RMDInc

Smeg-

Thanks for the compliment- just let us know if you experience any problems or have any questions.

____________________________________________________________

Jearaden-

Right now we are talking to several sources specifically about anime titles. We've had some problems in the past with availability and basically the same thing you are worried about on your Wish List: we order a whole series and end-up getting Episode 6 shipped to us from the distributor. We are working to fill in the blanks and to even out the genre.
But speaking of your Wish List, I don't know what sort of programming could be used to perform the function you suggest but it makes sense to me and I will definitely pass that one on to the programming department as a suggestion. That could eliminate the worry, too, that others have about two-disc sets and sequels.
Anyway, thank you for the suggestion and you should be able to see a better looking anime section rather soon.
____________________________________________________________

-Matt

Phibes

When I use an online rental service it's usually for some obscure or high priced title. If I want to rent [insert current movie's name here] then I can go to a local rental place. However, If I want to rent Phantom Lover locally I'm outa luck. That's the sort of thing I'm looking for when I rent online (I wouldnt mind seeing Mohabbatein). I would also like to see more Criterions. I suggested Black Narcissus be bought, because I dont want to buy it myself and would rather rent it. I've never seen it and dont want to buy it site unseen. That's just the kind of thing I'm looking for in an online rental store, put briefly.

I'm a RMD user (single rentals only so far) and have been very pleased with the service. Keep up the good work.

Cheers.

John-In-VA

I switched from Netflix to RentMyDVD about two months ago and I'm happy as a clam. I use the "hooked on DVD" 4 out at a time plan. So far there are less out of stock titles and the shipping generally is much faster for me due to them having a Northern Jersey shipping point in addition to their Cali one. I'm in Northern Virginia.

By the way, I generally rent new releases, so I can only speak to that. If you like more obscure titles, perhaps you would have a different view of them.

About the only negative thing I can say is that if I return two movies close together and they arrive at RentMyDVD the same day, they will ship two new movies in one mailer. I prefer separate mailers so that I don't have to watch two movies before sending them back. I have already had to request some extra mailers twice, which they sent to me in a very timely manner.

Keep up the good work RMDVD.

MPSAN

... Hello, what ever happened to the 6 out? Ten is a bit much!

HepDude

Actually, what would be a lot easier to program, and more useful to a wide range of customers, would be to add an "inactive" wish list.

(You can see something similar in Amazon's "Save For Later" portion of their Shopping Cart.)

All that would be needed would be for the programmer to duplicate the existing Wish List, but without priority numbers, and of course without anything being shipped from it.

And, the other necessary feature would be a way to move any item from the real Wish List to the inactive Wish List, and vice versa.

By the way, while we are talking programming, are they ever going to implement a cookie? Any time I type http://www.netflix.com, my "Queue" information (wish list) is right there, I don't have to "sign in". I think that most people are not worried about a thief breaking into their house and reordering their Wish List ! :-) (although those with mischievous family members may want an option for more security)

[Edited by HepDude on 05-18-01 at 10:16 AM]

RMDInc

Hey Everybody-

You may have noticed that I've only been able to check the forum about twice a week. I hope my inability isn't turning anyone off; let me know if it is upsetting to you.
____________________________________________________________

Phibes-

Your comment has been noted. And I am in agreement with you. One problem is the titles like "Black Narcissus" which we can't get for a reasonable cost anywhere; however, as long as Criterion makes it and is now releasing it we now will pretty much carry it (a helpful hint, by the way- since we include the "CC" in the title name you can search by "Criteron" as a title for all our selections. We currently have about 60 Criterion titles available).
____________________________________________________________

John-In-VA and MPSAN-

I grouped you two into the same response because the information is the same. The 6 plan and single shipping were discussed at another infamous Rentmydvd.com heated meeting this morning. Both are going to be accessible very soon. I'm not exactly sure, detail-wise, why our various departments are bent on releasing new features as bundles but there it is.... soon, soon.
____________________________________________________________

HepDude-

If I am not mistaken, the idea of a "ghost" Wish List has been pondered and is being seriously considered. Cookie availability should be available soon, as well. Our programmers are in the process...



Till Next Time-

Matt

tr00p

[Revenge of the Nerds]

A single-disc Revenge of the Nerds/Revenge of the Nerds II double feature was released February 13. This is the only available release of either movie. (The first one is a modern comedy classic, imo. :))

While my local Hollywood Video carries it, RentMyDVD shows it as "Not Available" and Netflix has no entry whatsoever.

= = = = = = = = = = =

[Multi-Disc Sets]

Inventory idea:

If you don't already, I suggest an additional field that provides a reference number. Perhaps this could also be placed in an order: -1, -2, -3, etc. This number can tie together multi-disc sets and series. This infrastructure would be relatively easy to maintain and created at the purchasing step.
This could be effectively used in searches. For example, typing "Die Hard" could bring up a "Die Hard" category and then individual results.
This could also be an excellent add-on to queue functionality. More on this below.

- - -

Suggested queue functionality:

Allow the queue to facilitate ordered and/or combined shipping for multi-disc sets and discs in a series.
The inventory idea above would allow for the process to be automated: a customer could check a box next to a series title called "Ship series in order" or "Ship discs together (up to the rental limit)."
Without inventory being involved, a manual process could allow the customer to bind two or more titles together, and then select whether to ship them in order (or an order specified), or to ship them together up to the rental limit.

Example with inventory reference number:
"Big Trouble in Little China (Disc 1)" [x] [ ]
"Big Trouble in Little China (Disc 2)" [ ] [ ]
Where the first box means "Ship series in order."
The second box means "Ship series together."
The user should only have to select part of a series to take effect across the whole series.

Example with manual process and optional order:
"Die Hard" [A] [1] [ ]
"Die Hard 2" [A] [2] [ ]
"Die Hard 3" [A] [3] [ ]
"Halloween" [h] [ ] [x]
"A Nightmare on Elm St." [h] [ ] [ ]
"Friday the 13th" [h] [ ] [ ]
Where the first box is the user arbitrarily selecting something to bind them all together. The second box is an optional and arbitrary order of shipping. The third means "Ship series together."
In the example above, a user wants to see the "Die Hard" series in order and would sometime like to have a marathon night of modern horror classics.

- - -

The first scenario is elegant.
The second scenario is flexible.
Finding a combination of the two should satisfy everyone.

I hope the logistical [handling] hurdles can be overcome to get this relatively simple programming in place.


Sincerely,

Eric J. Bragger

[Edited by tr00p on 05-28-01 at 07:10 PM]

RMDInc

tr00p-

The overlooked (and regretably so) "Revenge of the Nerds" one and two have been ordered; look for them to be available some time next week (I was told by purchasing that they were available)...

As far as the series and Wish List functionality you suggest, well, I've printed your suggestion and have given it to programming. As you will know if you've read my ramblings throughout this thread I couldn't program my way out of an enabled smilie. It sounds good to me, though, as just having this functionality would belay most of the double disc/series worries that I have heard regarding the Wish List and shipping sequence.
____________________________________________________________

Everybody-

Hope you are all well and that summer is finding you in good spirits; let us know if you need anything at all.....


-Matt

wakkkyone

There's no more navigation to Anime listing. Use to be able to go from DVD --> More Selections ---> Anime, now there's no link.

Also there's really no easy way to nagivate the site if you want listing of titles. You either have to search or you stuck with the generic front pages of choices. I tend to go by genre and see a title i think i'll like and put in queue. Rentmydvd isn't easy to do that like Netflix.

I'm suspect to really believe they have that many titles that they claim to have.

Phibes

"One problem is the titles like "Black Narcissus" which we can't get for a reasonable cost anywhere"

Are you referring to your distributors?? I can get Black Narsissus for $30 online. Why cant your distributors get it, to my knowledge it's not out of print?

broadwayblue

i too would like to try your service. are there any coupons or promotions available for new users...maybe a free month of the 2 dvd out plan? thanks.

Roo

When logging in, it appears that the save e-mail option is done with a per-session cookie, meaning that if I try to log in a second time before I reboot, my e-mail address will be there. But if I try to log in after rebooting, or after disconnecting from the internet, the e-mail address will have to be typed in again, regardless of whether I selected the box next to Save E-Mail. Perhaps this should be a persistent cookie so that the e-mail address will be there no matter when I try to log-in.

sm8680

Hey guys things have been going well. Although lately I'm starting to see a few DVD's not in stock. Hopefully it doesn't get worse. For that's the reason why I left netflick. I've been trying to rent The Legend of Drunken Master ever since it was released and its been out of stock since. Any reason why. Was this a title that there weren't many copies purchsed to rent

broadwayblue

i signed up for the service on sunday night (the 2 out option) and got an email on monday saying my dvd's had shipped. unfortunately, wednesday's mail has come and still no sign of my dvds. granted, it's only been two days since they shipped, but i live in manhattan and the website does say it should only take 1-2 days. hope they get here tomorrow.

houtx67

I'm sorry if this already posted on a previous page.

Are you planning on instituting an "already mailed back" option like Netflix? Since I am in Texas, it usually takes 3 or 4 days to mail and it helps on my transit time.

Overall, I have been very pleased with your speed, customer service, and availability in comparison to Netflix.

broadwayblue

ok...got my dvd's today. still not that happy it took 3 days to get in stock titles shipped from NJ to Manhattan. what i'm really upset about is the fact that both dvd's came with only one return envelope! now if i watch one tonight i can't mail it back until i watch the next one, which may or may not be tomorrow night. i ordered two dvd's so send me two return mailers.

[Edited by broadwayblue on 06-08-01 at 09:09 AM]

RMDInc

Whoa there broadwayblue. We'll send you extra mailers- just send an e-mail to customer service about it. The whole topic is discussed on this forum somewhere around page two.

And this goes for the rest of you out there, too. If you have a problem with something, don't just freak-out about it and start yelling; send us an e-mail, call us, tell us what's wrong. I am always confused by people thinking that we are intentionally trying to make things difficult for them. We're here to do business and give people what they want, so simply tell us what you want and as long as it is reasonable we'll do it. Just please don't ask for ponies. We tried that once with horrible results............

broadwayblue part 2-

If you didn't get your DVDs for three days you should talk to your local Post Office and Mail Carrier. Manhattan has thus far been the most notorious of our real-close-to-the-warehouse places that has occasional delays. My personal opinon is that there is probably high USPS employee turnover in the area, but who knows? You should be getting 1-2 day shipping and it does work normally.
____________________________________________________________

Wakkyone-

We just launched the new Advanced Search function (the link is on our top bar); while the programmers were tinkering with it some of our selections went offline for awhile. But it is now up, now running, and you can search Anime to your heart's delight, and graphically if you wish. The new feature is pretty cool. Just click the "Advanced Search" link.

This is for everyone else, too. Check-out the new advanced search and give us feedback. So far it's looking pretty good to me.........
____________________________________________________________

Phibes-

I just checked with purchasing on "Black Narcissus" and it is appears that it has come off of back order, but our previous order had been cancelled for some reason. Whatever happened, it is now back on order (not on back order) and should be available on the site early next week.
____________________________________________________________

Roo-

I don't know why we can't get our act together on this cookie thing. I've passed all the comments on to our programming department and they want to balance cookies with security and I'm just not sure if this balancing is what the problem is. I'll hammer on them a little more about this; either we will get the cookies as you want them or I'll at least get a firm answer as to why it's not going to happen.
____________________________________________________________

houtx67-

As far as "delayed in the mail" and "already shipped" functions, see page three (15th post down) for a complete description of this issue.
____________________________________________________________

sm8680-

You are correct in noticing that some more things are Out-of-Stock more than they used to be. The bottom line is that this is a good thing. It means we don't have a bunch of stuff sitting on the shelves and waiting to be rented. You should also notice that you aren't waiting for your selections- unless, of course, you want "Legend of the Drunken Master." Then you're gonna wait. Actually I'm just kidding. You are correct in your assumption that we do not have enough stock on this title; I have just now pointed this out to purchasing and they have ordered more copies. They are available and should be in next week. Let me know if you don't get it by then.
____________________________________________________________


And that goes for everybody out there. As we get busier we want to make sure that people are seeing what they want to see within a reasonable time frame. Make sure to tell us if something has been sitting on your Wish List for awhile. We do our very best to make the right quantity calls for these things and nothing should ever be a long wait, but we are still human. And since we are, after all, trying to keep everyone out there happy and coming back for more you should always just let us know if something is bugging you.


Til next time-

Matt

sm8680

Matt,

Thanks for ordering more titles of Legend of the Drunken Master.

Concerning high demand versus low stock and keeping Rentmydvd from becoming netflick.

Personally I'd recomend that you consider creating some sort of exception report that depicts DVD Titles that have a low stock quantity amount versus a high wish list demand. I'd create a threshold of something like if rentmydvd has x amount of copies and if demand (wish lists) exceeds this by a certain percentage and the movie has been in circulation for x amount of weeks then I'd recomend ordering more titles of a certain movie. We call these exception reports. Exception reports are usually taken into consideration and are subjective in nature. Not every Title on your exception report will need to have additional titles purchased. If you create this type of exception report your customers will not complain(gripe) or email your customer service people about titles. Which of course takes up your time. If you prevent fires by planning properly you will keep a more than happy customer base. Less people will email customer service and you'd lose less customers. Which is a win win situation for you.

I know when I see most of my wish list as being out of stock I become disheartened. If by chance this becomes a reooccuring thing or becomes a nightmare like it was at netflick. Customers will jump ship and look for other alternatives. Maybe even go back to brick and mortars.

No offense but this seems to be a problem with most online rental vendors. Once they get to big they can't keep up with the demand. Especially on new releases. Unfortunately subscribers are stuck with at the bottom of there wish list or are forced to put other titles on their wish list that they normally wouldn't rent.

Thanks,
Steve

PS - Personally I don't see myself sticking around with you guys for to long. Again today I'm being shipped a title at the bottom of my queue. This is very annoying.

[Edited by sm8680 on 06-11-01 at 11:07 AM]

HepDude

I'm currently running a lite plan at both RMD and Netflix (although this only works in the summer, with no new programs other than Farscape, and no sports other than baseball).

Unlike all my prevous trials of Netflix, this time, I've had the top item in my queue shipped almost every time.

Either the bad publicity has helped lower demand there, or else they've gone on a buying spree to try and counter the bad publicity.

RMD is great for the big name titles, the Oscar nominees and box office hits. They do an excellent job of keeping those in stock, and I always use them for those titles.

Netflix is still unique in terms of their availability of niche genre titles, especially foreign language DVDs.

broadwayblue

ok...customer service got back to me quickly and said they will send me extra mailers. but as a customer i still feel that i shouldn't have had to email them to get them. it's the little things that often make a customer get that special feeling about a company...especially when it's the first impression, which can go a long way. in this case it would have only taken an investment of a few cents. just my 2 cents.

HepDude

My current impression of RentMyDVD is that most of the rest of the company is not as bright or as committed as Matt is - based both on the few times I've had communications with others, and based on the long time it has taken for anything to change.

At this point, all these minor issues mentioned above should have been taken care of. How does it take to implement a simple cookie?

I think that there is no future in online rental of the same 10 box office hits that the corner grocery store also rents.

But, RMD seems to be spending their venture capital opening new locations to rent those 10 hits from. The reality of the US Postal Service in 2001 is that it takes forever to receive any item, no matter how close or far. Today, I received a package from 1000 miles away that was shipped April 27th. And, my RMD rentals from within the same state often take 3 days, and others mention similar results above. Having 20 warehouses across the company is going to make much of a difference in that.

Instead, the money should have been spent on inventory. Many DVDs I've rented from Netflix over the past couple of months are not listed at RentMyDVD, either.

Jeraden

Well, just to cast an opposing viewpoint... The majority of people who rent dvds or movies in general rent the popular/'blockbusters'. Half the movies I own my friends have never heard of. When they come over, they always pick out stuff like X-men or Gladiator to watch, never going for the lesser known titles. As such, it makes more sense for any rental place to stock more of big titles that the majority of renters want. A lot of us here are in the minority, as we are DVD-addicts and want lots more selection. I really don't find it unacceptable that a lesser known movie might take a while to come off my wish list. If I go to a local rental store chances are they won't have it at all or at least no more than 1 copy. Meanwhile the 20 copies of Gladiator are all rented out as well - meaning there is a big demand for them.

I've been with RMD for a month now and have gone through 8 DVDs (I'm on the 2-disc at once plan). All but 2 were what I would consider Mainstream movies and my top 2 wish list items have always been in stock, though a few others were out - no big deal even if they were my top 2. I may be fortunate as it only takes 2 day turnaround to ship back and forth. I return on Monday and get my new discs on Friday - in time for the weekend.

So $14 for 8 dvds is less than $2 a disc. The same with tax would have cost me over $25 at blockbuster. I find it infinitely easier renting online too. I really don't envision me ever going to a B&M rental store again unless I had a free rental or I was desperate to rent something that very night and couldn't wait 2 days.

I agree that the lack of a cookie is perplexing, as its a fairly simple thing to do, shouldn't take months to implement (more like 1 day), and is kind of annoying without it. The single mailer doesn't bother me since I'm on the 2-disc plan and I return both on Monday, but I could see if you were on the 4-disc plan it might kind of suck - maybe each plan should give 2 mailers per 2 discs... so 2 mailers when you receive 4 discs, and so on. Since each mailer has a barcode they'd know if you've been not using the extras and wouldn't send more until you've gone through your stockpile. But I can see their point of view where to save on costs they'd prefer you return them both in 1 envelope (otherwise the rates may go up).

I've never used Netflix but am 100% satisfied with RMD so far - good job guys!. As they've stated, they'll be adding to their catalog as time goes on. Perhaps it might be useful to have a link on the site to request a DVD that you don't carry?

Stephen Tu

Well, I can see RMD's side on this issue ... Sending 2 at a time cuts their shipping costs significantly. They have been doing pretty well by me so I try to also ship back 2 at a time whenever I can. Sending extra mailers only to those customers who request it seems quite reasonable to me.

RMDInc

Howdy all. I am recently feeling my saucy self again; the sun is shining, the little birdies are singing, and all is right in the DVD world- well, everything but cookies, envelopes, and Wish Lists' availability anyway. By the way, I am well aware of (and a little annoyed about) the following failures of implementation:

1) The 6-out Plan. Remember back that this one was going to be introduced and launched with some other exciting new features on the site. One or two of those features are still in development and so we still have no 6 at at time offering. I recently expressed my displeasure about this and I think that my viewpoint was heard so I just want everyone to know that it hasn't been dropped or forgotten.

2) Good Cookies. Not knowing how to program I am powerless on this one but if it's not up soon I am going to pick up a book, figure it out, and implement the plan. One of the problems is that different customers want different levels of security, etc... . But that, to me, is what cookies are all about...

3) Hindi titles and other DVDs of esoteric natures. Slowly but surely our library is broadening, but I realize that the results are hard to see. Think about the fact that there are, give or take, 10,000 titles on DVD and the fact that a website only has so many ways of browsability. Of course anyone can find a title and whether we have it or not, but physical stores are so much easier in terms of display. One of the reasons we now offer the Advanced Search on the site is so we can show off our library, but I realize that unless we have the exact title that someone is looking for it looks like we have a bunch of A-title New Relases and little else.

So... browse, browse, browse and see what we've got. The new Advanced Search will lead you down paths you've never been on before.

But enough of all that, let me get to the specifics:

sm8680-
I know we discussed your Wish List via e-mail over the last few days, but tell me how it is turning-out. And thanks for the idea of the exeption reports; it's a great way to handle supply and demand.
____________________________________________________________

HepDude-
I must admit that I was afraid we lost you on this old forum; I'm glad you're back. Thanks for the personal compliment, but I can tell you that we have a lot of talented and dedicated people working here; each of them has a million different things to accomplish in a day and many things do get shuffled, but overall everyone's doing a great job.....And thanks for trying us out during the dry TV season.
____________________________________________________________

Broadwayblue-
Fair enough. I'm glad that you got a quick response and that we're at least meeting your needs. Let us know if you need anything else.
____________________________________________________________

Jeraden-
Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad that you're satisfied.
____________________________________________________________

I hope everyone else out there is having a good experience with us, too. HepDude brought-up and interesting point about the Postal Service and while they can sometimes be very hard to deal with it usually works out to a decent average. Nothing is as frustrating for our customers or for us when shipments are delayed or otherwise mishandled; but hopefully the normal times balance-out the lengthy ones.

Til Next Time-

-Matt

Roo

Moe: Success
Larry: Success
Curly: Success
Moe, Larry, Curly: SUCCESS!!!

Kudos on the new (FINALLY!!!!!!!) cookie implementation. I think that should satisfy everyone. Of course, now that that's taken care of, I don't have much reason to post in this thread anymore. Keep up the good work! Love RentMyDVD!