You get a disc in the mail, return it to the store and your online queue will show the store movie as your current disc. When you return it to the store, your online queue will show empty and you next disc will ship. Each one mailed can be exchanged for a store disc in your queue or not, but you are only allowed one store disc for each mailed disc you receive.
That sounds like a strong advantage over Netflix
if you can find a local Blockbuster store. Problem is, a lot of people can't anymore. There used to be one in the town where I live, and it's gone. There used to be two in a town my parents live in and I frequently visit, and they're both gone. I don't know where I'd find a Blockbuster now. Might be an hour's drive or more. So it no longer really works in real life for a lot of us.
It'll be interesting to see if Blockbuster is serious about adding new locations again in places where they can get cheap rent. I suspect that they are going to let the brick and mortar side of their business mostly disappear- just keeping stores where they are still profitable, and maybe like having one or two in most big cities and nothing outside of that. Kind of a specialty thing, like a vinyl record store is these days. Or even let it disappear completely. But I've been wrong before, and could be again. No one can know for sure how these things will pan out.
I can just remember the last time I walked into a Blockbuster (before the local one closed) really intending to rent a movie and liking the nostalgia of being there, but not walking out with anything. I found that with most of the new releases I could get them at a Redbox or (ironically) a Blockbuster kiosk for $1 and Blockbuster the store wanted like $4 or $5, so, being budget conscious, I obviously wasn't going to get a new release at the store. So, I figured, hey, I'll check out the back catalog, which will be cheaper, and have some favorites that a Redbox wouldn't have room to stock- and was surprised to find that they didn't have much of a back catalog in stores, not even a lot of the really big hits and cult classics from the last couple decades.
It's kind of a shame. I remember having fun going to rent videos with my parents when I was a kid. But everything has a time and a season. Technology changes and eras pass. And often the new is better than the old.
I'm mostly a Netflix (DVD) guy now. I get my pick from almost any DVD in the world that I want and then can either watch it quick and return it and get another for no additional fee, or let it sit for a while and not pay any late fees. Just knowing I play a low fixed price for what I want and will never have to pay a late fee or return a movie unwatched is a huge deal for me. And being able to have my pick of movies shipped to my door is big. Blockbuster by mail I'd imagine is similar. One pet peeve I always had with renting movies was late fees that piled up, often beyond what I could really afford, and not having to deal with that makes the whole experience a zillion times better. And you don't have to try to rush to watch something if you don't feel in the mood to watch it. It's like all the pressure is gone and you can just enjoy stuff.
