If you haven’t used a Redbox video kiosk at your local supermarket recently then you’re missing out on one of the best entertainment deals around. These red kiosks allow you to rent new release videos for only $1, yes really $1.
The kiosks are simple to use. Just swipe your credit card and select a movie which is vended in a plastic protective sleeve. Return the video to any Redbox kiosk in the country the next day and your card is charged $1 plus tax. Want to keep the video an extra day. No problem. When you decide to return it, Redbox charges you $1 for each day that you’ve kept the video.
Redbox is such a deal that I’ve become an addict as have thousands of others. But despite this great service there’s a hidden cost that many of us aren’t even aware of.
You see when you rent a video, you have to return it. Sounds obvious – but what rented videos do, in effect, is force us to make a repeat trip to the supermarket. Personal finance experts say the key to savings at the grocery store is limiting the amount of trips you make.
This is because each and every time you enter a store you’re likely to make an impulse purchase. In fact, studies reveal that between 40% to 50% of our purchases at a supermarket are impulse buys!
The toughest job for the supermarket is to actually get you into the store. This is one of the reasons that they commonly advertise “loss leaders”. These are extremely cheap products that are often sold at a loss to the store. Loss leaders lure you into the store where you’ll purchase additional merchandise.
When you rent a $1 video out of a Redbox machine you have committed yourself to a return visit. In essence, cheap videos act like a loss leader to lure you back to the supermarket, where you’re inclined to make impulse purchases.
Yet it isn’t just Redbox video rental kiosks that act as supermarket lures. A variety of non-grocery services are used by grocery stores to get you inside their doors.
Coinstar change machines that convert our change into dollar bills and gift cards are one example. Many supermarkets feature huge floral departments that rival florist shops. Grocery stores commonly offer propane exchange centers, dry cleaning services, photo developing, postage stamps, and even US postal service mail drop boxes.
Each and every one of these services is designed for one thing – to lure you into the supermarket where you’ll buy additional groceries, many of which you had no intention of purchasing.
So should you abstain from your $1 video rentals, your propane tank exchanges, or your convenient photo developing? Absolutely not. Just remain cognizant of the fact that your grocery store is expecting you to make impulse purchases when you use these services. Simply refuse and keep more money in your pocketbook.
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I didn’t realize Redbox kiosks where located at supermarkets. I had only seen them at airports. I checked Redbox’s and found a bunch of them located near my home. I’m going to start trying them out. I’ve also heard that you can find coupon codes for free Redbox rentals online from time to time. Just google “redbox codes”.
Thanks Ray.
You can also sign up at the Redbox.com website and have a free coupon code automatically emailed or text messaged to you every Monday for a free video rental.
I love RedBox!
The local video rental store used to charge decent prices like $1.50 or $2.00, but lately they’ve jacked that up and screwed up the pricing, e.g., $2.57. Even numbers are better, if you ask me!
And the local library is a good resource, but too many people fight over the new releases. By the time I am able to rent anything, the discs are so bad that large sections of the movies skip.
With RedBox, I can reserve a movie online and pick it up later in the day. As an added bonus, the wife works at a location with a RedBox, so she can pick a movie up and return all on workdays. That removes the impulse to go grocery shopping simply because we want to watch a movie!
Great point Mike. I think Redbox is an absolutely great invention and I frequently use it, especially when I have a free rental code. If you can find a way like you did to resist the impulse of going into the grocery store when you return the video even better !!!
The trcik in my store is that the redbox is before you go into the food/drugs/junk part of the store. So if you can be disciplined- you just get the video and leave. I do get the free codes- but recently, I mostly borrow videos from the library.
You’re absolutely right Andrea. I used to park my car in the parking lot and then return my Redbox videos but I found it just too tempting to walk right into the store. Now I park right at the curb near the Redbox machine with the car running which forces me to return to the car and not into the store.
Chaz,
Do you mean “right at the curb” where the “No Parking, No Standing” signs are located?
There’s a good reason the signs are there. If there’s a fire in the store and you happen to be parked there when the fire dept. arrives, how easy do you think it’s going to be to move your vehicle with the emergency vehicles and first responders running in and out?
Just something to think about next time you park “right at the curb near”.
I just pick up my redbox movies at Walgreens. They are right by the door and you don’t have to go inside the store to get anything. Pretty simple and easy.
My point exactly Jess. If you simply stick to picking up or returning your video you’re getting a great entertainment deal =)
On the return instructions for our Redbox movies it states you can return the movie at ANY Redbox location. So, if I pick one up at McDonalds I can return it to Walgreens or Valero. The advantage? They have outside boxes which are accessible 24 hours a day — even if the store is closed. Every time I’ve picked up a movie at one place and dropped it off at another location I’ve quickly gotten a confirmation email saying my return was registered just like I would get if I had returned it to the original point of purchase.
FYI: in March 2009, Redbox sends out codes for free movies both on Monday and Wednesday. Also, you can use the code more than once on the same trip by using a different credit card. If you try to use the code multiple times with the same credit card you will be given the message that the code was already used. This is handy for sleepovers. Of course, the library is cheaper … FREE for a week rather than a day!
I do look at the posted prices for the items am compairing, however a problem I encounter is when the item I am compairing is on the very bottom shelf, and I have to practically get on my knees to view the tag price and item description so I know what I am getting. Since I am not getting on the floor, my alternative unfortunate as it may be is that my butt is in the air and my head is lower than my butt. I wonder if I get lightheaded and passout, will they revise there signs???
Hi! I find that Redbox and other box rental companies are typically right by the door. What I do when I rent a movie is go early in the day and park as close to the door as possible with the engine running (I use auto start and lock the doors). Once I complete my transaction (usually under 2 minutes) I walk right out without going into the body of the Supermarket. Works every time.
Good strategy Sandy.
I find these Redbox videos to be a great entertainment value – much cheaper than my local Blockbuster. But again the hard part is returning the video while resisting the temptation to go back into the store. Looks like you’ve found a great way to do this.