Online DVD Rental (Time to Switch)

You've probably heard the news by now: Blockbuster is planning to eliminate their late fees. I have to admit, I was taken aback when I read the headline. But I didn't have a chance to read deeper at the time. Now that I grok more than just the headline, I'm convinced. This company takes me for an idiot.

It's the final straw for me.

I hope to never rent another DVD or game from them again. I'll be renting all of my DVDs online. And not from them.

Why am I up in arms? Seeing as we're always late to return stuff to Crockfluster, I should like this idea, right?

No way, Jose. Their new policy is horrid ...

This is a company that earns hundreds of millions of dollars each year in late fees. That's right. Hundreds of millions.

Online DVD rental pioneer NetFlix built their business on the policy of no late fees. Crockfluster thinks that their new ploy will smack NetFlix hard.

Wrong.

Crockfluster is smacking themselves. Silly, even.

The company's plan is to give its customers a grace period on late returns. Once the grace period is up, they'll automatically charge the customer the "previously viewed" price for the movie or game and the customer will own it (whether they want to own it or not).

Ouch.

Now if the customer doesn't really want the DVD or game? Oh folks will be able to return it, but they'll be out a "minimal restocking fee."

Hmmmm ... sure sounds like a late fee to me, no matter what they're calling it.

I went digging through their website and wasn't able to locate the exact amount of the restocking fee.

Maybe you can find it. I sure couldn't. And yeah, I checked the FAQ ...