Redbox CEO suggests $1.50 rate for Blu-ray rentals
By Richard Lawler 
posted June 3rd 2010 7:09PM
posted June 3rd 2010 7:09PM
posted June 3rd 2010 7:09PM
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Wait...Can we say cha-ching or what? I think it is a great price point for blu-rays to be rented for $1.50. This way the consumer can view a movie to decide if they want to put it in their permanent library or not. If so, then the major studios will
vendor not only from the rental, but from the sale of it's blu-rays as well. I think this is a big breakthrough for the rental market. The red kiosk all around the place in America would make a killing. I wonder how this would affect the likes of Netflix? Not too much at all because they're streaming in HD on all platforms right now. Great idea and excellent information and article Richard.
@blckman I agree- $1.50 is a perfect price point for Blu-ray. And it wouldn't effect Netflix, since customers like me are using Netflix almost exclusively for streaming.
I think that the ability to purchase used dvds from the Redbox is great. What would sweeten the deal even more is if they then mailed you the original DVD box.
I'd be happy to pay 1.50 if they would just get off their tails and get it going.
That and make their new kiosks round and call them blueballs. ;)
Well... when I stopped by RedBox here in Rome, GA on Tuesday, they had Blu-Ray movies for rent already. The price was $1.75, however - still well worth it.
I think getting disks in the mail is more convenient than driving to stop and shop. I pay $17 a month (with the $3 blu ray charge) for 2 out from netflix, and usually rent like 12 or so movies a month, not even counting streaming. I've never rented from redbox, and I don't plan to because netflix has everything I need.
I pay $2 to rent Blus from Family Video, so $2 from RedBox would be acceptable to rent as well. Buying...not so much. I want the original cases obviously and not being able to talk with someone first is a no-go for me. If RedBox gets going on this in Chicago, then I'm 100% for it.
-Brian
i agree that they could easily get away with $2 for blu-rays but i guess they really want to hold on to that low cost competition.
The Blockbuster in our town closes in 2 weeks, so now there's only one local video rental store in town and they charge $5 for a Blu-ray for 2 days.
After a long run with Netflix, I'm down to just seeing new releases and have dropped Netflix. Not to mention they started playing games with me and taking a week to drop the next DVD in the mail.
On-line HD rentals average $4.50.
So a Redbox Blu-ray for $1.50-$2 would work nicely for me. It wouldn't be my exclusive source for rentals, of course.
If the packaging wasn't included with a purchase, I don't know that I'd want it, even at the lower purchase price. But Blu-rays are still new to me. I may change my mind over time.
$1.50 is a solid price point, although I think it's only a matter of time before online streaming essentially replaces rentals.
Um, Richard, it's not "there's been hints..." It's "there've been hints." This backwoods inability to get verb and object number to agree seems to be spreading widely among Engadget authors. You folks are, ostensibly, among the best educated among us; or, certainly, you presume to educate even educated folks about complicated and esoteric technology. The least you can do is drop the third-grade-faux-pas mentality. I mean, c'mon, you DID learn this in gradeschool, right? More and more lately, I've been catching this egregious error, every few posts, and wince, and just can't take it, and click some link to get me the heck outa Engadget.
What's worse, you're undoubtedly reinforcing this absurd error among kids who read your site. no wonder we have high school graduates who can't write to save their lives. Drop the "there's" for plural objects, PLEASE! (You wouldn't say: "There is errors," would you? Or: "There has been errors?" So why do it with a contraction? There ARE errors, and there HAVE BEEN errors--but, hopefully, no longer!
So I rented a movie from RedBox the other day (Sherlock Holmes) and I couldn't skip the opening trailers. It was SOOO annoying- there were like 15 minutes of trailers that I just had to wait and wait and wait for. Is this something unique to the special redbox dvds?
@makryger
Got a netflix blu movie in last week that did the same thing. 'ninja assasin' wouldn't let me skip the previews, so I left the room for a while. It was also marked 'rental' like most movies I get, and have no bonus features.
Unfortunately for the studios, keeping the rentals from netflix, redbox, etc for a few weeks and then keeping the extras off of the discs is not motivating me to buy instead of rent.
Super xited!!!! Thank you redbox
Makes sense. Lower price=more revenue
I prefer living on the edge by blind buying when Blus are on sale. Redbox is just too inconvenient, especially when I have to stand around waiting for someone to make up their mind if I go to rent or return and I have to return the very next day after renting or rack up additional fees.
Has anyone else seen the blue redbox kiosks? Appears to be only at Walmart locations and the blue looks like Walmart blue.
There already 1.50 here in Florida. I think 1.50 is a great price point.