Netflix v. Blockbuster

Heading into the weekend I need something lighter to throw out there and this week I'm thinking movies. I avoid going to the video store--nothing about looking for a movie, finding what I wanted is gone, wondering if I could get away with bringing home an Audrey Hepburn movie instead, or standing in a line appeals to me.

Both Netflix and Blockbuster Online, have solutions to these irritations so I decided to live on the edge and give each a try. Though both companies offer DVDs delivered directly to your mailbox without extended viewing or late fees I found there were a couple differences in service between the two. Here are my findings, I'm putting Netflix first simply because they talked me into a trial first:

NETFLIX
I tried Netflix's two-week free trial first and was impressed by their 65,000-title selection claim. There didn't seem to be any movie, television series or obscure classic they didn't have. Except Condorman. Did you ever see that Disney classic? The comic book writer-turned-spy? I loved that one . . . the boys would ask for the one movie they don't have.

The prices for membership offer six different plans: basic membership starts at $5.99/month which gets you one movie, twice a month on up to $23.99/month which gets you 4 movies at a time, unlimited number.

I opted for the two-at-a-time, unlimited rentals because we don't watch that many movies. However, for your free trial you may chose any of the membership options and can switch to a different plan at any time.

Browsing through different genres was easy enough, the site was easy to navigate. The recommendations they made were alright too, a little off but not too bad. I noticed, however, they didn't carry games. Not a problem for me, but for others it might.

I picked out a few movies for my queue--The Dirty Dozen and Ghandi--neither of which was carried at any of our local video stores--and sat back to see what would happen.

The next day our membership was up and running, the movies were shipped, and we received them the day after that. The only problem was that though I had those two particular movies as #1 and #2 on my queue list for some reason they had substituted The Superfriends (#3 on my queue) for The Dirty Dozen. I can only imagine that there was a delay with my first choice so in the interest of speed they hopped to #3 on the list.

Once finished I sent back my DVDs in the enclosed, pre-paid postage envelopes the day after they were mailed I received an email saying Netflix had received them and was sending out the next movie on our queue.

Slick and easy, I let it go two weeks then canceled to try out Blockbuster Online.

BLOCKBUSTER ONLINE

My first thrill about Blockbuster Online was that in addition to their online store, with their membership plans you get coupons for free in-store rentals. This sounded great because if you haven't planned two or three days in advance what you wanted to see it allowed for some spontaneity at no extra charge. The bigger plan you opt for, the more coupons you get.

Blockbuster claims "over 60,000 selections" and I found it to be as good as Netflix. Though they, too, didn't have Condorman. Curses. Their membership prices are the same as Netflix, though they have only four different plans, their lowest priced plan being a one-at-a-time, unlimited number for $9.99/month and their highest-priced plan being the three-at-a-time, unlimited rentals for $17.99.

The Blockbuster site was also easy to navigate, though I thought Netflix was a little better organized. Blockbuster did have an online game selection, though I'd never be able to tell if it was comprehensive or not. It looked large to me.

This time instead of filling up my queue I only chose four movies for my three-at-a-time unlimited rentals plan: Return to Witch Mountain, The Greatest Game Every Played, The Sentinel and Strawberry Shortcake the Movie.

Just as with Netflix, for some reason though my queue listed my three top movies as "available" (as opposed to "short wait") they hopped my #3 choice and gave me #4. This was annoying as I getting movies for several age groups it's no good to lose Superman in favor of Barney the same night that Blue's Clues Greatest Hits shows up.

But besides this issue common to both companies, when Return to Witch Mountain arrived it was cracked. Both companies have online provisions for this, you just log on to your account, report the DVD as damaged and then they give you the choice of having a new copy of the movie sent to you or going to the next in your queue. I opted to have a replacement sent but not only did it never arrive, I could never find any indication in my account that they even processed the request for a new movie. I returned the damaged copy and that was the last I ever heard, it was as if the movie had disappeared.

Finally, my biggest problem was Blockbuster Online's travel time. The website said it would be 1-3 days, it took 5 (a weekend included in there) to reach me up here in Alaska, leading me to ask:

If Netflix can make it in 1 day, what's the matter with Blockbuster?

I think it had something to do with in-town warehouses, Netflix was obviously shipping to us from here in Anchorage--their website claims 90% of their customers are serviced by warehouses that allow receipt within 1 business day. But I had assumed Blockbuster, being national with franchises all over Anchorage, would do the same. Four days is the time it takes to get mail from out of state, so they must be shipping from somewhere in Seattle. Check the Blockbuster Online site to see what your own individual estimate of delivery is.

I waited to cancel my free trial until I had received that week's free in-store rental coupon--they are listed in your account online to print off on a weekly basis as each account allows. But beware, one problem with the coupons is they're only good for one week. The one I printed off on 10/2 is only good until 10/8 so use 'em quick.

I'm planning on signing up for Netflix permanently (only one trial per household) on their two-at-a-time/twice a month plan and at the top of my queue is The Lakehouse--fabulous movie.

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