We’re ready to call Netflix the winner of this battle of the video war, based on Blockbusters remarkably sad third quarter numbers and the flood of pissed off emails we’ve been getting from Blockbuster’s (former) customers.
rental
Apple May Be Plotting iTunes Movie Rental Service
By 9.12.07
According to CNNMoney, Apple may be plotting an iTunes movie rental service that would allow iPod users to rent and watch a movie for 30 days without purchasing the entire film. Rumors place the rental fee at about $2.99.
iPhone Defective? That'll Be $29 For A Loaner
By 8.22.07
Reader Jonathan’s iPhone just keeps breaking. The second time, rather than replacing it, they decided it would need to be repaired—and tried to charge him $30 for a rental phone.
Heat Map Of Rental Prices Based On Craiglist Listings
By 7.23.07
In a project born out of “boredom” and an experience with a landlord that was facing foreclosure due to gambling on an ARM, grad student Ethan Garner created CraigStatsSF, a site that visualizes craiglist San Francisco rental listings. He writes:
As I started looking for places, I noticed everything that used to be for rent was now for sale due to the same foreclosure effect that happened to my landlord.
Mexican Hertz Charges $499.48 For A Flat Tire
By 3.14.07
For a pre-paid one month economy car rental for $632.03, on January 16th Hertz rented me a 2007 Blue Chevrolet , Lic#5981AVB in good condition at the Los Cabos airport. I declined to purchase insurance. Late on the night of January 20th, during a rainstorm, a tire blew out on the vehicle; so, after exchanging the tire with the spare the following morning, on January 21st, I returned the vehicle to the agency at their suggestion and wrote a full report. The agency assured me there would be no problem of any charges.
Comcast: On-Demand Rentals on DVD Release Date
By 12.19.06
The New York Times is reporting that Comcast will begin testing a new video on demand service in two cities, Pittsburgh and Denver. Unlike traditional video on-demand that shows movies 30- to 45-days after their release date on DVD, this service will allow movies to be ordered the same date as the DVD release. This puts video on-demand in direct competition with sales and rentals. Each on-demand rental will cost $4, which compares with DVD rental prices. Uh-oh, Blockbuster. Forget the beginning of the end, this is the end of the end. —MEGHANN MARCO
Craigslist Advertises Sex For Rent
By 3.22.06
When Ben started editing for The Consumerist, part of his contract was that he had to service Gawker overlords like Joel Johnson and Nick Denton, but not Brownlee, who doesn’t go for that gay stuff. Everyone thought it was a fair arrangement: although a passable writer, Ben’s true talents have always been most evident in his carnal artistry, and what artist wouldn’t want to make a living doing what he loves? But then Gawker’s crackerjack legal monkeys looked over the contract, cited New York State prostitution laws and Ben found that the numerous vacancies he had been hired by Gawker to fill were reduced to only one… that of a lowly Consumerist editor. Sullen, Ben comforted himself the only way he knew how: injecting every Consumerist post with as many gay non sequiturs as possible.
Netflix Still Boning Best Customers
By 2.13.06
We were a bit surprised by the renewed ruckus concerning Netflix throttling the turn around speed of heavy users, considering it’s been a well-worn topic on Netflix blogs for at least a couple of years. But thanks to a new article on CNN.com, the issue is back to upset a whole new set of customers.
Hipsters Speak: Stupid Rent!
By 1.27.06
basically i’m considering blowing off my rent for the last two months on my lease and saving the money on a new, nicer place. i’m just trying to cover the stupid broker fee that i would otherwise not be able to come up with in time.
Trembicky.com: The Bad Landlord Story Site
By 1.26.06
There’s not yet many stories on Trembicky.com, a site that chronicles “bad landlords we have known,” but we see a kindred spirit. You might remember the name ‘Trembicky’ from the story “‘Gloria Trembicky is a Bad Landlord.’” Inspired by the success of that complaint, Trembicky.com takes its name from the landlord who first terrorized the site’s creators.
Renters Speak: The Cockroaches of Central Park
By 1.19.06
Despite the great response we got from our request for bad rental experiences, we can’t get enough horror stories about awful living situations—especially ones in New York.
Renters Speak: Lead Paint Chips and Sweatpants Lawyers
By 1.18.06
From ‘Saralegal,’ the girl with the best lawyer-to-be nickname ever:
Here is my tragic tale of woe from an apartment in Baltimore, MD.
‘Gloria Trembicky is a Bad Landlord’
By 1.18.06
This is a little New Yorkish, but we’re in the process of searching for a new apartment in Brooklyn and to stumble along a well-written story about a frightening hag of a landlady fills up our spine with cold water like it were an old radiator. ‘Gloria Trembicky is a Bad Landlord’ is the chronicle of one couple’s awful experience with a Park Slope apartment with little heat, occasional droughts of both hot and cold water, and a husband/fixit-monkey who was too cheap or stupid to realize that reusing bent screws might be a problem.
Consumers Speak: London Flat Rental Flippancy
By 1.9.06
Monday afternoon, we also received an email saying “So sorry, there’s a problem with the flat and it has been double booked, so you are out.” To say that I was livid was an understatement. And to have been notified in such a fashion was the height of unprofessionalism.
Failing Enterprise: Rent-A-Car Corral
By 1.3.06
Renting cars is a monumental pain in the rear. (We have our own saga that we will probably be discussing in the near future.) We don’t have a particular preference for rental agencies, as they all seem bound by a byzantine set of regulations and limitations that are designed to extract every dollar while at the same time limiting your ability to actually rent a vehicle.
Gamefly’s Post-Sale Coupon Cruft
By 12.27.05
Reader Greg B. writes:
Wanted to point out a bad experience I had yesterday with the Gamefly deal; [A sale we had linked to – Ed.] not the deal itself but a link they post after it which harvests all of your personal info from Gamefly (including credit card details I think) by simply submitting any e-mail address. You do get a 10 buck coupon but ugh man, I promise you my mailbox is going to be friggen’ overflowing with junk next month – this site was all sorts of sketch.
Blockbuster: Some Stores Charging Late Fees Again
By 12.15.05
Looks like the ‘No Late Fees’ policy isn’t working out for all Blockbusters, as franchised stores in Arkansas are doing away with the program. While not all Blockbusters chose to participate in the program in the first place, if you live in Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, or Tennessee, be sure to ask your local store if they are still doing the ‘No Late Fees’ program.
