Hollywood Video - Unlimited rentals of DVD 's for $9.99 per Month

[Keen314]

Originally posted by: rmrfhomeoops

Originally posted by: Keen314
Hi all, I work for Hollywood Video as a GSR (i.e. low-level peon), so I'll answer questions and post some useful info.

Originally posted by: earthslash
Also the website says you can sign up for 3 months ($30 at this point in time), and have it be non-renewable, so you can pay by cash and not have to deal with cancelling your membership.

You can also buy up to 4 of the 3 month blocks at the $30/3 month rate, which means 360 days of MVP at the $10/month rate (a 'month' is technically 30 days as per the fine print).

That would be great. Are you sure you can buy a year long of movie membership? Do they *all* expire at the same time? Or are they activated on the first day that you actually use them?

Thanks -

We got a letter from corporate which outlined the following scenario:
Guest comes in, and wants to buy more than one of the 3 months for $30.
GSR rings up one, then fiddles with the computer to make more ring up.
Guest buys up to a full year at the $10/mo rate.

So, it appears that if you buy more than one, they are appended, instead of running parallel (i.e. 2 of them gets you 180 days of 3 movie MVP, not 90 days of 6 movie MVP). Personally, we've never had anyone buy more than one of the 90 day MVP's; a vast majority goes for the $10/mo on a credit card auto-renewing.

Originally posted by: monkuboy

Originally posted by: Keen314

Originally posted by: monkuboy
I signed up at the location in Burbank - it's $7.99 for the first three months. You can only use the MVP pass at one location, and after three months it goes up to $14.99 a month.

Sounds like you're in a test market. One of the local managers told me that they had variations on the MVP deal in some markets. I had previously heard $8 for 2 titles out at a time, is this the case for you? Just curious.

Nope, it's a full three dvd's at a time for $7.99, same terms as what is on the website at $9.99. They even have glossy flyers advertising that price on the counter, and the deal is good for three months. This one is near my office; another Hollywood Video near my home has the MVP for the regular $9.99.

Shiny, enjoy the extra hotness of the deal

 

[Keen314]

Originally posted by: Avalon
Hmm, not bad. I think it slightly edges out the movie pass over at Blockbuster, where I'm also working as a low level peon. $9.99 a month for 3 introductory months for 3 movies out at a time is better than our 1 month $14.99 introductory deal for 2 movies out at a time. Then our regular price is $24.99, ten bucks more than Hollywood's normal price. We let you use the pass on brand spankin new release rentals, though. Strengths and weaknesses for each, I guess.

Hello fellow video store worker! I'm curious how your movie pass has effected your in-store stock? I work at a pretty small store and I know we'd have pretty bare shelves if the MVP didn't have the 5 day rental limitation.

 

[Jhill]

If you do the pay by cash for 3 months thing do you still have to give them a CC? I would think so, so you don't steal the dvds.

Just Curious.

 

[ckk81]

Man, screw this(flame suit on).......i rather pay 23$ per month on netflix and get whatever and whenever i want instead of the 5 days return BS....... just my .02cent ......later

 

[ConnCarl]

What a deal! Just my luck, the nearest store is 20 - 25 minutes away, on a street with lousy parking and traffic flow. Aaaarrgh!

 

[cremefilled]

i rather pay 23$ per month on netflix and get whatever and whenever i want instead of the 5 days return BS

I take it that you don't have a DVD burner. This is a great deal for those of us so equipped.

 

[Avalon]

Originally posted by: Keen314

Originally posted by: Avalon
Hmm, not bad. I think it slightly edges out the movie pass over at Blockbuster, where I'm also working as a low level peon. $9.99 a month for 3 introductory months for 3 movies out at a time is better than our 1 month $14.99 introductory deal for 2 movies out at a time. Then our regular price is $24.99, ten bucks more than Hollywood's normal price. We let you use the pass on brand spankin new release rentals, though. Strengths and weaknesses for each, I guess.

Hello fellow video store worker! I'm curious how your movie pass has effected your in-store stock? I work at a pretty small store and I know we'd have pretty bare shelves if the MVP didn't have the 5 day rental limitation.

Your MVPs have 5 day rental limitations? Weird, we don't have that at our store. I thought all stores let you keep the movies out as long as you wanted, since that's usually what I see on TV when commercials come on. The customers just get new movies whenever they decide to bring in the ones they checked out. I'm at a rather large store in a small city. The pass has a decent impact on our stock, but usually not so much so that the MVPers are the cause of a clearout. When we get our new titles in for the week, about 50% of the people who grab them up in the first few days are pass users. If we didn't have them, then guaranteed in stock new releases would probably last another day before they get gobbled up as well, but that's about the extent of it. I hope I don't work the night Spiderman 2 is released

 

[Keen314]

Psst, Avalon, I work at HV, not BB.

 

[monkuboy]

Actually I think having a 5-day limit is a good idea because otherwise limited titles remain out of circulation too long. I'd say if you are going to check out a movie then you should be able to watch it within 5 days; otherwise just check it out when you have time.

 

[Keen314]

Originally posted by: Jhill
If you do the pay by cash for 3 months thing do you still have to give them a CC? I would think so, so you don't steal the dvds.

Just Curious.

At both of the stores I've worked at, you need to have a credit card put on file when you get a card. Yes, it's only use is to prevent you from running off with DVD's (after 50 days of being late, you're charged for the movie; you do get phone calls and letters in the mail long before that). Some stores just take a utility bill with your current address on it, but I'm not sure what, if anything differs between an account with a utility bill vs. credit card. I know that people whose credit cards have expired, and they haven't put a new one on file are limited to 3 rentals out at a time.

Edit: Note that by 'card', I mean membership, not MVP. MVP's don't get a special card or anything; it's automatically put on your account.

 

[Kwad Guy]

My local store allowed me to get two of these deals concurrently, so I can have 6 movies out at one time for $20/month (at least for the first three months).

Previously, I was in the Blockbuster $30 for 3/month deal. The selection at my local Hollywood Video is probably 3x bigger than that at my local Blockbuster (at least 3x, maybe more). So this is a much better deal if you can handle waiting for new releases.

I just wish Hollywood would put a sticker on their movies that said WHEN they'd go to the MVP program. I don't necessarily trust them to get the MVP stickers on them the day they are old enough to be in the program...

Kwad

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: cremefilled

i rather pay 23$ per month on netflix and get whatever and whenever i want instead of the 5 days return BS

I take it that you don't have a DVD burner. This is a great deal for those of us so equipped.

I'd edit that out if I were you. Encouraging piracy is not welcomed here and can earn you a permanent vacation.

 

[dr150]

The deal killer is that one has to wait SEVERAL WEEKS for a new release to become available.

The goal is to use this program only to build up your burned DVD library like a true scholar of film, then switch to some other program for the new releases.

 

[szechuanpork]

i went to my local Hollywood Video in Orange County, CA and no go. they said something about being a "control" store, whatever that means, and that Orange County in general is not participating. POO :thumbsdown:

 

[Keen314]

Originally posted by: Kwad Guy
I just wish Hollywood would put a sticker on their movies that said WHEN they'd go to the MVP program. I don't necessarily trust them to get the MVP stickers on them the day they are old enough to be in the program...

Kwad

I'll ask my manager if they know beforehand what the schedule is for every title for when it'll get stickered, perhaps a stickering calendar could be made and posted. You can always ask someone behind the counter for a rough estimate for the sticker date of specific titles, or ask if it's on the list of titles that are going to be stickered the next Tuesday.

Originally posted by: szechuanpork
i went to my local Hollywood Video in Orange County, CA and no go. they said something about being a "control" store, whatever that means, and that Orange County in general is not participating. POO :thumbsdown:

Bummer, sorry about that. Check other HV's in your area, I'd bet some of them aren't control stores (something which I didn't know existed previously, makes sense in retrospect).

Control stores must be stores that they're using to measure the impact of the MVP program with (i.e. see what would have happened if they didn't introduce it). Using a control group (one which usually doesn't have the trait changed that you're experimenting with) is part of statistical anaylsis/scientific experiments.

 

[BobDole007]

I also work at Hollywood and wanted to add that if you live near Wilsonville Oregon (national headquarters for Hollywood) you get AMAZING deals at that store. A Blockbuster recently opened there and they're just trying to get the BB out of business. So they have been running half price on all rentals (including games) for the past several weeks, although I heard that may have ended or will end soon. Also the MVP there is only $4.99 for the first three months then goes up to $9.99 per month. The only drawback to this is they are VERY low on inventory due to how many people are going there to take advantage. My store which is just up I-5 in Tualatin is the 5th highest revanue store on the west coast, so they're using us as a control as well so we don't have the MVP. From the looks of it the Newest movies are going on the MVP at 4 weeks (some even sooner) but that could change as they're still testing this out. Also something of note is if your Hollywood has a GameCrazy in it, they will start allowing rentals on the used games they have, so if you have old systems you will be able to try out some games before you purchace. Well I've rambled on enough.....

 

[dr150]

4 weeks for a New Release to be placed on the sticker program is waaaay too long for me.

That's a true deal killer.

 

[monkuboy]

Well you figure for 3 months it is $9.99 which is less than the cost of three rentals. Probably a lot of people will drop out after the three month trial when the price goes up, so this is more of a promotion to circulate the titles older than 4 weeks and generate some cash flow (and hopefully get people to throw in current releases when they come in). You don't really think they could make any money by offering everything for that price, do you? If you go to BB you pay more for brand new titles, which is reasonable, and also can check out a lower number. If you try to get new titles from Netflix you wind up waiting anyway because there is a waiting list. It just depends on what you are looking for.

 

[Keen314]

Originally posted by: Keen314

Originally posted by: Kwad Guy
I just wish Hollywood would put a sticker on their movies that said WHEN they'd go to the MVP program. I don't necessarily trust them to get the MVP stickers on them the day they are old enough to be in the program...

Kwad

I'll ask my manager if they know beforehand what the schedule is for every title for when it'll get stickered, perhaps a stickering calendar could be made and posted.

Looks like we just get 1 week of notice, sorry.

 

[MrCoffee]

Thanks for the tip!

I'm still a little numb after trying to maximize my 1st month of the Blockbuster deal. I need a little time-off before I watch another DVD. This is very tempting, tho. Ah heck, who needs sleep?

Thanks again!

 

[KaOTiK]

I was wondering when HV was going to do a rental program. I work at GameRush/Blockbuster and as an employee I(and the rest of the employees) hate the movie pass. Our returns have literally doubled/tripled in some days.

I work in a decently busy store(busy enough to where we were granted a GameRush at least) and for the most part the pass doesnt effect our inventory. We have actually found people with the pass come back quicker then those who dont cause they want the next thing they can get so new releases expect on the weekends arent hard to get (Punisher and Man on Fire are like gold on fri/sat nights right now).

Any idea when/if you guys start a game pass? Preferably cheaper then the $20 we have (first month is $15 though now). I rather get the pass from you guys for games if its cheaper cause we dont get new game rentals for free till they are at least 21 days old which sucks.

Kao

 

[Keen314]

Originally posted by: KaOTiK
I was wondering when HV was going to do a rental program. I work at GameRush/Blockbuster and as an employee I(and the rest of the employees) hate the movie pass. Our returns have literally doubled/tripled in some days.

I work in a decently busy store(busy enough to where we were granted a GameRush at least) and for the most part the pass doesnt effect our inventory. We have actually found people with the pass come back quicker then those who dont cause they want the next thing they can get so new releases expect on the weekends arent hard to get (Punisher and Man on Fire are like gold on fri/sat nights right now).

Thanks for the info; my curiousity is happy. ^_^

Any idea when/if you guys start a game pass? Preferably cheaper then the $20 we have (first month is $15 though now). I rather get the pass from you guys for games if its cheaper cause we dont get new game rentals for free till they are at least 21 days old which sucks.

Kao

We started a game pass back in the summer. $20/mo for one game out at a time, or $49/3 mo's. We also have a 2 game out at a time option, but I can't recall the price off the top of my head.

 

[Richard98]

FYI, the clerk at HV told me yesterday that the MVP stickers are placed on newly available titles every Tuesday.

 

[apoppin]

Works for me!

I pass my local Hollywood (exactly) 2x a week - pick up 3 films and drop off 3 films. . . . 9 films - so far, in the last 10 days.

As to not getting the very latest (as they are released) - WHO CARES?! - i'll see them eventually.
:roll: