Trial Offer Guide

Blockbuster is one of those companies that was forced to re-invent their wheel. In the 90’s it seemed like there was a new BlockBuster opening on every corner in every town across the country. Then came along NetFlix with a business model that changed the way we rent videos.

Blockbuster, while late to the rent videos by mail party, saw their massive marketshare start to drop and crashed the Netflix Party in a big way. They leveraged what was once their weakness, brick and mortar retail stores into a convenience to the consumer in a way that NetFlix could not equal.

The original Blockbuster program, which was much more a mirror of the NetFlix model had membership online ordering videos, waiting for them to arrive and then sending them back through the mail. When this duplication of model, BlockBuster by Mail, did not significantly differentiate the programs. The BlockBuster executives, to their credit, modified it into the BlockBuster Total Access Program. This allows you to rent by mail, drop off at a local Blockbuster store and even pick up another movie immediately.

The BlockBuster Total Access program provides a 2 week free trial, so even if you tried the BlockBuster By Mail program, you should take another look. The flexibility offered by being able to exchange your movies at a local store for a flat monthly fee is certainly enticing.

Some things to be aware of during the 2 week free trial of BlockBuster Total Access.

• Not all local stores participate in the exchange program. Be sure to check the store locator on the BlockBuster website to ensure your local Blockbuster Stores are participating.
• If you decide you do not want to continue the BlockBuster Total Access membership during your two week free trial, you must cancel the membership using the online cancellation system within your member control panel on the BlockBuster website.
• You must return all rental to BlockBuster within 10 days of canceling your membership. If you are a member of the Total Access Program, you may return the rentals to your local participating BlockBuster Store. If you do not return the rentals within 10 days, your credit card will be charged. If you return the rentals after the 10 days and your credit card has been charged, it will be credited back but you are still responsible for a ‘re-stocking fee’.
• There are different BlockBuster Total Access plans. They vary by the number of rentals you may have out at a time. How many in-store exchanges you may make each month. Be sure to review which plan best fits your lifestyle, you could save a lot of money by using a lower tiered membership!
• Unlike getting a moive by mail with the BlockBuster Total Access program, when you do an in-store exchange, you must return the movie to the store by the date printed on the receipt. If you fail to return the rental within 7 days of the date on the receipt the rental is converted to a purchase and charged to your credit card. Keep this in mind when doing in-store exchanges!
• Video games are not included in the membership, you do get a discounted rate for in-store video game rentals. If you or your kids are big gamers, you might want to read our review of GameFly, which runs a program very much like Netflix and Blockbuster… but for video games.

Click here to get the 2 week BlockBuster Total Access free trial and let us know what your experience is like.