Blockbuster Offers 4 Free In-Store Coupons

Blockbuster Online is heating up the war with Netflix and is now offering one free in-store rental coupon per week, for a total of four coupons per month. The in-store e-coupons are worth as much as $20 (my local Blockbuster charges $4.99 per rental), making the $17.99 per month online service virtually free.

I was unable to confirm if current Blockbuster Online subscribers will also receive the additional coupons (my monthly coupons expire tonight).

Thanks to Aron for sending this in.

Comments

[ruk]

I am a BB Customer, and it is still 2 free store rentals per month.

I'm still receiving the $14.99 per month for 3 rentals deal.

As an aside, I had been quite happy with BB until recently, when I noticed a slower turnaround from them. This pretty much coincided with my renting and returning films at a much faster clip.

[Chad]

You should change your plan. I was a former member and I logged in to see if I could get the new plans and I could. Very tempting, especially for new releases.

[ruk]

I've used maybe 1 store coupon over the entire past year. I hate going to the stores.

[ruk]

I hope this doesn't seem too far off topic, but I just signed up for a Netflix account after a year absence, and I can already see that I won't be staying for long.

I've already seen that Netflix robs you by ADDING discs to TV Series. For instance, Rockford Files, Season 1, is sold as 3 disc set. It is also rented out on Blockbuster.com as a 3 disc set.

However, Netflix is renting it as a six disc set. In another words, it will eat up six rentals, as opposed to 3!

Likewise, Columbo, Season 3, is sold as two disc set, and rented that way on Blockbuster. On Netflix, it is a 4 disc set!

I haven't checked out other TV shows yet, but I am expecting to see more of the same. I haven't been able to find any posts about this on here. I'm surprised. This seems to be a pretty big point for people who rent TV series on a regular basis.

[weasel]

Ruk,
When you log into netflix, search for Rockford Files. When the set comes up, don't click on "add", but instead click on the title. A new page comes up, and when you scroll down you will see on the left hand side a list of what each disc has on it, and the ability to add only the discs that you want. I don't know anything about the show itself, so it is kind of baffling that it would have twice the discs here than it would at other stores, though...that is pretty strange!

[mikek]

Yeah, it's off-topic, but it's a good question. I've writen about it before:

http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2005/06/why_are_some_ne.html

The double-sided discs are more fragile than the single-sided (with the printing), so Netflix has some versions that are different than what you can buy at retail.

Netflix doesn't duplicate or copy any movies in-house. The discs are provided by the studios or networks, so Netflix isn't doing anything sneaky.

- Mike

[BoB]

I'll keep an eye out and see if my ecoupons change next week. I'm under the "Friends & Family" 14.99 plan and rarely use the coupons so if I change plans to get them, It'll cost me more per month. I did look and all plans now show the "1 each week" line. They still showed the 1 & 3 out option with 2 per month as well.

[Bulldozza]

Blockbuster can't go bankrupt fast enough. Enjoy it while you can b/c it won't last.

[mikek]

Hmm... Instead of getting new coupons today, I got this message instead:

"You currently have no Coupons available to print at this time. Please check back at a later time."

- Mike K

[Bulldozza]

I will also point out the effort to get people online, only to send them right back to the stores. That is a business plan? I don't know what a video rental costs at Blockbuster but I would guess around 5 bucks, so going online and getting 4 free rentals/month for $15-17 means less revenue for the stores and overall. Oh well, all the free rental coupons in the world won't mean a thing when your local Blockbuster closes. This giveaway, which is what it is, will only hasten the decline..

[Mike]

How come you no longer can rent games with the coupons?

[Lilrascal]

Well I went to Blocbuster and searched their FAQS for e-coupon. It looks like they are going to allow you to switch to the one coupon each week if you choose. It will expire each week. It will only be good for movies, not movie or game. It looks like you can still keep the option of the 2 month with game rental, but once you switch to one a week, goodbye to game rental. You can still switch back to 2/month, but just will not be able to rent games. I see this as good, allows people who don't rent games more options. I was always surprised they allowed game rentals, as the are soo much more expensive than movie rentals. Check out the FAQ for all the details.

[Lilrascal]

Alos forgot to mention it looks like new subsacribers will only get the option of movies.

[Mike]

I have the 2 a month still and I cant get a game rental.

[BoB]

" It looks like you can still keep the option of the 2 month with game rental, but once you switch to one a week, goodbye to game rental"

This has been debated before. I lost games rentals at the end of last summer. They stopped putting the phrase on my coupons and the store stopped taking them for games. Other people say they still get them - don't know why. I emailed CS and they replied:

QUOTE
"Dear Xxx,

Thank you for contacting BLOCKBUSTER Online Customer Service.

Unfortunately game rentals are no longer available with the use of in-store rental e-coupons. Based on the current prices to rent a game in-store, it was not cost effective to continue this as a part of our membership plans. If some people can still use their e-coupons for game rentals, this is because the coupons are allocated batch by batch. The coupons which your friends have must have been part of the last few batches which can still avail of game rentals. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Your Friends at BLOCKBUSTER Online"
/quote

[BoB]

Some interesting NEW/UPDATED Faqs from the BB help section:

Q: Are e-coupons redeemable for New Releases?
A: This is dependent upon the BLOCKBUSTER Online membership plan you accept. Please refer to the terms and conditions on the front of your printed coupon.

Q: What if I change my mind and want to switch back to my former plan of 2 e-coupons a month 3 out plan; how do I make the change?
A: Visit "My Account", click "Change" and follow the instructions for converting plans. Please note, if you switch back, the e-coupons for the 2 e-coupons a month 3 out plan will only be good - for movie rentals only.

Q: The store near my house is a franchise; will they honor the e-coupons on this plan?
A: Please contact your local store to inquire about their participation status.

Q: If I switch to this new plan are the e-coupons only good for movie rentals?
A: Yes. If you are currently on a plan that offers e-coupons good for movie and game rentals, the e-coupons under the new plan are only for in-store movie rentals.

Sooooo, I was on a movie/game coupon plan and they stopped games anyway. So they took them away at any time for me.

Also, it seems to be franchise dependent - that could be why they stopped and they may now honor them on new releases! Since my stores are franchises, I may be SOL.

[ruk]

Yeah - but this doesn't explain why Blockbuster ships double sided sets.

"The double-sided discs are more fragile than the single-sided (with the printing), so Netflix has some versions that are different than what you can buy at retail.

Netflix doesn't duplicate or copy any movies in-house. The discs are provided by the studios or networks, so Netflix isn't doing anything sneaky."

[Rusty Ramrod]

For me this is *huge*

I drive past our local BB almost everyday. For the past 2 years I have never failed to be able to get a new release the day it was released.

Since BB Online doesn't seem to be willing to ship me new releases, it works out perfect for me.

In addition, if they don't start throttling those 2 extra discs, then it is 2 more discs a month.

Be very interested to see how NetFlix responds. My guess is that will lower their prices, thus trying to drive BB out of business.

For me:

First deduct the local rental fees
$17.99 less 4x $3.99 = $2.03

I average 12 discs a month in the mail.

$2.03 / 12 = .17 for each disc rented.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

[Aron]

"Be very interested to see how NetFlix responds. My guess is that will lower their prices, thus trying to drive BB out of business."

It is also my opinion that Netflix will be lowering prices soon (maybe April). I don't think it will be a 'response' to the BB change, but it is significantly motivated by the desire to grow fast enough to reduce brick and mortar store counts (and thus fuel more growth).

[Aron]

lame

[BoB]

"For me this is *huge*
I drive past our local BB almost everyday. For the past 2 years I have never failed to be able to get a new release the day it was released.
Since BB Online doesn't seem to be willing to ship me new releases, it works out perfect for me."

But what if you can no longer use the coupons for New Releases? The FAQs I posted say that some may not and it may depend on if you have a franchise location or not. Some poeple may get stuck with a 1-week coupon that they can no longer use for New Releases, just the older stuff.

[BoB]

As an update, it looks like the 1-out rental plan is the one that limits you to the older stuff (no new releases), but it may still depend on if your store in franchised (as all 3 of mine are).

[mikek]

I just got an e-mail from Blockbuster, letting me know that my e-coupons were ready. I only get two this month (maybe they are "throttling" my coupons?). ;-)

Monthly E-Coupons
Movie or Game Rental E-Coupon valid through 03/01 Print this coupon!
Movie or Game Rental E-Coupon valid through 03/01 Print this coupon!

But I've got games!

My local stores are franchises, so I'm wondering if they only give you two unless you frequent a corporate store. They track your preferred stores on your My Account page.

[BoB]

Mike,

Did you have games before? I had then but they took them away last Aug or Sept. My month does not renew until the 9th but this is what mine says now:

Monthly E-Coupons
Movie Rental E-Coupon valid through 02/08
Movie Rental E-Coupon valid through 02/08

No mention of games there or on my coupon. I was thinking about cancelling before then. Hmmmm. My son used the coupons to rent games every month, I wonder if I should risk staying another month. Plus its my understanding you won't get 4 (1 per week) unless you actually change to a 3-out, 4 coupon plan. Click the change plan link and look.

[ruk]

My BB membership terms:

Online Membership: 3 at a time, Unlimited rents @ $14.99 for 1 month + tax

Movie or Game Rental E-Coupon valid through 02/12 Print this coupon!
Movie or Game Rental E-Coupon valid through 02/12 Print this coupon!