Using this blog to pimp commercial products or services is not something that usually gives me much satisfaction, but occasionally I'll make an exception because I'm so impressed with something that I can't stop myself spewing forth torrents of enthusiasm in as many simultaneous directions as possible. I feel this way about LOVEFiLM, for simultaneously providing a nice service that's new to me and exposing through contrast the absurd profit margins of high-street rental outlets.
Imagine one such hypothetical company... let's call it 'Spockduster'. Spockduster has 700 stores around the country, renting out DVDs for £3.75 for a single night.
Let's estimate that a single, new release DVD can be rented out, say, 100 times on average before somebody's either scratched it to unplayability or it's thrown in the ex-rental sale bin (or both). I don't know if this figure is realistic, but I reckon that unless it's made out of cheese or something, a DVD should be able to easily survive 100 viewings.
That's £375 in takings, but the cost of the DVD in the first place has to be deducted from that. Rental-market discs are pretty expensive but I'm sure Spockduster gets a hefty discount, especially on some releases since they're part of the same company as... uhh... Baramount Bictures. Spockduster probably makes £300 easily on each copy of a DVD, and with at least a dozen copies of a new release movie, that's a lot of money. And I've ignored the most lucrative of Spockduster's sources of customer income -- those sweet, sweet late return fees.
Of course, Spockduster has costs to cover which a postal service does not, like paying the rent on their premises and training their staff to scowl. But... uhh...
Well. I thought, erroneously as it turns out, that that train of thought would end with some sort of point. Doesn't matter. Back to LOVEFiLM...
I had my reservations about a DVD rental service that operated by post, not least the fact that I had no real comprehension of how the hell it was going to work. The answer is "pretty smoothly, actually". They send you discs in a sort of reusable envelope thing, and when you're ready to return one, you tear off the flap with your address on it and stick the rest in a post box. Discs are well protected in a tough but slim plastic case.
Payment is a flat monthly fee. There are no late fees because there is no 'late' -- you can keep DVDs for as long as you like. The only restriction is on the number of DVDs you can simultaneously borrow -- when you return a DVD, they'll immediately send you another from your wishlist.
The catalogue is impressively complete (21,000 titles covering seemingly almost everything -- not just movies -- ever released on Region 2 DVD) and the turnaround is such that after posting a disc back to LOVEFiLM, you're likely to receive another two (working) days later. Their default tariff, costing £15 per month, allows three simultaneous rentals.
All that talk about profit margins earlier was spectacularly irrelevant. What really matters is value for money. For £15 you can rent 4 DVDs from Blockbuster. For £15 a month from LOVEFiLM you can get through an 'unlimited' number (because of the inherent delays in the post, the practical limit is somewhere around 30, although getting through that many DVDs would present a challenge in itself). LOVEFiLM's selection is better, and the movies come straight to your door. It's not even a close contest (unless you really have a thing for getting overpriced Haagen-Dazs with your movie).
But the clincher is that you get to watch things that you would ordinarily never bother to rent. You can be adventurous and experimental in your choices, in the secure knowledge that you won't waste any money if the film you choose is dire.
Yep, I'm definitely loving the hell out of this service, and I can recommend it without any trace of shame or dignity. If they only rented Xbox games as well as DVDs, my life would be more complete than I or anybody else deserves.
LOVEFiLM offers a two week free trial, but as an existing member I can give referrals that double the trial length. Contact me if you're interested. In the worst case you can cancel before the trial is over, and you'll get free DVD rentals for the better part of a month.