Traditional video outlets are starting to feel the redbox effect
Video rental has become a lot more complicated, or maybe a little easier, depending on what you’re looking for.
An industry that once featured mostly small, independent rental stores now features many rental options-large rental store chains, online rental companies and now the introduction of automated rental vendors such as redbox.
These vendors aim to be the ATMs of the rental industry-fast, convenient and relatively hassle-free.
Redboxes, which premiered in Logan stores and the rest of Utah beginning in June 2005, are located in or outside McDonald’s restaurants or Smith’s and Macey’s supermarkets.
They contain 35 to 40 of the most recent and popular releases that can be rented for $1 (plus tax) per day and charged to your credit card. On their Web site, redbox advertises saying people can “easily rent a movie in less than a minute.”
Other similar vendors, such as the Touch Screen DVD vendor in the Taggert Student Center, have also entered the market.
The convenience and low cost of redbox are a large reason for its popularity. “It’s a cool way to try movies that I’m not really sure about, because it’s only a dollar,” says Jeanette Cox, a history master’s student.
Jeff Paystrup, a senior history major, said it is also convenient that the redbox locations, at McDonald’s or in supermarkets, allow you to get two things done on one trip.
The option of renting and returning a DVD in the space of a single day also appeals to some customers. Logan Julander, a junior civil engineering major, said, “Most of the time I rent a video, I only want it one day anyway.”
However, the low costs and convenience have not made up for hassles some students have faced. Cox mentioned that redbox corporate officials once claimed she didn’t return a movie that she had.
She said she was able to resolve the problem quickly. However, freshman Katie Porter, an early childhood education major, was less fortunate. She is still battling a $25 fee for a DVD that redbox officials claim she did not return.
These hassles are a large reason some rental retailers may feel they will not be harmed by having redbox around.
The vendor cannot offer the customer service of a rental store, said Riley Mann, store director of a Logan Hollywood Video.
She said they consider online DVD rental services such as Netflix as their biggest competitors.
Additionally, redbox’s limited selection cannot match the inventory of other rental stores or online renters.
“I like to watch a wider variety of movies,” Cox said. “They don’t have my independent films.”
Similarly, redboxes have a limited number of copies of each film. Freshman history major Katie Mills said she once visited six redboxes that were all sold out of one movie.
Paystrup said he avoids McDonald’s locations “because they always have a line and never have any movies.”
Although redbox has potential hassles and limited supply, its convenience ensures it won’t be going away anytime soon.
Although Porter describes redbox as evil because of her battles with undeserved fines, she sums up the appeal of the vendor as offering “cheap entertainment for poor college students.”
-tliljegren@cc.usu.edu