...Or the New Blockbuster Kiosks

We stumbled upon the Blockbuster Kiosks at the BP near our house. When the Redbox opened up in the Barrack's Harris Teeter, we knew that it was only a matter of time before this would drag the $5/night rentals at Blockbuster establishment across the street under. Our loyalties switched the second we got the new arrival hit movie for $1, and knew that word would spread.

Perhaps nostalgia, perhaps a hint of guilt, lead to conversations of hoping they would somehow make a come back. How could they with the internet streaming films, Netflix (which got to be stressful and obligatory. We're spur of the moment watchers), and Red Box? And, indeed, they did make a victorious comeback in a strategic fashion that embraced the entrepreneurial spirit that we love, in spite of all of the documentaries we watch.

It just so happens that after tax, their movie somehow comes out to $1.05 instead of $1.06 like redbox. They also had The Blind Side a couple of weeks before Red Box. They intelligently chose locations that were just a tad closer to the university, and unlike the Redbox that we frequent in Harris Teeter, we don't have to actually go inside the store. We often talked about how intelligent HT was in allowing the Red Box, because budgeters like us would pick up sundry items, or get sucked into the deals at the front of the store, as opposed to making two "park and go in" trips in favor of the more economical Kroger. We never would have gone in HT as much as we did this year, and as I just expressed, sometimes spent the savings we had made in their shop.

So, Blockbuster has us going to the BP a little more frequently. Right now, they're handing out a free code for one free movie.

What can I say? We have to choose our loyalties, and ours is currently to cuddling on the couch and watching the checkbook. The $.01 savings does not drive us, but the different film varieties, and different release dates will keep us from pledging to one over the other.

On another note- did you hear that the Biltmore serves sandwiches, burgers and salads for $5 on Wednesdays?! Guess where we're headed next week! We always love an excuse to retreat into the Corner and soak up some of the familiar hoopla that brings us back to our UVA days (Laura-'06, Anwar- '08). Stay tuned for our review!