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As you probably know, Netflix and Blockbuster both offer these great 30-day trials of their monthly rental subscriptions. I recently completed my free trial at Blockbuster and wanted to share my experience.
1) Sign up - (see below for details), No issues for sign up, they do ask for a credit card and I am always skeptical of a free trial that requires a credit card, but I was able to cancel without charges so it wasn't a problem.
2) Movie Queue - Once I joined I went on a quest to fillup my movie queue so I could make sure the turnaround process was quick. The hardest part was coming up with 20+ movies that I hadn't seen, but wanted to view.
3) Execution. Everything went great. The free trial is for 3 movies at a time so turnaround wasn't problem. I returned one dvd and I would typically get the next one 2-3 mailing days later.
4) Wrong DVD - Out of all the movies I received, one movie was the incorrect one. The label on the shipment had the correct title, but the movie inside was not what I requested. A quick logon to the blockbuster site let me notify them of the wrong shipment and the sent the correct movie to me the next day so it was like getting a bonus movie. Very nice.
5) Cancellation - I canceled 2 days before my free trial was set to expire. The Billing date is clearly marked on you blockbuster account page and there is a link next to it to cancel your membership - it was very easy to cancel.
In the end I was able to get 19 movies (+1 for the wrong movie shipped) for a total of 20 movies for $0.00 over the 4 week free trial.
How to sign up for the Blockbuster 30-day free trial:
Go to Blockbuster.com. Click on "Sign Me Up" button. Select the last option Gift/Promotion Code and enter "AMXHOLIDAY" as the code. Click "Try it now" button. You should see the offer for the 30 day free trial.
Update: I forgot to mention that the free trial also comes with 2 free instore movie rental coupons so I was really able to view 22 movies during the free trial.
by 2million on
03/28/06
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Comments (10)
DATE: 12:22 PM
I use Blockbuster online, and the more movies you watch, the longer it'll take them to send you movies. When I send back movies now, they wait couple of days before taking them off my queue and another day before they even send a new one. I'm lucky to watch 3 movies a week. By the way, I used to be with Netflix and I think they're worse. Anyways, the only think I like about Blockbuster is the free in-store rental I get every week
Posted by Anonymous | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 1:07 PM
Oh yeah - I completely forgot to mention the free in store rentals - thanks for the reminder.
Posted by 2million | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 1:20 PM
Bummer, Blockbuster is throttling rentals now too? I had thought that it was only Netflix and that if I switched I could get better service. I guess not. Though the free in-store rental each week is nice. Any restrictions on that?
Posted by RS | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 1:03 AM
I do not have much time to save money on video rentals, I tend to buy DVDs. It all depends on what stage of the financial scale you are on and what stage of the investment or biz scale you are on. If you are producing more money than you need and continue to grow your wealth, investments and biz, then saving money on small items is secondary.Anonymous Millionaire.
Posted by Anonymous | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 1:14 AM
$2M,Great to hear a review of the service, I've been curious about it for a while, however, I doubt I have time to watch more than 1-2 movies a week - what's the best approach for the casual viewer?I've rented a TIVO like box from my cable company and that seems to fit most of our needs. It costs about $7.00 per month.Regards,Making Our Waymakingourway.blogspot.com
Posted by makingourway | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 12:39 AM
So is this site about how to make $2m or about how to get $2m worth of free stuff?I don't think this type of behavior is fitting of your noble goal to reach the $2mm mark. Its one thing to invest, save, and be frugal, but another to purposely abuse promotions.Whats next, a post about how you should buy stuff, use it for 30 days and return it over and over again so you can use products for free?
Posted by Doug | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 9:07 AM
Great idea Doug! That may be next.
Posted by 2million | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 11:30 AM
Doug, what is your problem man? Relax. Sounds like you have some experience with this 30 day return thing. Actually, you should try Walmart and Target. You can use it for 90 days and then return.
Posted by Anonymous | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 12:32 AM
how did you manage to watch 20 movies in 4 weeks? i think its great to take advantage of free offers, but don't you think the time you spent watching movies (2 hours x 20 movies = 40 hours) could have been spent doing something more productive? then again, maybe i'm jealous that you have the time to watch that many movies. ;)
Posted by lpkitten | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM
DATE: 12:20 PM
I use the Blockbuster Rewards program instead of the subscription program. The Blockbuster Rewards program is a great deal, for me anyway. I am an erratic movie watcher, will go weeks without renting then will rent 3 at a time or so. With Blockbuster Rewards program, I get one free rental a month. Also, I combine that with the Monday/Tuesday rent one/get a free rental. I then get 3 DVD rentals for the price of one. Can't beat that! Regarding "anonymous millionaire", frugal habits are a good trait regardless of your income level. Just because you have a certain amount of net worth doesn't negate the value of frugality.
Posted by Anonymous | September 10, 2006 3:17 PM