Blockbuster Online vs. Netflix

[AldaForPresident]

I wasn't sure whether this would go here or off-topic, so if it needs to be moved please do so.

I'm thinking of getting a subscription with either one, and in lieu of research, I thought I would post here and see who has what and what you think. Thanks in advance!

[Josh]

I use Blockbuster Online and really like it.

Before I subscribed, I investigated it and Netflix, and as far as I can tell their selections are synonymous; I picked some really obscure titles and couldn't find anything that one had but the other didn't. And Blockbuster is cheaper-- or was at the time, anyway-- so I went with it.

But I've heard from people who really like both. Really, you probably just want to pick whichever is cheapest.

[enemy anemone]

I had tried both awhile back. at the time, netflix had a better selection and was faster, but it looks like blockbuster has caught up with netflix as far as selection goes.  the plus with blockbuster is that they give you coupons for free in-store rentals, which is really handy if you have a brick-and-Mordor store nearby. no mail on Sunday sometimes means no new dvd to watch for one whole day, the tragedy! I'm still sticking with netflix right now though. I am too lazy to transfer all the titles in my queue and risk finding out that blockbuster is still slower and doesn't have every single movie I want to see. and for me, it's way more exciting to see a red envelope in the mailbox than a blue one. 

[RedcoatJones]

I've used Blockbuster for a year, and overall, they do a good job. We usually get a movie wiithn 3 days of sending one back in. The only complaint is, to keep movies coming, they sometimes skip a movie at the top of your list if it's not in stock at the closest warehouse in favor of a movie that is in stock locally. Of course, for cases like this, having the2  in-store coupons per month is helpful.

Heard good stuff about netflix, too, though. Guess it comes down to price and/or preference.

[murlough23]

"Brick-and-Mordor store". LOL.

I signed up for a free Blockbuster Online trial a few months ago, and I've enjoyed it so far. I like being able to put stuff in my queue ahead of time and getting it pretty soon after it releases. The old way, I'd show up at Blockbuster (or Wherehouse, when I worked there and shunned Blockbuster) on a Friday night and already know that it was pointless to look for whatever came out that Tuesday, as every copy would be rented out and the employees would get annoyed if you bugged them to check the dropbox for a recently returned copy. Of course, this problem has been exacerbated since "The End of Late Fees!", because now nobody thinks to return the damn things until like a month later. (And even when I rent 'em, I tend to get lazy and forget that they need to be returned at some point.) So online rentals appear to be the way to go.

Now the hard thing is that we have to think ahead - we can use the coupons to get a movie on a whim on a Friday night or whatever, if it's actually not fairly new and in stock, but most of the time that requires going home and printing out the coupon first, so the lack of planning ahead still bites us in the butt there (and pride - if that coupon exists, no way I'm going to be caught plunking down 4 bucks to rent something!) So I find myself queueing stuff up earlier in the week and hoping it arrives by Friday. If not, we'll rewatch one of the few DVDs we own or a Lost episode or whatever.

And I'm still lazy about returning 'em. They sit there for a week or two, ready to go in their little envelopes, but not yet shipped off because "maybe one day we'll check out the special features". Then we never do, and this keeps us from getting new ones in the mail. We're probably the kind of customer that they love, actually.