Netflix, Blockbuster or the Library

Have you been following the battle between Netflix and Blockbuster? First Netflix appears with easy home delivery and return of dvds by mail. Blockbuster, feeling the pinch, steps in with home delivery and instore pickup and return. Now Netflix has added free dvds straight to your computer. Netflix has become a household word and Blockbuster is certainly trying harder. All of which made me wonder what kind of a great deal these corporate behemoths were offering.

Visits to the web sites of Netflix and Blockbuster gleaned the costs for their services. Netflix charges from $4.99 to $23.99 a month. The lowest charge gets you 2 dvds a month 1 at a time, while the top charge gets you 4 at a time with no limit per month. Blockbuster's rates range from $8.99 to $24.99 a month, with a several options involving mailing and in store pick up. So, for about $25 a month you can get a maximum of four movies at a time, with no limit on totals per month.

All of this brings me to the options at your local public library. Here, for the cost of a trip to the library, you can get unlimited movies at a time, which you can keep for one week. You can go on line to the library's web site and reserve any titles at the Bill or Gales Ferry Libraries and get a call or e-mail when they are available for pick up. You can return the dvds to either library.

You decide which option works best for you, but for my money, I am picking the library.