Hm, masks... I like masks....

[deckardcanine]

Oh, the shame of it. I don't know when's the last time I did this, but I turned in a DVD three days late. Mainly I feel stupid for not realizing that Mirrormask, in its generic casing on the wall of the store's upper level, was a new release and therefore supposed to be rented for two days rather than seven. Good thing it was worth renting in the first place.

To my surprise, the clerk cut the fine down to the equivalent of one day overdue. His stated reason: He was feeling nice. Well, I didn't argue with that, but I wondered what his boss would say.

You know the axiom that nobody ever does anything for just one reason? I'm starting to believe it. Upon further reflection and consultation, the reduced fine makes sense for a few reasons other than generosity. First, I had come into the store to pay the fine instead of just dropping the late DVD in the slot and leaving. Second, it seems like a steep fine to pay $6 on top of the initial $4 rental, even if it works out to a consistent $2 a day. Third, video stores have to compete with the likes of Netflix, so they fear a sharper drop in business if they don't give us breaks.

Speaking of Netflix, I'm finally starting to consider it. Perhaps my big hangup has been my puzzlement on how it makes money.

Comments

[nefaria.livejournal.com]

Netflix is wonderfully convenient, especially for me since I don't have a car. You can set the order of movies you want, and they'll usually send you whatever's at the top of your list. If you watch lots of movies, it's an excellent bargain.

They make their profit on the people who don't watch many movies. I think it costs about $1 for them to ship and receive each DVD; the people who only rent a few per month lead to a nice profit, the people who cycle movies as fast as they can create a loss.