(image courtesy blogspot.com)

By: Blake

Redbox is becoming more and more popular and as a result of its popularity a problem has formed. So many people want to spend their dollar on a movie that long lines form in front of the machines making the whole renting process a pain. Waiting for people new to the Redbox experience to figure out how to pick a movie can be frustrating. A long line in front of the machine may make you miss your 9:00 24 hour deadline. But wait, lets take a step back and look at the whole picture. Maybe long lines aren’t as bad as we make them seem.


I will admit, in congested areas renting a DVD from a Redbox may be difficult. Especially if you are renting during Redbox rush hour, the weekend. Some people will go to great lengths to find a Redbox in a discrete location so they will be able to avoid the hassle of dealing with long lines. The only solutions I see is if there were more Redbox locations or if you rent when no one else is. Reserving a movie online can save time as well. If everyone reserved online the lines would move much quicker if a line even had time to form.

As for returning a DVD just before the 9:00 deadline… if you are really worried about an extra dollar then you will get the DVD back well before 9:00. It is only a dollar after all, so if you end up spending 2 dollars on a movie rental you are still better off than if you rented from any other movie rental service. Hollywood video in my area used to charge 5 dollars for a week rental. Ever since Redbox showed up they have lowered their price, but 2 dollars still beats their new price.

Ultimately if renting from a Redbox is too much of a hassle then I would go back to one of the original ways of renting. That’s what I would do, take the path of least resistance. Once Redbox became convenient once again I would go back to using it’s service, but right now in my area long lines aren’t much of a problem. So, until that happens I’m sticking with the Redbox.

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