Rent to buy?

[rbienstock]

I guess this is a feature request. I have about 800 movies that I've purchased from the Kaleidescape store. I've rented one, the Taylor Swift Eras Tour that isn't available to own. Part of the reason that I've never rented a single movie is that the cost of a rental is so close to the cost to purchase that it almost seems like paying double to get a preview of a movie that I might buy. I'll either steram it and make a decision on whether to buy, or take a chance and just buy the movie, or pass altogether. If, on the other chance, I could rent the movie and, if I like it, purchase it for the difference between the rental price and the purchase price, I'd do that with a lot of titles. Am I alone in thinking this way?

 

[steelman1991]

Rentals are already, AFAIK, redeemable against purchase within a certain timeframe. 28 days I think.

 

[steelman1991]

To add - a quick search New to Kaleidescape, some simple questions revealed that the discount is 50% of the cost of rental. Premium Rental titles are not included.

 

[andy]

I also just purchase (vs. rent). I find the price difference is typically negligible, and am patient enough to pass on the premium rentals where you get $0 credit for your rental fee.

Andy

 

[MikeKobb]

Part of the reason that I've never rented a single movie is that the cost of a rental is so close to the cost to purchase that it almost seems like paying double to get a preview of a movie that I might buy.

Have a look, for example, at "The Creator". $24.99 to purchase. $7.95 to rent. That's a pretty big spread and makes the rental pretty attractive in my opinion. Plus, as mentioned, you will get 50% of that rental as credit towards the purchase if you were to rent it and decide you wanted to keep it.

There are certainly cases where the rental and purchase prices are closer. I think those fall into two buckets:
- Catalog titles where the normal sale price is down in the ~$15 ballpark.
- Premium-window releases, where the sale price might be $39.99 while the rental is $29.99. (Example: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom)

But there are a sizable number of movies where there's a pretty good difference between the two prices.

I have personally rented a number of movies when there was a good price spread and I was unsure that I wanted to own the movie. In some cases, I was glad I didn't buy it. In others, I took advantage of the upgrade offer because I ended up loving it.

As noted above, the 50% credit does not apply for premium rentals, so be aware of that limitation.

 

[thrillcat]

I'm fine with all the rental pricing, but I would love to see the option at the end of the rental to immediately purchase and receive 100% of the rental off the purchase price. Literally, when you hit stop or the end credits complete, that's your chance, otherwise if you decide a week later, it drops to 50% of the rental price towards purchase.

 

[MikeKobb]

Regrettably, I think that would be a very hard sell with the licensors. It's semi-miraculous that we were able to negotiate the 50% discount, which as far as I know, nobody else offers.