Why Are Some Apprehensive To Blind Buy?

[jeffrow]

Originally Posted by Todd Smith

Because renting gets you the exact same experience for a fraction of the cost, and considering there really are not that many movies worth re-watching, renting is the no brainer choice most of the time IMO. All just my opinion of course and from my perspective and I fully respect that some view it differently, but I have just realized over the years that I dont watch most of my collection enough to justify a purchase when renting is available for a fraction of the cost.

I still do some blind buys during the year, but they are becoming fewer and fewer. I dont consider not seeing the film at the theater a legitamate reason to spend more money than I need to in order to experience a BR which is why I rent.

Also, for the few BRs I do rent and ARE worth buying, I wait for a deal and grab it, but this does not happen that often for me since most these films are good for one viewing IMO.

Thats A BINGO.

[csdot]

well there are people who love movies and the are people who love AND collect movies. for the latter a blind buy makes sense, for a casual movie watcher of course renting is the way to go. im a collector so if it piques my interest and its a decent price i add it to my collection.

[deadhatetheliving]

I learned my lesson with DVD. Over 500 movies that I only watched once or not at all.

As for the "seeing movies at theatre is a blind buy." Well for me its not, I work at a theatre so it a matter of: wasted time vs. wasted money.

I also have a netflix subscription that filters any possible blind buys while still getting to see some movies that I never gave a chance.

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by csdot

well there are people who love movies and the are people who love AND collect movies. for the latter a blind buy makes sense, for a casual movie watcher of course renting is the way to go. im a collector so if it piques my interest and its a decent price i add it to my collection.

Makes sense and I totally understand that

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by deadhatetheliving

I learned my lesson with DVD. Over 500 movies that I only watched once or not at all.

Exactly. I am in this boat as well. I look at all my DVDs, HD-DVDs and BRs and most I have watched only one time, and some not at all! I dont consider myself a collector, so I have learned from this that buying just does not make a whole lot of sense for me most of the time. Like I said though, I still do make some blind buys each year they are just becoming less and less.

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by molson1138

I was thinking about blind buying a couple of movies a few weeks ago then it hit me. Why was I putting so much thought into it when I don't if I see a movie in the theater? Movie tickets are $10-$15 add a drink and/or food and it easily comes out to $20-$25 and I only get to watch the movie once! Dunno, just seems odd that we think twice about blind buying a movie but easily go to a movie which is not as good a value.

Where I live, movies cost around $9 to see, and to buy a new blu-ray is usually around $30. Hence blind buying isn't a great deal for me as the vast majority of films I only watch once.

[Freekman]

I used to blind buy at $30, but I hardly ever regretted even those purchases. With AMZ's prices being pretty cheap on a bunch of Blus I've been interested in, I can hardly justify renting them at $6 a pop. Blind buys are the safest thing for me if the film is new or not showing on TV anytime soon.

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by Freekman

I used to blind buy at $30, but I hardly ever regretted even those purchases. With AMZ's prices being pretty cheap on a bunch of Blus I've been interested in, I can hardly justify renting them at $6 a pop. Blind buys are the safest thing for me if the film is new or not showing on TV anytime soon.

$6 a pop? I average between $1.00 and $1.50 depending on the time of year (how much I use it) through Netflix. Even renting at Blockbuster is half of that $3 a pop. You can do MUCH better then $6/pop renting with minimal additional effort

[Freekman]

In-store rentals at my store are around $5 + tax. Is it cheaper to do it online?

[molson1138]

Originally Posted by Freekman

In-store rentals at my store are around $5 + tax. Is it cheaper to do it online?

Depends on how many movies you rent. Netflix starts at $9.00/month. According to FeedFlix I'm spending $1.27 per movie.

[Freekman]

Doesn't Netflix cost a lot extra for Blu-Ray per month?

[XXXsdesdeXXX]

Originally Posted by Freekman

In-store rentals at my store are around $5 + tax. Is it cheaper to do it online?

It depends on how many one rents per month.... If cost was, say, $16.99 per month for unlimited rentals with two movies out at a time; it could end up being really cheap on a per movie basis -- especially if one were to exchange the Blockbuster Online envelopes at the brick and mortar stores for rentals off of the shelf. While it is only possible to exchange the enveloped Blockbuster Online movies for movies off of the store shelf, rather than exchanging movies rented at the brick and mortar for other movies at the brick and mortar, it still works out to be a great deal. Once one returns the movies they rented from the store to the store, Blockbuster Online will send out the next movie(s) from their queue by mail. Normally, the two out at a time unlimited rental plan would allow five in-store exchanges per month, but they have made it unlimited in-store exchanges through March for the time being.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Freekman

Doesn't Netflix cost a lot extra for Blu-Ray per month?

It depends on what your plan is. 1 movie at a time is $2 extra per month for Blu-Ray, 2 at a time is $3 extra, and so on.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Freekman

Doesn't Netflix cost a lot extra for Blu-Ray per month?

I wouldn't say it's a lot extra, for what you get it's still a better value than local rentals in most places (but YMMV).

[Freekman]

Originally Posted by killowertz

It depends on what your plan is. 1 movie at a time is $2 extra per month for Blu-Ray, 2 at a time is $3 extra, and so on.

How about unlimited?

Originally Posted by XXXsdesdeXXX

It depends on how many one rents per month.... If cost was, say, $16.99 per month for unlimited rentals with two movies out at a time; it could end up being really cheap on a per movie basis -- especially if one were to exchange the Blockbuster Online envelopes at the brick and mortar stores for rentals off of the shelf. While it is only possible to exchange the enveloped Blockbuster Online movies for movies off of the store shelf, rather than exchanging movies rented at the brick and mortar for other movies at the brick and mortar, it still works out to be a great deal. Once one returns the movies they rented from the store to the store, Blockbuster Online will send out the next movie(s) from their queue by mail.

If they have me going to the store anyway to return the movies, why don't they have me picking up the next movies in my queue at the store, as well?

[krazeyeyez]

Originally Posted by Freekman

How about unlimited?


If they have me going to the store anyway to return the movies, why don't they have me picking up the next movies in my queue at the store, as well?

Stores have limited space, which means limited titles. In essence if you want to just handle your stuff in store you can get a movie pass, thats what i do. If however you want the option of things not stocked in the store you get the online program, and instead of sending out your "mailers" you return them to the store, and you can get something on the spot immediately, while you wait for your next mailers to arrive for one set price. Its been a while since i have used either online program but that in store exchange was a big appeal to me, especially considering the netflix alternative is streamed movies vs blockbusters in store blu-ray rental.

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by Freekman

How about unlimited?

There isn't an unlimited plan for Netflix. They have plans where you can have 1, 2, 3, or 4 movies out at a time.

# 1 DVD out at-a-time
+ unlimited instant watching
$8.99 a month, $10.99 a month with Blu-ray

# 2 DVDs out at-a-time
+ unlimited instant watching
$13.99 a month, $16.99 a month with Blu-ray

# 3 DVDs out at-a-time
+ unlimited instant watching
$16.99 a month, $20.99 a month with Blu-ray

# 4 DVDs out at-a-time
+ unlimited instant watching
$23.99 a month, $28.99 a month with Blu-ray

[XXXsdesdeXXX]

Originally Posted by Freekman

How about unlimited?


If they have me going to the store anyway to return the movies, why don't they have me picking up the next movies in my queue at the store, as well?

If you want you can return the movies by mail using the prepaid envelopes; just like Netflix. However, what if you wanted something right away, you could go and exchange it in-store.

[Freekman]

Originally Posted by krazeyeyez

Stores have limited space, which means limited titles. In essence if you want to just handle your stuff in store you can get a movie pass, thats what i do. If however you want the option of things not stocked in the store you get the online program, and instead of sending out your "mailers" you return them to the store, and you can get something on the spot immediately, while you wait for your next mailers to arrive for one set price. Its been a while since i have used either online program but that in store exchange was a big appeal to me, especially considering the netflix alternative is streamed movies vs blockbusters in store blu-ray rental.

So, I can pick up a movie in-store and ship from online for out-of-stock titles at the same time?

[XXXsdesdeXXX]

Originally Posted by Freekman

So, I can pick up a movie in-store and ship from online for out-of-stock titles at the same time?

Yes, keep in mind, however, that some online titles will also be out of stock at times; your online rental queue will show it as a "short wait" or "long wait". Blockbuster Online does wait until you have returned your in-store-exchanges before shipping out the next available title from your online queue. They used to just ship out your next available title from your online queue immediately after you returned your in-store exchange to the brick and mortar Blockbuster; that was too good to last. I have found that I can usually get new releases within the first two weeks of their release. If I were to go to the rental store early, I could probably get them the first day.