Blockbuster as we know it may or may not survive 2010, but that hasn’t prevented them from re-enabling mail order game rentals. As I’m currently on a Gamefly hiatus, a company that I’ve had a like/hate relationship with, I figured I’d check out Blockbuster’s combined DVD+gaming snail mail service which starts at a low $8.99/mo — about 45% less than Gamefly’s single disc plan. And, of course, you’re not limited to games.
I sold my copy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 months ago, after clocking way too many multiplayer hours and growing bored. But figured it might be time to brush up my skills a bit in preparation for Black Ops (11/10). Not to mention, a pal’s pre-teen thinks he can take me. And, while he probably can, I’m easily baited. Bring it, punk. So I added CoD: MW2 to my queue.
Unfortunately, the game was initially listed as having up to a 2 week wait due to low inventory. Upon checking my queue the next day, the delay had grown to 2-4 weeks. Which exceeded Blockbuster’s 2-week free trial – I fully expected to cancel service before anything arrived, due to my need for instant gratification and short attention span. Fortunately, the game showed only about a week after requesting it. For comparison, at its best, Gamefly took about a week to get a disc out to me.
Interestingly, not only is Blockbuster’s mailer smaller than Gamefly’s cardboard sleeve (which has been problematic), they’re also more compact than Netflix’s.
Note how the disc is in the middle of the Blockbuster mailer, versus the edge of the Netflix mailer.
I had TONS of problems with cracked discs (Blu-ray movies) from Netflix. These problems were totally solved by switching to to Blockbuster; despite the discs coming through the same post offices. Blockbuster turnaround time is alot slower than Netflix, however. Frequently, it takes a week from the time you drop a movie in the mail to get the replacement. Dropping discs off at the store speed this up to around 3 days.
Also, of note… you can’t bring a by-mail movie into the store and pick up a game. You can only get the games through the mail.
As someone who’s played MW2 almost exclusively since it came out, I find this mind boggling. Are there other games out there worth me checking out?
LIMBO was interesting albeit short.
Ive used BB mail service for a while now. Its been pretty good havent had any significant problems. Turnaround time is good and now with games and bluray for no extra charge its a pretty good deal
I originally tried BB mail service a number of years back. During the 4 week trial, the turn around time was about 3 or 4 days and disks frequently got lost (one showed up a week after I canceled). I inevitably canceled figuring if they were that bad during the trial period when they are trying to impress me, what would they be like after it. Now this was about 7 years ago, so maybe they are better now.
Netflix has a much faster turn around time (2 days). The transit time to/from Netflix is the same day, but because they process disks in the morning and send them out in the afternoon it adds an extra day to the turnaround time which is annoying. Also I used to never have a problem getting disks I wanted, but since mid-2009 it can take months for disks I want to show up. One of the reasons Netflix said they agreed to the 30 day waiting period was that more disks would be available, but I haven’t found that to be true.
As for Gamefly, I’ve never tried it, but I friend of mine told me that his friend said the service wasn’t very reliable. He also said that Gamefly disks have a tendency to be stolen by postal workers.
A couple of us went through this on slickdeals with Blockbuster when the game program was announced. All new games currently have a 105 day wait. After 105 day wait they take any overstock from the retail stores and add those games to the online program. In other words they seem to have no immediate plan to add games immediately to their online rentals since it might take business away from their failing store business. This goes for the same thing with regards to number of titles in stock. I guess they figure if it isn’t available you will just rent the game at the store instead.
“I guess they figure if it isn’t available you will just rent the game at the store instead.”
$10 to rent a game is a bit too similar to the purchase price (on older games, at least) to consider renting in-store.
Blockbuster’s eventual failing might have to do with their awful pricing strategies. $5 for movie rentals? Really? I don’t care how long I get to keep the movie; I’m only going to watch it once.
Pharmnerd, its $5 a movie but most of customers are subscription plan which is around $9 a month at lowest rate or same as Netflix, but with bluray and games for no extra charge.
Can not beat this offer. My sons and I are bouncing off the walls. Unlimited games, movies and bluerays?
Your going to think I’m nuts, but we had to open up another BB account so we can get both PS3 and Xbox games at the same time.
Blockbuster, I love you again.
@Pharmnerd: you’re right, $10 to rent an old game from the store is pricey, but if you have one of the Total Access plans, you can get your older titles delivered by mail and then swap them at the store for either a movie or a discounted game rental – $5…. And get your newer title fix there…
I’ve had the BB Online movies subscription since it started. I’d guess there is some regional differences in swap times. Here in the Minneapolis-St Paul area, If I return a movie in Monday’s mail, by Tuesday morning I get the email that the replacement is on its way. It usually shows up Wednesday. I also appreciate that Blu-Ray disks are included in the standard rate. About 80% of what I receive now is on Blu-Ray.
I also appreciate the ability to return to the store for a free movie swap. Sometimes we’re just not in the mood to watch what we ordered, and with the nearest BB store about 3 miles away, it is easy to be there and home again in 15 minutes.
I live in the dfw area. My g/f has netflix, and I have blockbuster at the same address (stupid i know). We did this b/c I only want games and didnt want her movies to interfere. She puts netflix in the mail, 2 days later she gets her next movie. I put bb in the mail, 5 days if i’m lucky i get it in the mail. So i started dropping it off at the store. Same day i get a confirmation that they have received it. and now i’m on day 4 of waiting for it to ship me a new one. I have more than 30 available titles waiting. I’m ready to cancel.