Stances on Renting, Buying Used...etc (1 Viewer)

[Stacey]

I haven't rented a movie since Cast Away (whick froze and blocked halfway through the feature ). I only buy New or "gently" used DVD.

The places I get my used DVD from all have some type of guarantee (usually a week) so you have plenty of time to check it out to make sure it works and even then I'll not put any money down unless I get to personally see the disks themselves and they are scratch free and the packaging is in near mint to mint condition.

Just a few weeks ago I picked up Widescreen Indiana Jones Triology for 1/2 the price of retail! Box was slightly worn but the disks and all other packaging was perfect...can you say SWEET!

 

[Scott Shearer]

My last experience with a used DVD was very disastorous. My son purchased a used DVD from a store in one of our local malls. The store had pasted a UPC sticker on the DVD itself that could not be taken off. When he put it in my player, the player stopped working (probably because of the DVD no longer being properly balanced with the sticker on it). I had to send the player back to the manufacturer who fortunately replaced the player under warranty. If the player would have been out of warranty, it could have been very expensive as it was a very high end player. That store better hope I never go there and give them a piece of my mind.

Scott

 

[James Lambert]

In the past I rented a movie once every 6 months, and ended up paying enough late charges that it'd have been cheaper to buy the blessed thing. It's when you step back and realise just how darn expensive buying everything is though, that on a low income, renting is the only option (I do not approve of piracy in any of it's forms).

After recently joining ScreenSelect, a UK version of Netflix, I have to say how much easier and cheaper it is than renting from regular stores. Only been with it for a couple of months but have managed to tick so many things off the "Want to watch/mildly interested" list that I can't see myself going back (I do not have any affliation with said service). As you can rent an unlimited amount of titles, I've also managed to find a few gems that I'd probably not watch under other circumstances. It's also saved me from buying the league of extraordinary gentlemen, which I'm very glad about!

No qualms about buying used, as if there is a problem any store that I'd buy from still has a refund policy.

 

[Angelo.M]

1. What do you feel about people renting a DVD instead of buying it?

People can do as they like. I rent DVDs all the time, both from Blockbuster and from the few remaining mom-and-pop places with good selection. I don't scrub these rentals or spray them with disinfectant or open them in an inert gas chamber; I just wipe them with a soft tissue if they have obvious grime on them. Otherwise, in they go.

2. a. Or purchasing a used copy?

I don't buy used DVDs. I have no problem with anyone else doing this.

b. Will you buy it if it is a former rental?

I don't buy used DVDs.

c. Maybe only if it is in the original case?

No. If I want to buy something, I buy it new.

d. Do your DVDs have to have original inserts, etc?

I buy everything new, but I could care less if I misplaced an insert. Any promotional material or mini-catalog or similar material that comes packed with a new DVD goes into the circular file.

 

[Rich Malloy]

I watch aprox. 4 rented titles per week (via Netflix). There's no way I could afford to watch all the dvds I'd like to watch if I had to purchase them all. And most dvds I'm only interested in watching once. Whenever I read threads where people list enormous numbers of DVDs they've purchased and left unopened/unwatched, I have to wonder whether this seemingly compulsive consumerism is healthy. Or, rather, just how unhealthy it is. I mean, these folks are good little consumerist automatons, but I wonder if they fetishize the disc (or the purchase?) more than they care for watching the film.

I only purchase: (1) all-time favorites given proper transfers (and hopefully good extras, but not required); (2) unseen or well-liked films that aren't available via rental. With few exceptions, I never blind buy. If I come across a film/dvd I really like via rental, I'll put it on the purchase/to-trade-for list. I trade extensively on DVD TALK and buy used from reputable sellers/traders.

And I regularly buy used CDs/SACDs, and Boston has a wealth of stores that traffic in used music. I've probably bought well over 100 used CDs, and only ever had to return one. I love searching the bins for bargains, OOP chestnuts, and even newly released stuff that's usually about 30-40% cheaper than new, and all I'm missing is the shrink-wrap. I get my music cheap, and I support the small businesses that traffic in used music.

 

[Jon Martin]

I rent from Netflix, never buy used (unless the title is out of print and can't be bought any other way).

But to clarify one thing. What did you mean by:



I hope you aren't referring to the old, disproven urban legend of Blockbuster employees secretly editing films in the back room that went around a few years ago. All sorts of stories about them taking R rated films and editing selected scenes out of them. None of it was true.

They do carry R rated versions of unrated films if the studio supplies them, but they aren't responsible for any butchering of their own.

 

[Malcolm R]

They also carry unrated films.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I was surprised that Blockbuster had the unrated version of "The Swimming Pool" while Hollywood Video only carried the R-rated version.

 

[Brook K]

Netflix is my best friend, I can get 5-6 films a week from them. There's no way I could afford to buy that many DVD's, nor would I want to. I watch so many rentals that I've really cut back on my purchases because I generally only have 1 day a week that I will watch something from my own collection. Now I usually only buy 1-2 DVD's a month unless something like the deepdiscount sale pops up.

I never buy used from rental places. I usually stick to new DVD's but have bought a few from private individuals.

 

[Angelo.M]

Well said.

"The things you own end up owning you."

 

[ChrisBEA]

I buy mostly new, but I have a few times decided not to buy a middling buy to later get cheaperused.
Some movies I like, but not enough to pay new prices for. Example would be recent acquisitions Club Dread and Gothika, I enjoyed both, but didn't want to pay new prices, found them used for 8 bucks. sold.
My used purchases are mainly ex-rentals, BB and HV mainly. There really aren't any good used outlets to go to....

 

[TheLongshot]

convienence issue. I'd probably rent more often if I didn't have to go to the store and spend about an hour looking for something. (NetFlix is probably in my future)

I'm surprised about all the people who don't rent due to quality issues. I mean, you can always look at the disc itself to see if it is scratched up or not.

I also do buy some discs used, but usually it has to be a significant discount on new for me to do it. (The $10 coupons that I get from eBay are helpful in this as well...) I think I've only come across one disc that was severly scratched up.



I can agree with this. This is why I'm not waiting on new releases with baited breath anymore. I got too much in my collection which I haven't seen yet. That's why I've cut down on my purchases, especially my blind buys. Considering also that for a lot of films, I can just wait a while for the studio to drop the price, there is no hurry.

Jason

 

[Gary Seven]

I rarely buy used but I have in the past if the disc was cheap enough and scratch free.

I rent when time permits. I always clean a DVD I rent and instructed my wife to do the same thing to help keep the player innards clean. No big deal.

 

[Malcolm R]

I have no problems buying used, and don't even mind a few small scratches/scuffs. Any disc I've ever had a problem with was pristine. The scratched ones always play fine for me. Go figure.

Just picked up "Brother Bear" and "Bad(der) Santa" at Blockbuster for $10 each. Blockbuster has a 30-day exchange policy, just like most retailers on new discs.

 

[MarkHarrison]

I'm not against renting although some of the discs are in pretty scary condition. Still, I only rent a couple a year simply because I already have a stack of unwatched DVDs I own. So why rent? I usually limit my rentals to things like Return of the King. I wanted to see it, but have no desire to own it since I'm waiting on the 4 disc set later this year.

A couple months back I did try buying some used DVDs. I took advantage of the 3 for $25 deal at Hollywood video to get Lost in Translation, Intolerable Cruelty and The Last Samurai. That's the last time I'll buy from a rental store. The disc looked like crap. In fact I returned Lost in Translation before even trying to play it because it looked so bad. There weren't any inserts, the cases were in bad shape. I should have known to just put them back when they tried to sell me a used Spy Kids 3D without the glasses. They kept trying to convince me that I didn't need the glasses, could get replacements or even make my own. They couldn't understand why I didn't want a used 3D movie that didn't come with the glasses.

I might check out some other sources some day, but for now, I'm happy to buy new.

 

[Ravi K]

I buy used if it is a good deal, since I have had good experiences at the store I frequent. I've only bought 1 used disc from Blockbuster. I bought Punch-Drunk Love at Hollywood Video because it came in a hard case instead of the paper one the retail version is housed in.

 

[Elizabeth S]

I used to hate to rent because of the "ticking time clock" aspect. However, this month, I decided to take advantage of the Blockbuster MoviePass for the first time -- have rented about 20 so far. I just can't afford to buy everything that interests me! I plan to quit the plan at the end of the month and perhaps rejoin for another month down the line to "catch up".

I don't really have any problems with buying used if I can visually check the disc beforehand.

 

[Will_B]

I like to support a local video store that purposefully buys all the great new quirky titles like Aqua Teen Force.

I'll rent two on two-for-Tuesdays days, time shift them to my hard drive, and return the rentals promptly so the store can rent them again quickly and continue to make more income/more happy customers. Then I'll watch at my convenience, as I would if this was NetFlix. But unlike NetFlix, I've returned the rentals so the store can continue to make income. (I don't know how NetFlix can do it their way).

However the downside is that sometimes I need hard drive space to do my graphics work, so I find myself having to sometimes delete a film before I've watched it. On the other hand, sometimes I'll discover that I've time shifted a rental that I forgot I even rented (I found CUBE on my drive last weekend, great little film!).

I know, some folks will say this is a slippery slope that could lead to copying to DVD-R. But I feel it is more akin to a pay-per-view on a Tivo. There's certain trade off, such as not being able to bring the movie over to someone else's house, but, I watch many movies by myself anyway so this is generally an acceptable tradeoff. Anyway, it works for me, and I am glad that my dollars are going to the local video store.

 

[Carl Johnson]

I don't do any renting on my own but I tend to spend my days off at my girlfriend's place. There's not much to do down there so it's not unusual for us to stop by Blockbuster after dinner.
I've bought a few used titles from Blockbuster and a couple more off Ebay. Most of my purchases are new releases when they're dirt cheap.

 

[Jeff B.]

I haven't rented anything in a couple of years. No real reason, I just enjoy spending what little money I have on building my collection (small though it is.)

I don't mind buying used, as long as the disc and case are in mint condition. I bought Royal Tenenbaums criterion for 9 bucks today in pristine condition.

One thing I have found that locally for me I find amazing. There are two fairly large dvd/cd stores that sell both new and used dvd/cds in my area. They have a very annoying habit of selling used dvd's for what most other places would sell new (wal-mart, best buy.) Then if they also have that particular dvd new they sell it for MSRP. Example would be Kill Bill vol 1 used for 19.99, new for 29.99. Basically all the new discs are MSRP at these places. I cannot fathom how they can sell used "mainstream" dvd's for so much, and I wonder if people are actually buying them.

Oh well, I just take my time and go elsewhere and till I find good deals, like I did today with Royal Tenembaums.