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(UPDATE: I have discovered that the $2 pricing is only occurring in the Harrisburg, PA area. Redbox is also testing a $1.50 nightly price in the Albuquerque, NM area. Why they chose those areas is strange to me!)
I was checking out at the grocery store today when I saw something that surprised me. Redbox has begun increasing their prices! The sign clearly stated, “First Night $2, $1 Per Night After That“. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera phone with me but I will try and get a picture as soon as possible. Here is a picture of the machine with the new price:
Click on the image for a larger view.
Redbox has been a big hit between my wife and me. Previously, at just $1 per night, it made for an inexpensive entertainment night. We would go to the grocery store, pick out a newly released video, watch it that night, and return it the next day. It was only $1 if you returned it the next day! Now $2? I know you will all say that it’s not that bad but come on! That’s a 100% price increase! I guess they pushed everyone (brick and mortar stores) out of the market and now they feel that they can reap the rewards.
Will this price increase make you think twice about using Redbox? I know if will make us think twice!
At $1 it’s not bad for supplementing netflix but $2, for some reason, pushes it out of that realm for me.
You’re right. There is just something about that price that makes it a hard pill to swallow. It’s a pretty big jump over a short period. If you are going to raise prices, at least make it gradual so it’s easier for us to accept it as inflation or something. A 100% increase is just drastic. I mean, it’s not like they have that much overhead.
I would probably head right back to Blockbuster for a MUCH larger variety of video available at very little more cost. The location of the two is equally convenient to me.
I agree that there is a much better selection at the chain stores but I just can’t seem to find one close by anymore. Since we moved to MD, I have seen two Blockbusters close by go out of business.
I’d do the same, but unfortunately redbox just put my neighborhood blockbuster out of business. We now have ~8 redbox machines within a mile, always with a line of people, but our closest rental store is a Hollywood Video ~5 miles away. =(
I don’t use Redbox but don’t see an extra $1 increase hurting their business. It is still cheaper than Blockbuster and if you don’t need the monthly subscription from Netflix this is a better deal too. They will still do very well and increase profits.
We just got a close Redbox a month or two back. The single $1 is good, and I’ve rented a few DVDs so far. The other choice is to wait until the library gets it, which in our system (about 30 libraries joined together) is pretty quick. At $2, I’d be less likely to rent. Except for the “must see” movies which are few and far between.
Even when there are “must see” movies, we can never seem to find them at Redbox. Either they are already gone or were never there to begin with.
I completely agree that there us a big difference at $2. I have Netflix and haven’t used Redbox, but I’ve been considering it now that there’s a Redbox close to my house. However, at $2, with the potential for me to forget to turn it in the next day (I like the laziness factor of Netflix), I would probably come out even with Netflix, plus better availability.
Well, according to the sign, it’s only $2 for the first night and $1 a night after that. Like you said though, sometimes you just forget to take it back and that can add up. The other week we had a DVD from there and we didn’t take it back right away because it was just a bad weekend to put it lightly.
Wife says no. That’s it, she has the say. She says it’s mostly due to our netflix subscription. I can’t argue with that.
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Absolutely. We were just thinking about starting to use Redbox now and then, but this would make it difficult to justify. We’ll have to see if they do that here (Michigan). Thanks for the heads up.
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Not a fan of this. I’d probably stop renting if they did this. We don’t actually have a RedBox close to us, but we do have a BlockBuster kiosk. I guess they have to get their money while they can, as online distribution will be killing them before too long, just like Netflix and kiosks are killing “regular” video stores.
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I won’t use redbox as much. I have Blockbuster online and thus get $2.00 rentals when I return my DVD to the store. This means I get the same price and a wider selection now. Of course I like being able to reserve movies on line before I go out and find there is nothing.
Ugh, that will be a hard call. At $1, I’m much more likely to pick up two movies, one for us and one for the girls. I can see paying $1 for four episodes of Sid the Science Kid or other PBS offerings, but $2 feels like too much. I think I’ll probably cut out 2/3 of my own movie watching – there just aren’t that many movies in the Redbox worth $1, let alone $2.
(Also, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is not worth even $1.)
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I agree that G.I. Joe was a BAD movie!
The problem is the Redbox has such a small selection. Its only selling point was that it was only $1. I don’t have NetFlix now, but I used to. I couldn’t justify the expense when I could get a Redbox DVD for on $1. I’d have to watch 16 NetFlix DVDs a month to make it worth it, and we don’t have that kind of time. Now, it will only take 8 DVDs a month to make it worth it. That’s two a week, which is doable, plus better selection and no late fees. Sorry, Redbox, but I have to go where I get the best value…
Short answer, probably not. They just raised their price to $1.50 at the kiosks near me (Albuquerque).
I “might” consider $2 if they started carrying Blu-ray but I don’t have a player yet. Waiting to see what Santa might bring.
Yeah, I can see paying $2 for a Blu-ray and keeping the regular DVDs $1. But $2 for a plain old DVD seems excessive.
$2 to stand in line to WAIT to return the DVD. Until they figure out how to handle that one…
Seems like they’ve figured that one out…if half their users stop using RedBox over the price increase, that would cut down the lines considerably, wouldn’t it?
We’ve been considering dropping Netflix and going solely the RedBox route. Two things have stopped us (and now we have three):
-Waiting in line to return a movie….seriously?
-Netflix brings the movies to my house, AND has streaming. Redbox…neither one.
While I don’t watch a lot of movies, I love the instant streaming Netflix provides (and so do my kids).
I think I’ll stick with Netflix for sure now.
You know, now that you mention it, I HATE waiting in line at the Redbox machine. It has become so popular that there are typically 3-4 people in line at any given time. Another thing that peeves me off is that the machine is EXTREMELY slow. If you are getting more than 1 movie it may take you 5 minutes to get out of there (that’s if there is no line). I’ve actually waited about 15 minutes in line before just to return some rentals. I think my time is worth more than that!
Not sure if I would pay it. Ocassionally, yes. But as regularly as we do now, no.
I dropped my Netflix subscription to use redbox because it was cheaper for me, but if the ones in my town up their price I’m going back to Netflix. To Craig, while a dollar increase might not seem bad, I’m on a strict entertainment budget and they’ve just cut the amount of movies I can rent a month in half. I discussed this with some friends, and we’re all in agreement; if they raise their prices here they will lose our business permanently.
You know… ours doesn’t advertise the new price, so I was surprised to be charged $2. However – it’s for 2 nights. So you’re forced to pay for 2 nights at $1 each. I thought it was because of Thanksgiving, but when I went back, it was still $2/2 nights – that’s in Perry County, PA. Maybe they’re experimenting w/different costs in different markets? I don’t rent movies that often either way, so it’s not a huge deal and usually I do keep them for more than 1 day, but I was still confused at first. $2 is still pretty cheap, but I can see how online rental subscriptions are cheaper now with a bigger selection and no lines.
I don’t use netflix or blockbuster. But I do use redbox. This price increase would definitely cut me back on not using it. Movies aren’t worth that much to me. I can do without.
Harrisburg area means all of Pennsylvania apparently.
At a dollar a night, easy returns and no gotcha games with return times as with blockbuster, I quit pirating videos on bittorrent.
At two dollars a night and signs of more BS to come…….redbox can die a slow twisting death just like blockbuster.
Too bad. They almost got it right.Right price,right service,right location. Then they blew it.
I’m back to the pirate life. Yo ho Yo Ho!
My thoughts exactly
How ’bout $2 for Blu Ray, $1 for regular DVDs? That’s my biggest frustration-no Blu Ray! I’d pay $2 for that feature, but for regular DVDs I’ll stick with Netflix.
Ok – the one in Newport Giant now says “$2 1st night, $1 each additional” – so that’s where we’re at, too. Standing in line for movies that aren’t even in there isn’t worth it.