Advantages of Online DVD Rental

Everyday online and in the media we are inundated with online DVD rental plans. Many people are switching to these online stores and forgoing traditional brick and mortar stores. Are there any advantages to renting online as opposed to the local store? It depends on what matters the most to you.

Online DVD rental companies usually have more titles available than local stores. Most stores display their titles face out, limiting the number of each available title. Most also still devote space to video tape rentals and video games. Online stores have big warehouses that hold nothing but DVD titles. They can store more copies in the same amount of space as the DVDs can be cataloged on their sides. EHit.com claims only 5,000 titles, but that is as much as five times as many titles available in a local store, depending on size. Companies like Netflix and Intelliflix dwarf the number of titles available of any sized store. Many online companies offer TV shows for rent, a practice not available in every traditional store.

It is often easier to find titles online than in a store. How many times have you looked and looked for a movie only to have the clerk take you to a different section of the store? Is a romantic comedy a romance film or a comedy? Is a horror thriller more horror or thriller? Online, you need not know the category, only the name. In the store you have to depend on someone to know what movie you are looking for. Online you can search by ratings, star, genre, director, and even studio.

Online offers the convenience of shopping from anywhere. You can order a movie from work, school, or from home in your underwear. Try that in a brick and mortar store. You can order a movie while on vacation and have it waiting for you when you get home. You are not bound by time or space online. If you want to keep a movie you rented, simply logon and purchase it. There’s no need to make a trip anywhere. With gas prices today, saving a trip is worth a bundle.

Finally there are the additional costs of a local store. There is the gas cost to go to the store to pick up and drop off. Online plans have prepaid envelopes for you to use. All you do is drop it in the mail. If the movie is late, there are late fees with traditional stores. You are allowed to keep the movie as long as you want with online plans. Local stores also have to cover more overhead than online companies.

Of course with an online store, you don’t get that personal touch. For that, you will always have to go to a local store. If that is not your concern, then there are many advantages to using an online DVD rental company. Many of them can save you time and money. This will allow you more time to bond with your family on movie night.