Emily, official younger daughter of NewMexiKen, provides a consumer report on video rental:
Recently, I switched from Netflix to Blockbuster. I’m probably the only one dumb enough to try this switch, but the once-a-week in-store rentals was very attractive.
I thought I’d write to tell you how much better Netflix is. …
With Blockbuster, it took 5-6 days each time I mailed in a video. That’s versus 3 with Netflix. And, in the two months I was with Blockbuster, I didn’t receive the movie at the top of my queue more than once or twice. In fact, once they even sent me Disc 2 of a TV series.
Anyway, just thought I’d share my experience so none of the rest of you goes through the same annoyances!
From most of what I’ve read it seems like Blockbuster does a good job of filling orders quickly if you rent new releases, but if you like older movies, then Netflix has a better selection and inventory. Part of this is because Blockbuster has to physically stock discs in their retail stores vs. Netflix being able to rely on their hubs for distribution.
I think Blockbuster also has an advantage in price if you use the weekly rental coupons and you’d prefer to go into a store. Personally, Netflix sends me more DVDs per month then I have time to watch, but if you use your Blockbuster membership right, you can average close to 20 dvds a month with the coupons.
Overall, it would be tough for me to ever leave Netflix because their service is so fantastic and I feel like I get great value for what I pay, but I can understand why some people might prefer Blockbuster, if you are a heavy renter or if you like having to return DVDs to the store. Sorry to hear that the experience wasn’t what you were hoping. You may want to check out cafedvd.com They only ship from California, but there is no tax because of this and they let you notify them when you drop your DVD in the mail and they send it that day instead of waiting til they receive it. I’ve heard good things about them, but have never tried the service myself.