Apr 15 2008
redbox 2-for-2
My second-favorite vending machine ever is redbox DVD rental. You know, that red DVD vending machine you see in all the Albertsons grocery stores.
So here’s my scenario: THERE WILL BE BLOOD is released on DVD and I am stuck with two movies at home from netflix that my wife, Nicole wants to see. Darn, not only am I a week away from either her watching one of those two flicks, or to a point where she admits defeat and allows me to send them back, but it seems once I pass on a new release Tuesday from Netflix I could be seeing a ‘Long Wait’ at the top of my queue for months. So I decided to test out the touch screen on a redbox to see if this Academy Award nominated for best picture of the year flick is available through this gizmo on a first week release and YES, it’s available. SCORE! So how much is it I wonder. A buck, are you cereal? So what’s the catch? A swipe of the credit card, enter an email address and whah-lah, a DVD finds its way through a slot and the screen goes back to its default welcome screen. So where’s my receipt I wonder? A quick check of my email in the parking with my iPhone shows my rental receipt and explains other great benefits of renting DVDs from redbox.
- I can return the DVD to any redbox machine. As of now, it appears they have machines in every Albertsons grocery store, which is enough by me, but the website includes an option to search McDonalds locations only, which makes me think this could be BIG soon. This was one of my frustrations with Blockbuster -
they have one on every, umm, scratch that, they had one store on every corner but yet you couldn’t return rentals from one store to another. In fact, if you every had an oversight and returned a rental to the wrong location, it would take several days to be notified and would be charged many, if not tens-of, dollars in late fees for returning a DVD to a different blockbuster. (Even though at one point there were four different stores in all directions the same distance away). - You can check availability online. Not only that, you can rent a DVD online and go pick it up. It’s not as cool as viewing on demand, but were talking about a buck, even the scarce iTunes rentals are more expensive than that.
I’m not even going to mention the very limited selection of Netflix’s Instant libray.
So, after reading through my online information because I am stoked on this concept. I see an offer for a FREE rental: enter my email address and get a free rental. Well, I already gave you my info so sure, here it is again. Sure enough, I receive an instant gratification message with a promo code of BREAKROOM to receive my next rental free.
A week rolls around and I keep hearing about how funny the newly released movie Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story is. I find myself driving by an Abertsons and I remember the pending promotion I have available. (I’m not even an Albertsons regular - we shop at Trader Joes). So I go in to check it out, but wait, there is a line to this vending machine. Oh no, are other people aware of how great this thing is? Will my newest source of New Release DVDs be quickly depleted? I stand there patiently as a young lady peruses through the movies available changing screens more times than I care to watch as she makes her selections, then repeatedly has to swipe her card to complete the transaction. And another lady in front of me who is returning a movie. Thank god, a quicker process.
So, I test my promo code and it works, another score. Search for my movie of choice Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and again SCORE, its available at my favorite price, FREE! I was so pleased with my redbox experience I am spending the time to write this endorsement (that probably nobody actual reads) instead of watching my free flick.
(btw, my first-fav is Heineken beer vending machine in Amsterdam).
