netflix.com has this cool thing where you just borrow 3 dvds at a time keep them as long as you want and then send them back and get another one. costs $20 / month

seems like you should be able to do this without involving netflix at all. maybe just a website with a queue of people waiting for different movies (and maybe how many they are holding ?). when you finish your movie you just mail it to the next guy on the list directly.
-- strider, May 16 2001

cool. Since rightful owners (read:purchasing consumers) don't actually rightfully own the content (apparently, according to the RIAA's practices), this would disseminate content on a subscription-based service (and when we all have dvd burners...) Why isn't this done with video games? Seems like all we'd need would be a reasonably reliable server with a database and some marginal security.

But what if the parcels never arrived at their locations? Who is held responsible? Maybe make it a requirement that everyone use a trackable, verifiable shipper at their own cost? Sounds like a white-peoples dream, what with the requisite bureacracy and all... :)
-- absterge, May 16 2001


With netflix, if parcels get lost they send you a replacement free. Obviously if a pattern forms, you'll have to pay for the lost DVD. I suspect my postman lifted four DVDs! Tracking and insurance would make this cost prohibitive. You need to clean the DVDs from time to time. They can get scratched beyond use. They can get cracked in shipment also.

It would be dificult to beat Netflix. I averaged 9 rentals per month for $20. They have a selection of something like 10,000 titles. They own multiple copies of popular titles.

Here's a slightly better idea: Buy a used DVD on half.com. Maybe $9.50 Pay $2.25 shipping. When you are bored with it, list the used DVD on Half.com for the same price. You'll get a sufficient allowance for shipping beyond the purchase price. Total cost of rental = $2.25.
-- wireless, May 17 2001


The public library in my town loans CDs, though they haven't yet started with DVDs. Cost: $0.00 to residents inside the city limit (ie taxpayers). Pick them up in person, no shipping.
-- Dog Ed, May 17 2001


maybe this is just half.com / ebay specialized for dvds. something like you list the dvds you want and what you're willing to pay. when you're done with a dvd you send it to whomever is offering the most. if you're unhappy with the quality you send it back or flame them. so the system would need a reputation thingy like ebay, and would be cool if it had some sorta payment tracker so the money sorta floats until you want to cash out, rather than dealing with the overhead of actual transactions each time.

i think shipping a cd is much less than $2.25. if netflix paid $2.25 each time, they would have paid $20.25 to ship you 9 dvds last month. and this should be at least half what they pay because there's no round trip, not to mention the handling and marketing at their end.
-- strider, May 17 2001



random, halfbakery