Struggling Blockbuster Bringing Back Late Fees on Rentals

[iggs111]

seriously, if you rent here just stop and get yourself a netflix membership

Since the dawn of the home-video era in the 1980s, as the proliferation of VCRs and DVD players spread to the point where just about every American home was equipped with one, Blockbuster was, well, a blockbuster. The company dominated its sector of the economy, gobbling up competitors and forcing many mom-and-pop video rental stores out of business.

On the heels of a disastrous fourth quarter and the announcement that the chain would be closing hundreds of stores, Blockbuster's latest move to curb its heavy bloodletting could easily be interpreted as an act of desperation: It's going to start charging late fees again on rentals, something the company hasn't done since 2005. At the time, Blockbuster claimed that dropping late fees would cost them $250-$300 million per year in lost revenue. Clearly, the company misses that annual infusion of cash.

Here's how the new late-fee structure breaks down:

• Starting this week, customers will be charged $5 for a five-day movie rental. Previously, customers were allowed to keep each rental for seven days.

• If the customer returns the movie late, they'll be charged $1 per day until it's returned, up to a maximum of 10 days.

• If the customer still hasn't returned the movie by the 15th day, they'll be charged the full price of the DVD, which could range from $29.99 on the high end for newly released Blu-ray discs, to just a few bucks on the low end for a DVD on the clearance rack.

• If the movie is returned within 30 days, the customer will receive a store credit equal to the price of the movie they were charged for, minus $10 in late fees. So if the customer was charged $19.99 for a replacement DVD, they'll have $9.99 credited to their Blockbuster account.

While saying that the move was a necessary one in order to remain competitive with Netflix and Redbox, Blockbuster spokesperson Michelle Metzger tried to downplay its significance, saying the new fee policy is not all that different from others in the industry, and would ultimately make for a more enjoyable customer experience.

"We think this is very forgiving. You have 45 days to bring it back. It's similar to what Redbox does," she said. "This is an incentive to get movies back faster so others can rent them and to get the customer back into the store faster."

Currently, Netflix customers pay flat monthly fees that range from $8.99 to $16.99 to receive movies through the mail or via the Internet. There are no late fees, but customers are charged $14 if they lose a DVD. Redbox, which dispenses movies through its more than 22,000 vending machine-like kiosks across the country, charges a flat fee of $1 per day. For lost DVDs, Redbox charges its customers $25.

Whether or not the reinstatement of late fees helps to revitalize Blockbuster financially remains to be seen. Industry analysts have been pronouncing the company all but dead for some time, and yet it has managed to survive, barely. Blockbuster is still alive and kicking, and that certainly counts for something.

[ZoomVT]

dude netflix sucks too.

if you are a power user, they put you towards the end of the queue for a lot of new releases. the noobs get all the new releases faster to suck them in. once they go completely internet download mode then it would be worth it.

not with Chris taking saturdays off you wont even get your next movie until the end of the weekend. its terrible!

i prefer redbox anyway. so much easier, cheaper.

[upinya83]

i use blockbuster online - i get them in the mail, and instead of returning them in mail and waiting, i take them back to a store, and exchange them for movies there - then when i return them back to the store, they ship my next ones out

saves tons of mail time

imo blockbuster online far > netflix

[Chris46139]

Originally Posted by upinya83

i use blockbuster online - i get them in the mail, and instead of returning them in mail and waiting, i take them back to a store, and exchange them for movies there - then when i return them back to the store, they ship my next ones out

saves tons of mail time

imo blockbuster online far > netflix

Exactly, then three times a week we pick up a box full at the store to ship them back, great idea for Blockbuster on that one. Red Box is better though, $1 a day, you can't beat that

[Dr. Jack]

I use Blockbuster express at the local grocery store, same thing as the Red Box. Movies are $1 per rental, can't beat it as long as you return on time

[upinya83]

Originally Posted by Chris46139

Exactly, then three times a week we pick up a box full at the store to ship them back, great idea for Blockbuster on that one. Red Box is better though, $1 a day, you can't beat that

yeah i use redbox too, but i burn alot of the ones i rent, so i get some old titles that i dont have yet, cant get karate kid at redbox

[Chris46139]

Originally Posted by upinya83

yeah i use redbox too, but i burn alot of the ones i rent, so i get some old titles that i dont have yet, cant get karate kid at redbox

Should have just told me you wanted Karate Kid, I have 2 copies lol. Had the original hard to find DVD, then bought the box set. Only movie I own 2 copies of lol

[upinya83]

Originally Posted by Chris46139

Should have just told me you wanted Karate Kid, I have 2 copies lol. Had the original hard to find DVD, then bought the box set. Only movie I own 2 copies of lol

karate kid might be worth having 2 copies of, what a classic

[revnecro1273]

Originally Posted by upinya83

yeah i use redbox too, but i burn alot of the ones i rent, so i get some old titles that i dont have yet, cant get karate kid at redbox

dloaded it about 8 months ago...classic for sure

[westcoastO]

enjoy your 2 points iggy

[rjb1816]

just download the movies...never any late fees

[iggs111]

Originally Posted by rjb1816

just download the movies...never any late fees

pretty much what I do but there are some great 80's movies on the netflix. I have not to been to a movie theater since the year 2001, true story.

[dhunter]

Originally Posted by iggs111

pretty much what I do but there are some great 80's movies on the netflix. I have not to been to a movie theater since the year 2001, true story.

some movies you just have to see in a theatre. like avatar. i dont i'd enjoy it as much at home

[Seanie Mac]

no reason for anyone to not have netflix

[iggs111]

Originally Posted by dhunter

some movies you just have to see in a theatre. like avatar. i dont i'd enjoy it as much at home

I hear ya, and that was actually the only movie I was considering to go see in theaters. And then I got my hands on the dvd screener so there was no point lol. I like to lay in my bed or sit on my couch and be able to smoke cigs and get some head while watching movies. Theaters are overrated