Blockbuster’s no fee late fee

April 22nd, 2005 · 9 Comments · marketing

Just did a quick pass at Blockbuster for the weekend and noticed the drastic reduction in their signage for no late fees. While they’ve certainly clarified how it works via this counter-top sign I cam phoned, it still seems to be that there is a late fee, they just call it a restocking fee. They have to restock the movie whether you return it in a day or a week…

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9 responses so far ↓

1 Ty // Oct 15, 2005 at 9:54 pm

The restocking fee only applies when the movie is at least 10 days late (post auto-sale). Compare that to the price of late fees ($1.50/day X 10 days=$15 minimum) and it saves you money and it takes time for us (employees) to process sold movies as rentals again. If you want, keep the movie for 30 days past the due date and return it…still for only $1.25 restocking fee…just don’t complain that you’re benefiting.
2 Jonathan Greene // Oct 15, 2005 at 9:59 pm

Between Netflix and VOD via cable, I’ve no more need for Blockbuster… Certainly appreciate the internal perspective, but for me Blockbuster no longer has much merit.

Now that I no longer live in NYC and there are fewer options in suburbia I find I am more than capable of finding something interesting with my remote or in my mailbox.
3 Wendy // Dec 5, 2005 at 2:03 pm

A restocking fee is correct. When will the complaining stop? When you have a late fee of 20.00 dollars for one movie you kept out two weeks, you complain. When you have a $1.25 restocking fee for keeping out one movie for a month, you complain. When you come into the store and can’t rent the new Releases because everyone is keeping them out for a month because there are no late fees, you complain! Get it together! You don’t want to pay extra? Then lets grow up, be responsible and return our movies on time… and just stop crying!
4 Jonathan Greene // Dec 5, 2005 at 5:02 pm

I just choose to do business elsewhere
5 Kaci // Mar 13, 2006 at 11:21 pm

So, I know this forum hasn’t been hit in a while, but I just thought I would put out there that blockbuster is actually competing with Netflix for online rentals as well. They actually have a really awesome program running right now. For your first month you only pay 9.95 and you get unlimited rentals online, 3 at a time, prepaid postage both ways. On top of that, you get a free in store rental each week your on the program. You actually make money back on it the first month. It only goes up to 17 dollars after that. As a customer, I really just appreciate the selection online (they have 50,000 titles) and then the ability to rent harder to get new release movies in the store for free.
6 emp // Apr 12, 2006 at 4:29 pm

Ok as stated before if you people would like to go back to 1.25 for each day late on a movie then go ahead and do that, give us the employees the extra money that you would have paid on the total late fee because we seriously dont get paid enough for this crap that you people put us through. I mean you people complain about every little thing, first it was late fees, then they got rid of it, now its restocking fees that arent as much of an expense as late fees, whats next that you peopl will complain about. THink of this it isnt our fault that your incompetent to return a movie or game within 12-17 days. 12 if its a 2 day 17 if its a week. In the end its your fault the customers for the restoking fees or blockbuster charging you the price of the movie
7 Joey // May 6, 2006 at 4:25 pm

When I tell someone that they have a restocking fee, you would think it was the end of the world. 1.25$. Are you fucking kidding me? I have customers go on and rant about how they can’t send their kids threw college because they don’t have a dollar and a quarter to spend on their own fault. I don’t know how or why you would keep a movie as long as half of you do? If you watched a movie, then return it. Simple. We even take the rental off the whole charge if you want to keep it. We don’t have to, but we do. People don’t realize that Blockbuster is a buisness, first and upmost, not a community jar where you can take movies for half a year and throw them back at us once you find it in the corner of your dogs cage.
8 Mike // Mar 10, 2007 at 10:27 pm

Unless Blockbuster just gives everything away for free there will be people who bitch. Oh wait, even then someone will find something to bitch about.
9 thomas // Mar 13, 2007 at 9:39 am

TOTAL ACCESS IS THE ANWSER