The Fine Print under Blockbuster’s “No More Late Fees” Campaign

- January 31, 2005 @ 9:33 am · Filed under Legalese

The new Blockbuster ads are the most deceptive that I have seen in recent memory.  If it wasn’t for this article talking about the Netflix/Blockbuster (and potentially, Amazon) battle, I would not have known that:

Blockbuster has since discontinued late fees. Customers must now buy
outright tapes and DVDs that are a week overdue at either the new or the used
price (depending on the title), less the original fee.

The forced purchase of tapes doesn’t sound so consumer-friendly to me.

11 Comments

  1. badxmaru

    January 31, 2005 @ 12:49 pm

    1

    wow that’s horrendous
    now i have more reasons to hate blockbuster than ever before.

  2. ToastyKen

    January 31, 2005 @ 4:11 pm

    2

    I agree that calling it “no late fees” is deceptive, but the late fee structure is definitely a lot cheaper. You have to buy it after 7 days, but you can get you money back sans a 20% “restocking fee” within 30 days of the rental, which I figure is about $4 for a $20 movie? Or maybe $6 if they say MSRP is $30 or something.

    So in the end, what it really means is that there are no late fees for 7 days (most rentals were 5 days already (though that 5 days is actually 4.5, but that’s another story), and then there’s a flat late fee of $4-6 within 30 days.

    That’s certainly a lot cheaper than before, at least.

  3. echan

    January 31, 2005 @ 4:52 pm

    3

    Toasty, you have good point. BB isn’t trying to increase their profits by selling DVDs this way; they are simply trying to break even to cover the one-week grace period.

  4. Whup

    January 31, 2005 @ 9:41 pm

    4

    might as well just get the unlimited movie pass… $25.

  5. ToastyKen

    February 3, 2005 @ 4:28 pm

    5

    Actually, it seems to me this makes the unlimited pass LESS worthwhile. Seriously, I watch a lot of movies, and I have trouble watching 5 or 6 a month it’d take to let me break even on my Netflix subscription.

    So for most people, who rent at most 2 or 3 movies a month, and 1 or less some months, they’ll end up spending less this way, even if they keep them too long..

  6. ToastyKen

    February 3, 2005 @ 4:32 pm

    6

    The other thing about their unlimited movie pass is that with Netflix right now, I still end up spending money on rentals every now and then for impulse rentals. (“Let’s watch a movie tonight!”) Blockbuster gives unlimited pass holders two free rentals, and that’s a pretty big deal.

    Really there are only two reasons I use Netflix: (1) They have a much better selection, especially for independent or foreign films, and (2) they don’t surreptitiously re-edit movies, as Blockbuster has been known to do on some “hard R” films.

    On an ideological level, I also don’t like how Blockbuster refuses to carry NC-17 movies, but in practice for me that’s only been an issue with Requiem for a Dream.

  7. echan

    February 3, 2005 @ 4:52 pm

    7

    How does one choose between the lesser of two evils? I’ve been burned
    by both Netflix and Blockbuster. I’m currently on the Blockbuster
    2-at-a-time plan, but I am having trouble finding the time/energy to
    watch 2 movies each month. And I am fed up with BB because EVERY single
    item in my queue as a wait (at all three levels, short wait, long wait,
    very long wait). If you want something rather obscure from BB, chances
    are they don’t have it, or there’s one copy of it floating around for a
    million customers. With the 2-at-a-time plan, I am only breaking even
    because I’ve been using the in-store coupons to impulsively rent the
    first season of Nip/Tuck. But as soon as the next billing cycle is
    over, no more BB for me.

    And yes, while BB is much worse about editing content, there were times
    on Netflix as well where they restricted access to NC-17 and unrated
    films.

  8. badxmaru

    February 4, 2005 @ 5:40 pm

    8

    that’s why you have your computer watch them for you, then return the DVD.
    it’s like a tivo for your movies 🙂

    yeah and definitely echan is the NC17 and UR film type.

    or you can just come over, sorry toastyken you seem far away.

  9. badxmaru

    February 19, 2005 @ 4:13 pm

    9

    woot

    http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/18/news/midcaps/blockbuster_suit/index.htm?cnn=yes

  10. Pesho

    September 2, 2005 @ 12:41 am

    10

    Very nice blog.

  11. Morton Building

    September 12, 2005 @ 10:43 am

    11

    Building Higher It

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