"Available Now" Means Little at Blockbuster

Blockbuster Online needs to make some dramatic improvements to the accuracy of their availability statuses. Frequently, a DVD will be listed on the Blockbuster Web site as "Available Now"; however, the DVD gets passed over during queue shipment selection, and Blockbuster sends a DVD from a lower position in the customer’s queue.

Why does Blockbuster list a DVD as "Available Now" when they are not going to ship it? Why doesn’t Blockbuster just list the DVD as "Short Wait"? Here’s what Blockbuster has to say about this issue.

Question: Why didn't BLOCKBUSTER ship the first movie in My Queue?

Answer: BLOCKBUSTER Online is committed to keeping your rental experience uninterrupted. When we are ready to ship your next selection, we review the My Queue priorities and the availability of your top titles. If the first movie is not available, we ship the next available title to ensure that there is no delay in your movie rentals. "Availability" indicates the estimated wait before you will be able to receive your movie. It is dependent upon many factors, including the number of copies we have, the popularity of the movie, and the priority you set in My Queue. Even though some titles have longer waits than others, you should keep titles in the order you would prefer them. We can't guarantee you'll always get your highest priority titles first, but we will ship out copies as soon as they become available, and you may receive titles much quicker than we estimate.

Our goal is to ship your movies as quickly as possible in order to meet the expectation of 1 to 3 business days for receipt. We review all "Available Now" titles in your queue, and determine which titles are available for 2-day shipping at your nearest distribution center(s). If the requested title is outside the 2-day shipping window, it will be skipped over for a title further on your list.

We understand this may be frustrating if you are waiting for a specific title that is continuously being skipped. We are currently reviewing this process in order to improve in this area. We appreciate your patience as we do this.



Descriptions of Availability Statuses:

Available Now - This title is currently in stock, and we anticipate that it will be available for shipment when requested. However, please keep in mind that due to the constant change in availability factors we can't guarantee that this title will be the next title we ship you, even if it has the highest priority in your Queue.

Short Wait - This title currently has a few more requests than copies available for shipment. We anticipate that we will be able to ship you the title within the next 2 weeks.

Long Wait - This title currently has a high number of requests compared to the number of copies available for shipment. If the demand stays high, it may take 2-4 weeks before we can ship you the title.

Very Long Wait - This title either has a limited number of copies or an unusually high number of requests. It may take 6 weeks or longer before we are able to ship you the title. However, if the popularity stays this high, we may choose to buy additional copies, if possible.

Coming Soon - This title is either on order or is not currently available for rent. Please check the Release Date on the product detail page for title specific information.

Blockbuster’s clarification does explain the availability status problem, but it does not excuse it. It is encouraging that Blockbuster is making every effort to send DVDs from the nearest shipping centers, but Blockbuster should invest much more effort in their inventory tracking, so they can be accurate with the availability statuses.

Until Blockbuster’s inventory tracking improves, they need to stop listing DVDs as "Available Now" if there is a chance that they will not ship those DVDs. They should just avoid irritating subscribers and start labeling the questionable DVDs as "Short Wait" or invent a new status of "Possible Wait."

Papa John’s Pizza and Blockbuster DVDs

Papa John’s Pizza and Blockbuster have joined forces for a joint marketing campaign. During the promotion period, customers who order pizza from www.papajohns.com will receive a free 30-day Blockbuster Online membership.

See www.papajohns.com/blockbuster/index.htm for details.

Note: This offer is valid for new accounts only.

Blockbuster Store Exposes Customer Data

On October 9, 2005, Tracy Connor of the New York Daily News reported that a recently vacated Blockbuster store in New York City left hundreds of unshredded customer records within easy reach of the general public.

The discarded records, left in clear garbage bags on a busy sidewalk, included such sensitive information as credit card numbers, expiration dates, Social Security numbers, birth dates, home addresses, phone numbers, driver's license numbers, and signatures. The information would have been devastating in the hands of an identity thief.

Click the following link to read the entire New York Daily News article.
"It's Fraud Gold Mine"

If you have concerns about the safety of your confidential information, please contact Blockbuster directly.

Blockbuster Inc.

1201 Elm Street

Dallas, TX 75270

Phone: (214) 854-3000

Fax: (214) 854-4848

www.blockbuster.com

Blockbuster, MPAA Ratings, and Censorship Myths

Inexplicably, Blockbuster's management has done very little to dispel some common, harmful myths about the company. In the interest of knowledge and rumor control, here are the facts.


The Ratings Myth
An odd myth about Blockbuster is that they do not carry Unrated movies. The truth is that while Blockbuster generally does not carry NC-17 and X movies, they do carry many Unrated movies. Here’s the official word from Blockbuster on this issue.

Question: What movie ratings does BLOCKBUSTER carry?

Answer: All films carried by BLOCKBUSTER carry ratings that have been established by the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. In order to provide a wholesome environment for you and your family, we generally do not carry films with ratings of NC-17 or X.

The Censorship Myth
The most bizarre myth about Blockbuster is that they edit objectionable content from movies. The truth is that Blockbuster movies are not censored. Here’s the official word from Blockbuster on this issue.

Question: Does BLOCKBUSTER edit its movies?

Answer: No, BLOCKBUSTER does not edit the content of its films. We offer all movies for rental or sale the way we receive them from the studios.

Confirmation
These peculiar myths seem to be everywhere. Even David Pogue with The New York Times repeated these myths in one of his articles in April.

The strangest thing about these myths is they are incredibly easy to check with just a few minutes of simple research. For example, search for, the movie specifically mentioned in the New York Times article, Y Tu Mama Tambien at www.blockbuster.com, www.netflix.com, www.amazon.com, etc. You will find that there are two major versions of Y Tu Mama Tambien in the United States: an R version (100 mins) and an Unrated version (105 mins). You will also find that Blockbuster carries both versions, and the running times are consistent.

Continue searching for other titles on your own. You will find that Blockbuster carries many Unrated movies and clearly does not appear to be editing content. If you have any specific evidence to the contrary, please post it here.

R Version

Unrated Version

Blockbuster Online Will Raise Subscription Fees

On August 9, 2005, Blockbuster announced that it will raise the monthly subscription fee for its three-out DVD-by-mail rental plan from $14.99 to $17.99. The new pricing will go into effect on August 19, 2005.

Blockbuster is honoring the fixed-price guarantee that they offered to subscribers earlier this year. Subscribers who signed up during the fixed price guarantee period will be automatically exempted from this price increase through January 31, 2006.

Blockbuster is sending notices to individual subscribers to clarify the fee change policy. Subscribers with questions, should contact Blockbuster Online’s Customer Service Department.