Renting=Rip off. [Archive]

dunchy

01-21-2005, 2:25 PM

Little rant (12 mins left on library computer) I guess that I decided to rent a movie the other day from blockbuster (Daredevil directors cut) and at first it felt nice, you know, supporting the movie companies and film industry by feeling like I've legally contributed to their hard work. But when I got to the paying part, guess how much it came to with taxes and everything? a whopping 8.67!! Even though that's Canadian, the company should know that it's cheaper to a.) download the movie for FREE. b.) download, burn, slap it in a plastic case and print off labels for the cover and cd label for about oh...3 bucks, and own it forever or c.) buy it second hand for 20 bucks. Movies this year has been very, very profitable (take a look in the highest profit movies for the year 2004) yet those very companies whine about pirates and those who download movies and what not. What a crock. I'm not supporting those who download movies illegally, but come on, make it cheaper to see these films or rent them, good grief.

Basan

01-21-2005, 2:33 PM

That's why I somewhat endorse the P2P bit... *Meh*
And if I reeaaally like it, then wi'll buy it. Did it for Fear Factory's album Digimortal, along with a few others.

Support what you like by buyin' it, that's the motto of the day... I guess. ;)

Add: Good luck with the PC, btw.

GrassDragon

01-21-2005, 2:38 PM

Dang that's a lot to rent a movie. Here they're only about 4 bucks USD (about 5 Canadian) and while that's still a lot, it's not near what you paid. I think they're crazy. Prices even for buying a movie is outrageous; you pay 20 for the movie and then they expect you to buy the soundtrack for 15.

I won't rant, but I don't like buying movies or music, because it's just too expensive. Like you said, they complain about file sharing and then expect you to pay how much?

Modred

01-21-2005, 5:39 PM

Black.Ice

01-21-2005, 5:49 PM

I don't have a problem buying CDs. I can usually get them for under $10 USD, which is about how much an album would cost if you bought it on Napster or iTunes. DVDs, on the other hand, are overpriced in my opinion. Maybe lower the suggested retail price from $20 to $15.
I'm getting into the DVD business... and the console game business as well. We're working on a very low margin. DVD's wholesale cost is only $10-$17 dollars lower than the MSRP. But the problem is no one sells at MSRP. The real profit margine for a DVD is maybe $1-$2. Console games are even worse. They are marked up 2 dollars if you're lucky. The key for these games / DVD's is quantity factor. You have to sell thousands to make a sizeable profit.

Anyways, renting is always expensive. I found a cheap grocery store that I rent from for $.99 per rental. Although it's farther away than the local Blockbuster, I'm willing to save the extra $3.00.

Modred

01-21-2005, 5:54 PM

DVD's wholesale cost is only $10-$17 dollars lower than the MSRP. But the problem is no one sells at MSRP. The real profit margine for a DVD is maybe $1-$2.
I think you got a few words mixed up in there. Unless the MSRP is around $30-$37. I'm aware that there are charges that come from every form of delivering the product: paying the company that produced the product, paying the company that delivered it to the store; and I know that all of that is before the store selling/renting marks it up to get their own profit from the product. It just still seems a bit high.

Perhaps I should blame inflation rather than the companies. =D

Black.Ice

01-21-2005, 8:11 PM

Actually, the MSRP for a normal New Release is around $30. Special Editions, etc are around $40.

The price that large retailers get it for is around $18.

If you check out Walmart or Best Buy, they sell it at 50-70% of MSRP - which is $15-$20.

Here are few links:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3296531
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3437073
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3339976
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3318781

Well... those are a few new releases that came to my mind. MSRP of $29.95. Walmart gets it for around $17.00 due to the large volume that they move and probably makes a few bucks on each sale. I, a small seller, get it for around $20.00. I can't compete when it comes to DVD's with these mega sellers. Another example of how Walmart puts the little guys outta business. :(

singo

01-21-2005, 8:27 PM

man, i never realized how good it was to know that people pay more than us brits for ANYTHING!

£3 at the most - thats about $6

you have been officialy SHAFTED!

Modred

01-21-2005, 9:10 PM

Dang, an MSRP of over $30? That's pretty bad. At least you aren't selling at a loss, although any unsold merchandise is practically a loss.

Mystikal

01-21-2005, 9:11 PM

Magmaniac

01-21-2005, 10:44 PM

i rent five movies for five dollars for five days over at total entertainment center(15 minute bike ride)
i used to bike up there rent a bunch of movies and when they were due, bike back up and return em and rent 5 more. :-D

then i ran out of money

i need a job :(

stuff costs too much :(

yay cd burning and illegal download!

Basan

01-24-2005, 6:07 AM

Fear factory!!! Rock your faceee!

Eh, that's one of the best rock (metal, actually) groups I've seen lately. ;)

P.S. (add) - I'm about as old as DC, so my tastes are somewhat underground to most of the fellas around. Eclectic does wonders when you're browsing for new music to hear. :)

KillJoY

01-25-2005, 9:40 PM

There are crads you can get from blockbuster. Pay 30 bucks a month and all your movies are free. You can get 3 movies a week. Theres also a card that makes it so you can have a movie out for 5 days more than normal. They also recently got rid of late fees. Meh. :P

300 posts! :D

hammocksleeper

01-26-2005, 12:20 AM

Of course renting movies sucks. That's why my family gets all our movies from the library (my dad used to work there part-time so he'd get no late fees, which was nice :)). You can find many libraries with a great selection, you may just have to be on a waiting list for new releases. Or you could do that Netflix stuff, which doesn't sound like a bad deal, though I've never tried it.