About 400,000 DVD players have been sold in the one year since the technology was commercially introduced. Even though approximately 900 titles have been released on DVD so far, even those are hard to find in many stores. Add your comments to the bottom of this page. Most rental stores do not offer DVD for rental, and those who do usually only have about a hundred titles, with only one copy of each, according to Randolph. Rent by mail NetFlix will let customers rent DVD titles for seven days at a cost of six dollars, including shipping and return postage.
Customers can watch the movie as many times as they like, then return it in a prepaid envelope.
Shipping takes two or three days. The company hopes its unconventional system will appeal to those who want to build a DVD library. If customers like the movie they've rented, they can apply the cost of the rental to purchasing the disc. Founded in 1997, NetFlix has taken a step unusual for virtual stores in carrying its own inventory. The arrangement will allow NetFlix to ship every rental the day it's ordered, Randolph said.