Free Trials

In the last year or so, video store members have been offered a chance to rent DVDs of new releases plus older titles without having to go to the video store. Recently, the popularity of online movie rental sites Netflix and Blockbuster Online have been offering free trial periods. This offer gives consumers a chance to have DVDs mailed directly to their mailbox. For a flat fee, people can choose what movies they want to rent, keep them for as long as they need to without late fees, and the DVDs are shipped in postage paid envelopes both to and from the customer's address.

Still, which online rental site has the best deal? Four sites were investigated: Netflix, and Blockbuster Online which are popular in America. Plus two British sites: Lovefilm and MoviePigeon.

The company that has been in business the longest, Blockbuster, offers a two-week free trial of their service. After the trial ends, customers can choose between three plans. The least expensive plan is $9.99 per month plus tax and allows users to rent one title at a time through the mail, plus two in-store coupons per month for one year. Second, for $14.99 plus tax, customers can rent two titles at a time, plus 1 in-store coupon per week for a year. The choice that is considered the "most popular choice" by Blockbuster is 3 at a time unlimited rentals for $17.99 plus tax, plus the same one in-store coupon a week for one year like the $14.99 plan.

The second choice for DVD rental free trials is Netflix which offers a two-week free trial membership. After that, customers can choose between seven different plans. This is considerably more than Blockbuster's choice of three plans. Boasting that Netflix offers "Plans for everyone," their plans range from one DVD at a time (limit two per month) at $5.99, all the way up to $29.99 for an unlimited five DVDs at a time with no monthly limit. The most popular choice according to Netflix is three titles at a time for $17.99 with no monthly limit.

For DVD customers in the United Kingdom, Lovefilm.com and MoviePigeon.com offer DVD rental services as well. More surprising is the fact that both European sites offer adult oriented titles as well as mainstream videos. Keeping in mind that the United Kingdom uses British Pounds rather than American Dollars, LoveFilm offers a 21-day free trial. They boast a 96.7% satisfaction rating with their customers as well as having 37,500 DVD titles available. They also claim to hold 1,000 copies of their most popular DVDs. LoveFilm says that the benefit of using their service is avoiding a trip to the video store. "Over 85% of people who trial converts to become paying members," says LoveFilm's website. Their service starts at £9.99 per month up to £19.99. LoveFilm offers both movie and game rentals and just like the American rental sites, the postage is paid both ways to ship the titles to and from the customer. LoveFilm also offers DVD rentals without late fees and the ability to cancel membership at any time.

The other choice for DVD rentals for British customers comes from Movie Pigeon. This site offers unlimited DVD rentals for £2.50 per week or £10.00 per month. Categories include action, comedy, documentary, family, and adult DVD titles. As with the other three DVD rental sites, MoviePigeon ships the selections in pre-paid, first class envelopes, no limits, no late fees, including a fourteen day free trial.

Weighing the facts on the two American and two British DVD rental sites, the options are clear. Though Netflix has a lower starting price of $5.99, the most popular option for both Netflix and Blockbuster are $17.99 for three titles at a time. The bonus with Blockbuster is that they offer free in-store coupons.

Without a doubt, the choice for DVD rentals in the United Kingdom must be LoveFilm. Though membership price is equal to that of MoviePigeon, LoveFilm offers both movie and game rentals. This is a fact that is nowhere to be found on MoviePigeon's site.










Blockbuster Online. "Choose a Plan option page." Copyright 2006. Blockbuster, Inc. Portions provided by All Movie Guide. Copyright 2006. All Media Guide.
September 22, 2006. http://www.blockbuster.com/homepages/LoadBlockbust erHomepage.action


Netflix.com. "Plans for Everyone option page." Copyright 2006. Netflix, Inc. September 22, 2006. http://www.netflix.com/PricesAndPlans?hnjr=4&l nkctr=nmgr_pap


LoveFilm.me.uk. "About LoveFilm," "Signup process." Updated September 5, 2006. Copyright 2006. LoveFilm International Ltd. September 22, 2006.
http://www.lovefilm.com/am.php?tp_code=STP874; https://www.lovefilm.com/signup1.php


MoviePigeon. Developed by VooDoo UK. Copyright Movie Pigeon. September 22, 2006. http://www.moviepigeon.com/