Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeMastering art of renting in buyer’s market
September 14, 2009 —
The 1980s brought forth the concept of home video. But prices upwards of $90 per video made the rental, not ownership, of home video a viable market.
DVD’s glorious arrival during the late ‘90s made movies priced to own for the first time.
This had near-catastrophic results for the once prosperous video rental industry, with the majority of the mom and pop shops biting the proverbial dust during the decline.
Through video game rentals and online subscription services, larger rental operations such as Blockbuster have weathered the storm.
But even with plundering DVD prices and monthly subscription services such as Netflix, not everyone forgets what the interior of rental stores look like.
So what do Saginaw’s video rental joints have to offer?
For new releases, there’s no competition to Blockbuster, 3570 Bay and 5907 Brockway. That’s because Blockbuster practically guarantees to beat the hell out of the clerk in charge of inventory if a new release goes out of stock.
Procrastinators or forgetful individuals will want to conduct their rental transactions with Blockbuster, which has a no late fee policy. But since late fees have traditionally spelled big bucks in the video rental business, Blockbuster offsets those losses by charging more up front per movie. Rentals start at $3.99, with Blu- Ray rentals commanding $4.99.
If new releases aren’t typically atop your wish list, Family Video might suit your needs.
With two area locations (6995 Gratiot and 2616 Bay), Family Video prides itself on dirt-cheap rentals for non-new release titles. Both locations house a seemingly endless number of shelves with five-day rentals that will grab just a buck from your wallet.
There’s also a huge selection of two-for-$1, five-day rentals, for those who demand more for their greenbacks.
But most good things carry a caveat, and in this case, it comes in the form of late fees. Each day past the rental period will cost the buyer the amount of the original rental price. This means weeks forgetfulness could result in humiliating situations, such as paying $21 to rent Surf School.
Rounding out the rental circuit is Hollywood Video, 3085 Bay, a nearforgotten emporium of movies and overpriced Sour Patch Kids.
Hollywood Video attempts to cull the best from both Blockbuster and Family Video by offering reasonable rental rates and doing away with late fees. This comes with strings attached, however.
Customers can enjoy these and other perks, but only if they sign up for the company’s PowerPlay program.
The four-tiered program requires a monthly charge, starting at $7.99 for the Silver Plan and escalating to $39.99 for the Diamond Plan.
But the real draw for Hollywood Video is its unmatched selection of foreign, independent and classic films.
While Blockbuster usually has more copies of the newest Vin Diesel movie than they do of anything from these three categories, Hollywood Video offers hundreds of these titles. From Hitchcock to Kurosawa, film aficionados will absolutely find the most refuge in Hollywood Video.