My family rarely rents movies. I would much rather buy, as I feel that I save money, and then I always have a large selection of movies to choose from when we want a quiet night at home.
Hollywood Video makes it especially easy to build my collection, and they often have dvds for sale, for just a small amount more that one would normally pay to rent. And... don't forget the late fees! Buying the movies allows you to keep it as long as you would like... and often, when we would rent, I ended up paying more because we would get it back too late.
I tend to buy more Previewed movies than new movies. When you rent, you are getting a previously viewed movie anyway, and Hollywood Video offers a thirty day warranty on any used dvd you purchase, so you have ample time to make sure that the movie is in good condition.
For people who don't like to have a large collection, another way to save money on these dvds, is to sell them back to the video stores once you are done with them, or even list them on Amazon or Ebay. Doing that, you will rarely end up with more than a dollar out of pocket, and still be watching all the recent movies!
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