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My local library has had the same service for about equally long. The only difference is that instead of ordering them to my house, I order them to the nearest
by jbay808 5y ago
My local library has had the same service for about equally long. The only difference is that instead of ordering them to my house, I order them to the nearest branch and then I walk in and pick it up whenever I feel like it. Then I drop them off a couple weeks later. No need to mess with envelopes and shipping. And it's free!
- yurishimo 5y agoWhile I don't disagree that this experience exists in many places, the reality is nowhere near as convenient as you describe it. The waitlist for any movie I want to see is astronomical unless it's a decade old so by the time I get it, I might not be interested anymore. Netflix somehow had the logistics worked out that everyone could get most new movies pretty close to release which I think is why they took off in popularity. Also, the Netflix shipping/return mechanism is arguably more convenient than even driving to the library. The envelopes were prepaid and were built in such a way that opening it uses one part of the packaging, which exposed a tape seam to seal it for return. Chuck that in any mailbox and you're good to go. Better than driving 15 minutes across town to the library to return a movie in the drop-off bin and hope it doesn't get lost and I get charged for it, forcing me to go inside so I know it was returned properly... I want the local library version to get better, but right now it still has a ways to go in my city.