# WTF do people do to rental DVD's? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2011, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594 "2011-11-02T05:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/21 "2011-11-03T14:55:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m gonna posit that the nice folks at Redbox HQ are smart enough to place their machines where they get enough use to justify ther existence. Yep, I’d bet Redbox knows exactly where and how many of these machines to place. In fact some of these “locations” have 2 units side-by-side and I’d say most of side-by-side units I have seen are in nicer neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/22 "2011-11-03T15:05:00Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Are you saying that the poor don’t care about the property of others, but the rich do? Poor people don’t care for their _own_ property half the time. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/23 "2011-11-03T15:19:13Z")
This is why we can’t have nice things! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/24 "2011-11-03T17:26:26Z")
Um…I live in a pretty decent neighborhood. Middle class/upper middle class. And this shit still happens. I’m wondering if there aren’t people who do this on purpose. Being a prick knows no economic level. ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/25 "2011-11-03T17:42:06Z")
We get Netflix DVDs that look like they were used as coasters or dessert plates. Sticky. Really? They’re scratched too of course, possibly forks marks. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/26 "2011-11-03T18:05:08Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So ballpark, each Redbox machine shouuld have DVDs with about the same number of rentals on them. Maybe, but I think it’s fallacious to assume that. While I don’t doubt that they research locations carefully, it doesn’t really matter whether one box gets more action than another box (heh) as long as they are all profitable enough to justify the expense of installation and maintenance. And I really do believe the ones in poor neighborhoods are getting more action overall. Plus, there’s still the possibility that both factors - rental frequency _and_ socioeconomic status of renters - contribute to the average level of wear and tear observed. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/27 "2011-11-03T18:35:26Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Difference of how people treat property they own and property they don’t own. Ever wonder why rental cars look like shit after a year? From what I’ve seen many people actually handle their own DVDs and CDs like crap. They leave in piles on top of the TV or in random locations. DVDs should only be in two places: in the DVD player or in the sleeve. I agree that the DVDs at the library are in the worst shape. The Netflix advice to wash the DVDs with soap and water often does work. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/28 "2011-11-03T19:04:39Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > The _worst_ are CD borrowed from library. I used to listen to audiobooks from my local library, and apparently it’s common for some people to mistake a belt-sander for a CD player. Belt sander, eh? I was just assuming people were taking a scrubbing pad to them. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/29 "2011-11-03T22:55:33Z")
Has anyone ever seen a Redbox getting stocked? My theory, the Kiebler elves have branched out… ---
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/30 "2011-11-03T23:24:06Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > And I really do believe the ones in poor neighborhoods are getting more action overall. Plus, there’s still the possibility that both factors - rental frequency _and_ socioeconomic status of renters - contribute to the average level of wear and tear observed. I live in an overall low-income area, and the Redbox I use at the corner 7-11 often has a \*line \*to rent and return. At the same time, I’ve never had an issue with the discs I get from it, but I do tend to be only renting brand new movies, not ones that likely have been in the machine for months. So anecdotally, I guess I can say that low-income-area Redboxes do get lots of use, but can’t objectively speak to the wear and tear on them. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/31 "2011-11-04T00:03:19Z")
The place I rent from has one of those cleaning/resurfacing machines. They know my face there and will often check the discs as I rent them and clean as needed. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/32 "2011-11-04T11:53:27Z")
The DVDs from rental places are never rewound properly either! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/33 "2011-11-04T12:09:01Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Ooooooo! Why don’t you smack him upside the head! I didn’t do it when he was little and I’m not about to start now, I’m trying to get him to stop doing it to his kid ☹ and also it’s one of those cases of _en el pecado lleva la penitencia_, “his sin is its own punishment”: it’s his disks that get scratched, since our side of the family won’t let him get within five yards of ours. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/34 "2011-11-04T12:15:26Z")
People who handle CDs and DVDs like Edward Scissorhanded gorillas did not receive the proper training that comes only with having had your own record collection. Those lessons are ingrained, I tells ya INGRAINED…AND get off my lawn. You’ll scratch it. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/35 "2011-11-04T13:47:15Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Are you saying that the poor don’t care about the property of others, but the rich do? Sure seems that way; ever noticed that the grocery stores in poorer areas seem like they’ve been invaded by an angry mob, and the ones in nicer areas are much cleaner, the stuff is on the shelves in order, etc… And it’s not Joe’s Poor-Guy Grocery vs. Sir. Pilkington’s Snoot-o-Mart either; I’m talking about different locations of regional or national chains like Kroger, HEB or Tom Thumb. Without fail, in my experience, the stores located in the poorer areas are messier, with stuff out of place, and generally beat to shit in a way that the stores in more affluent areas are not. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/36 "2011-11-04T14:24:13Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > The Netflix advice to wash the DVDs with soap and water often does work. Scratches aside, I’m often horrified to receive discs that look like someone ate their chicken dinner off of them. God only knows what unholy biological films I’m wiping off . ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/37 "2011-12-01T13:32:35Z")
To update my 2cents. I noticed the OP’s “phenomenon” before Netflix and Redbox existed. There were only two outlets to rent from: Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. Discs in the less affluent neighborhoods looked like shit. Buying a previously viewed DVD in those stores was fruitless; I’d return 9 out of 10 of them because they were scratched to hell. Never had that problem in the stores located in the nicer neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/38 "2011-12-01T14:39:45Z")
It’s the same people who lay CDs/DVDs on the floor in Ebay auction photos. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/39 "2011-12-01T15:35:47Z")
So I just got a DVD last week that I’d been eagerly awaiting _forever_ (not really – I added it to my Netflix queue then forgot about it, but still!) and when it finally arrived, it wouldn’t play because someone had apparently tried to clean the disk with sandpaper. People, please, DVD maintenance is not that hard! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594/40 "2011-12-02T01:19:48Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > The _worst_ are CD borrowed from library. I used to listen to audiobooks from my local library, and apparently it’s common for some people to mistake a belt-sander for a CD player. No kidding. I’ve been _trying_ to watch **The Tudors** via DVDs from the library, but whoever had the disks before me scratched the fuck out of them to the point that the first episode of season 2 won’t play, period. I assume that this is the same person who decided to take out all 4 seasons at once, despite the lending period on DVD sets only being 14 days… Oh well, I asked for a Roku for Christmas and just got Amazon Prime - which has The Tudors as prime instant videos - so I guess I can wait another 4 weeks to watch the rest of the episodes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-do-people-do-to-rental-dvds/601594.md?page=3)