Blockbuster Online is raising their rates, again...

I've been with Blockbuster Online for a few years now. I'm on the 3 at a time unlimited rentals with 2 movie/game coupons a month for in-store rentals. It started out being a nice deal. $14.99 a month. Then about a year ago, they raised it to $17.99 and for new accounts they made the coupons for movies only. They left accounts like mine alone (except for the price), so I can still get in-store rentals of movies or games with the coupons.

Well, I just received an email that they are raising the rates again. For the same plan, it will now be $19.99. I like the service, but I don't like it that much! I didn't like it when they raised it to $17.99. And that was barely worth it. Now that it will be going up to $19.99, it's not worth it at all. I just don't rent enough DVDs from them.

December 27th is when the website will be updated with the new pricing structure. At that point, I will have to decide to either go to a cheaper plan, or just cancel the account all together. I can get DVDs for free from my local library. I might as well take advantage of that. But Blockbsuter is more convenient.

Of course, another possibility is Netflix. They are actually cheaper than Blockbuster, at least for now anyway. I may give them a try. They just don't have the ability to provide free in-store rentals like Blockbuster can. But if I can get the same plan for less than what I'm paying now, it will be a trade off I can live with.

Look for an update on December 28th to see which direction I go.

Website to watch - iletyou

An interesting website is about to come out of beta called iLetYou. It's like Peerflix, but you get your DVD's back. It's more like Netflix or Blockbuster Online. Basically, you can open up your own video and game rental store. You get to set the prices. And you get to decide how long people can rent your DVD's and games. People will be able to search for a title and select the best deal from any of the stores that have an available copy. iLetYou even has the ability to allow you to charge a subscribtion fee, much like Netflix and Blockbuster, and your customers will be able to keep the DVD's for as long as they want.

You, of course, don't have to rent your DVD's if you don't want. You can still get an account to rent from the stores listed on the site. They are currently in closed beta, but invitations can be obtained by entering your email address.

It has the makings of being competitive to Netflix or Blockbuster. The only concerns I have will be the reliability of the individual stores, how disputes will be handled, and the policies for when a person doesn't return an item or they return it damaged. I'm sure those concerns will be answered by the time they come out of beta. But until then, check it out. It could be an interesting alternative to Netflix and Blockbuster.