling, their last second purchases of over-priced popcorn, drinks, or other snacks. You are not a money maker to them. The rentals, like the movies, are not their sole source of revenue and if you walking into the stores and buying junk that you don’t need, they are not profitting.
It’s just like Walmart, Best Buy and other box stores. The videos draw you in and they make their money on the things you buy beyond the loss leaders.
I dropped both Netflix and the Blockbuster deal has always been bad. Round here almost everyone I know that just wants to pick up a couple movies a week goes to Redbox. They have kiosks all over town and you cant beat $1 a night. Plus now they also sell used DVD’s out of the kiosks for $7.
They started doing this when their new CEO came in. Now they have cut service/raised prices twice now. I dropped them with about 1 1/2 weeks left in my already paid service month. They would not send anymore movies to me even though I had prepaid the entire month. The blockbuster employees I talked to stated they have seen alot of unhappy customers since the move. To make matters worse, the employees stated they started cutting hours and people in order to maximize profits. If you have gone in store no doubt you have seen less employees at work and longer lines. The new CEO is now signing their death warrant. $4.49 to rent a movie in store. In the first week you can buy them for around $13. Goodbye blockbuster.
i dont even have blockbuster online, But its obviously not 2$ just 2$.
They dropped the unlimited in store exchange policy, then hiked the rate, the rate, plus unlimited in store exchanges is the whole reason many people switched FROM netflix in the first place.
My plan was also raised $10 a month. I’m switching to Netflix. I considered it the first time they raised prices but I really enjoyed having the in store exchanges for movie marathon nights. However, seeing as the Netflix online selection has gotten a lot bigger since its first release, and the 4 DVD plan is a dollar cheaper than my old plan at blockbuster which they are raising a full $10 I’m toootally switching. Blockbuster must be losing a hell of a lot of business right now. I doubt the amount of people continuing to pay high prices for blockbuster will cover the cost of lost customers. Good job blockbuster, you just screwed yourself.
After being burned by every Blockbuster store I ever rented from, there was NO way I was going to sign up for Total Access. I did Netflix instead, and have been very happy.
When They started streaming movies (and tons of BBC TV) I was even more thrilled. A $15 S-Video cable, and a $10 stereo cable now provide me streaming movies to my TV!
My wife received this email yesterday. Now we’ve been through two price hikes with this BB service.
Goodbye Blockbuster, your strategy of turning every customer away to Netflix’s lower price and equal convenience is working!
@lusnia: Red box is a good deal, but I’m on the 2 disc plan for Netflix. I usually get 5-6 exchanges a month, plus I get 14 hours of watch it now for $13.99.
It’s a hard deal to beat…
Makes me happy I’ve been with Netflix all these years. Plus, with the instant viewing option, I get to watch all sorts of random stuff right on my computer.
@stopNgoBeau: I second the recommendation for Redbox. I still have Netflix because I mostly rent older movies and tv shows, but Redbox is perfect for new movies. When I use the two together, I never have to worry about being throttled and I get a huge selection of great, obscure stuff to pick through, plus new releases for very little money.
Win-win.
I’ve read several comments but not all of them. I think we would all agree that bb is and has made some big mistakes over the last few years. They undoubtedly do not know how to run a business affectively. I understand that rate changes occur with service businesses and honestly due to our economic situation, I can understand bb’s struggle. Now before you get your panties in a wad, the last comment was not defending bb. They will lose more money out of this change guaranteed because 1) they are making too many changes too quickly, 2) they made the change too close to Christmas when people don’t want to spend more on these types of conveniences, 3) they blind-sided the customer by sending the email at an odd time of the billing cycle and 4) customer service reps/managers have no way to compensate disgruntled customers. I spoke to a rep today and said it’s not about the money, it’s about the PRINCIPAL of the matter. Too much, too soon! As a current customer, I should not have to give more, give more, keep on giving just to keep my subscription. I have a girlfriend, I GIVE ENOUGH! I also told her that I had to search blogs just to find their customer service number because they didn’t respond to my emails and it’s nowhere to be found on their wonderful blockbuster.com. I’m convinced they don’t even read their emails. When I explained to them… “So I have two options that I’m deciding for myself 1) Either you [blockbuster] do not change my rate and I will stay or 2) you change my rate and I will leave”… the rep said there was nothing she can do. Therefore, no way out for customer service to keep customers. What’s the point of CUSTOMER SERVICE?! Anyways, I approve of this message… “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays”.
I left Netflix a couple of years ago to try Blockbuster. Blockbuster had a very poor selection in comparison, so I went back to Netflix shortly after.
Been with them every since, and am pretty happy.
I almost jumped ship a few months ago when they raised prices…but they grandfathered me in.
#1. At some point, they stopped sending me the in-store coupons for either a game or movie rental (1 per month). I don’t recall ever seeing a notice that this would not be part of my package.
#2. They just upped my old grandfathered price of 1 movie at a time for 9.99 a month up to 11.99 a month.
I believe I am going to just get the 3 movies at a time from netflix for 16.99 at this rate…few dollars more for 3 movies, and a faster delivery rate.
@unclescrooge: the biggest problem is their loss of late fees. adjusting to a market with no late fees caused 30% of their income to evaporate.
but yes, their inventory…especially their purchasing arm…needs some work. does every store really need 40 copies of house of the dead ii? i don’t think so.
does america even need a brick & mortar video rental store anymore? especially one that charges 1/2 of what most movies can be bought for these days.
personally, i think blockbuster needs to examine the alternatives they can bring to the marketplace & evolve their business appropriately. either that, or turn off the lights & go home.
Lackluster Video lives down to their name again.
You know what would make blockbuster some extra cash right about now? They should charge $5 to export your video list to netflix. It’ll suck having to find my movies again when I switch. I already cancelled blockbuster. Good thing is, because I cancelled, now I won’t be billed for the whole past month… or possibly I used the month I was pre-billed for. Yay for that! I’m rid of blockbuster!
@SomeAudioGuy: Actually, I just got an e-mail that netflix was making the online watching unlimited.
I haven’t used blockbuster in approx. 10 yrs. I used to have an acct. with them. One day I went in to rent some movies. They said they needed to update my acct. They wanted a credit card. I gave up on credit cards long before I joined them. I told them I no longer used credit cards. They said they couldn’t rent to me, even if I gave them my debit card. So I guess our dissolution of marriage was a mutual thing.
For everyone saying “it’s only a $2/month increase”, I have to wonder if you’re taking into account the increase from back in August, as well? On the 3-at-a-time, unlimited exchanges, the service costs more than 200% of what it did just five months ago. Sadly, their policies reflect an attitude much like OfficeMax and CompUSA (and Kmart, and the list goes on) had in our area that indicated they were fiercely devoted to non-competitive pricing. All of those chains have suffered crippling losses from which they probably never will recover.
So, I think this is a death knell for Blockbuster.
So,
I guess this is Merry Christmas from Blockbuster!
You are so generous! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you soooo very much!
I am not sure what can I do in return…
Why do you hike the price? Your CEO did not get enough compensation? I think it is too greedy to hike the price twice in one year! Especially right before Christmas.
But, who am I to complain? Just a little shmak from whom you can milk only 15 bucks per month! So, why should you care?
I guess for now I switch to “mail only” plan for $13.99 and maybe later to Netlix, it seems they have more decency.
Dimitri
Between the switch from unlimited in-store exchanges to 5 per month
-and- jacking the rates up again ($2 is $2 in anyone’s book), this is
just too much! I’ll gladly go over back to Netflix.
Noone has mentioned this but I will…I only ever got 1 of the “online coupons” that was proised at signup.
Blockbuster’s flaw was they didn’t give the customers that were
taking advantage of the in-store exchanges any reason whatsoever to
spend any money in the store. Sometimes, I want more than the 3 movie
exchanges, but I really didn’t feel like paying full price. Am I cheap?
No, but paying the street price when I had another set of movies coming
in a few days? Not worth it. Maybe if they had a percentage off coupon
only for online users. They might see an incremental bump in sales that
way.
If they really are like movie theaters and they rely on other items
- candy, popcorn, etc – to bolster their profits, well, same thing -
make me feel like I’m in a club or special group because I’m an online
subscriber. It doesn’t have to be free, but it could be a token
percentage off of the candy/popcorn/soda items for sale in store. Give
me a reason to buy my candy there, even if the post-coupon net price is
slightly more than I would pay by going across the parking lot to the
drugstore or supermarket to pick up my Milk Duds!
It’s not a customers unwillingness to spend a few more dollars a
month that is killing companies with business models like
Blockbusters’…it’s the company’s lack of understanding the importance
of leveraging the loyalty of the customer that they already have in
front of them.
These answers seem so simple – why can’t these CEOs get it right?
For those looking for actual press releases / articles on the matter:
[www.forbes.com]
[www.reuters.com]
[www.nbc5i.com]
From the articles:
1) Price changes are for new subscribers and “some existing heavy users”
2) Increases are mainly for the plans with in-store exchanges
3) They’re actually lowering their prices for two plans that are “DVDs only through the mail, no in-store exchanges”
4) Netflix has said they currently do not plan to change their prices
I’ll admit. I still like Blockbuster. I wasn’t as happy with Netflix. They didn’t have some movies I wanted, and it took longer to get my movies. (From Minnesota instead of KC was an extra day.) I do like being able to drop them off and kickstart my next movie.
@gc_atl:
“Noone has mentioned this but I will…I only ever got 1 of the “online coupons” that was proised at signup.”
You go to the ‘my account’ part of the website and print them from there. If you accepted e-mail notification, then it tells you once a month that you can get them, but you still have to go to the site to get them.