Blockbuster gift certificate (1 Viewer)

[Ryan Wright]

A company we contract a lot of web developing work out to sent me a late Christmas present: A bag of Orville Redenbacher's popcorn, which my company's parent company owns, and a $25 Blockbuster gift certificate.
If I use it to purchase a DVD, will I be banned from the HTF?
Of course, there's justification here: Blockbuster already has the $25, so if I don't use it, I'm actually contributing to their profits. By removing a DVD from their shelves, I'm reducing their profit to that of a normal purchase rather than essentially making a cash donation to them. Right?
So, what kind of a DVD selection do they have for purchase? (I won't rent as I refuse to open up a Blockbuster account) I haven't set foot in a Blockbuster for over 8 years, so this will be an interesting experience. I think I'll give the employees and the manager some shit about pan & scan while I'm there...

 

[AdrianJ]

Ryan,

You actually would get better value from renting from the instead of buying. The DVD selection at the local Blockbuster isn't great and almost everything is marked at MSRP. Of course, you could go for some used movies.

 

[Joshua Clinard]

I don't know what's for sale, but I agree with Ryan, I would use it to buy. Maybe if they had some previously viewed titles, but they would probably lose more money if you bought a loss leader, i.e. something that is marked down.

 

[Butch C]

Blockbusters viewed titles are in horrible condition...every disk I rent from my local has something wrong with it...these people must use them as coasters for three days...Its a gift certificate...buy overpriced new...and widescreen-youll actually become a marketing statistic that they use to decide future stocking policy

 

[Tom-G]

If you are going to purchase a previously viewed DVD, inspect it before leaving the store. If it isn't up to your standards ask to exchange it for one that is in better condition. I have done this a few times and the employees never gave me any resistance.

 

[AdrianJ]

I have bought a couple of previously viewed titles and never had a single one that wasn't in great conditions. Also, they have a money back guarantee, so if it doesn't work take it back.

 

[Jim Reynolds]

Buy a p/s movie and then return it and demand your money back because it's not widescreen.

 

[Brian Harnish]

Jim -- I got a $25 Blockbuster gift card for Christmas. I may do just that!!

 

[wally]

I picked up Star Wars Ep One, and American Beauty plus cash back with my two $25 gift cards. Hadn't visited the store in over a year.

See you in "The Big Easy" Tom_G

Go RAMS!!!

 

[Aaron Silverman]

My local Blockbuster has a very good DVD selection, actually. I rent from them on a weekly basis, and have bought a number of pre-viewed titles from them, when they have deals on those.

Of course, never any P&S-only titles of course!

I did ask them once why they only get P&S titles when there's a choice, and they told me that they get whatever the studios send them. Whatever- it's not the choice of the employees of the store.

Do whatever you like with the $25- they have a new rack of Fox titles for $10, including Commando, Ravenous, and a few others that might be worth having. (Heck, Ravenous has THREE commentary tracks plus deleted scenes!)

 

[Doug Pyle]

My local Blockbuster has a very good DVD selection

Impossible. Their corporate policy bans NC-17 and unrated films from their shelves. They often carry P&S-only titles, with no OAR versions to be found.

They've excluded foreign (unrated) family films because they couldn't tell they weren't adult films according to Roger Ebert. About as smart about that as with their explanation of OAR (just use the OAR button on your DVD player - yeah right!). "Very good" is not a phrase that can apply to any DVD rental store with such an exclusionary policy. With Blockbuster's $$$ power, this policy results in Hollywood self-censorship (example: R1 Eyes Wide Shut).

With a gift certificate, consider buying a new DVD - the widescreen version of a DVD that also has a P&S version. Might help with their sales statistics on OAR a little, at least.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Well, I dropped by last night and checked out their DVDs. They had a pretty poor selection. About 90% VHS/10% DVD for rent (which I didn't plan to do anyway), and maybe 20 titles to choose from for sale.

I picked up previously viewed copies of Antitrust ($10) and Planet of the Apes ($16). After tax, the two cost me $5 total, so I can't complain. Their stickers hid all of the info on Antitrust, so I made the cashier open it up to make sure it wasn't pan & scan before I bought it. All discs were beautiful and in excellent condition. Antitrust was covered in fingerprints, but they wiped right off and it looks & plays great. Planet of the Apes is missing the paper insert, though, so I'm heading back this afternoon to get one.

Watched Antitrust for the first time last night. All I have to say is, wow: It's like the whole movie was created by a group of Slashdot regulars and aimed directly at Microsoft. The first 45 minutes seems like it was taken straight off of real news reports about Gates & Co.

 

[Brian Harnish]

I got a $25.00 gift card for Blockbuster for Christmas. I decided to finally spend it on a DVD tonight. Anyways, here is my story, recounted with every detail as I remember it. Note: this is AS I REMEMBER IT. And Blockbuster is to be held accountable for any actions I take tonight as a result of this visit.
The story:
Entering the doors brought a hostile rush of warm, muggy, sticky air. 'Hmmm...just what Joe Sixpack would like.' Immediately upon entering, I caught site of the DVD rack. 'Not much of a selection,' I thought to myself. Noting the drone behind the counter, I proceeded to look at the DVDs so I could choose my "free" one. Picking up a DVD (I do not recall the title as I was busy wondering how many germs I was currently ingesting), I noticed a prophilactic-like substance on the bottom of the DVD plastic container. Is this for security?! Even a strong child could break this POS!! Just use the DVD plastic containers -- they work just fine at other DVD retailers.
I proceeded to look at the titles and I stared in absolute horror and disappointment. 3000 Miles to Graceland?! Some-crap-title-I've-never-heard-of?! Some other piece-of-crap-title-having-to-deal-with-some-dude's-irresponsible-fear-of-girls?!?!?! (just kidding on the last one). At least they had SOME decent titles: Glory, Excalibur, and a couple others stood out. But the selection here was worse than the selection at a friggin' Grocery store! And all around me were the horrors of the past: Vee. ACHE. ESS. VHS. Talk about frustrating. I couldn't stand it any longer. So I ask the clerk drone whether there were anymore DVD titles for sale. "Sorry, that's all we have." WHAT THE...?!?!?!!!! I wanted to rip the whole store apart. I wasted gas just to drive over here for "THAT'S ALL WE HAVE!!!"?! Yeesh.
As I'm walking through the hell of the damned (running through it via my mind), I'm thinking "Who the HECK would ever want to come into a POS pigsty like Ballbuster?" There...right across from me, looking at the previously-viewed DVD titles -- was my answer. Dressed in a green shirt, unshaved, and really looking like a regular Joe Sixpack. I proceed not to notice him and just continued browsing.
Anyways, I made my way over to the clerk drone behind the counter. I decided to pick up The Score with Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton. "Hi, I'd like to pay for this with my gift card." "Okay." Clerk drone proceeds to ring up my DVD without any problems. Anywho, I end up paying the tax with my credit card. As I left the store, I never felt dirtier in my entire life than I had now. I may even have to take a shower after this.
I'll never step foot into a Ballbuster store again.

 

[RobR]

$25 in lockbust gift card? That's nothing compared to what I got. I received $115 in lockbust gift cards from collegues at my former workplace who knew I like DVDs but didn't know any better about Blockbuster. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find anything there, especially with that amount of money. Luckily for me, Citizen Kane was released not long after I received the gift cards so I got that. When lockbust finally stocked The Godfather Collection, I bought it with the rest of the money.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Hey, here's another question for you: Did Planet of the Apes come with a paper insert (you know, on the right side of the DVD case when you open it up)? The copy I bought from Blockbuster didn't have it, so I went back, and the manager and I looked through every single Planet of the Apes DVD they had (about 30 of 'em). Not a single one had the insert.

Is this something screwed up with them, or did this DVD for whatever reason not come with an insert?

 

[cafink]

Ryan, I'm not sure if you're talking about the original Planet of the Apes or the recent remake, but both DVDs do indeed include insterts of some sort.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Ha ha- Blockbuster Gift Certificates- sounds like a good gag gift now that you can't buy DIVX discs anymore!

 

[JamesHB]

I received a $20 Ballbuster gift card over the holidays. I sold it to a relative $15. Quick and easy and I didn't have to suffer the experience that Brian did!

 

[Ryan Wright]

Ryan, I'm not sure if you're talking about the original Planet of the Apes or the recent remake, but both DVDs do indeed include insterts of some sort.

I was talking about the new one. Thank you for your response - I'll go back and demand an insert or a refund tomorrow.

 

[cafink]

Just be aware, Ryan, that the DVD actually comes with TWO separate inserts. The first is a fold out with a chapter index for the movie and a list of special features and such. The second is just a card with info on time-travelling and what not. It sounds like it's really important to you that you get the whole package (I'm like that, too), so make sure you get both.