There are 8 Blockbuster Videos in Bakersfield.

My sister rented the Bee movie the other day so she could watch it with her husband. They watched it that night, but she fell asleep in the middle of the movie and didn't get to see it all. The next day it was supposed to be returned and her husband had to leave town for a concert, so they didn't get to see all of the movie. Then she forgot about it and had to pay an extra $2 for the movie even though she never got to see the whole thing. We are so not a fan of the new pricing.

There are three test markets and we seem to be the one with median pricing. Texas is going at $4 a pop and NY at $1 each. Seems they want to know how people will react to it. I for one wouldn't want to pay $4 for 36 hour rental (rent on a Sat afternoon, have until midnight Sunday to return) but at $1 or $2 that's pretty good...I usually rent 2-3 movies at a time, but with this type pricing I would drop it to only 1 or 2.

http://www.blockbuster.com/... has more information as to where Blockbuster is going. While the new price points are part of the future, stores themselves might be drastically different as well.

I tried the Redbox vending machine rental the other day.  No hassle, no problem, $1 per night, but they've only got a couple dozen selections...

Drive to a Blockbuster, only to be underwhelmed and annoyed by their crappy selection and policies?  Haven't done that in about 3 years.  I'm a Netflix customer and I'm never going back to the old ways.  I'm paying less than $2 per movie on the plan I have, with no gas mileage to figure in either.

Try going to the Blockbuster at Oswell and Mall View. It's the same as going to Mercado Latino on a Saturday. We only get our movies from Brighthouse pay per view these days.

I really like the new test because when I go in on the weekends all the movies are in because other customers are bringing them back. It is cheaper to rent these movies initially. At least I get to choose how much I pay. I paid $4.29 for 2 days. Now I pay $4 for 2 days. Also, I am glad that if I want to return it  right away I don't  have to pay the whole $4.29 like before. 

I haven't rented a movie since I moved to Bakersfield a year ago. But when I was on a renting jag, I discovered that Blockbuster never had what I wanted, and the Hollywood a few miles away had it. I have plenty to watch at home, but if I rent, I know I'll skip the Blockbuster and go to the Hollywood in the same parking lot.

I rent so rarely that Netflix wouldn't be worth it for me. Lots of people say they have ditched cable and use Netflix instead; I'm the opposite. I have an 80-hour TiVo loaded with movies for me to watch, and another TiVo hooked up to  the cable feeding me C-SPAN, soccer and series.

My son gave me a 3-month gift membership to Netflix which is about to run out, but I'm going to keep the membership.  It's just one movie at a time, but that's about all I have time to watch.  The bonus, though, is that there are movies and TV shows that I can stream on my computer, so I can watch them while I wait for a new movie to arrive.  Even that only seems to take at max 3 days.  I send my movie off on Day 1; they receive it and process my order for the next one on Day 2; and I have my new movie on Day 3.   New releases, oldies, it doesn't matter.   At that rate I could rent 8-10 movies a month, plus watch others on my computer, all for only $9.00/month.   It would cost 3-4 times as much if I rented that many movies through a store, plus I'd have to make the effort to go there, spend more time and gas.  And contrary to what Me705 says, I have gone into Hollywood Video way too many times in the past and had them out of the movies I'm looking for. 

Netflix all the way!

Edit:  I forgot to mention I can get movies through Netflix that neither Blockbuster or Hollywood Video carries.

Edit 2:  Rereading my post, I sound like a commercial.  Sorry 'bout that.

Netflix all the way~ I get three at a time( I am a movie fan~especially in summer) ,they have great selections,a watch it now feature,the DVDs have those cool features you can not get on cable(easter egss anyone?) ~I gotta have my Netflix!

With the price of gas these days, even the cheap 1-day rental prices aren't really enough to offset having to drive to the store twice in as many days. I suppose if one was on your route to/from work, it would be easier. As gas prices continue to rise, a system like Netflix where all you have to do is walk to your mailbox will become more and more popular, regardless of how cheap the in-store rental prices are at traditional stores.

As Sage is well aware, I'm a huge fan of Netflix. They not only have everything the video stores carry, they have movies you never knew existed. And being able to create a queue you can manipulate is a big plus. You can change the order of the movies you want to see depending upon your mood. There's a distribution center in Bakersfield so the turn-around time is two days if it's in stock (which is 99% of the time). I can mail a movie off on Monday and have the next one on Wednesday.

As a big fan of documentaries and independent films, and none of the video stores have the movies I'm looking for. NetFlix always has them.

Netflix has a bigger selection of Blu-ray movies as well. The video stores carry one or two copies of new releases on Blu-ray and they're always checked out.

 BTW Sage, you're going to love In Bruges. I saw it in Fresno since it never showed up here.  I preordered it from Amazon and should have it soon.

I HATE THE NEW PRICING!!! You might as well use the Red Box at Food Maxx for $1 a day. Yeah the selection is not always great but it's better than Blockbuster reaping the benefit. I have an online membership with Blockbuster as well and use to be able to take my movies in and exchange them so I didn't have to wait as long. Now I can still do it but one night is just not enough; and who plays a video game in one night and is satisfied. I think this is a way to actually get more money from it's consumers. Think about it...who keeps a movie for one night....not very many so when you fail to return it you pay $2 per night. The old way you paid the $3 or $4 dollars for a movie kept if for 2 to 5 nights depending on the movie and had 7 days grace period to return it with no penalties. Then up to 30 days grace period before it was yours and only $1.50 or so restocking fee. So your actually paying more in the long run...either way my husband and I are seriously considering other options. I think Blockbuster has LOST A CUSTOMER until they change it back or rethink this idea. Why does Bakersfield have to be a test market? Look at JBX Grill...

I'll stay with Movie Gallery even though they don't have the selection that Blockbuster does.  They have a huge "for sale" collection at reasonable prices.   And the staff is more personable and helpful.  I try to go on Tuesday morning when the new movies are in.

Guys, without sounding like a commercial, those of you looking for a particular DVD or CD to buy might check out

http://www.deepdiscount.com

They have a fairly wide selection, free shipping, and until Sunday they've got a secret sale going where you get 20 percent off if you enter the coupon code "SUPERSALE" before checking out.

I ordered about $100 worth of DVD's including TV series, old B&W films and current releases and the bill came to about $50.

I hate the pricing and will not be going back because of it! I don't always have time to watch a movie in one night and I am not willing to pay $2 a night to keep it. Bad idea, Blockbuster! It makes me consider Netflix when it was only a casual thought before.

As soon as I talked to the manager at the Coffee/Hageman store, and confirmed that I would now have to pay $14 for a one-week game rental for my son, I terminated my membership. Really, who plays a game in one or two days? It was already about $8, but at least you got it for a week. $14? That's just greed.

Actually, the manager told me a lot of people were unhappy and he convinced me to just put my account on hold.. he said he had a list of people to call if/when Blockbuster comes to its senses.

It's too bad, because I was so PO'd that I cancelled my BB Online membership as well and went back to Netflix (which is faster delivery, and has other benefits as well). That means BB lost both my in-store and online rental business... probably about $40 per month.

I like the new fees.  I rent a movie for one day and return it on the way to work the next morning.  The Blockbuster store is on my normal route to work so gas isn't an issue. It's a lot better than renting a movie for twice that amount and only keeping it for one day which was what I was doing.  I also don't rent enough movies to justify Netflix.  Give me a good book most of the time.

I'm sure the new pricing will be very lucrative for Blockbuster. Of course they will lose about half their customers. I was pissed when I heard about the new pricing. I love how instead of calling it a late fee, it's just a fee to rent by the day. What a creative way to screw your customers. I will not be back. I already cancelled my online acct, which took a few months of hassle, and vowed not to rent there anymore, but I wanted to rent a few games, but not for a freakin day. 

Blockbuster...finding new ways to piss off the customer.