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Bob  All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 |  Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 7:21PMAs a long-time subscriber to XRent DVD's rental program, I'm sorry to report that it's going downhill. The problem is that their stock of new titles for rent -- and of titles from the top companies regardless of release date -- has become extremely thin. In the good old days, most titles were available "Now". These days, almost every title I add to my queue is listed as "Short Wait" or "Medium Wait". Which boils down, in practice, to "Good luck, sucker." As it is, you have to wait at least a month following retail release before most titles from Evil Angel and Jules Jordan will even go into the rental queue, after which they are still invariably subject to a further waiting period. Oh well. * -------------------- [edited for spelling] Edited by - bob on Sep 24 2009  [Link] |
| XRentWebmaster Member Santa Ana, CA 45 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Sep 23 2009 : 8:45PM The change is our attempt to keep what we display consistent with what we deliver. We are still working to tune the status calculation so please bare with us. In the past 6 months the number of new releases shipped under our rental programs has actually increased rather than decreased. XRentDVD Edited by - xrentwebmaster on 9/23/2009 8:46:14 PM  [Link] |
| Bob All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Sep 24 2009 : 2:18PM I appreciate your (incredibly prompt) response to my post, but what you've written doesn't tally with my personal experience. I have had roughly the same seven or eight titles in my top ten for months and have received almost none of them. This trend began well before the refreshingly honest change in your notification policy. Your more accurate reporting of availability simply confirms what I have experienced for quite awhile already. Now at least I know for sure, because I rarely get one of my top choices unless it's designated as "Now" when I place it near the top of my queue. Maybe it requires much more "churn" on the part of a customer -- a constant flow of DVDs going back and forth -- to get a better percentage of what he or she really wants to watch. But that simply underscores what I've already said, which is that the rental stock of the top titles is too thin. If you're receiving a steady stream of e-mails from customers complaining that they aren't able to rent the titles they want most, then it stands to reason that you need to buy more of those titles if you want to keep those customers happy. If that result requires frequent analysis of your members' queues (hence, their preferences), then you need to engage in that analysis and stock in accordance with it. For two years, I was a 7-DVDs-out-at-a-time subscriber, on the theory that I could thereby raise my "batting average". However, I recently reduced my subscription to 5-out-at-a-time because having more DVDs out simultaneously didn't seem to have a positive impact anymore. Why pay more to get more DVDs that I'm not so interested in watching? That said, I'll note again that I appreciate your having taken the time to respond to my post so quickly. Whatever the economic realities are that drive your business, including the size of your customer base, at least you care. Thanks sincerely for that. * ------------ [spelling] Edited by - bob on 9/24/2009 2:24:46 PM [Link] |
| XRentWebmaster Member Santa Ana, CA 45 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Sep 24 2009 : 3:02PM If you email webmaster@xrentdvd.com with email address you use on our website then we would be happy to look into the specific titles at the top of your queue that seem to be always skipped. The problem with being such a long time customer is that there is a bubbling up effect of problem titles. We have problems with only a small fraction of titles for various reasons. We do our best to keep up with postal damage, recognizing when customers keep a title longer than expected because they like it, and titles that are just hard (or unusually expensive) to reacquire. It is not always easy to spot the problem titles. You can help by sending the title names to requests@xrentdvd.com as you find them so that our buyers will manually review them. We do not get very much email from customers about not getting what they want. The emails referred to previously where from customers who viewed a new release as in-stock (e.g. "Now") and then didn't get that shipped to them because others got the available copies. We work very hard to strike the right balance when deciding how many new release vs. re-buys we purchase and largely we succeed. Our apologies for the few that we are less than successful at. Please do let us know about them so we can do better. XRentDVD [Link] |
| stizzy Member 8 Posts 12/09 | Posted - Dec 19 2009 : 4:58AM Stizzy :) [Link] |
| XRentWebmaster Member Santa Ana, CA 45 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Dec 22 2009 : 12:04PM XRentDVD [Link] |
| stizzy Member 8 Posts 12/09 | Posted - Dec 24 2009 : 1:29AM Thank you for being so prompt in your responses. When you respond like this it makes me feel that you actually care about y-our customers. Yes, gay titles are so expensive and what really irks me the most is these top studios (Falcon, Mustang, Jocks, Titan, Hot House, etc.) are always having these "sales" 3 for $99, spend over $100 get $20 off, etc. Which tells me they could of offered these at lower prices to begin with. I realize you are doing all you can to satisfy your customers. I just hate fighting to get top titles and really do not to rent these if I have a monthly rental plan as it eats into my budget. I really do feel the gay studios are taking advantage of the gay consumer as this has always been the way. I really wish Titan or Falcon etc. would explain to me why this hasn't changed after all these years. I in the NW and we have quite a bit of at bookstores, but, slowly, the choices is getting smaller as they say the same thing that gay titles are too expensive make anyand they can't order that many and with the economy it has just gotten worse. Most of the stores around here have stopped carrying the Falcon line alogether and that really irks me as Falcon is tops in my book. (I hope you are reading this Falcon Studios). Well, my queue is above 30 titles. How many do I need to queue? I don't want to queue too many as I want to make sure I have a chance at my top selections. For instance, the title "Cocks In Paradise" I had in my queue a long time. Finally got the title and it arrived cracked awhile back. It somehow disappeared out of my queue and finally yesterday, it showed back up, I moved it to the top of my queue, but, I did not have a spot open and was hoping you would receive one of my titles and sadly w/ the holidays no such luck. Now it is short wait. I hope someday I'll get to see it. I do eventually get to see most of my titles, but, it takes forever for some of these. I know you have a budget, but, please ask purchasing to order more Falcon, Titan, Hot House, etc. when they order as these seem to be the hardest to get. I should say this aside from Cocks in Paradise, I belive the most Ihave had to wait is about 5-6 w-eeks which I guess is not too bad. I suspect Gaydvdempire.com is having the same issues. I don't know. I really wish the gay studios would come down to earth and start lowering their prices so it is affordable to the gay community. Just last week I got an e-mail from Jet Set and they are offering Blu-ray titles at $19.95 each. I just don't get it as they were $49.95 each and they were offering two packs at 2 for $49.95. It just does not make any sense whatsoever. So for the heterosexual community, be happy that your porn is less than $30. Check out the gay titles and pay $50 or more. It isn't fair and a lot of these studios the production is not that great. A lot of the straight titles are of higher quality. (go figure). Getting back to XrentDVD. Overall, your service is great. Aside from the long wait times for some titles, you are at least trying to do everything you can. Oh one more thing, please ask your purchasing department to carry active duty and All worlds titles if possible. You used to carry them. Thanks for listening. :) [Link] |
| XRentWebmaster Member Santa Ana, CA 45 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Dec 24 2009 : 9:27AM Our rental programs are designed to be a set-in-and-forget-it type system that allows you to have a constant stream of titles. If you are looking to get very specific titles then our weekly rental program may be a better fit.Titles will disappear from our website when all copies have been lost/damaged and we haven't been able to replace the inventory. They re-appear if and when we are able to re-stock.You should send an email to our requests email box (listed on the Contact Us page) which gets read by the purchasing department. Studios fall in and out of being carried for many reasons including ROI, damage rates, and sometimes just the difficulty in dealing with some of them. However, those factors are constantly changing and many studios have made a comeback. XRentDVD [Link] |
| stizzy Member 8 Posts 12/09 | Posted - Jan 13 2010 : 9:55PM I wrote to customer service and complained and they did say that they sent my e-mail to the correct dept. or whatever. I explained to them about the wait times, short, medium, etc. I told them that a month or more is not a short lead time and that if they have that many people queued for it, then they need to get more copies. I really doubt anything will ever be done about it, but, I appreciate you helping me. I feel that if a copy is in stock it should be shipped to the next person that has queued for it (and has waited eons for it) Not hide it under "short wait" or "medium wait" then wait through the night before it turns into "now" Basically, what you are doing is allowing someone to grab it as a weekly rental as it is in such high demand so you can make more money off it while us subscribers have to wait yet another week and hope that no one grabs once it gets returned again. It is absolutely ridiculous. It should be first come first serve. Like I said, if the title is that much in demand, then you need to order more copies bottom line. I realize there is not that much competition out there which is why I don't think anything will be done. I have been a customer for a very long time and really feel that I should be treated better. I really do not understand why there isn't a person that checks people's queues and says "oh, I think we need to order more copies" or just order more to begin with. I know you have a budget, but, you represent the US not just CA. 3-5 copies is not enough of any title. Most people want the new releases, and I would gladly go to your weekly program, but your prices are outrageous. If I went to my local videostore, they would charge me $3.00-$3.50 for 2-3 days so a week would be about $7-8 give or take w/ no shipping charges. I already pay a monthly rate so why should I have to fork out another lump of cash. It makes no sense. Again, thanks for listening and I can only hope sometime in the future, you will make changes for the better, but as I stated above, because the competition for gay titles is little to none, I really don't see anything happening. Thanks, [Link] |
| XRentWebmaster Member Santa Ana, CA 45 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Jan 14 2010 : 12:36PM While I empathize with your position, do keep in mind that the local video store on a 2-3 day rental can turn the title 8-10 times a month where as mail times only allow us to turn it 2-3 times a month. They also do not have to contend with the significant amount of breakage and loss at the hands of the post office. It brings a tear to the eye to see a gay title that costs 3x as much as a straight title returned with a large crack in it. The local video store is also limited on what they can carry based on available floor space where we try to carry a very large selection. As far as the weekly separate purchasing budget, they can only reserve one copy of each title for a maximum of 24 hours and only on titles where a copy was purchased for that program. Without this program and the expected ROI from the weekly rental we would have one less copy for the rental programs after the reservation is released. We do indeed look at what is at the top of people's queues and compare that to the number of copies owned to help make purchasing decisions. Our monthly fee rental programs are designed for people that want to have a continuous stream of porn in their mailbox so that it is there when... uh... needed. If your interest is mainly in new releases and/or getting very specific titles then I recommend you cancel your rental plan and rent from our weekly program instead. XRentDVD [Link] |
| stizzy Member 8 Posts 12/09 | Posted - Jan 14 2010 : 8:02PM Please do not take offense and thank you for sympathizing. I guess what I am trying to ask is what is the solution? Do I keep track of titles I have had queued more than a month and inquire why the wait is so long? How big a queue do I need? I would love to have an endless stream of movies, but, that never seems to happen. At one point, I had over 30 titles queued and still nothing. As far as breakage, couldn't you add a cushion of some sort to put into sleeve w/ the disc on top of it? This would definitely help bring your breakage discs down a bit. I also spoke w/ my mail deliverer and she said to stamp on the envelopes (Pre-printed of course) PLEASE DO NOT RUN THROUGH MACHINE) She says this will help you immensely. Please understand that I am not upset w/ you, just the way the system is and I do feel that it needs to be streamlined a bit. I try to be patient, but, it's tough when you have had to wait 6-7 weeks for a title. I liked the way you did things before this new system of short and medium wait is such hassle. I would get titles so much faster. Even the not so demanding titles are not easy to get. Sorry, but I will not pay 12-15 bucks to rent a title when I go out and buy the movie for less than 30 bucks. (and yes you can) I would only watch the movie once and then be stuck with it or sell it to a video store at a very low price. I like the monthly rental because titles ship to you and when ran the way it should, titles keep shipping to me. Then I can watch them and decide if it is one I want to see again and then purchase it at a discount. I realize you are doing all you can and appreciate you remaining professional and keeping your composure. I normally do not "rant" like this, but it was really starting to irritate me and at least there is someone out there listening. Thanks again. [Link] |
| XRentWebmaster Member Santa Ana, CA 45 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Jan 14 2010 : 8:33PM XRentDVD [Link] |
| Bob All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Apr 7 2010 : 9:35PM XRentWebmaster wrote:You can say that again! What's not clear is whose porn needs the rental plan IS designed for. Just to show you, here's a snapshot of the top 25 titles currently in my XRentDVD rental queue:  -- Only 2 titles (#s 18 and 24) out of 25 are available NOW -- 2 titles are VERY LONG WAIT -- 4 titles are LONG WAIT -- 7 titles are MEDIUM WAIT -- 10 titles are SHORT WAIT Of my top 10 titles, the breakdown is this: -- No titles are available NOW -- 1 title is VERY LONG WAIT -- 2 titles are LONG WAIT -- 5 titles are MEDIUM WAIT -- 2 titles are SHORT WAIT Ladies and Gentlemen, I respectfully submit to you that this rental program sucks big time. [Link] |
| HeyNow Oblivious Gold Star Hey! 5965 Posts 1/03 | Posted - Apr 8 2010 : 3:06AM It's maybe odd that a couple of movies like Pump My ASS and Girl Play (released mid-2009) would be coming up with a Very Long Wait. I'd think it would be the new releases would be more in demand. But they might have very few rental discs remaining for movies released 6 to 9 months ago. I can't say you'd do much better with BushDVD - I'm not complaining one bit - but I'd say typically they have to dip to the 25th or 30th spot in my queue to fulfill my rentals order (when I send in 6 movies at a time.) They aren't in any rush to send me Teens Like It Big 6, Barely Legal 101 and Pound The Rounds 5. Or Dukes of Hazzard. But with me, I figure I'll see it sometime. [Link] |
| Bob All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Apr 8 2010 : 5:11PM XRent Webmaster's responses confirm my own conclusion that XRent's only satisfied customers must be those whose pornwatching is relatively indiscriminate both as to quality and niche and who therefore need only a constant stream of garden-variety product to be happy. The rest of us -- me included -- are hanging on out of habit. However, it's getting to the point where renting porn is becoming more trouble than it's worth. For the same monthly price I can download (and keep) tons more website content. That content may not be as good as the top 25 items in my rental queue, but I'm not getting that stuff from XRent anyway. And the website content that's available is certainly as good as what I AM getting from XRent. [Link] |
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| Bob All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Apr 9 2010 : 3:04PM XRent DVD in action. [Link] |
| skronker Notable Legendary Icon Scopophiliac 9780 Posts 9/02 | Posted - Apr 9 2010 : 5:35PM [Link] |
| Bob All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Apr 9 2010 : 8:16PM Thanks -- that's a good suggestion and I've thought about it. The lingering problem is that I don't really enjoy watching porn on the computer and watching downloaded porn on a television set is still somewhat of a hassle even though I have the equipment to do it. But I may end up trying your suggestion anyway because nowadays I'm just wasting my money at XRent. [Link] |
| Harri Patel Senior Member #SDNY he's all yours. -- Michael Steele 5110 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Apr 9 2010 : 10:45PM Maybe the whole discs-by-mail thing is just not a workable business model anymore. Edited by - Harri Patel on 4/9/2010 10:47:00 PM [Link] |
| Bob All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Apr 9 2010 : 11:08PM [Link] |
| HeyNow Oblivious Gold Star Hey! 5965 Posts 1/03 | Posted - Apr 10 2010 : 2:32AM I've been joined up with Xrent for a month or three every once in a while to pull in some movies that BushDVD doesn't get and I can't say I've experienced anything like you've reported. I mean, some movies might sit there but they pop up and get sent eventually. I would say you probably do have some very popular movies there. While I've seen some of them, I'd go for the Cock Crazy Teens #2 and Pure 18 so I guess my mileage varies. I say give BushDVD a try. Maybe if we all blink our eyes, wiggle our toes or noses and tap our slippers together we can bring in Jason Holt from BushDVD to pass along a free sample.  I can see the ad banners now! ADT Bob breaks up with XRentDVD! Now with Bush![Link] |
| ZZZERO Member 27 Posts 4/09 | Posted - Apr 11 2010 : 12:01AM [Link] |
| XRentWebmaster Member Santa Ana, CA 45 Posts 10/03 | Posted - Apr 12 2010 : 9:58AM @Bob I think you would be more happy with our weekly rentals, at least for a while. This way you could pick and choose exactly what is sent next. The rental programs are a cheaper alternative but there is a trade off. However, as long as you keep lots of titles in your queue we keep sending you title after title. I'll pass along this thread to the purchasing department so they can check out your specific problem titles. XRentDVD [Link] |
| Bob All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Apr 15 2010 : 2:59AM Despite my current dissatisfaction with XRent's monthly program, I do want to make it clear that I've always found XRent to be a very solid and well-run company. They are completely dependable, professional, and trustworthy. [Link] |
| Bob All-Star Member 5516 Posts 3/03 | Posted - Apr 26 2010 : 2:47AM [Link] |
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