dvdrentals.ie

Just wondering if anyone has signed up to dvdrentals.ie? Looks like a good deal, but curious as to how long you might be waiting to receive new releases?

I'm lazy, I like links!

[broken link removed]

screenclick

different link, same site.

are there any other on-line rental companies in Ireland??

I signed up for the 2 week trial day on wednesday. It says my first dvd was sent out yesterday. I should have got it today but didn't. I will let you know how I get on in 2 weeks time.

Cheers JohnnieKipper. I'll check back then.

dvdie

I find them ok but the one-at-a-time plan is no use unless you want no more than one dvd a week. My main complaint compared with the American model ($22pm for 3) is that it is slower because of an post and more expensive (E20 pm for 1), if they did 3 at a time for 25 pm I'd recommend it to everyone, otherwise just for the fine inclined or terminally lazy/disorganised. Not a huge range of titles but as good as any high street rental library and bound to get better.

Re: dvdie

I'm happy with them so far. December is not a great month because the post is slower (takes 2 days rather than one). It does work out very good value though (around €2.50 per dvd compared to €5 from the local video library). You need to send it back the day after you receive it to get best value. Customer support via email very good. They even started sending out my next selection before they had received mine back to reduce waiting time.

Re: dvdie

I guess you have to order more than 4 per month for it to work out as good value? Considering the nearest xtra vision is a 10 minute drive, I probably wouldn't be bothered. I presume you have to sign up for a 12 month contract?

Re: dvdie

Well if you watch the film the day you receive it and send it back the next morning, you should get to see 8 dvds in a month which works out 2.50 each.

You don't sign for 12 months - just pay as you go month in advance. You also get 2 weeks free.

8 per month?

Receive one on Monday, watch it Monday night, post back Tuesday, being generous to An Post let's say they get it Wednesday and send out another one. Again let's be generous and say you get your new DVD on Thursday. That's a three day turnaround. 7 DVDs in a month in an impossibly efficient description of Irish postal services where you watch th DVD on the one in 4 days the postie delivers a DVD and have none in reserve.

Here's a reality sample: My local post box has one 4pm pick up a day and dvdrentals will sometimes take a day to send out a new title=> 4 DVDs in a month, assuming you hurry off to watch each movie the day it arrives, which I don't since the whole point was to have a DVD when I felt like watching one. Over all it's a bit more convenient since I don;t have to worry about late fines or going to the vid shop but definitely not cheaper.

My setup will get me 8 in a month. At the moment I am getting that 3 day turnaround. I'm not sure if this is because An post is managing next day delivery (I'm in Dublin) or dvdrentals are sending out my next selection a day before they get my last one back. There are 23 postal days in December and as I received a dvd on the 1st (rollover from the trial period) I will get all 8. I have done it on a spreadsheet and I'm on schedule so far.(I'll probably get 7 in reality because of Xmas week) . I should get 7 in January. I do post them out the next morning after I receive them and the get collected at 11am. It may not work out as good for people down the country.

sending out my next selection a day before they get my last one back

Click to expand...

How does this work?

If post is running slow they can post out the next one if you tell them you've posted back the last one.

So you email them each time you put a DVD in th post?

Thanks for the tip.

yep. they might not do it all the time though.

I did a trial version with these guys about 18 months ago, they were called something else at the time. The turnaround time was impossibly slow back then, but perhaps they've improved.

The thing is that DVDs have become so cheap that renting isn't attractive as it was. You could easily get together with four or five friends and agree to buy one DVD per month each, then lend to each other for free!

My personal experience with dvdrentals.ie / screenclick.com was poor - when I moved house and rejoined, they continued sending DVDs to the old address as well as the new address and billed my credit card on the double. When I spotted this and emailed them, I got an angry reply saying basically "it's your own fault". But they did eventually agree to refund.

However, despite this, they continued to bill on the double, for another couple of months!

I eventually got a refund of the double billings, but it took several emails and a bit of time on my part to obtain it. No apology either.

This, combined with high price, and the slow delivery of DVDs via An Post, made the experience fairly negative, and I cancelled the subscription.

There's definately a gap in the market for a reasonably priced DVD postal service in Ireland similar to what NetFlix.com provides in the US, especially if they can source the kind of arthouse/foreign language movies that normal high-street DVD rental stores don't stock.

However, the screenclick.com had in my experience high prices, slow delivery, a mainstream selection and bad customer service.

This was about six months' ago - perhaps they've improved.

-- James