Apparently so, through something called RedBox. There are rental kiosks right in the store, it seems. So is this a genius idea or nuts? Would you rent from McDonald’s? Do you rent from McDonald’s? Are these actual full-length releases or are they maybe edited like some Blockbuster DVDs or those whacky “cut out the dirty words and who cares about copyright” DVD people?
Redbox’s official site. Looks to me like the movies are uncut. (Blockbuster doesn’t edit DVDs- the studio edits them to R so that Blockbuster will carry them, as Blockbuster doesn’t carry NC-17-rated movies.)
Their selection sucks, but it seems like a crazy genius idea. It probably costs them very little to implement, so any money they make will mostly be profits. Since there are Micky D’s on seemingly every street corner, you never have to travel that far to rent a movie.
But, you still have to travel to Micky D’s…
Then, you factor in how much more money that will bring them in. A dollar a night, cheeseburger the next day. Again, genius.
It’s a brilliant idea. People who regularly stop for an egg mcmuffin or a burger will be encouraged to rent a movie and people who get in the habit of renting a movie and returning it the next day will be encouraged to buy food.
I don’t know if it was Redbox, but there was very briefly (for about a month) an automated DVD rental machine on campus here. It was plagued by technical problems, and I guess they just eventually gave up on it.
Blockbuster tells studios what parts of what movies need to be “fixed” in order to be carried by their chain. This includes some R-rated movies. The studios of course comply. Note that Blockbuster does not claim to carry the same movie as the theatrical release. Saying that they carry what the studios provide them is just glurge.
I have a coworker who uses it all the time. He loves it. The machine is outside the store, so he can use it even if the store’s closed, which is handy as he, like me, works until quite late. So he can drop by on the way home, spend a buck, and get a movie for a day, and drop it off on the way to work the next day.
Me, I have Netflix. Plus, I loathe McDonald’s and avoid giving them a single penny of my money.
Oh, and far as selection, he says it’s good. They have new releases and some older stuff.
Interesting.
The rentals are only $1*??* I know I’d certainly give it a chance at that price, just to see how it goes while I’m in between Netflix movies. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any in my area. However, I’m sure that if this catches on, that wouldn’t be a problem in the future.
It’s a dollar a day, as I understand it. Keep it as long as you want. I think.
There is something similar in my Krogers. I’ve never tried it, since the library is next door to the Krogers. However, if I wanted a new release, I’d be tempted to try it.
I’ve been using them for over a year now. I think they were test marketed in Minneapolis and Denver?
+Pros+
-It’s only $1 a night. Billed directly to your credit/debit card.
-Check it out any time of day and it’s due back the following day by 10 p.m.
-Keep it longer and they only charge $1 each additional day.
-Movies are popular new releases.
-You can return them to “any” McDoanlds with a Redbox.
-They e-mail regular promo codes for free rentals.
+Cons+
-Customers often abuse DVDs and you get scratched ones. ()
-Popular new releases are hard to get during the first week due to popularity.
-When machines are “down” your stuck not being able to return dvds. ()
-Selection limited to popular hit titles.
-If its busy you have to wait in line to return/rent while morons take forever to decide what they want.
(* You can get credited free rentals for these problems but often not worth having to jump through hoops for)
Overall it’s a great deal and I haven’t been back to $4 Blockbuster since.
A lot of our Cub Foods grocery stores now have a similar machine run by Hollywood Video. Same $1 a day.
Sounds similar in nature to the rental program (but not automated) at Cracker Barrel (Audio Books at the CB). Great for use if you’re traveling long distances. You check something out, toss it in the DVD player and keep the kids quiet till the next bathroom break!
Also works for near home use… brilliant!
Those sound like the result of poor design. There’s no reason that there couldn’t be a hopper that holds returned DVDs, even if the machine isn’t ready to process them. And there’s no reason that it couldn’t process a return for one customer while another was selecting a movie.