Free DVD Rentals

Goodbye Blockbuster and Hollywood

...I won't even miss you.

It feels a little sad to write that. One of my favorite summers ever was when I worked at Hollywood Video in Corvallis. Ah, the memories... free movies, cute college-guy-co-workers, a constant stream of friends and acquaintances coming in to rent movies, and of course--wearing a tuxedo to work.

Since we've been married, Chris and I have had memberships at both major video stores, and we've put them to pretty good use. We've spent hours circling the new release wall, sometimes together, but more often conferring via cell phone about what to get. We've chased our children through the aisles, cleaning up after them and bribing them with overpriced treats.We have rented a lot of movies and paid a lot of late fees.

We have now found a better way: Redbox--the little red DVD vending machines popping up all over the nation. They showed up in Salt Lake City over a year ago, and our love affair began. The kiosks are usually located at a McDonald's or a supermarket; we have at least 10 within a 5-mile radius of our house. Just walk up to the machine, pick a movie, swipe a credit card, and out pops the dvd. No membership necessary--rent anywhere, return anywhere. Keep the DVD as long as you want; it's just $1 a night! We can go online and check which dvds are available at the nearest kiosks, and even reserve a copy through the website. And if that weren't enough, they also offer promo codes for free movie rentals. We found InsideRedbox, a site that lists current promo codes. So, we get all of our DVDs for Free!

Since Redbox only carries new releases, we use the local library for any older movies we want to see. It's free, and we can reserve movies through the library's online catalog.

So, goodbye Blockbuster and Hollywood.
...I guess I'll miss you a little, but I'll survive.