UK Private DVD rental

Author	Post
charlie Member uk 450 Posts 4/00	Posted - Jul 31 2003 : 4:12AM Private are doing mail order DVD rentals in the UK . The basic service costs £19.95/month for any 2 films at a time. This has to be a smart step on behalf of Private and hope other e-tailers copy their lead and offer UK porn fans a chance to rent instead of buying. If anyone has used this service please post any feedback good or bad. [Link]
timotei Member UK 271 Posts 4/02	Posted - Jul 31 2003 : 4:26AM Well, I'm definitely in favour of more rental schemes in the UK, so I'll look into this one. I'm curious to see whether they are renting R18s or just 18 cert versions. As we all know, it's illegal to buy R18s mail order within the UK, so I doubt it can be OK to rent them via post. I can't say I'm keen on the idea of paying a fixed monthly fee (quite a high one, by the sound of it) to rent films. I'd much rather pay-per-rent, and have a service that covers multiple studios, rather than just Private only. Still, it's a step in the right direction! I'd better go and read about it now... [Link]
Gabriel Nine Senior Member Firecracker 1273 Posts 8/01	Posted - Jul 31 2003 : 6:25AM I actually mentioned this a while back in this post, but I did read a message after this from lazenby (I think) who had experienced some problems with this service. I don't know what they're like now. There's a £1 intro offer still on, so you can try that and then cancel, which I guess is OK. But I agree Timotei - I don't know for sure, but given they are offering a large part of the Private catalogue, much of which has never been even rated R18, they must surely be offering the full European editions, which raises more questions. I found in the FAQ that if you lose the pre-paid envelope they supply to return the discs, they give an address in "Pay-Bas" (the Netherlands), so then we have the old customs issue coming into play given that the discs are apparently coming from outside the UK. I tried emailing them but they never answered, so on principle I don't do business with companies who can't even answer a basic query. [Link]
Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Aug 1 2003 : 3:22AM I'm just about coming to the end of my first month at £1 then it's £15.98 a month for 3 months, with up to 2 DVDs out at a time. I joined on a friday and the following monday my first two rentals dropped through the door. The return postage is free in the reply-paid envelopes provided and the turn around time seems to be 5-6 days so far. It's early days but I'm quite impressed so far. [Link]
charlie Member uk 450 Posts 4/00	Posted - Aug 1 2003 : 3:59AM Athos, thanks for the feedback. I take it the service is being run from the UK? I initially suspected it was from the European mainland. [Link]

Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Aug 1 2003 : 4:24AM The DVDs are despatched from and returned to an address in the Netherlands. It will be interesting to see if this leads to any problems! [Link]
Gabriel Nine Senior Member Firecracker 1273 Posts 8/01	Posted - Aug 1 2003 : 5:15AM Hi Athos, thanks for your comments - it's always good to get some genuine info rather than relying on my idle speculation! I am interested that they're serving the UK from the Netherlands. Clearly, taking advantage of the loophole. [Link]
timotei Member UK 271 Posts 4/02	Posted - Aug 1 2003 : 5:25AM Athos: thanks for the info. Can you tell us whether the titles are R18 versions or the full european ones? I.e. can you see an R18 logo on the box cover or disc? More idle speculation: If these discs are not R18s, I'm actually quite surprised that a large company like Private is taking a risk on sending DVDs to and from the UK that could potentially be confiscated by customs. Assuming of course that this website really is run by Private, and not some other outfit that just uses their name... [Link]
Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Aug 1 2003 : 5:47AM Everything they have sent me appears to be the full european version - definitely NO R18 logos. I'm not quite clear on the customs issues, surely Private titles don't contain anything that could lead to them being confiscated? This rental service is definitely being run by Private. I did a "whois" on www.privateathome.co.uk, and the primary server is name.private.com, the same as www.private.com. Edited by - athos on 8/1/2003 6:01:29 AM [Link]
Gabriel Nine Senior Member Firecracker 1273 Posts 8/01	Posted - Aug 1 2003 : 3:32PM Athos wrote: Everything they have sent me appears to be the full european version - definitely NO R18 logos. I'm not quite clear on the customs issues, surely Private titles don't contain anything that could lead to them being confiscated? Click to expand I am really not sure how to answer that. I can think of at least one Private title which was submitted for classification by the BBFC and was cut to obtain the R18 certificate. Technically this would mean it had material unsuitable for the UK. However, from anecdotal evidence here it would seem unlikely that a Private title would be confiscated. It seems like a grey area. [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Sep 29 2003 : 2:32PM Athos wrote: Everything they have sent me appears to be the full european version - definitely NO R18 logos. I'm not quite clear on the customs issues, surely Private titles don't contain anything that could lead to them being confiscated? This rental service is definitely being run by Private. I did a "whois" on www.privateathome.co.uk, and the primary server is name.private.com, the same as www.private.com. Edited by - athos on 8/1/2003 6:01:29 AM Click to expand Hiya what is whois ? and how does one use it ? Are the DVD's PAL or NSTC ? Thnks Stef [Link]
Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Sep 29 2003 : 2:47PM Go to www.betterwhois.com, basically it tells you who registered the site and other info. It's not so easy to cover your tracks on the web! The discs I've had have been PAL. Edited by - athos on 9/29/2003 2:51:18 PM [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Oct 6 2003 : 2:22PM Hi Guys I too have signed up for this, Thanks Charlie for lettin us know, Signed last Wednesday and today have received 1st disc - though 2 were allegedly sent at same time so maybe next one will arrive tomorrow. Some marks on disc (slight) but plays flawlessly with great pic quality. Got matador 3 which is a great flick - nice gapes :-) Will keep ya posted [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Oct 6 2003 : 2:24PM OH BTW def not R18 and format is def PAL S [Link]
charlie Member uk 450 Posts 4/00	Posted - Oct 6 2003 : 5:19PM stefank60, Thanks for the feedback. I have not taken up the offer myself yet but I wish other Euro and US labels were available for rental in addition to Private. [Link]

stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Oct 6 2003 : 5:36PM charlie wrote: stefank60, Thanks for the feedback. I have not taken up the offer myself yet but I wish other Euro and US labels were available for rental in addition to Private. Click to expand Me too Would be nice to see the likes of Evil Empire/RLD/Ana/Dia/Platinum et al available via mail order. That said just been watching Matador 3 and MAN it's HOTTTT Daniella Rush Gaping and Double anal and basically looking the most beautiful I've ever seen. If you haven't seen this flick u want to add it to your list. Stef [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Oct 8 2003 : 1:51PM Hi all Second disc did indeed arrive next day. Sylvia Saint compilation. For my tastes I suspect (though early days yet) that one needs to pick Private titles carefully (my above post shud give u some idea of my usual tastes) as some of the previews look less "exciting" than others. Matador 3 is superb though so I will be renting more from this "Sub Label" Will keep y'all posted with ongoing experience with them. Hey guys why not trial it - so you pay £1 and if after say 25 days you're not impressed you can cancel - what've ya got to loose ? Stef [Link]
Gabriel Nine Senior Member Firecracker 1273 Posts 8/01	Posted - Oct 8 2003 : 5:59PM I just wonder what the selection is like for new releases? When I last looked at this site, the latest releases weren't available... [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Oct 27 2003 : 4:14PM Hi all Just thought I'd post an update on my experiences with this service. I have today had my 5th disc from them. I guess theres 2 main araeas to judge on: 1. The quality of the discs/films themselves 2. The quality of the service 1. Obviously a matter of personal taste. A mixed bag for sure - but they have such a huge range. On the whole I am very happy witht them - I expected that I might be a little dissapointed as my tastes tend to run to Evil Empire, Ana/Dia, platinum and similar. BUT I have been quite happy - Matador 3 was superb and featured two DAP's and plenty of gaping. You get what you'd expect from Private - ie Georgous Girls and top drawer production values. I would steer clear of Private life of ones as I have had the Sylvia Saint one and was VERY dissapointed. On the whole very good - even some of the older titles have today got Triple XXX 6 and am very impressed with it. 2. NO complaints - every disc has arrived app 3-4 days and the system works well. I would say def give it a whirl - you could always avail yourself of the £1 trial offer - in this time you should be able to turn around 4 discs by which time you should have some idea of whether you wish to continue. Give it a go guys :-) Stef Edited by - stefank60 on 10/27/2003 4:26:40 PM [Link]
struan Member SCOTLAND 242 Posts 8/02	Posted - Oct 27 2003 : 6:48PM Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the Customs situation with regard to duty/VAT on rented items? If it is not applicable, are these Private items clearly marked as rental products? TIA. [Link]
Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Oct 28 2003 : 2:53AM The DVDs are sent from within the EU, so paying money to HM Customs & Excise is not a factor. Consequently the envelopes have nothing on them that describes the content. I'm very surprised Private don't package the DVDs more discretely, those orange and white envelopes are hardly stealth packaging. [Link]
van c Member 16 Posts 7/03	Posted - Oct 28 2003 : 1:25PM Hi all, why on earth do these guys not answer your emails? I have tryed many times, all I was asking was if I could get the dvds sent to another address different to my credit card but they never answer. [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Oct 28 2003 : 1:57PM Search me on that one. Shame really coz the actual system itself works very well. One would expect better froman organization of their reputation stef [Link]
Frigo Senior Member 1290 Posts 7/02	Posted - Oct 28 2003 : 2:20PM I emailed Private several times and always got an reply. Not very fast but I got one. Don't know why they did not reply to you guys?! [Link]
sg New Member 1 Posts 10/03	Posted - Oct 28 2003 : 5:23PM I've noticed another company that plans to rent dvd's - see www.sugardvd.co.uk though I don't know when they are going to start, the page has remained the same since I spooted it about a month ago. Their American operation has the website sugardvd.com, and looks to be cheaper than the uk one (uk from £9.99/month with 10% off with early registration USA is $8.95 ) sg [Link]

struan Member SCOTLAND 242 Posts 8/02	Posted - Oct 28 2003 : 6:21PM Athos wrote: The DVDs are sent from within the EU, so paying money to HM Customs & Excise is not a factor. Consequently the envelopes have nothing on them that describes the content. SNIP Click to expand Never thought of that Athos - thanks for the clarification. Edited by - struan on 10/28/2003 6:22:03 PM [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Nov 8 2003 : 3:14PM Just thought I'd update. System is still working quite nicely discs are taking between 3-6 days to arrive. They seem to be a mix of PAL and NSTC format discs in case you are interested in that Stef [Link]
Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Dec 3 2003 : 2:50PM Is anybody else experiencing the appalling turn around times I've had on my last three discs - 14 days, and still counting on one. They seem to take two days to get to the UK from the Netherlands - great but when you return a disc it takes 11 or more days for Private to acknowledge they have received it and send the next in the queue. Unless this improves I will be cancelling my membership. [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Dec 3 2003 : 3:56PM Athos wrote: Is anybody else experiencing the appalling turn around times I've had on my last three discs - 14 days, and still counting on one. They seem to take two days to get to the UK from the Netherlands - great but when you return a disc it takes 11 or more days for Private to acknowledge they have received it and send the next in the queue. Unless this improves I will be cancelling my membership. Click to expand Nowhere near that length of time no - I'd guestimate 4-6 days on average - time to UK as you say has been good. Have you dropped them a line along the lines of your post here to give them the chance to look into it ? [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Jan 2 2004 : 2:21PM Athos I am now also experiencing the same problems as yourself. I sent three discs back on 22 Dec and they are still showing as out on rental. Additionally I emailed them from the site and I have yet to hear from them. Usually they reply within 24 hours - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt with the possibility of an extended Xmas break but they need to get their act together else I also will need to seriously consider scrapping my membership. If I dont hear by Tue/Wed I shall contact them again and also advise of this thread on here and let them know the negative impact this will result in for their business. happy New Year to all stef Edited by - stefank60 on 1/2/2004 2:24:29 PM [Link]
Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Jan 3 2004 : 6:43AM I think Private may be a victim of their own success with this service. Anyway I'm preparing to return two discs to them and depending on how long they take to turn around I'll decide whether to continue. Also the condition of the discs leaves muck to be desired. I've had several so scratched that the picture has broken up in places. [Link]
Joey Starr Senior Member Still wanking after all these years. 8082 Posts 10/00	Posted - Jan 3 2004 : 7:21PM Athos wrote: Also the condition of the discs leaves muck to be desired. Click to expand I desire muck all the time too, muck is very desirable [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - Jan 4 2004 : 5:49AM Just curious, how many of you guys are using this service ? [Link]
Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Jan 10 2004 : 5:16AM I'm pleased to be able to report that the turn around time is now muck improved. Sent two discs back last Monday and received two new ones this morning, Saturday. Hope they keep this up. [Link]
struan Member SCOTLAND 242 Posts 8/02	Posted - Jan 10 2004 : 5:30AM Does anyone know if/when ‘www.sugardvd.co.uk’ (as mentioned by sg earlier in this thread) are going to start operating? [Link]

Athos Member 151 Posts 3/02	Posted - Apr 30 2004 : 11:59AM The turn around time from Private is (for me at any rate) about a week. My only criticism otherwise is that some of the discs are somewhat the worse for wear. I've had several that wouldn't play properly in places and two that wouldn't play at all. Private were very good and immediately despatched the next titles in my queue. [Link]
the french tickler Member Deep in the heart of man 154 Posts 8/02	Posted - May 10 2004 : 1:09AM Private have awfull discs I haven't bought a private film in two years. When a solid distrubutor like orgasmik or lasers edge becomes available in the uk then I'll start renting. [Link]
stefank60 Member Gold Trader on ADT 383 Posts 9/02	Posted - May 10 2004 : 2:22PM man are you missing out. I would agree that some Private stuff is dire. However some, especially the Matador stuff is superb, also the range is so vast that you should find some stuff that you like. I too, though, would welcome another operation starting up , especially if it included titles from : Evil Empire, RLD, Olatinum et al Stef [Link]