How do DVD rental clubs work?
What does "unlimited rentals" mean?
Are the free trials really free?
Do some clubs actually have 30,000+ titles?
Do membership fees include postage?
Who invited DVD rental anyway?
What if the DVD is lost in the mail?
How long does it take for the DVDs to arrive?
Can I join if I'm not a U.S. resident?
Is it safe to give my credit card number?
How do you get information for this site?
How do I contact customer service?
How do I cancel my membership?
How can I get my rental club listed?
I have another question.

How do DVD rental clubs work?
DVD rental clubs charge a monthly fee that allows you to rent a certain number of disks at a time. For example, if you joined a plan that allowed you to rent three DVDs at a time for $19.95 per month, you could have as many as three DVDs in your possession. Once you create an account, you select movies from the site's online catalog to place in your rental "queue." If you have a three-at-a-time membership, the first three DVDs are immediately mailed to you. When you return one or more of the disks, the next movies in your queue are sent automatically. Most clubs allow you to notify them by email when you've dropped each DVD in the mail, so you don't have to wait for it to arrive at their headquarters for the next movie in your list to be sent out. DVD rental clubs are a great deal as long as you plan to watch enough movies in a month to justify the membership fee. DVD rentals at Blockbuster and Hollywood Video go for $4 each, so if you can get five DVDs out of a monthly $17.99 plan, you're even. But with a club membership, the DVDs come to your door, you don't have to worry about due dates and many of the larger rental clubs, such as Netflix, have more titles (45,000+) than any local video store.

What does "unlimited rentals" mean?
Nothing, really. It just sounds good. Most clubs boast that they offer "unlimited" rentals, but in reality, you are limited by the postal system and your membership plan. That is, if you choose a three-at-a-time plan, you can't rent 300 movies in a month. At best, depending on where you live in relation to the fulfillment center and how quickly you watch and return the films, you could squeeze 15 DVDs into a threebie membership or eight in a two-per-month membership. We're sure Guinness World Records will someday have a "most DVDs rented in a monthly plan" category.

Are the free trials really free?
They're free if you're careful. Many clubs offer a trial period during which you can rent up to three DVDs for 10 or 14 days at no charge. The club will collect your credit card number and then start your paid membership if you don't cancel before the trial ends. A few clubs squeeze new customers by starting the trial the day they mail the DVDs (rather than the day you receive them) and ending the trial the day they receive the DVDs back (rather than the day you mail them back). If that's the case, a 10-day trial can actually be more like a one-day trial. Be sure to read the Terms and Conditions before you join. They are typically are presented as a link during the sign-up process.

Do some clubs actually have 30,000 titles?
A few might, but others say they have "access" to 5,000+ or 15,000+ titles. Maybe they rent them from other clubs to send to you! Actually, it means that the club promises to purchase any DVD a member requests that isn't in stock. They do this so they can claim to "have" all DVDs currently in print, a.k.a. thousands more DVDs than they have on hand. We've also heard the excuse a couple of times that the club "hasn't yet entered all our DVDs in the database." The total number of titles is less important than how many copies the club has of popular titles, which is one reason Netflix is by and far the largest DVD rental site online. For this guide, we compile the number of titles at each club in two ways: (1) When possible, we do a manual count of the number of titles listed on the site, and (2) we ask each club to tell us how many titles it has. Because some clubs don't reply, and others inflate their numbers, the "number of titles" should be considered only as a general guideline.

Do membership fees include postage?
Yes. The clubs will send you a pre-addressed envelope with postage with each DVD. When you're finished with it, you slip the DVD into the envelope and drop it in a mailbox to be returned (the DVDs are sent to you in paper sleeves, rather than in cases).

Who invented DVD rental anyway?
George Atkinson. In 1979, at a time when VCRs cost $1000 and tapes were $50 to $100, he bought 50 videos, charged a $50 annual fee and $10 a day for the tapes and went into business in Los Angeles with a store called Video Station. It eventually became a franchise of 600 stores. Atkinson died in March 2005. Many analysts feel that eventually DVD rental, especially stores, will be replaced by video-on-demand. But the studios currently make about $17 on each new DVD sold and only $2 on a movie ordered by remote control, so they put movies out on DVD about 45 days before they are released to VOD distributors. Netflix holds patents on the practice of allowing customers to keep a queue of titles in the order they would like them sent and also on letting customers keep DVDs as long as they like without late fees. It is now attempting to enforce these patents in court against Blockbuster Online, and should Netflix prevail, it could mean a wholesale change in the way that other rental sites operate, since nearly all use queues and flat monthly fees.

What if a DVD is lost in the mail?
It's never a problem. If a DVD is lost, the club will provide credit. The same goes for a disk that is damaged. Write customer service and let them know. However, if a lot of disks you rent are "lost," the clubs are going to get suspicious. Many reserve the right to charge your credit card for disks they feel you damaged or did not return, but that's usually only in extreme circumstances. It's a good idea to have your DVDs sent to a secure mailbox, so that passersby don't "borrow" them.

How long does it take the DVDs to arrive?
Nearly every club uses the general postal service to send out disks, so you can expect anywhere from one to six days, depending on where you live in relation to the fulfillment center and what time of day you place your order (most clubs have an afternoon cut-off to get disks out in that day's mail). That's why we've included information in each profile about where the disks are coming from. Most U.S. clubs are located in California, but there also are some on the East Coast and in the Midwest.

Can I join if I'm not a U.S. resident?
Yes. This site also lists clubs for residents of Canada and the U.K. and Ireland.

Is it safe to give my credit card number?
This is a common concern. All of the clubs require that you provide a credit card number, even if you are requesting a free trial. Those that ask for a credit card provide encryption security that keeps your card and personal information safe in transit to their computers. In the unlikely event your card number is stolen, the Fair Credit Billing Act allows credit card companies to hold you responsible only for up to $50 in fraudulent charges as long as you notify them in writing within 60 days of the date the bill was mailed. Visa and Mastercard waive liability no matter how much time has elapsed.

How do you get information for this site?
We visit each site regularly to keep everything up to date. If you encounter an error, or something that is no longer current, please let us know by sending email to feedback [at] this domain. The number of DVDs that a site has in stock changes constantly, but we visit each site to count the number of titles as best we can and then contact each site to confirm.

How do I contact customer service?
Each club has a customer service department that can assist you with finding lost DVDs, requesting titles they don't carry and other questions. Each profile lists a phone number and / or email address where you can contact the club. If you know it, always include your account number when corresponding by email.

How do I cancel my membership?
Each club has a different procedure for this; most allow you to notify them by email or phone. However, each has different deadlines. Some require that you notify them at least seven working days before the end of your billing cycle (that is, the monthly anniversary of the day you joined the club). If you attempt to cancel the day after a new billing cycle begins, you may have to remain a member for another month. The cancellation policies are usually spelled out in the "terms and conditions" offered for your approval when you join.

How can I get my rental club listed?
Contact us by sending email to feedback [at] this domain with details. A basic listing is free. Premium placement and banner ad positioning also are available.

I have another question.
Your best bet is to contact the Customer Service department of the rental club that you have joined, or check the site for its FAQ. For questions about profiles on this site, contact us by sending email to feedback [at] this domain. Don't send questions to this address about missing DVDs or requests to cancel a membership. We can't help with that.