Jay McGavren’s Journal :: Don’t be so sure about the reasoning behind this.

{ 2004 12 15 }

Don’t be so sure about the reasoning behind this.

Evidently Blockbuster, tired of losing eyeballs to Tivo and Netflix, is axing late fees. You have a one week grace period (fee-free) after the due date, after which they’ll charge the item to your credit card (minus the rental fee), and it’s yours to keep. You can return it anytime within 30 days for a refund (minus a $1.25 restock fee).

I’ve racked up late fees that are more than the cost of the movie before, so this is a needed change. I’m not giving up Netflix anytime soon, but at least now when I want a movie tonight, I’ll be willing to CONSIDER going to the video store. And this also makes me view Blockbuster as a promising alternative to retail stores - it’s like a no-paperwork return policy. Best Buy, hope you’re watching…

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Comments

mr_mooph | 15-Dec-04 at 1:14 pm | Permalink

I read the following in conjunction with the original story on one of the blogs I read daily:

Mike sez, “you rent a movie, you have a certain grace period within which you have to return the movie (or game). if you step over that grace period they charge you full price for the thing (minus the original rental fee). you can contest the charge, and if they take it back they’ll charge you a $1.25 ‘restocking fee.’ Restocking fees are usually put in place by electronic retailers to deter returns on big ticket items that are not defective. If you buy something and then return it, the company has to deal with more costs to handle the return. But Blockbuster’s entire business is based on returns! It doesn’t sell movies, it rents them to you with the expectation of getting it back. Their business model hasn’t changed any. it’s just a way to extort more money out of us consumers.”
nephariuz | 15-Dec-04 at 1:54 pm | Permalink

Guess there’s two ways to view everything. I think this was a very customer-centric decision. That restock fee is less than a single day’s rental fees, and the most you can ever be charged is the price of the video, and in that event you get to keep it.

I know people who have racked up fees of 30 or 40 bucks on a single movie or game, and still had nothing to show for it when they returned it. This seems a whole lot better to me.
mr_mooph | 15-Dec-04 at 2:04 pm | Permalink

You’re assuming they charge 30 to 40 dollars per item. Unless something has changed since back in the day, it could be more like 90-100 dollars. Perhaps the ease of everybody getting being able to buy new releases has eased this, but distinctly remember being charged that much for lost movies before. We should inquire to joe about this. If you’ll remember, he worked there as recently as 5 years ago.
nephariuz | 15-Dec-04 at 6:18 pm | Permalink

Well, according to the article, their computers automatically check inventory and charge the lowest known price for that item. If it’s available as a previously-viewed movie, they’ll charge that price (around $10-15). Otherwise, I *assume* they’ll charge retail.

Blockbuster used to be assholes, I agree. But I think the rise of Netflix has forced them to try a little harder to please customers.

Jay McGavren’s Journal

Don’t be so sure about the reasoning behind this.

{ 4 }

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