var json_comments = new Array("
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JonThomasDesigns
June 4, 2009 4:17 PM
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This happened to me a couple weeks ago .. I wrote to CS support and they immediately sent me 2 coupons for free in store game of dvd retails .. I believe it was a glitch in the system and not throttling .. it hasn't happened at all Since

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6 replies
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Easton21
June 4, 2009 5:18 PM
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@jonthomasdesigns: I used to have Blockbuster T.A. & Netflix, three at-a-time plans for both, and over the course of three months, this is how it broke down:


Netflix: 81 Movies received
Blockbuster: A puny 49 movies received


Note that when each movie was delivered, it was always taken to the dropbox for same-day pickup later that evening. Netflix had a two-day turnaround (one day to send back, then another to receive a new one). Blockbuster on the other hand was able to turn it around in FOUR days at the quickest, and I live in downtown Chicago. Sometimes it would take five or six days after sending movies back before they would show up as received.


I'm 100% sure that this is intentional. The more movies I rented, the slower they got.


Btw, if you're wondering what I was doing with them, I had all my DVDs stolen from a storage unit, and I was using these to make backups. It's legal since I originally purchased the titles... I think.

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Coles_Law
June 4, 2009 10:47 PM
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@Easton21: I doubt it's legal, but in that case, I don't fault you. Sorry about the theft.


Out of curiousity, why didn't you go with one of the really large Netflix plans? It would have been cheaper than 2 3 at a time plans.

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Easton21
June 4, 2009 11:02 PM
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@Coles_Law: I eventually did, after my experiment concluded that Blockbuster is in fact one of the suckiest companies on the planet.
I found it strange though that they didn't even offer me the 5-8 movie tiers until I signed up for four.

By the way everyone I'm all caught up now. Well almost anyway, I never backed up Kangaroo Jack, but that was intentional...

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trujunglist
June 4, 2009 10:14 PM
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@Easton21:

That's probably illegal, or at least the MPAA will say it is, but knowing them, they'd probably say that memorizing lines from your favorite movie is illegal too.
I don't think there's moral ambiguity here: you paid for it, it was stolen, and no insurance company ever pays for small items like that, so really, they're trying to rob you again after you've already been robbed. Actually, it's triple robbed if you include the premiums you paid for insurance. Actually, it's kind of quadruple robbed; you paid insurance premiums and they didn't pay for your stolen items, you paid the storage rental place and they didn't do anything to protect your items but took your rental $$, you got physically robbed of all your belongings, and now the MPAA wants to rob you again by making you purchase new copies.
Fuck the MPAA and fuck insurance. Also, fuck your storage place. What a bunch of pricks.

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Keavy_Rain
June 4, 2009 10:22 PM
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@trujunglist: Also fuck the police for not investigating your DVD theft and fuck the pawnshop that bought the DVD's off that crackhead and fuck the dealer who sold that crackhead the crack.

Fuck everyone!

P.S. In my eyes, you did nothing wrong.

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Scuba Steve
June 4, 2009 8:30 PM
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@Easton21: Morally and legally ambiguous at best, but I'm no better.

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mechfluff
June 4, 2009 4:26 PM
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@jonthomasdesigns: Awww. And here I am waiting on the game of dvd special edition to come out for the ps3. Is the only way to play this game of dvd through in store retails? I'd sure like a copy that I could take home. :P

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Shaftoe
June 4, 2009 4:25 PM
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Yes I never ever considered going to Blockbuster. Ihave been using netflix since it's inception and have been very happy. Sure some times they lose a disk and they take care of it right away.

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6 replies
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diasdiem
June 4, 2009 5:37 PM
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@Shaftoe: I switched from Netflix to Blockbuster because it became obvious I was being throttled (a week-long turnaround for a movie). This got really frustrating when I received a broken DVD twice in a row for the same movie. I switched to Blockbuster because of the in-store trades, back when you still got an unlimited number of them. But I got tired of them because they didn't stick to your queue order, sometimes getting a movie 6 spots down from the top. Sometimes a movie that I didn't feel like watching, so it'd lay on the table for a couple weeks. And finding something to trade it in for was a bit of a chore. I finally realized I wasn't getting my money's worth and switched back to Netflix after I tried online viewing with my sister's account. I've been happy ever since.

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Keavy_Rain
June 4, 2009 10:25 PM
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@diasdiem: I quit Netflix over throttling issues but returned when they started offering streaming through Xbox Live. The online streaming eliminates throttling as an issue. \"Oh, my new movie hasn't been sent out? No problem. I'll watch one online.\"

I <3 U, Netflix

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jwissick
June 4, 2009 4:40 PM
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@Shaftoe: I quit nexflix because of the totally unreasonable wait times on some movies. When short wait means more than a month, they have a problem. No to mention the disks constantly showing up scratched and ruined because people have no respect for other people's property.

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Cyberxion101
June 5, 2009 2:09 PM
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@jwissick: Yeah, I've had a huge problem with getting scratched discs from Netflix. Some of these things look like someone took a Brillo pad to them. @_@

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JonThomasDesigns
June 4, 2009 4:34 PM
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@Shaftoe: Last week netflix shut off my account for 4 days because i said a movie was lost .. I have reported a few movies lost but i always returned them when they showed up .. I guess none of them are perfect : )

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nakedscience
June 4, 2009 4:38 PM
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@jonthomasdesigns: I've never had them shut my service off, and I've reported lost movies here and there. Are you reporting a lot of lost dvds?

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John Henschen
June 4, 2009 4:27 PM
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They do this to me on a regular basis. My problem is that a couple of years ago I complained about their service when they tried to change the way my subscription worked and I seem to be locked into an old-style account now. I'm not about to complain too much otherwise my account will get looked at too carefully and \"fixed.\" I won't depress you with how good my grandfathered plan is especially compared to how crappy and expensive they are now. But its good.

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4 replies
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coren
June 5, 2009 6:02 AM
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@John Henschen: 3 at a time out, unlimited in store exchanges (which dont take slots) at 19.99 a month ish good?

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zsta2k7
June 5, 2009 5:25 AM
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@John Henschen: They won't revert your account regardless of how much you complain if you signed up early enough. They'll keep you grandfathered in at whatever you were at unless you miss a payment, or cancel. So if you're one of the lucky few with 3 out unlimited exchange and 2 free coupons a month for $18, you're set.

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nakedscience
June 4, 2009 4:39 PM
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@John Henschen: \"but it's good\". Nothing about blockbuster is good.

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pecan 3.14159265
June 4, 2009 9:01 PM
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@nakedscience: It's good that Blockbuster is making Netflix and Redbox look good.

How's that? :)

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Anonymous
June 4, 2009 4:28 PM
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This happened to me last week. I signed up for the trial membership and returned my first mailed movie to the local blockbuster store. I dropped the movie off at Blockbuster on Sunday. On Tuesday I received notice that the movie was received, on Thursday I called because they still hadn't shipped my next selection. The Indian call center woman claimed it was an error and all returns to a store post within 24 hours. They sent me a coupon for a free rental. If it happens again, I'll cancel and go to Netflix.

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Chadams28
June 4, 2009 4:32 PM
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I think I'm one of the few to be satisfied with Blockbuster's deal, though I know full well that poor overall business performance is part of the reason people are wary of Blockbuster.

When I started (I'm fairly sure it still applies), the in-store exchange price was comparable to or lower than Netflix's unlimited rentals/month deal. I didn't have a problem with their in-store rental exchange program except for the fact that it added to the number of DVDs I had waiting at home for me to watch.

I would suggest trying their non-in-store rental plan. I haven't had any problems with it and find that the website/mailing side's customer service is really efficient (way more than some dude in a store who doesn't care about scanning your envelope as returned).

Not trying to stick up for them, but just saying that I've been satisfied with their out-of-store crew. That, and I hate the non-chalant/smug attitude of my nearest Blockbuster's manager. I bet he's not even a real film snob...

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nakedscience
June 4, 2009 4:39 PM
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@Chadams28: If you're going to do their non-in-store rental plan, why not just use Netflix? Blockbuster's selection sucks.

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diasdiem
June 4, 2009 5:40 PM
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@nakedscience: Seriously. Half the time I wouldn't even bother to take the time to browse, just flop the disc on the counter so I'd get the next one in my queue. Now that I'm back on Netflix, I watch a lot more movies online than I do with the dvds in the mail anyway. Since it seems many of them never become unavailable online, it's like having a gigantic video library. Not bad for a minimum of $9 a month.

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pb5000
June 4, 2009 4:33 PM
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It was similar stuff like this that caused me to cancel my blockbuster by mail membership. It used to be that if I sent a movie in on Monday, Blockbuster would check it in Tuesday, send me the next one also on Tuesday and my new movie would arrive on Wednesday. Then it became magically slower, they would still get their movies from me in one day, but it would take 2-3 days for them to send me out the next one and 2 mailing days for it to arrive to me. I had dropped off in the store before and had great success doing so (dropped one at the store Monday at lunch and had the next movie in my queue on Tuesday). But then the store drop off started doing the same thing.

After a few weeks of waiting 5+ days per movie I canceled my membership. I think I'll join netflix, but so far redbox has been cheaper and a better fit.

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liz.lemonade
June 4, 2009 4:37 PM
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I was a Blockbuster loyalist until last month, mostly because I liked how the in-store returns meant that I could practically get unlimited movies. (Plus, I'd joined right when it began, so I was grandfathered into their best monthly plans.) But the new policy of not mailing movies until the in-store was returned was the breaking point for me, along with rates that kept going up and up despite my charter member status. Also, have you noticed that the website has very few new releases?


I thought that I couldn't get a Netflix account because I'd had one years ago, forgot to return a movie, and never cancelled the account even when switching credit card numbers. (Yes, I was stupid and naive.) I finally set up a trial membership last month, got the previous mess sorted out, and have been very happy since then. So much faster! Better selection! And I LOVE the new feature that lets me add movies to my queue and watch them instantly on my TiVo.

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1 replies
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usul356
June 5, 2009 1:13 PM
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@liz.lemonade: \"But the new policy of not mailing movies until the in-store was returned was the breaking point for me\" Yup that was what I wrote down on Blockbusters cancellation survey after I changed to Netflix.

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nakedscience
June 4, 2009 4:38 PM
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WHY do people use Blockbuster? Their selection SUCKS, their service SUCKS.

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4 replies
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bravo369
June 4, 2009 7:45 PM
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@nakedscience: I hear this complaint about selection from time to time. Please tell me what movies you are looking for that blockbuster does not have. In 20 years, I have never found that blockbuster did not carry a movie. Sure, sometimes it wasn't in stock but they still had it available when it was returned.

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P_Smith
June 4, 2009 9:39 PM
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@bravo369: You say Lackluster always carried movies you want, but odds are you're talking solely about current releases or big hits from back catalogs.


For those who want small releases, foreign films or unusual fare, Lackluster is a wasteland. A person who wants to see \"Lone Wolf And Cub\", \"Surf Nazis Must Die!\" and \"Six String Samurai\" is not snooty or elitist.

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trujunglist
June 4, 2009 10:19 PM
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@P_Smith:

+1 for Lone Wolf and Cub. There is no way that Blockbuster would ever carry anything like that. I doubt they carry half of the criterion collection. I also highly doubt that they even have Shogun Assassin, which is the American version of Lone Wolf and Cub. The closest you're likely to get at Blockbuster is Road to Perdition.

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P_Smith
June 4, 2009 6:30 PM
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@nakedscience: People still go to Lackluster because for those who don't live in overlapping markets, it's unfortunately the only game in town. Mom and Pop rentals no longer exist, and Hollywood Video is shadow of its former self.


I used to live where there was a Video Update, and they had reasonable prices, factual information on renting (\"2 days\" means 48 hours, not \"next day until midnight\"), VU doesn't censor movies, and it carries a good foreign film selection, among other things. Sadly, there isn't one where I live now or I'd still be a customer.

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HogwartsAlum
June 4, 2009 9:12 PM
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@P_Smith:

Hollywood Video was great too, but alas, I think it's gone here. I bought lots of movies there too, previously viewed and new.

I still go to BB sometimes when something comes out that I want to see right away, and I don't feel like waiting for Netflix. But overall Netflix is the best. It's also close to my house. I could walk if I had to.

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HogwartsAlum
June 5, 2009 1:11 AM
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@HogwartsAlum:

I meant BLOCKBUSTER is within walking distance of my house! D'OH!

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P_Smith
June 4, 2009 9:34 PM
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@HogwartsAlum: Netflix is fine for those who:


(a) have a credit card, and


(b) plan their movie watching days ahead of time


I'm the sort who says, \"Eh, I'll pick up a movie on the way home tonight.\" I never plan my rentals.

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HogwartsAlum
June 5, 2009 1:12 AM
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@P_Smith:

I don't plan it way ahead of time. I just put them on my list. Half the time I forget what I put on there, so it's a surprise when I get the envelope.

I do like to run in the store and grab a movie every once in a while, though. :)

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catskyfire
June 4, 2009 4:40 PM
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I'll still stick with Blockbuster. Right now, it's the better deal for me. (I am lucky to have one of the early plans.) Plus, Netflix only let me have 500 movies in my queue, and I haven't found Blockbuster's limit yet. (And when a season of a TV show can be 3-4 discs, it adds up.)

I will remind the wavers of the Netflix forever flag that when Blockbuster does go under, Netflix's prices will rise again.

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8 replies
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trujunglist
June 4, 2009 10:25 PM
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@catskyfire:

I bet at least a few of those 500 are on Netflix instant streaming, meaning you would never have to wait for it provided you have something that can use it. You'd be surprised at what's in there: full seasons of the office, weeds, heroes, the most dangerous catch...
I'm also confused as to why you need more than 500 dvds in your queue. If you are able to get 6 dvds a week, you're still looking at 312 movies a year. In all likelihood, that's not going to happen, simply because like you said, you're getting a lot of tv series. Unless you're instantly ripping those dvds and returning them, you'll never get 6 dvds a week (at least from the mail-ins), meaning that it will probably take you around 2 years to even go through an entire 500 dvd queue if you actually attempted to have a high turnover rate. I guess if you rented from the store as well, then you might be able to get more (but you were talking about queue, so that's what I went with, and besides, the B&Ms have a fairly limited selection). Just sayin' is all.

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catskyfire
June 4, 2009 10:41 PM
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@trujunglist: Why do I want a larger queue? Because then I can list all the movies I'm interested in, period. And then I can pick and choose from my mood when I return a disc. I'm at 682 on my blockbuster queue, and move a few movies up depending on how I feel. I have a lot of classics and 'deep' movies on my queue, but usually only want one of those at a time. (Schindler's List, for example, is not something you want to watch when you're needing something silly and stupid.)

It's not that I AM going to watch them all, but that I am interested in doing so. In the last year, I've watched around 100 movies...no where near my queue size, but I've also added much fewer, because I now only need to look for what's coming out.

I originally went Blockbuster because Netflix was taking too long. (At the time, Netflix to Nebraska came out of Minneapolis, and Blockbuster out of Kansas City, so it was just faster). As I understand it, Netflix has a closer location now, but I still don't see a huge reason to jump back. The price difference isn't big enough to make it a must do. I don't want to buy new hardware just to use streaming (and I do not want to watch things on my computer).

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diasdiem
June 4, 2009 5:44 PM
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@catskyfire: Only 500? I don't plan my movie view that far in advance. Renting TV shows through the mail is a pain, but Netflix has some of them available online, which is zero waiting.

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Jesse
June 4, 2009 4:53 PM
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@catskyfire:


I had one of the early plans also but went back to Netflix since they have a faster turnaround time. Blockbuster changing their in-store rental policy nullified their advantage in my opinion.

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nakedscience
June 4, 2009 4:41 PM
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@catskyfire: Netflix has always had reasonable prices. Even the price rasing has been minimal. AND they offer free streaming.

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catskyfire
June 4, 2009 10:29 PM
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@nakedscience: Free streaming isn't something that seems that great to me. I don't want to watch a movie at my computer.

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milqtost
June 4, 2009 8:10 PM
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@nakedscience: Try telling that to anyone who rents Bluray discs. Ugh!

The streaming does rock, but it'd be nice to get more newer movies.

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nakedscience
June 4, 2009 4:42 PM
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Also, NetFlix supports Indie movie makers/movies. Blockbuster sucks.

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crichton007
June 4, 2009 4:53 PM
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There were some of us in our office who split a membership three ways for a couple of months (a few years ago) and there was a lag in processing returns after we'd mail them back in. So we discovered an option (which may not be there any more) that allowed us to indicate that we had returned a movie (as early as 3 days after receiving it) which allowed us, if we monitored their system for them, to force the queue to send the next movie regardless of how slow it was responding.

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tard
June 4, 2009 4:55 PM
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They started throttling soon after they launched BB Online. On the 3 DVDs/month plan, I was able to get 18-20/month in the beginning. Six months later, I was lucky to get 12. It used to take 2 days max to see a returned movie cleared off your cue, then it started to take 4 or 5 days, usually at the end of the month.

Co-incidence?

'tard

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MarvinwasaLunatic
June 4, 2009 4:59 PM
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Ive been a member since October 2004 which was shortly after Blockbuster Online went out of Beta. Aside from a $2 rate increase to $19.99 about a year later, I have not had any other rate increases or decreases in level of service, which includes still getting 2 free game rentals (which was removed as an option a while ago) and still being on the unlimited 3 out by mail/unlimited in store returns plan that was added for a higher price to new members. Not to mention not charging extra for Blu Ray movies which is a nice benefit over Netflix as well.

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Anonymous
June 4, 2009 5:00 PM
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I am a Blockbuster employee. Movies not clearing your online account after you dropped them off at the store is *not* a result of throttling - it is a result of a upgrade gone sour. I've received several complaints regarding this and have spoken with both my district manager and regional manager - they are aware of this and have escalated the issue to the website developers. If the problem is not already taken care of, it will be shortly. In the meantime, please call Blockbuster Online Support and tell them the situation - they will clear your account and send you the next movie. On behalf of Blockbuster, sorry about this inconvenience.

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masterasia
June 4, 2009 5:01 PM
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I was on the BlockBuster plan a while back. Their envelopes suck. I had missing movies for 2 weeks straight, then I canceled my membership and went to Redbox. Luckly they didn't question the missing movies and resent them right away. Some of the the missing movies showed up a week later and I kept them.

I thought Netflix used to throttle my movies too. If I returned my movies right away within one day of watching them, the next movies in my queue didn't arrive for another 5 days or so. There was a processing center in town and I know it don't take more than 1 day for the movie to get returned. For my monthly average, I couldn't get more than 12 movies a month with the 3 movies out at a time plan.

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trujunglist
June 4, 2009 10:29 PM
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@masterasia:

So basically, you stole movies from BB. Awesome, way to go.

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frank64
June 4, 2009 5:06 PM
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Netflix used to throttle me a few years ago, but they haven't done it for some time. How does BB think they can get away with it if their competitor doesn't?

What I did was switch to BB, then after getting throttled by them and the loss of the free in store exchange, switching back to Netflix. Now they don't throttle so here I stay.

Blue Ray people complain about a $4 premium per month at Netflix, but as least at Netflix you actually get your movies. Seems like if you want Blue Ray $1 a week is worth it.

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barb95
June 4, 2009 5:08 PM
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Netflix does this to me too sometimes. I have weeks where I get a DVD, watch it and return it the same day. I always find they take an extra day or two when I'm quick with my returns.

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vitajex
June 4, 2009 5:22 PM
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There is absolutely no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Blockbuster throttles.


I had them for about a year after feeling that Netflix was throttling me. How naive I was!


I had 3 out at a time and would almost never have a DVD more than two days. In other words, I was a heavy user. Everything was fine for about 6 months or so, then I noticed short delays every now and then. Things got progressively worst as I went along, capping in one FULL week passing without a single DVD being shipped, even though I had at least one open spot every day and 3, THREE! open spots Wed-Fri. I complained multiple times and would often receive coupons for free in-store rentals. But eventually, this started to defeat the purpose of DVD rental-by-mail and they lost me when I went back to Netflix. I like Blockbuster's site and selection better, plus that you can get free in-store rentals, but when they constantly mess up for (or worse yet, screw over) their customers, they lose any appeal.

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Anonymous
June 4, 2009 5:24 PM
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I returned a few in-store rentals and my queue did not update for a few days as well.

I have dealt with both Blockbuster and Netflix, and I switched from Netflix to Blockbuster because Netflix was throttling movies. The biggest advantage Blockbuster has over Netflix, is that if you go to the store on Tuesday when the movie comes out, you are guaranteed to get a new rental, there is no way to throttle you. Granted, my rentals take 1 day to get shipped. With Blockbuster changing their system to prevent people from renting more movies, I will probably switch it up again.

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Slow2Whine
June 4, 2009 5:34 PM
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Haha...I can see a class action lawsuit forming in some lawyer's mind right now.

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baristabrawl
June 4, 2009 5:41 PM
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Yes. Netflix.

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GC
June 4, 2009 5:42 PM
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The final gasps of a dying giant.

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Ouze
June 4, 2009 5:42 PM
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uhhh.... not only does your \"alternative\", Netflix, do this ever more aggressively, as you reported several times:

[consumerist.com]

but, they actually had a major class action lawsuit over it:

[www.acmetech.com]

and, that class action led to one of the worst settlements - ever:

[consumerist.com]

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6 replies
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HogwartsAlum
June 4, 2009 9:14 PM
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@Ouze:

I haven't had any problems. Maybe it's because it takes me a while to get the movie watched and returned.

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frank64
June 4, 2009 6:30 PM
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@Ouze: Netflix did, but not anymore(at least to me).

And even if BB didn't they still seem to have less selection and less new title availability.

There is at least some consequence, it appears to be a large reason the Netflix is doing better.

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nakedscience
June 4, 2009 6:26 PM
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@Ouze: I used to rent a LOT, and was never really throttled. And they've always been pretty honest about it (at least now).


And they have online viewing, which Blockbuster doesn't have. And they have a MUCH larger selection than Blockbuster does.

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Slow2Whine
June 4, 2009 6:19 PM
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@Ouze: What a good memory! Thanks again for linking your references.

It appears that throttling will be a standard practice with no consequence. : (

I actually subscribed to both in the past(netflix first, then moved to BB) but canceled when BB decided to hike up its rates and put a cap on in-store returns at the same time.

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lilyHaze
June 4, 2009 6:09 PM
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@Ouze: Do they still throttle though? They definitely did that to me in 2005 when I used Netflix exclusively for about 6 months. But I moved and Netflix wasn't as convenient for me and haven't used it since.

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67alecto
June 4, 2009 6:53 PM
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@lilyHaze: It is in Netflix's TOS that they can throttle, deliver your DVDs from centers that aren't your closest one, and so on.


If you spend too much time below $2 per rental, you can expect them to start slowing you down after awhile.

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wkm001
June 4, 2009 6:01 PM
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They all do this, but Blockbuster is the worst about it. Sign up for Netflix, that is what I did.

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RobinB
June 4, 2009 6:26 PM
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Left for the same reason. Now use Redbox for 1/5 of the cost.

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wheresmymind
June 4, 2009 6:42 PM
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Allow me to rant. I got the Blockbuster movies-in-the-mail thing a couple years ago, back when it was a pretty sweet deal. Two at a time mail-ins, with unlimited in-store exchanges for about $16 a month plus a coupon for a free rental once a month. The in-store exchanges meant that I usually got my next two envelopes within ~2 days, practically always before I had finished the movies from the store. I really liked the ability to go grab a movie at the spur of the moment, and watch it on my TV, not my computer. However, things have been getting steadily less awesome since I started with them. First they changed the plans around. My bill went up $2 a month, which I was ok with because it was still about half the price that new subscribers would have to pay for the same service, and I still considered it a good deal. Then the movies seemed to take a little longer to get to me, maybe every 3rd movie seemed to take an extra two days or so, but it really didn't affect me much. Then they changed the way in-store exchanges work, essentially throttling the number of envelopes you receive YET TRYING TO PASS IT OFF AS A CONVENIENT NEW SERVICE. Then my local brick-and-mortar store closed, basically nullifying the whole convenience factor of the in-store exchanges. This is basically my last month with them.
What really pisses me off is that when I think back to when I first started with them, it was a really great service and it definitely gave Netflix a run for the money - even my Netflix friends thought the in-store exchange thing was great. I feel that the whole venture failed not because it was a bad idea, but because it was mismanaged. It's as if they got into the movies-in-the-mail thing reluctantly, thinking that it would be a small part of their operation, and when it took off they didn't know how to manage it. Just think, Netflix has to spend 84 cents for each envelope just for shipping. All Blockbuster has to do is take all the in-store exchanges collected at a branch, drop them all into a big envelope and mail them back in bulk - a big savings on what is probably their biggest expense. You'd think someone with an MBA could figure out a way to make that work for their bottom line. And their piss-poor support for movie downloads - I have a Mac, so I can't watch movies online? WTF???
I guess it's just an example of a big corporation that's unable/unwilling to change with the times... seems to be plenty of those around these days.

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trujunglist
June 4, 2009 10:35 PM
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@wheresmymind:

That PPC Mac thing really gets my goat too. They're basically removing the majority of the Mac using population by not offering support. The only reason I can use Netflix instant streaming now is because of the Xbox 360 I bought. Fuck MS, Silverlight, and anyone that uses it and then uses the excuse that they have to keep their data secure. Bah

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gggtur
June 4, 2009 6:49 PM
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Kinda hard to feel bad for morons still renting from Blockbuster.

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Dr. Eirik
June 4, 2009 6:51 PM
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I use Blockbuster, at least until they go under. I've rather liked having the ability to get new releases in store on the weekend of release. It's more reliable than sending in your latest DVD.

If it gets worse, I'll just try Netflix. It's not like it's hard to make the switch.

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steveliv
June 4, 2009 7:11 PM
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i've been using Blockbuster Total Access since early 2007. I get two rentals in the mail, which i can then trade for two rentals in the store, and also i get an ecoupon good for a free game or movie in store. My wife and i aren't heavy movie watchers, but 4 movies (including bluray at no extra charge) and 1 game a month for $8.00 is not a bad deal at all. I'm not saying that the heavier users aren't having problems, but BB works well for those of who are light users.

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Sarah of Get Cooking
June 4, 2009 8:10 PM
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That's why I stick with Netflix - if they have an issue shipping, they give a prorated refund for the time missed out on getting discs. Usually they do this before I even notice the problem!

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squidbrain
June 4, 2009 8:25 PM
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The reason I left Netflix was because of throttling. I noticed it for a few months and then finally saw it reported in the internets. Alas, Blockbuster is no longer the deal it used to be.

Now I just watch less TV!

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ab0rtretryfail
June 4, 2009 8:30 PM
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For what it's worth, I returned a movie last night to the Blockbuster store and I received an email at 4pm today that the next item in my queue had shipped. I've never had a bad experience with Blockbuster, though apparently I'm the only one. :)

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trujunglist
June 4, 2009 10:32 PM
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Netflix for sure used to throttle. When I lived in Chicago, it would sometimes take randomly longer. A lot of times, I never received anything (probably due to corrupt mail handlers, but the movies I rent are not blockbusters, so they were likely disappointed). I was suspended for a week one time when I complained to Netflix that I was not receiving movies. They had to open a formal investigation or something, which they would not tell me the results of, but said it was fixed. I did talk to my postal carrier and made sure she knew (although she was psychotic and told me \"GET THE HELL AWAY\" from her once when all I did was ask her a question about my package that she was holding). I haven't had problems with that in years now.

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kdollarsign
June 6, 2009 3:15 AM
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@trujunglist: can I just say that I also live in Chicago and the mail is actually, not sarcastically, officially, the worst in the country. so maybe that was the hold-up? also, I don't know what throttling is.

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Anonymous
June 4, 2009 10:35 PM
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I was a loyal blockbuster online customer for over 2 years despite their horrid system. It wasn't until they decided that the 5 in-store rentals that came with the plan would now count towards the movies out in your queue that I decided enough was enough. Here is one thing I learned which can help you if you decide to stay with them.

Blockbuster uses a crazy system to determine whether or not to send you a movie. On Monday it checks only the first 3 positions in your queue, and if none are currently available then it sends 0 movies. On Tuesday it checks the first 6 positions, on Wednesday the first 9, and so on until on Friday it checks the first 15. It is therefore critical that you ensure you have nothing but currently available titles in the first 15 positions.

Netflix doesn't do this. It goes happily down your queue until it finds an available movie, then it sends it. Like it should work.

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bkdlays
June 5, 2009 1:14 AM
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I don't think Im the only one who always thought Blockbuster sucked at life.

They really are on the way out.

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frank64
June 5, 2009 1:43 AM
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@bkdlays: If Netflix doesn't have any competitors we will all be in trouble. Unless other online sources get compeitive to DVD's. Not likely anytime soon because they want more per viewing than the average per rental costs.

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dwasifar
June 5, 2009 3:21 AM
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Netflix absolutely throttles me. I had six films that had accumulated at the top of my queue with statuses ranging from Short Wait to Very Long Wait. As an experiment, I signed up for a new account, using a different name and my post office box, and put the same DVDs at the top of the queue, in the same sequence.

I received five of the six in my first two shipments to the new account.

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frank64
June 5, 2009 3:29 AM
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@dwasifar: I don't think what you are experiencing is throttling. What they are doing for you is they are giving the newer releases to those that don't rent as much. They are very upfront about this. In a system that doesn't cost extra for more usage this seems fair, they have to divy up the new releases some way.

What I believe throttling is, is the slowing down of sending you ANYTHING. They are at least sending you a DVD.

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chocolate1234
June 5, 2009 5:19 AM
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I sign up for Netflix every fall. A couple years ago I decided to give Blockbuster a try, and was so disenchanted that I cancelled my membership within a couple weeks and went back to Netflix. It took Blockbuster so much longer to send movies, not to mention their inventory is smaller than Netflix.

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coren
June 5, 2009 6:06 AM
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I had what happened to Richard happen to me, or the at-the-time-equivalent, when I was on their plan about two years ago.

Long story short, I had 3 at a time, unlimited in stores for 19.99 (when exchanging in store just meant you got your next movie sent - you could have quite a few movies out at a time doing this). I started seeing throttling - even though I had already returned my in store exchange (which had nothing to do with the process then - remember, new movies shipped on checking in of your online rental), new movies still weren't shipping and the old were showing as out.

So the store manager turned me on to a feature where I could report a movie returned in store (which Richard apparently can't as the system is different). I used this system any time a movie was still list as out to me 24 hours after an in store exchange.

I got my account canceled for it. Magically, there's no way to talk to the department responsible for those decisions...the CSR's \"don't have the number\"

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Squeezer99
June 5, 2009 1:10 PM
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netflix throttles also. do a google search sometime.

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synimatik
June 5, 2009 2:25 PM
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Agreed. I tried the service once... ONCE! It was awful. Terrible selection, 'Edited for Blockbuster' movies, and the turn around time was atrocious.

They should call themselves Cockbuster. That would be more appropriate.

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bryanoak
June 5, 2009 5:26 PM
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It's ironic that this article came up today because I have been dealing with this very \"phenomenon.\" Needless to say, I am 100% convinced that Blockbuster throttles and therefore, canceled my membership the other day.

I previously used Netflix but thought I'd try out Blockbuster Total Access. With Netflix it was always 2 business days turnaround on movies (1 day back and 1 day to receive the next one). Blockbuster began the same way but after 1 month it has regularly become 5 days (3 days for them to \"receive\" it and 2 days to receive the next one in my queue). Moreover, the Netflix facility was in the next county over while Blockbuster's receiving facility is 3 miles away.

Coincidence?

I've gone back to Netflix and would urge anyone else on the fence to do so as well.

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Project_J187
June 5, 2009 11:06 PM
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The 7 eleven on the street corner has 2 redboxes setup outside, facing the street. Always lots of people waiting to get movies. Blockbuster is doomed and the $9.00 they charge for game rentals is horrible.

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kdollarsign
June 6, 2009 3:12 AM
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I give blockbuster the big ole FAIL stammp as a company in general. I love seeing them dying out.

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Anonymous
June 6, 2009 4:38 PM
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I've never had any trouble with Blockbuster and have been using them for well over a year. Netflix, on the other hand, lost my business when they never seemed to have any of the films in my queue available, mostly new releases, and resorted to the absurd practice of sending me films from locations across the country. What happened is that I'd send the film back but have to wait for it to make its transit across the states. That was enough for me.

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Anonymous
June 15, 2009 8:27 PM
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While not a guarantee, I've had vastly better luck waiting in line and watching them scan it in than dumping it in the return slot. Blockbuster corporate has confirmed to us that store employees can NOT just throw it in the drop box, if you ask them to scan it now they have to do it.

Two movies I put in the slot yesterday afternoon still hadn't cleared as of this morning, the movie I watched them scan at 10:30 p.m. cleared within a few minutes.

When I was returning the movie at 10:30 I had them check on the earlier returns, and they did show up as returned on their computers, it wasn't just that they hadn't scanned the drop box all day. But they didn't show online, and apparently didn't show in the system that authorizes a send-out. I guess the system is in some different mode for bulk-scanning the drop boxes?

Another thing that really makes me mad is that they have \"holes\" in many of their TV series collections. Having received seasons 1-4 of the X-Files from them without incident I've now been waiting OVER SIX MONTHS for the first disk of season 5. Babylon 5 had a similar hole that took several months to fill, as did Farscape.

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