Clicking on a revolution
January 14, 2008 @ 10:28 am | by Conor Pope
If you go in to a DVD rental shop this week in search of the newly released Bourne Ultimatum to while away a couple of winter hours, you’ll be asked to shell out as much as €5.25 for a copy.
Quite how charging a third of the full retail price of the DVD – it is currently for sale on CDwow.ie for €16 – for a single night’s rental can be justified is impossible to say, although it’s hard to escape the notion that we’re being ripped off.
However, the days of having to pay such high prices may be numbered. In recent years, we have seen the growth of online movie rental services which can save movie fans a substantial amount both on the cost of actual rental – packages start from €7.99, although that does limit you to just two DVDs a month – and on the late fees imposed if (or in the case of Pricewatch, when) you don’t bring them back on time.
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