I used to love driving to Blockbuster Video to pick out a horror film for scary movie nights in high school with my pals, perusing the aisles and deciding whether or not we really needed a bajillion-pound box of Raisinets. But although physical movies are still more popular than digital, Blockbuster is a ghost of its former self and rentals are on the wane in general, which could mean the beginning of the end for all kinds of disc rentals. [More]
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How Far Would You Drive To Return A Redbox DVD?
By 7.10.12
Joe lives in a pretty rural part of Vermont. Rural living has many advantages, but one disadvantage that you may not have thought of: low density of Redbox kiosks. Which is fine. You only need one, after all. Unless you’re Joe, and that one kiosk in your town has broken down. Your movie is due, and the nearest working box is fifteen miles away and in a different state entirely. We’ve discussed the customer’s responsibility when it comes to broken-down Redboxes before, but how far does that responsibility extend? Driving an extra thirty miles to avoid a $1.50 daily charge on a DVD might seem like a false economy, but maybe that depends on your schedule or on your gas mileage. [More]
Redbox To Disney Over 28-Day Delay Rule: No Thanks, We’ll Buy Our Own Darn Copies Of ‘John Carter’
By 6.7.12
Redbox isn’t taking Walt Disney Studios’ 28-day delay policy on its DVDs sitting down, no siree. It’s cutting out the middleman and heading to retail outlets and the Internet, buying up copies of John Carter and stocking its kiosks instead of waiting 28 days to rent the flick. [More]
We Hope Redbox Customers Only Like Playing The First Half Of Max Payne 3
By 5.10.12
UPDATE: Redbox has issued a statement to Consumerist explaining why they are only renting out the first half of the game. [More]
Redbox Might Be Able To Stop Misdirected Receipts
By 4.17.12
Being an early adopter of something has its privileges and its disadvantages. Chris joined Gmail early enough that he gets to have an address that consists of his first two initials and his very common last name. That’s pretty neat for him, but has led to a really annoying case of mistaken identity. He keeps getting someone else’s Redbox receipts. A person who has a similar name, but lives in a different state and rents from Redbox an awful lot. The good news? Redbox has a solution for this. Kinda. [More]
No, You Didn't Rent A Pirated DVD From Redbox
By 3.30.12
Nathan didn’t know who it was replacing Redbox DVDs with ripped and burned copies in his city, but he approved. Kinda. He like pirated copies better, without all of the un-skippable trailers and other nonsense that studios cram on DVDs. “I don’t know who this vigilante is, but I’m thankful for him,” he wrote. Only there was no vigilante stealing discs from Redbox en masse. This Sony DVD-R with the movie title written in felt-tip pen is an official, legal copy of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” [More]
I Just Want To Give Redbox $1.50
By 3.23.12
Lindsay rented a DVD from Redbox, and kept it longer than planned. Except her card on file was closed, and they couldn’t charge the extra rental fees to it. Can they take her payment over the phone? No. They aren’t set up to handle this situation, and don’t particularly want her money. [More]
Universal, Redbox Cut Deal To Maintain 28-Day Rental Delay
By 3.2.12
Universal will not follow the lead of Warner Bros. by restricting sales of DVDs to rental services for 56 days. Instead, the studio worked out an extension of its current deal with Redbox that will continue to keep Universal’s discs out of renters’ hands for 28 days. [More]
Verizon & Redbox Team Up In Unholy Video Alliance To Take On Netflix
By 2.6.12
In an attempt to woo Netflix customers who want either streaming video, DVD rental or both, Verizon and Coinstar’s Redbox have joined forces to provide a new video service. The way they made the announcement, seems like they’re kind of saying, “Yeah, we’re not going to be Netflix, so, pick us!” [More]
What Are Your Non-Netflix Options For Streaming Video & DVDs?
By 7.14.11
With many Netflix subscribers less than pleased about that company’s decision to effectively raise rates by 60% for customers who want streaming videos and DVDs, people are starting to take a look at other options. [More]
I Don't Want Some Justin Bieber Fan's Redbox Receipts
By 6.30.11
Andrew has a common problem: he keeps getting someone else’s mail. Not in his paper mailbox, but someone else’s e-mail. A Justin Bieber fan in a different state entered his e-mail address when renting a DVD, and Andrew received the receipt. When he contacted Redbox to straighten out the mixup, their unhelpful solution was to block all e-mail receipts from Redbox. Yep, including his own. [More]
Amazon To Battle Netflix, Offer Unlimited Streaming To Prime Members
By 2.22.11
Nearly six months after the initial reports that it was working on a subscription video streaming service, Amazon announced today that it was joining the group of companies trying to unseat Netflix as the king of video streaming services by offering a “new benefit” to Amazon Prime members — unlimited video streaming from a library of 5,000 titles. [More]
Best Buy Using 28-Day Netflix Delay To Push DVD Sales
By 2.7.11
Since Netflix began making agreements with movie studios to wait 28 days before renting out new releases, Blockbuster has been making the biggest deal about its ability to rent movies on the release date. But now it looks like Best Buy has decided to remind movie watchers that it still sells DVDs and that they don’t have to wait to get them. [More]
Blockbuster Express Agrees To 28-Day Delay On New Warner Bros. Releases
By 12.16.10
While bankrupt video chain Blockbuster Video is spending millions on TV ads to trumpet its immediate access to new releases, the folks behind the Blockbuster Express rental kiosks have made a deal with Warner Bros. and other studios to delay renting new titles by 28 days. [More]
Blockbuster To Waste $15-20 Million On TV Ads
By 11.18.10
Bankrupt relic of a bygone time, Blockbuster Video, announced plans yesterday to launch its first national TV ad campaign since 2007 and that they plan on somehow taking aim at Redbox and Netflix. [More]
Blockbuster Kiosks Trying To Distance Themselves From Bankrupt Chain
By 9.24.10
While many of you have probably seen the Blockbuster DVD rental kiosks, what a lot of people aren’t aware of is that these Redbox-like devices have virtually nothing to do with their bankrupt namesake. But now that the once-great video chain is in the headlines for its Chapter 11 filings, the owners of the Blockbuster kiosks are making sure users know about the difference. [More]
Report: Blockbuster To File For Bankruptcy Tomorrow Morning
By 9.22.10
About a month ago, we wrote about reports that Blockbuster Video would be filing for bankruptcy in mid-September. So it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Bloomberg News is reporting that the video chain will be making the filing official on Thursday morning. [More]
Blockbuster CFO Has Left The Building
By 9.13.10
With the countdown clock still ticking on what many see as Blockbuster Video’s inevitable bankruptcy filing, comes news that the once-great movie rental company’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice-President (one guy, two titles) stepped down over the weekend. [More]
