Blockbuster getting cocky, changing policy

jaso

jaso

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OK, so it seems Blockbuster is getting overconfident that it's putting the hurt on Netflix, which recently dropped its prices by a buck for the first time ever, and now feels it can basically renege on the whole idea of Total Access.

"We hope you're enjoying BLOCKBUSTER Total Access™!

There are some changes to our subscription plan lineup that introduce a new pricing structure and new plans which limit the number of in-store exchanges.

As a result, your current plan will no be longer be available at the current price.

(Unlimited DVDs up to 3 at a time with unlimited in-store exchanges each month for $17.99)

We'd like to extend you a new plan that includes Unlimited DVDs 3 at a time plus up to 5 free* in-store exchanges for $17.99. Looking at your recent activity, we notice you only average 5 in-store exchanges each month, so this new plan should give you all the in-store rentals you need.

In addition, on August 1, we will be introducing discounted in-store movie rentals for any additional movies you might need above the in-store exchanges included in your plan.

Your new plan will go into effect on your regular monthly billing date following August 30, 2007. If we don't hear from you by August 30, 2007, we will automatically move you to the new BLOCKBUSTER Total Access plan referenced below as "Your New Plan". "


Seems like there should be a name change to Limited Access.
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb']Anyone who was a member for a certain period of time is grandfathered in and keeps their old plan.

Just FYI.[/quote]

I don't think it pertains to me. I've been a member for just over a year, so I don't get the two video game coupons the "grandfathered" users get. Sucks.
 
[quote name='Rocko']Even more reason to not switch from Netflix.[/QUOTE]

Well it is still a better deal than Netflix. 5 free rentals is better than the 0 free ones Netflix offers.
 
[quote name='jaso']I don't think it pertains to me. I've been a member for just over a year, so I don't get the two video game coupons the "grandfathered" users get. Sucks.[/QUOTE]

I've been in quite a while.. but call them. When I first overheard this I called customer service and I could have sworn he said anyone over 3 months was grandathered in.
 
I don't get the netflix throttling. I've had them for like 3 years and I always get stuff quick from them and I usually drop stuff in the mail the day after I get it. I have yet to experience the mythical throttling (knock on wood). Sad to hear it for the blockbuster people. I thought about joining that but realized I'm too lazy to drive to the store and when I am in the store all I want is games their movie display is sad locally. I'm so glad I didn't drop netflix.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']Well it is still a better deal than Netflix. 5 free rentals is better than the 0 free ones Netflix offers.[/quote]

I have no interest in driving to get a movie I could get in the mail two days later without having to go out. But if they're starting to restrict their offerings, I definitely don't want to switch.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']Well it is still a better deal than Netflix. 5 free rentals is better than the 0 free ones Netflix offers.[/QUOTE]You can stream 1 full movie per dollar that your plan costs with Netflix.
Fifteen free movies.

That, and Netflix's selection poops on BB's selection.
 
I got the email and it said I've been a member long enough that my plan won't change, think I've been using them for about 18 months (guess).
 
[quote name='Liquid 2']You can stream 1 full movie per dollar that your plan costs with Netflix.
Fifteen free movies.

That, and Netflix's selection poops on BB's selection.[/quote]

That's not true at all. I have the cheap $9 plan and I get 9 HOURS of movies.

But I love the whole point of it was to get new people to BB. So of course what does BB do? They completely screw over the people that switched over. Hopefully they all switch over to Netflix. Sadly Netflix has been getting very slow every once and awhile.
 
Damnit, and I canceled my subscription last month (trying to to save money and cut back on bills.)

If I reactivated my account, I wonder if it'd be too late? If so, I guess I'll be going back to Netflix. :roll:
 
[quote name='3kingdoms']they are just desperate. They need to start renting out porn to get out of the hole they are in.[/quote]

People still go out in public and pay money for porn?

It's like I'm back in 1987.
 
[quote name='bigdaddy']That's not true at all. I have the cheap $9 plan and I get 9 HOURS of movies.

But I love the whole point of it was to get new people to BB. So of course what does BB do? They completely screw over the people that switched over. Hopefully they all switch over to Netflix. Sadly Netflix has been getting very slow every once and awhile.[/QUOTE]Is it hours? My bad; I never use it because I am content to wait for my discs.
 
Insult to injury: Instead of shipping disc 1 of Monster Squad, which would be the logical thing to do, they ship me disc 2 first.

I think I'm going to e-mail and ask to retain my old plan or threaten to jump ship. Which may or may not work because I recently used the two months, 50% off trick. If Blockbuster B&M weren't so close by, I'd probably have already jumped ship.
 
[quote name='NoRain']I don't get the netflix throttling. I've had them for like 3 years and I always get stuff quick from them and I usually drop stuff in the mail the day after I get it. I have yet to experience the mythical throttling (knock on wood). [/quote]

I've been a Netflix member off and on for about 3-4 years now. I find that once I'm a member for a consecutive amount of months (like about 6 months) it begins to happen. It will be stuff like the site will show a returned movie has been received by them at 8am or so yet instead of shipping my next movie out the status will change to "we will ship your next movie out tomorrow" and then it might stay like that for a day or two. Or what will happen is I'll order a fairly common / new movie which you'd think they'd have plenty of stock of and it will say "shipping Saturday from Monterey, California" despite the fact that I live in Pennsylvania. And recently the reason I quit again temporarily is that they would consistently skip over my top 5 to 10 movies I had requested in my queue no matter what they were. Despite these problems however I find that quitting for a month or two seems to reset the bullshit factor and they treat you like a new member again and ship what you want and in a timely manner.
 
When you return movies to Blockbuster the next movies ship a day before they would otherwise.

I've been a Blockbuster online member for about 2 1/2 years, and right now with Total Access I get about 45 rentals a month, Blu Rays and Criterions ship right away and they have basically all of them, (although their HD DVD stock is mediocre) and I get 2 video game rentals for about 2 weeks with their no late fee policy for $17.99. I don't see how Netflix can possibly touch that.
 
As good of an idea as blockbuster's plan sounds, they don't have a very good selection...plus, every time I'm in there I hear people complaining about in-store exchanges. seems there's a snag in the policy where you have to sign up in store too.
 
For so long they should have put a porn section in most of their stores. Is it more important to uphold their so called chrisitian and family values or try to save stores from going under? I wonder if people would not go to the store just because there is porn. The section would be separated obviously so I don't see the big deal.
 
[quote name='cleaver']When you return movies to Blockbuster the next movies ship a day before they would otherwise.

I've been a Blockbuster online member for about 2 1/2 years, and right now with Total Access I get about 45 rentals a month, Blu Rays and Criterions ship right away and they have basically all of them, (although their HD DVD stock is mediocre) and I get 2 video game rentals for about 2 weeks with their no late fee policy for $17.99. I don't see how Netflix can possibly touch that.[/QUOTE]

If you're getting 45 movies a month... do you do anything else?

Not to mention finding enough movies to watch for very long at that rate



[quote name='Apossum']As good of an idea as blockbuster's plan sounds, they don't have a very good selection...plus, every time I'm in there I hear people complaining about in-store exchanges. seems there's a snag in the policy where you have to sign up in store too.[/QUOTE]

You have to have an in-store membership.. its not like its a very big deal there. They basically consider returing in-store as a coupon for a free in-store rental, so you'd need the b&m membership to rent.


[quote name='kmartbum001']For so long they should have put a porn section in most of their stores. Is it more important to uphold their so called chrisitian and family values or try to save stores from going under? I wonder if people would not go to the store just because there is porn. The section would be separated obviously so I don't see the big deal.[/QUOTE]

My parents and numerous other people only rented from Blockbuster simply because they didn't rent porn. And I'm sure there's no money in it these days given the advent of this new-fangled internet thing.
 
[quote name='kmartbum001']For so long they should have put a porn section in most of their stores. Is it more important to uphold their so called chrisitian and family values or try to save stores from going under? I wonder if people would not go to the store just because there is porn. The section would be separated obviously so I don't see the big deal.[/quote]

Porn saves businesses, when will people learn that.

The Blockbuster 1 min from my house has just closed so the free game/DVD instore rentals aren't as appealing.
 
Your Current Plan:

BLOCKBUSTER Total Access Premium First Month $9.99 plus tax, 3 at a time $17.99 / month (plus taxes)
3 at-a-time, unlimited
unlimited in-store movie exchanges
+1 FREE bonus Movie or Game Rental E-Coupon / Month Our Bonus in-store Ecoupons are like an entertainment insurance policy. Imagine that you've mailed all your movies back and haven't received a new one yet. What if you need a movie today? Well each BLOCKBUSTER bonus e-coupon is good for a FREE movie or game at your local BLOCKBUSTER store.


Account Updates
Changes to your billing amount will not take affect until your next billing date.
Downgrading to a lower number of DVDs won't take affect until your next billing date.
If you change to an online plan with unlimited in-store free movie exchanges and you have mailers from your old online plan, please inform the store of your upgraded plan status during check-out to continue enjoying unlimited in-store free movie exchanges.

Choose a Plan
Why choose BLOCKBUSTER?Unlimited PlanWith this plan, there is an unlimited number of DVDs you can get each month through the mail, up to the number of DVDs out at a time allowed by your plan.
UNLIMITED Through the MailWith this plan, each month you can get as many DVDs as you want through the mail, up to the number of DVDs out at a time allowed by your plan, and unlimited in-store exchanges. Whenever you're ready for a new DVD, return one in the mail, and we'll send out a new title from your list right away. You can also exchange the DVD at a participating store if you don't want to wait.

With this plan , each month you can get as many DVDs as you want through the mail, up to the number of DVDs out at a time allowed by your plan, and a pre-set number of in-store exchanges. Whenever you're ready for a new DVD, return one in the mail, and we'll send out a new title from your list right away. You can also exchange the DVD at a participating store if you don't want to wait.

With this plan, each month you get DVD rentals by mail only. This plan includes free shipping and no late fees, but unlike our BLOCKBUSTER Total Access plans, the By Mail plans do not include in-store exchanges. However, you can still return your online rentals to a participating store.




BLOCKBUSTER by Mailplans are for customers who do not have a participating store in their local area or for those who prefer the simplicity of a mail-only service.
$24.99 / mo + tax

Unlimited in-store exchanges
$17.99 / mo + tax

5 in-store exchanges/mo*
$16.99 / mo + tax

$21.99 / mo + tax

Unlimited in-store exchanges
$14.99 / mo + tax

3 in-store exchanges/mo*
$13.99 / mo + tax

$16.99 / mo + tax

Unlimited in-store exchanges
$9.99 / mo + tax

2 in-store exchanges/mo*
$8.99 / mo + tax


Limited PlanWith this plan, there is a maximum number of DVDs you can get each month through the mail.
LIMITED Through the Mail$7.99 / mo + tax

2 in-store exchanges/mo*
$4.99 / mo + tax



Go into your membership and you should be able to see that

I got an AMEx offer that said 9.99 for 3 months. AUG 5 would be my 3rd month. if they try to #$#$# me over i dispute


To make it a little planner

3 movies at a time
24.99 Unlimited returns
21.99 5 returns per month
16.99 mail only

2 movies at time
21.99 per monmth unlimited returns
14.99 per month 3 returns
13.99 per month mail only

1 movie
16.99 per month unlimited
10.99 2 returns
9.99 mail only

1 movie max 2 per month
7.99 2 returns
4.99 no returns

I called and they said anyone who had a plan before July would be grandfathered in but i call bullshit on that.

i will just go to stars for 4.99 per month and watch all the movies there before i pay 17 bucks per moth for blockbuster crap
 
[quote name='Purple Flames']People still go out in public and pay money for porn?

It's like I'm back in 1987.[/quote]

It's still huge business even with the internet and it's freebies.

Not catering to that demographic is pretty stupid from a business standpoint. People like sex and they like porn. Blockbuster needs to realize that if they want to stay relevant.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']It's still huge business even with the internet and it's freebies.

Not catering to that demographic is pretty stupid from a business standpoint. People like sex and they like porn. Blockbuster needs to realize that if they want to stay relevant.[/QUOTE]



The fact that they have a list of banned movies is awful in the first place.

They used to have a softcore section called "wild comedies." This was in the 80s when they had just started renting NES games.
 
BIG update:

"Thanks for contacting Blockbuster Online Customer Care.

I do apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you, Jeremy. I understand how important this matter is to you. The e-mail you received is a notice to inform you that we've made some changes to our Blockbuster Total Access products and services. The main purpose for the e-mail was to let you know that we feel you are a preferred customer and have decided that we would like for you to continue to enjoy your current membership and our changes in prices and services will not affect you.

You may still continue paying the same rate (which is now far below our new published rate for new subscribers); continue receiving your monthly e-coupon; and you are still welcome to continue exchanging movies at your local store with no limits for free movie rentals.

If you want to view all of the plans and pricing we now have available, you may do so by visiting the following web site:

https://www.blockbuster.com/signup/rp/regPlan

Make sure and click on the "See All Plans" button so that all options are displayed. We also want you to be aware that if you happen to decide to move to another subscription type other than what you currently have, you will be subject to the new prices and terms and we won't be able to reverse it for you. I hope this clarifies any concerns you may have had. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do for you. Enjoy your membership!

It is our pleasure being of service to you. If there is anything I can help you with in the future, feel free to email me and I would gladly attend to all your concerns with your online account. Thank you very much, Jeremy.


Always happy to help,

Dania
Customer Care Associate
Blockbuster Online"

So it seems that if you feel like you've been with them long enough, e-mail them and threaten to jump over to a cheaper Netflix account. They might just cave.
 
Eh, well, so much for that. They almost had me convinced to buy into the Unlimited Access thing, but that's just a big enough change for me to not really be interested anymore. Oh, well.
 
Everybody that was a member of the Total Access program before last Thursday should be grandfathered in at their old price (17.99 for 3-at-a-time) with the unlimited exchanges + e-coupon. The new pricing structure is for new members. They will eventually force grandfathered members to pay the new price, but that probably won't happen until 2008.
 
Blockbuster sent me to collections over $3.79. I've really had nothing but problems with them - various other things.. movies I've dropped off not being reported... the problem being that (twice) I've had managment argue with me or be suspicious that I even dropped them off. She said, "Look...if it goes in the drop slot, it gets reported returned, 100%"

"So, there is no possibility that it was misplaced by your (highly skilled fifteen year old) staff? No possiblity that it was stolen, either?

That conversation ended when I told her to stop bullshiting me, as I had a friend who worked at Blockbuster a few years back and he boasted to me that they used to just take movies, quite frequently, straight out of the drop box and keep them for themselves.


I'll be sticking with Netflix.
 
I fuc-king love Blockbuster online.

(especially since my GF pays for it and I dont)

It's so sweet. Cause we can be in line to get the movies that Blockbuster is always out of or we put TV series in que.

And then while waiting for those we go into Blockbuster and rent Bluray movies. It's hella awesome.

And she gets like 6 dollars off of her movie tickets (due to her job(no she doesnt work at a movie theater)) so we are pretty movie ready.
 
Netflix, which recently dropped its prices by a buck for the first time ever
Click to expand...

Not true. I've had my plan price reduced twice since I've been with them. Their 3-movie plan was $21.99 three years ago. It then dropped to $17.99, and is now $16.99 per month.
 
[quote name='Apossum']The fact that they have a list of banned movies is awful in the first place.

They used to have a softcore section called "wild comedies." This was in the 80s when they had just started renting NES games.[/quote]

I will say this though, some cities still have ordinances against showing any actual sex. Danville, VA has that right now.
 
[quote name='GuilewasNK']I will say this though, some cities still have ordinances against showing any actual sex. Danville, VA has that right now.[/quote]

I went to school with a guy from Danville.

I think they have the highest rate of churches-to-citizens over anywhere else in the country.
 
[quote name='camoor']I went to school with a guy from Danville.

I think they have the highest rate of churches-to-citizens over anywhere else in the country.[/QUOTE]

Actually the city I grew up in.. Tallmadge, OH.. was at one time in the Guiness Book for that very feat.
 
[quote name='camoor']I went to school with a guy from Danville.

I think they have the highest rate of churches-to-citizens over anywhere else in the country.[/quote]

I heard that too. Highest number of churches per square mile, or something.
 
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