No Late Fees for DVDs

Tardiness.

It’s an affliction I’ve had since birth. I was six hours late.

In grade school, I managed to rack up more than $230 in library fines--quite a feat considering the late fee was 10 cents a day. I persuaded the librarians to let me work off the fine by reshelving books and straightening stacks after school.

If I had to do the same for my Blockbuster late fees, I figure I’d be moonlighting until July 2055.

Imagine my glee when a friend told me about a service that lets me rent as many DVD movies as I want (three at a time), keep them as long as I want--without late fees--for about $20 a month.

The service is Netflix, and although it’s Internet-based, it relies on the old-fashioned mail system to work its modern mojo. Here’s how it works.

You set up an online account and create a list of movies you’d like to see. (There’s no limit to the number of movies in your queue.) Netflix ships out the first three movies in the queue from its San Jose warehouse. You return the movie in its postage-paid envelope, and when Netflix receives the DVD, the next movie on your list is sent out.

I started my Netflix service with a free trial, prominently displayed on the Web site. Five days later, I received my first movie, wrapped in a cheerful red envelope that can be cleverly reused as the return envelope. The other two arrived in another few days. It was like Christmas.

But as I delved into the service, I discovered several limitations. First is that the DVDs are subject to the vagaries of the U.S. Postal Service. All three movies were shipped on the same day, but arrived four days apart. And delays in returning movies means delays in receiving your next batch.

Also, the time involved in sending movies back and forth limits the number of movies you can watch in a month. Netflix executives estimate that the most is about 12 films a month, making that $1.80 a rental, including tax. Considering Blockbuster charges $4.31 for a five-day rental, you’d have to rent at least five Netflix movies to make it worth the $20 a month. (Five Blockbuster rentals amount to $21.55 if you return them on time.)

The other issue is selection. Although Netflix boasts a library of 10,820 titles, or more than 90% of the titles available on DVD, that’s still just 10% of the films out on VHS. Netflix officials say the company is acquiring 400 new titles a month, or about as fast as movie studios release them.

Still, the selection is admirable. From a list of 102 favorite movies solicited from friends and colleagues whose tastes run the gamut from “The Muppet Movie” to “Astro Zombies,” I was able to find 73 through Netflix. Only three of the 29 titles Netflix didn’t offer are available on DVD--”Hairspray,” “They Might Be Giants” and “Rope.”

When I pointed this out during a toll-free call to a Netflix customer service representative, she apologized and said she would forward the titles to the purchasing department. In general, service has been excellent. Each time I called, I waited less than a minute to talk to someone.

You also can go online to check your account, which shows a three-month history of your rentals, including when a movie was shipped and when it was returned. You can delete movies from your queue, switch the order in which they are shipped, and add titles. And you can cancel your subscription. Navigating the site was a breeze.

Using the search engine, however, was another matter. A good search function is crucial, especially when it comes to movies.

A search for the movies by the director John Woo did not turn up “Bullet in the Head,” even though Netflix had the movie. Typing in “Ground Hog Day” failed to turn up the film “Goundhog Day.” And searches for movies directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and Federico Fellini yields a curt, and spurious, message: “This person hasn’t worked in any movies currently available from Netflix.” Yet Netflix has Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris” and Fellini’s “Satyricon.”

Still, a little persistence can overcome the engine’s intransigence.

At first, I thought I could shred my Blockbuster card and say adios to late fees. Not so fast. Last-minute rentals still require trips to the local rental store. And there are movies that have yet to make their way to DVD.

Market research by Netflix indicates the company’s 400,000 subscribers haven’t greatly curtailed their rental habits at local video stores. Instead, they’re just watching more movies.

This hasn’t stopped Blockbuster from countering with its own specials.

Last year, Blockbuster offered to let folks rent a movie a day for $29.99 a month. That promotion ended this summer, and Blockbuster, which reaps 20% of its $4 billion in annual revenue from late fees, has started a Rewards Program that lets members who pay $9.95 a year rent two DVDs for the price of one on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Members also get a free rental every month, and every sixth rental is free.

Looks like I may need a second job after all.

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Alex Pham covers the video game industry. She can be reached at alex.pham@latimes.com.