Distant Shipping Cuts Blockbuster Subscriber Benefits

If you have noticed your Blockbuster Online DVDs abruptly began taking an extra day or two arrive, do not jump to conclusions and automatically blame USPS for the delays. This is a case where the post office may not be at fault. The delays may be occurring because Blockbuster has chosen to ship DVDs to you from shipping centers that are far from your home.

When Blockbuster ships DVDs to you from a local shipping center, you should receive the DVDs generally within one or two days. If, however, Blockbuster chooses to ship DVDs to you from a shipping center that is hundreds of miles from your home, the DVDs may spend a few days in transit.

This extended transit time is an issue, because every extra day you have to wait for a DVD is an extra day you cannot enjoy the subscription benefits for which you are paying. In effect, the increased transit times are reducing the value of your subscription. You are paying the same amount of money each month, but receiving less for it.

Now, there is something positive about distant shipping. Perhaps, you want to see a movie that is not available at your nearest shipping center. It is nice to still be able to see that movie, even if you have to wait a couple of extra days for it to arrive. A problem could arise, however, if Blockbuster actually has the DVDs you want at a local shipping center but chooses to deliberately ship all of your DVDs from distant shipping centers with the primary intent of exploiting the extended USPS transit times to reduce the overall flow of DVDs to you. Netflix began using a similar tactic by 2005. The old Blockbuster (before the bankruptcy) was doing this as early as 2009.  

Remember, postage costs the same regardless of whether a DVD gets shipped from one mile away or a thousand miles away. Yes, having a bunch of DVDs floating around in the mail system ties up Blockbuster's inventory, but the cost reductions in processing and postage make up for that disadvantage.  Theoretically, Blockbuster could increase profits significantly just by shipping all of your DVDs from distant shipping centers. Under this throttling practice, you would get fewer DVDs each month, Blockbuster would save money on processing and postage, and you would still pay full price.

Look on your Blockbuster Online return envelopes, if the addresses are for shipping centers hundreds of miles from your house, consider contacting Blockbuster and asking them why you have to mail your DVDs to another city. If you live near a major city but your DVDs take more than one or two days to arrive, consider contacting Blockbuster and asking them why all of your DVDs are coming from so far away.

Blockbuster will tell you they sometimes ship DVDs to you from distant shipping centers to make sure you get the DVDs you want most. This may be true for some titles, but if Blockbuster is shipping all of your DVDs from distant shipping centers and having you return the DVDs to distant shipping centers, there is no reasonable excuse for this inconvenience, and there is a strong chance Blockbuster is intentionally taking advantage of you by creating artificial delays on your account (a.k.a. throttling). If you suspect Blockbuster is throttling you, consider contacting them and asking them why.

Blockbuster Online's Processing Decoy Tactic

It appears Blockbuster Online has begun favoring a particular throttling tactic. This one is the processing decoy tactic. Blockbuster will tie up your queue for an extra day by holding a DVD in Processing status overnight and then canceling shipment of the DVD the following morning. Here is an example of how it works.

1. On Monday morning, you have an empty slot in the At Home section of your Blockbuster Online queue.
2. Later that day, Blockbuster will move one of your most desired DVDs (normally one with an Availability status of Long Wait or Very Long Wait) to the empty slot in the At Home section of your queue. This DVD will be tagged as Processing.
3. The DVD will sit in your queue for the rest of the day and into the night with the status of Processing.
4. The next morning, the DVD will have mysteriously been moved from the At Home section of your queue back down to its original position in your list of desired DVDs. This leaves an empty slot in the At Home section of your queue.
5. Later that day, the empty slot will likely be filled with a different DVD from you queue. That replacement DVD is likely to ship that afternoon.

This throttling tactic is bad for you for two reasons. 1) The delay automatically adds at least one day to your turnaround, reducing the number of DVDs you can receive during the subscription month and thereby reducing the value of your subscription. 2) By holding one of your most desired DVDs in Processing status, Blockbuster is discouraging you from renting that title from another source for at least one day. You will probably not rent a DVD from a Blockbuster store, Redbox, etc. if you believe Blockbuster Online will be shipping that DVD to you in the immediate future.

Blockbuster might think they are being clever with this tactic, but they are only annoying subscribers. We all know Blockbuster Online generally knows whether it can ship a particular DVD or not. Those DVD envelopes and sleeves are barcoded and tracked through their inventory system.  Yes, sometimes returned DVDs arrive damaged or in the wrong sleeves or envelopes, but generally Blockbuster knows what DVDs it has in its shipping centers.  If Blockbuster is going to throttle subscribers, Blockbuster needs to stop playing games and just be straightforward with it.

Come on, Blockbuster, don't be such a tease. Just leave those shipping slots empty until you are satisfied with how much extra money you have milked from the subscribers. Irritating your last few loyal customers is not a good way to pull yourself out of bankruptcy.

Easing up on the Throttle

Curiously, Blockbuster Online seems to have recently cut back on what had appeared to be a very aggressive system of throttling. The change seems to have begun near the beginning of 2010 and has continued to the present time. For whatever reason, Blockbuster appears to be easing up a bit.

This sounds like a positive story, but it is not. Blockbuster should not be praised for sending out DVDs in a reasonable timeframe. This is what they should have been doing all along. Praising Blockbuster for not throttling for a few weeks would be like praising a thief for walking out of a mall without stealing anything.

So, why would Blockbuster Online ease up on throttling their customers? At this point, the answer is unclear. It is possible they found themselves getting into legal jeopardy. Maybe too many customers were canceling their subscriptions. Maybe outraged customers were speaking out and tarnishing the Blockbuster brand. Who knows?

If you have noticed changes in Blockbuster Online's behavior during 2010, please post your comments below. More importantly, if Blockbuster Online is still throttling you, please let everyone know right away.

How Blockbuster Is Throttling You to One Set of DVDs per Week

If you are a Blockbuster Online subscriber, you may have noticed a curious pattern of delays on your account. Sometimes, you will return a DVD to a Blockbuster store, and it will take a surprisingly long time to clear your queue. Often, you will have DVDs--that are apparently being processed--sitting in your queue for multiple days. Frequently, your DVDs will take days longer to arrive than they should have.

If these strange events are routinely occurring on your Blockbuster account, you are not just a random, unfortunate Blockbuster customer. You are most likely a victim of throttling. Blockbuster may be systemically limiting the number of DVDs you receive by employing a combination of delay tactics against your account.

Below is a summary of Blockbuster Online's more common throttling tactics. Each tactic creates only a small delay, but when Blockbuster uses two or more of these tactics together, they can easily place tight limits on the number of DVDs you can receive in any given month.

Delayed Store Check-In
If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, you may have noticed you can return a store DVD to a Blockbuster store, but it might not clear your queue for hours (or days). You may have noticed the returned store DVD almost never clears your queue in time for another DVD to ship that same day--even if you returned the store DVD as soon as the store opened. Blockbuster can use this delayed store check-in tactic to slow down your DVDs by at least one extra day.

Processing Delays
One of Blockbuster's favorite throttling techniques is the processing delay. Blockbuster may indicate they are processing your DVD for shipment, but they will actually not ship it out until the following day. Blockbuster just claims to be processing your DVD so you will be less likely to complain. If you do complain, they will just defend themselves by saying, "We are processing your next DVD. We will ship it as soon as possible."

How long does it take to process a DVD anyway? How could it possibly take a full day or more to turnaround a DVD? There is no legitimate reason for this type of delay. The purpose is to slow down your shipments by an extra day or an entire weekend, therefore decreasing the number of DVDs you can watch for your monthly subscription fee.

Long-Distance Shipping
If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, you may have noticed, when Blockbuster ships a DVD to you on a Monday or Tuesday, that DVD takes an extra couple of days to arrive. This is because Blockbuster is shipping DVDs to you from shipping centers far from your house. Blockbuster could be intentionally exploiting USPS transit times to ensure that your DVD takes longer to arrive at your house. Blockbuster pays the same whether they ship a DVD to you from down the street or 3,000 miles away. By shipping DVDs from remote shipping centers, Blockbuster can add days to your turnaround time and then blame USPS for the delay.

What This Means for You
By using a devious combination of multiple throttling techniques, Blockbuster has made it nearly impossible for throttled subscribers to get more than one set of DVDs in any given week. If you are being throttled by Blockbuster, expect to be hit with a variety of delays. No matter how quickly you watch and return your DVDs, it appears Blockbuster has stacked the deck against you. Blockbuster is simply not going to send as many DVDs to you as they should.

If you are a Blockbuster subscriber, know that you are dealing with a shady company that is willing to take your monthly subscription fee while providing very limited benefits. This is just what Blockbuster is doing to subscribers now. Imagine what other sorts of unscrupulous business practices Blockbuster will be employing in the future as this increasingly irrelevant company continues to lose market share to its competitors and finds it more difficult to generate enough profits to sustain its outdated and bloated business model. For Blockbuster subscribers, things are bound to only get worse from here on out.

Speed or Order: Choose How You Want Blockbuster to Throttle You

Blockbuster has added a new feature that allows you to apply new settings to your queue. On the My Account page, under Manage Account Settings, you can designate Shipping Preferences for your queue. You may choose either Speed or Order. If you select Speed, Blockbuster should ship DVDs to you according to which titles in your queue will ship the fastest with less regard to their rank in your queue. If you select Order, Blockbuster should ship DVDs to you according to their rank in your queue with less regard to speed. Furthermore, if you select Order, you will need to select how many extra days you are prepared to wait for the highest ranking titles in your queue. You may choose to wait one to five extra days.

Choose from these queue options carefully, because Blockbuster can use these preferences to their advantage. If you select Speed, you will be inviting Blockbuster to send DVDs that might be low in your queue but abundant in Blockbuster's inventory. If you select Order, you will be inviting Blockbuster to slow down your shipments with no guarantee you will actually receive your most desired titles. Either way, Blockbuster could use these settings to your disadvantage. Either you could get less desirable titles more quickly or more desirable titles more slowly.

At this point, it is unclear how these settings will affect which distribution center will be shipping your DVDs. When Blockbuster ships from distant shipping centers, days may be added to transit times. In recent months, Blockbuster has displayed a strong tendency to slow down the flow of DVDs to some subscribers by shipping from more distant centers. Blockbuster has not yet specified whether or how transit times will be factored based on a subscriber's Speed/Order queue shipping preference.

Here is the safe way to play this new Speed/Order queue feature. Set your preference to Speed, and do not have any titles in your queue that you would not be happy to receive. Keep your most desired titles at the top of your queue, and hope for the best. Blockbuster is still probably going to throttle you, but if you have your preference set for Speed and you have plenty of desired titles in your queue, Blockbuster will not have any legitimate excuses. Yes, Blockbuster will still probably throttle you, but they will have a hard time convincingly pinning the blame for the delays on you.

Blockbuster Shipping Delays Spanning Multiple Weeks

Blockbuster Online must have recently determined that throttling customers down to one set of DVDs per week was not profitable enough. It now appears Blockbuster is experimenting with a throttling tactic that allows subscribers' empty queue slots to sit idle for many days on end.

Under Blockbuster's regular system of throttling, Blockbuster would delay shipping until the later half of the week or simply ship DVDs at the beginning of the week from distant shipping centers, knowing they would not reach the subscribers until Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Regardless, throttled subscribers would not receive DVDs until the end of the week, which made it nearly impossible for the subscribers to get more than one set of DVDs per week.

During October, however, shipping has gotten slower on some accounts. Blockbuster has allowed queue slots to remain empty for extended periods, even for time periods that extend through weekends. For example, a throttled subscriber could have three empty queue slots on a Monday morning. Blockbuster might ship only one or two DVDs during the week, leaving one or two slots open through the weekend. The following week, Blockbuster might ship an additional DVD or two to fill the empty slot(s). Under this potential new system of throttling, subscribers could have to wait more than a week and a half to receive just one set of DVDs.

Blockbuster claims the October delays are due to a shipping center upgrade. At this point, it is unclear what sort of an upgrade actually slows shipping, but if Blockbuster is telling the truth, this problem should be over soon. Presumably, Blockbuster will then resume its standard throttling program, which effectively limits subscribers to one set of DVDs per week.

Watch your Blockbuster Online account closely, and make sure Blockbuster is not delaying your shipments for extended periods. If you find that Blockbuster is delaying your shipments, the best thing to do is contact them via email and phone to complain every day they fail to ship a DVD to you. If you contact Blockbuster enough, you will get free weeks of service, free store rental coupons, discounts, etc. You can call Blockbuster toll-free at (866) 692-2789.

Blockbuster Store Check-In Delays Mysteriously Vanish

Blockbuster store check-in delays seem to have disappeared as mysteriously as they arrived. In May, some subscribers may have experienced significant delays while waiting for returned store DVDs to clear their queues. These delays were sometimes adding days to the turnaround time for each DVD. At no point, did it become clear whether the delays were due to system problems or deliberate throttling measures intended to reduce the flow of DVDs to subscribers.

There are three main theories. 1) Blockbuster had some strange system glitch that coincidentally allowed them to ship fewer DVDs while still charging full subscription fees. 2) Blockbuster was experimenting with a new throttling technique, and realized the horrifying potential for a massive class action lawsuit. 3) Blockbuster was experimenting with a new throttling technique, and the outcry from subscribers and Blockbuster store managers was too great to be ignored.

The Blockbuster store managers had to hate the check-in delay problem. Blockbuster Online requires each subscriber with issues about store DVDs to call that store's manager during business hours. The managers must have resented getting calls from angry Blockbuster Online subscribers about check-in delays. Every time a subscriber called the store manager about a check-in delay, that manager would have to log into the store's computer system, confirm the DVD had been checked in, and then offer a variety of explanations about why Blockbuster Online's system was out of sync with the store's computer system. This had to be an irritating waste of time for the managers, especially since these calls only consumed the store's resources and generated no revenue.

Blockbuster needs to explain what was going on with the check-in delays. Regardless of whether the delays were due to system problems are deliberate actions, some Blockbuster Online subscribers were inconvenienced during this time and did not receive the full benefits of their subscriptions. Blockbuster needs to compensate the affected subscribers in some way to make up for the delays. Several DVD coupons or a temporary subscription plan upgrade might be sufficient.

Have you experienced any strange store check-in delay problems? If so, post the details here.

How to Investigate Artificial Blockbuster Store Check-In Delays

During the last several days, the Blockbuster Underground test account has revealed a peculiar new trend that might negatively affect some Blockbuster Online subscribers. The possible delay tactic limits the DVDs a subscriber can receive each month by allowing or intentionally creating a lengthy delay between the time a Blockbuster subscriber returns a store DVD and the time the Blockbuster Online system updates to reflect the return. The issue could easily add a day or two to the turnaround time for each DVD.

The most troubling thing about these delays is that they have the appearance of being artificial and intentional. Past system update patterns and current system update patterns show some inconsistencies that seem to have no reasonable explanation.

Under this new possible throttling tactic, store DVDs returned at the same time and at the same store may not clear the Blockbuster online system at the same time. This inconsistency strongly suggests the delays are not due to a legitimate system update schedule issue. For example, if the Blockbuster system were updating only once every twenty-four hours, generally all store DVDs returned at the same time should be clearing the system at about the same time. If two DVDs are returned at exactly the same time and they are clearing the Blockbuster Online system at very different times, that suggests the delays are artificial and, therefore, intentional.

Certainly, a Blockbuster employee might scan in one DVD and then not scan in another DVD for hours. This might account for discrepancies of a few hours, but this would not account for delays sometimes far exceeding twenty-four hours, especially since a couple of weeks ago, DVDs returned to the same store were normally clearing the Blockbuster Online system at nearly the same time and in less than a few hours. Often, returned store DVDs would clear in less than an hour.

Another reason the system delays seem artificial is that in-store exchanges (i.e., online DVDs exchanged for store DVDs) still show up in the system rapidly. This feature of the system seems to be mysteriously unaffected by the new delays. In-store exchanges commonly show up in the Blockbuster system within an hour of the transaction. How could the system so quickly update to show when store DVDs go out but then take a full day longer to reflect when those same DVDs came back?

You can test all of this for yourself and see if you are being throttled by Blockbuster in this manner. Here is how to conduct your own investigation.

1. The next time you exchange your Blockbuster Online DVDs for store rentals at a Blockbuster store, make a note of the time, go straight home, and check your Blockbuster Online queue.
2. Your in-store exchanges will probably already be reflected by your queue, indicating the Blockbuster Online system has updated.
3. If the new store rentals do not appear in your queue, check your queue every hour or so until the new store rentals appear in the At Home section of your queue.
4. Make a note of the time.
5. When you later return those store rentals, take them into the store to a Blockbuster counter clerk, and ask the counter clerk to scan the DVDs in front of you. Ask the clerk to verify the DVDs are showing up in the system as being checked in. (The store's system update should be almost instantaneous.) You may even want to ask for a receipt or other form of proof for the return. Regardless, make a note of the time the DVDs were scanned at the store.
6. When you get home, check your Blockbuster Online queue periodically until the store rental DVDs clear the At Home section of your queue.
7. Make a note of the approximate time you notice each DVD clearing your queue.
8. If your returned store DVDs clear at significantly different times, or if the DVDs remain in your queue beyond 6:00AM (Eastern) the following morning, there is a problem, and you are probably being throttled by Blockbuster.
9. Contact Blockbuster, ask them why you are experiencing such long delays on your account, and request a refund. If these delays are the result of a legitimate system delay, Blockbuster needs to offer you a full explanation, a detailed plan for how they are fixing the problem, and a refund for the time you were unfairly deprived of the subscription benefits for which your are paying.

Blockbuster Takes Throttling to the Next Level with In-Store Check-In Delay

Blockbuster appears to be engaging in a new throttling tactic, which may border on blatantly fraudulent activity and may put the company in jeopardy of a major class action lawsuit. The latest suspected delay tactic is taking the form of delays in Blockbuster Online's system updates for returned in-store exchanges from some Blockbuster Online subscribers.

Under Blockbuster's current rules, a Blockbuster subscriber must return an in-store exchange DVD before Blockbuster Online will ship another DVD to the subscriber. The problem is that if a subscriber returns a store DVD to the store, has that DVD properly scanned in at the store, and the Blockbuster Online system does not update properly, the returned DVD will incorrectly appear to not be checked in. Even though, the DVD was properly scanned in at the store, the online system may not reflect the return, and that DVD will unfairly occupy a Blockbuster Online shipping slot until it clears the system. Every day that shipping slot appears to be occupied is a day Blockbuster Online will not ship another DVD.

The real problem is that the subscriber is expected to wait twenty-four hours for the returned DVD to clear before reporting the problem. Even then, Blockbuster Online wants the subscriber to personally contact the store by phone to fix the problem. Of course, Blockbuster store hours are limited, and most problems cannot be addressed until the early afternoon, long after Blockbuster Online has selected all DVDs to be shipped that day. This means that a subscriber can return a store DVD to the store, and Blockbuster can use their computer system to easily add a day or two to the turnaround process. This is assuming the Blockbuster subscriber is diligent about maintaining his or her account. A subscriber who does not check his or her account frequently, could see this shipping slot go occupied indefinitely.

Just last week, returned DVDs were able to clear the system in less than an hour in many cases. Why is it suddenly taking Blockbuster up to twenty-four hours to clear DVDs? Slower turnarounds benefit Blockbuster by making it possible to send out fewer DVDs to subscribers.

In short, Blockbuster appears to either be having major system problems or is engaging in intentional shipping delays to throttle subscribers. Regardless, watch your account vigilantly, report problems at the first sign of trouble, and be relentless in your dealings with customer service until they fix your issue. If you are paying a subscription fee to Blockbuster, you deserve to receive the benefits for which you are paying. Blockbuster has no right to hide behind system delays that coincidentally increase profits on the backs of subscribers.

If you think there is a possibility you may want to sue Blockbuster or simply demand a refund from Blockbuster or your credit card company, keep records of your rental history and all contacts with Blockbuster. You will need this information to support your claim and demonstrate Blockbuster's breach of contract.

Blockbuster Stoops to New Low with Friday Sleeper Shipping Delay Tactic

Just when we think Blockbuster Online cannot get any worse, they surprise us with another delay tactic, which ultimately results in a reduction of subscriber benefits. The latest stunt in a long line of repugnant and sleazy corporate behavior is Blockbuster’s new Friday shipping delay. We will call this the Friday Sleeper shipping delay tactic. In this scheme, Blockbuster Online leaves one shipping slot in a subscriber’s queue open almost all week and then ships out a DVD to fill that open slot on Friday afternoon.

Here is an example of how this Friday Sleeper shipping delay tactic appears to work. Blockbuster Online subscriber, Bob returns Online DVDs A1, B1, and C1 to a Blockbuster store on Friday, January 9. The store clerk scans in the DVDs, immediately opening all three shipping slots in Bob’s queue. Now if Blockbuster were living up to their end of the subscriber agreement, they would ship out three DVDs (A2, B2, and C2) on Monday, January 12. In this scheme, however, Blockbuster Online will wait until Wednesday, January 14 to fill only two of the three open queue slots by sending out DVDs A2 and B2. Blockbuster Online will then leave the one remaining queue slot open until the end of the shipping week and then finally ship out DVD C2 on Friday, January 16.

In this scenario, Bob gets hit with the standard Wednesday shipping delay plus the new Friday Sleeper shipping delay tactic. Bob will have to wait nearly a week to receive the first two DVDs (A2 and B2), and he will have to wait more than a week to receive the third DVD (C2). He should have received all three DVDs in just a few days, so Blockbuster has successfully and dramatically reduced the number of DVDs Bob can receive during each month.

At this point, it is not clear if Blockbuster is using this Friday Sleeper delay tactic to throttle all of its customers or just its heavy users. Regardless, this is a blatant abuse of the Blockbuster shipping system and a likely breach of contract. Make sure to keep careful records of your DVD rentals and your interactions with Blockbuster. Blockbuster appears to be willing to do just about anything to systematically minimize the benefits of some subscribers. There is bound to be a class action lawsuit at some point. If so, having good records could be to your benefit. If you do take any sort of action against Blockbuster in the future, documentation will be your friend.

Wednesday Shipping: Blockbuster Online’s Weapon of Choice for Delays

In September 2008, Blockbuster Underground reported an apparent trend at Blockbuster Online.

Since then, Blockbuster has shown signs of experimenting with multiple delay tactics, but the Wednesday shipping delay tactic seems to be emerging as one of Blockbuster’s favorites ways to limit the flow of DVDs to some subscribers.

It appears Blockbuster Online has decided to ship few or no DVDs to at least some subscribers on Mondays and Tuesdays regardless of whether or not the subscribers have open queue slots. This delay tactic makes Wednesday the first normal shipping day of the week for some Blockbuster Online subscribers. Therefore, an affected subscriber could have all of his or her online DVDs checked in by Blockbuster on a Friday afternoon and possibly not see any replacement DVDs shipped out until Wednesday of the following week. Because of transit times, the affected subscriber would not actually receive those DVDs until Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or later.

At this point it is unclear if Blockbuster uses its Wednesday shipping delay tactic on all subscribers or just the heavy users. Regardless, there is a clear trend that Blockbuster is not shipping DVDs to at least some subscribers on Mondays and Tuesdays even though those subscribers may have had multiple open slots in their queues for days.

This Wednesday shipping scheme is the most flagrant and egregious delay tactic employed by Blockbuster since the company began its DVD-by-mail service in 2004. Look for Blockbuster to take more shifty courses of action as it continues to squeeze profits from its shrinking customer base.

If you have had any experiences with Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday shipping at Blockbuster Online, please share your experiences here.

Preparing for a Blockbuster Lawsuit

With Blockbuster raising prices, cutting back on subscriber benefits, expanding shipping times, etc., customers are bound to become outraged at some point. Hundreds of thousands of outraged customers are going to create a hostile consumer environment, which is almost certainly going to lead to lawsuits against Blockbuster.

If you do not trust Blockbuster to deliver the unlimited DVD rental service for which you are paying, you will want to prepare for the possibility that you, one day, will be furious with Blockbuster and want some justice. A little bit of effort on your part now will help you build your case against Blockbuster should you need to take action in the future.

The most important thing you can do to build your case against Blockbuster is to keep track of each Blockbuster DVD you receive. As Blockbuster sends each DVD, make a note of the title, the date Blockbuster shipped it, the date you received it, the date you returned it, the date Blockbuster acknowledged receipt, and the date Blockbuster shipped the next title. You can record this information on paper or digitally. The easiest way to record this data is in a spreadsheet.

Recording all of this Blockbuster shipping data may seem like overkill, but if you think there is even a remote chance you may want to sue Blockbuster, participate in a class action lawsuit, or have Blockbuster investigated for fraud, this data will be very useful to the attorney or investigators. If you do not have this data available, the only source for the data will be Blockbuster. They, of course, will be reluctant to provide it and may not do so without a subpoena. If you record the data yourself, you will have it readily available, and it can eventually be used to crosscheck and verify the accuracy of whatever data Blockbuster releases.

Also, keep track of all of your communication with Blockbuster. Keep copies of every letter, email, etc. If you call Blockbuster, make a quick note about when you called and what was discussed. This information will be valuable later when you need to establish you have been a responsible, concerned, and proactive consumer.

Lastly, log in to your Blockbuster account and copy your entire rental history. It is important you do this as soon as possible, because Blockbuster controls this information and has the power to remove it at any moment.

To copy your rental history, follow the steps below.

1. Click on My Account on Blockbuster.com.
2. Verify your login information.
3. On the My Account page, click on View Rental History.
4. The My Rental History page will appear.
5. With your mouse, highlight all of the titles and dates. (Note: Speed up the process by setting the Results Per Page to 100.)
6. Copy the data by pressing [Ctrl + C] on your keyboard.
7. Paste the data into a document or spreadsheet by opening the desired application and pressing [Ctrl + V].
8. Make sure to save the data.
   

This easy process will take only a few minutes. If Blockbuster ever does anything shady and despicable like concealing your subscriber data, you will already have it.

In summary, you can protect yourself as a consumer by taking a few simple actions. By tracking your rentals, recording your correspondence, and copying your account history, you can build an arsenal of information, which will become useful if you should ever need to sue Blockbuster or have them investigated by a government agency.

The Reality of Blockbuster’s Practical Plan Caps

As far as we know, Blockbuster does not have any official subscriber plan caps which actually limit the number of DVDs a subscriber is permitted to receive in any given time period. This, of course, excludes limits which are specifically established as the terms of specific plans (e.g., the cap on the LIMITED Through the Mail plan).

Official plan caps are not necessary, because all Blockbuster subscriptions come with built-in plan caps--or practical caps--which are imposed by the USPS delivery schedule and Blockbuster’s shipping days. Given that Blockbuster has limited full shipping days, your DVDs will most likely ship only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. This small shipping window significantly limits the amount of DVDs you can receive in any given week.

For example, if you were to maximize your TotalAccess Premium plan by exchanging all of your online rentals for in-store rentals the same day those online rentals arrive, you would not be able to average more than twelve DVDs (six online and six in-store) per week. In order to reach this lofty maximum, you would have to generally receive your DVDs the day after shipping, and here is where we find another problem: transit times.

Not all DVDs arrive the next day. Rare titles, old titles, brand new releases, etc. commonly ship from distant shipping centers and take longer to arrive. These longer transit periods increase turnaround times and greatly reduce the amount of DVDs you can receive in a week. Even if you are diligent about exchanging your online rentals for in-store rentals the same day they arrive, you may find it very difficult to get more than six DVDs (three online and three in-store) per week if some of your DVDs are taking an extra day or two to arrive.

So, there you have it. Limited shipping days and transit times are working against you. Even under perfect circumstances, no matter what you do as a consumer, your Blockbuster TotalAccess Premium plan has a practical cap of around twelve DVDs per average week. If your circumstances are less than perfect, you might experience a practical cap of around six DVDs per week. Realistically, you will probably find that you can average no more than ten DVDs per week on a TotalAccess Premium account, and accomplishing that feat will require a great deal of determination and effort on your part.

Monday Shipping Is Elusive at Blockbuster Online

A Blockbuster Underground test account began revealing some unusual activity in late 2007, and the problem has consistently persisted throughout early 2008. The problem is with the shipment of new DVDs on Mondays. Blockbuster used to almost always ship DVDs on Mondays. Now, however, it appears Blockbuster almost never ships out DVDs to at least some online accounts on Mondays.

The Blockbuster Underground test account commonly has multiple empty queue slots throughout most of each weekend and Monday. It has become standard that the earliest shipment of DVDs does not occur until Tuesday afternoon each week. This means that a queue slot may open on a Friday afternoon, and the replacement DVD will not arrive until Wednesday, Thursday, or later. This is a substantial delay. The absence of Monday shipping causes a significant decrease in the number of DVDs a customer can receive in a week. This delay must be very profitable for Blockbuster, but it is a substantial blow to the customer’s subscription benefits.

Are you experiencing similar problems with Monday shipping from Blockbuster Online? If so, please report it here. If this shipping trend is consistent, we may be on the verge of discovering a way that Blockbuster has managed to limit (or throttle) the flow of DVDs to some or all of its online customers.