Has Anyone Tried SmartFlix?

I'm going to be renting some training DVDs from SmartFlix (formerly Technical Video Rental), since they have titles not carried by Netflix or Blockbuster due the high cost of each disc. According to a recent story on TownOnline, SmartFlix carries 3,200 specialty titles for the hobbyist and enthusiast.

Have you tried SmartFlix? What did you like or dislike about the service?

Travis Corcoran, president of SmartFlix, responded to the HackingNetflix story about broken DVDs and shared some numbers:

0.94 % of dvds are reported defective upon arrival, and less than half of these actually verify as defective (there are false reports for a variety of reasons). The actual defective rate is approximately 0.4%. Because of our heavy duty mailing envelopes, almost no dvds are damaged in transit, so one does not have to double this number.

Our 0.4% rate stacks up well next to Netflix's 2.86% rate, but it's a basic business trade off: because Netflix buys consumer movies quite cheaply, they can afford to take the ~ 3% hit, whereas that number would hurt us a lot more, at our higher price point, so we invest in heavier mailers (which, in turn, boosts postage a bit).

SmartFlix also added a Firefox search plugin, available from the website:

I'll share my experience renting from SmartFlix with you in the next few weeks.

Comments

[peter]

Never heard of them...yes, do let us know what they're all about... section,price, etc.

Cheers

[peter]

Just had a thought...since the Pres., has had communication w/ u already, u may have to consider the possibility that ur'll get preferential treatment.

Cynical?...me?..why am I so mistrustful of businesses?...maybe there's a self-help book on learning to love & trust companies, eh?

[type-cast]

Peter, just watch Fox News. Corporations and Republicans can do no wrong. Enron is not an important story. Monica Lewinsky is.

Impeach Bush. Ban Fox News. Leave Vietnam, I mean Iraq. Stop giving tax cuts to the rich.

[bobmane]

Yes, SmartFlix is a company run by a man who scourers the web looking for how-to titles from small companies (who cant afford to sue him) then he posts the movies on his site at the outrage of the movie owners-based on his wild interpretations of fair use. He is so lazy he even steals the text and graphics right off the content owner’s sites with cut and paste.

There are many great how-to titles from bigger companies which do not appear on his site because he is too much of a coward to try playing with the big boys. Regardless, many of the titles on his site are there against the owners wishes- as he regularly has to fend of irate content owners makes him quite a looser in general and a purveyor of bad will. He even has a special section on his site where he threatens his visitors- dude is a bottom feeder.

[RavenX99]

bobmane, can you give references to back up your accusations? Seems like if he's doing something illegal, you'd be glad to point to some evidence.

I've used smartflix recently and had a good experience. The disc shipped the day after I placed my order and was in very good condition. It comes in a heavy cardboard mailer which is designed for reuse... a postage-paid return address label is enclosed. Discs won't always ship so quickly, since they have limited quantities and high demand for some of them.

Their prices are flat-rate... $10 a disc per week, which includes postage both ways. (Discounts on multi-disc sets rented all at once.)

This works great for me... the 4-disc set I'm renting for $40 costs $180. There's just no way I'd be paying $180 for a set of how-to videos.

[RavenX99]

Okay, I found a discussion with the owner of Smartflix on the forum of one of the sites of a video series he rents (a video magazine on DVD). Bottom line... what he's doing is very specifically allowed by law. Sure, he has to fend off irate content owners... but that doesn't mean that the content owners have a legal leg to stand on. Seems to me, Smartflix has done their legal research and the content owners haven't.

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?act=Print&client=printer&f=13&t=12476

[slybadheart]

I personally enjoy the service that they offer and frequently rent videos from them. Don't be mad at them becuase of they have a business that makes money and is building up with more videos.
Personally I want to Thank You for stiring it up over them. What a great advertisement for them.
One last thing I would spend more time over at smartflix than a blog with banner ads that is trying to make money on click throughs.

[tedder]

I'm actually trying out my first rental from SmartFlix right now.

First, they use heavy-duty cardboard mailers to send the product. I'm sure that helps cut down on breakage.

Second, the DVD itself was very abused. It is playing okay, but is the most hazed/scratched DVD I've seen that actually plays. It may not play in my other DVD player- I'll try.

Third, I don't think their pricing and model is anything terribly astounding. $10 for a one-week usage of a $40 DVD isn't much of a bargain, really. Following the itunes pricing model (everything sells for the same price, whether it is worth that, worth much less, or worth far more) has its drawbacks. Keep in mind they rent for a one-week period, not indefinite like the NetFlix model.

Their selection is fair. Some of the selections are very poor DVDs- just read the reviews and see how many complaints there are. I suspect well over 50% of the reviews are one-star. That's good- at least I know what to avoid, given the one-price-fits-all model.

So.. I've rented and will rent from them again. They fill a niche.

[Artemis]

I have tried them; long delay in sending anything out (maybe they only have one copy?), then got the wrong DVD, then got one so damaged I couldn't play much of it. Won't be using them again.

[Tradaction]

I have tried SmartFlix, and my experience is very disappointing. A few days after I registered on the Web site, I started receiving about 75 spams per day. I have asked them if they had anything to do with that, and I never got an answer from them, so not even a denial. They got money from selling my email address, but they won't get money any more from renting me DVDs.

[William W. Holcomb]

I have been using Smartflix for about a year now and I absolutely love it! For about $10 each disc you have access to thousands of titles - many of which cost hundreds of dollars each!

Most of the DVDs I have rented were titles that I had a strong interest in viewing but could have never afforded to purchase them. With Smartflix, that's a thing of the past!

Shipping is quick and customer service is good. I do wish they had telephone access (they only use email) but I understand the need to keep costs low. And if you ever find a title they do not have, you can always suggest they purchase the title. I've done so twice and each time they quickly purchased the title for me to rent!!

Exceptional service! A+++

[Alex]

I do not recommend them. I rented a DVD from them and returned it five days later, they claimed the did not received it and charged me 29.95 for it. It was returned in the envelope they provided. I'm out $40.00 and don't even have the DVD. I would not use them.

[Alex]

I do not recommend them. I rented a DVD from them and returned it five days later, they claimed the did not received it and charged me 29.95 for it. It was returned in the envelope they provided. I'm out $40.00 and don't even have the DVD. I would not use them.

[LS MOrgan]

I rented from Netflix. It was a 2 DVD set and the 2nd DVD was out on rental. I had to wait a very long time for it and when it arrived yesterday, it was cracked. I'm sending it back and hoping that there won't be any troubles, but as far as the service itself goes, I've enjoyed it and will likely use them again.

I'm pretty patient but for people who are NOWNOWNOW oriented, I would suggest that they make sure that their selection is in stock before renting.

I will post an update, as far as how they resolve the broken DVD issue.

[LS MOrgan]

OOPS!
I said "rented from Netflix" meant to say "Smartflix".

[Dan]

I have rented from smartflix many times. It is legal and actually the smae principal as others like netflix. So long as they buy from the source they can rent them out. Smartflix is a bit pricey but worth it to rent over buying considering most dvds are well over 30 bucks depending on what you rent.

So for those saying they are bottom feeders well its like saying netflix and blockbuster are also bottom feeders, which I disagree with.

[Bob]

I tried renting from them. They charged my card and then told me that the DVD was not in stock but should be soon. A week later, nothing. They still had my money and I still had no rental. Tried to email. No response. No phone number on website but there was one on my credit card statement. I called them and they said they would refund my money. I'll let you know.

[ridgewood44]

Check another pretty cool instructional dvd website, www.LearnToVideoRental.com, they are much cheaper than other rental stores. Every month a category goes on special and they can be rented for a fraction of the fee.

[Nicholas Pellegrino]

Smartflix is operating illegally.

I own asileFX and they have several of my training products available for rent. I have not approved rentals or made any money from them. I have contacted them several times with no response.

Please DO NOT SUPPORT SMARTFLIX

Thank you,
Nicholas Pellegrino
President
AsileFX.net

[D]

I have rented 3 DVD's from smartflix. The first came broken in half, the replacement sent 4 weeks later was unplayable in several spots. Two more did not have the content that was advertised. Now they have charged my account 3 times for something I never ordered and have no idea why. It took 4 emails to them before they ever responded to my first problem. I have never found a telephone number for them and they do not display any on their website.

[Uncamitch]

I rented a few vids from this company, may seem pricey but if you were to buy some of these it'll clean your account out... I own some of these videos and paid $180 us for a set of 3 so renting for $9 each is cheap....
I will continue to rent from them because their service is great, pricing is good, selection is great.....

[Matt]

Nicholas Pellegrino said: "Smartflix is operating illegally. I own asileFX and they have several of my training products available for rent. I have not approved rentals or made any money from them."

You sir, could not be more wrong. They have every legal right to rent your videos and not pay you a dime. Furthermore, you did make money on them: You sold them, didn't you?

[Jon]

Matt, you could not be more wrong. :)

I really like the idea of SmartFlix' renting model, but the fact is that there are different laws and pricing schemes for content purchased for private ownership and that which is purchased to be rented or loaned out.

Blockbuster, Netflix, Redbox, etc. all have to pay MUCH higher rates for each disc than the Walmart/Costco price you would pay to buy it.

If you put many rented DVDs in your computer you'll see that the title of the DVD often includes "Rental". Now go buy the same DVD from a retail outlet and you'll find that the title is different.

If this guy is buying the private ownership format DVDs and then renting them out he is in violation of US copyright law. He MUST have specific agreements in place with the copyright owner before renting out that content, and I know of no copyright owner who gives that away for retail rates.

- Jon
(Professional Photographer; copyright is a big deal to me.)

[TB]

Do not support Smartflix. Yes it may be legal to do what they are doing because of a loophole created by the big video rental outlet stores, but it is not ethical and hurts the small business. Movies you rent from the video store make their initial money from sales at the theaters, posters, and other merchandise. The rental money they get is only icing on the cake. Artists don’t have big theaters with millions of people going to see their demonstrations, and they don’t have big stores like Best Buy selling their DVDs. The artist deserves every penny they get from their videos, and Smartflix is taking money from these artists. Some artists may stop making videos because it is not cost effective for them when Smartfix rents out their videos for around $10, and the artist doesn’t see any of that money. Please don’t support Smartflix. Support the artist. These artists don’t get paid like movie stars. Thank you for listening.