DVDNow offers a DVD rental business vending opportunity. While their website does not disclose the required investment (unless you fill out their form), franchise and business opportunity ads state that $20,000 cash is required.
Do you have any experience with the DVDNow kiosk vending or similar business opportunity? Please share a comment below.
Also read: DVD Vending Kiosks at Fire Sale Prices (Don’t Buy New!)
Here’s the dream scenario that DVDNow is conjuring: That there is an $8 billion rental market for new release movies. You can “skim the cream off that $8 billion market”
From the DVDNow website:
“Imagine owning a chain of fully automated DVD rental machines without the overhead or hassles of a big staff or a several thousand square foot storefront. Did you know that almost 90% of revenue in the $8 billion DVD rental industry is generated through the rental of new releases. Now imagine that you can skim the cream off that $8 billion dollars without investing hundreds of thousands in a brick and mortar store, franchise licenses, and all of the time, overhead and management hassles that come with starting and running such a business. DVDNow is proud to introduce the most innovative way to skim the cream off that $8 billion market – an automated DVD rental kiosk that is open 24 hours a day, has a footprint of only 5 square feet, requires no staff, and rents nothing but profitable new releases.”
From the DVDNow website:
With the limited number of DVD rental kiosks in operation we are at a point in this industry that will never occur again. The massive demand from consumers, and the unprecedented availability of top locations, are just two of the reasons why experts are uniformly endorsing DVD rental kiosks.
On the BizBuySell Answers website, commenter Robert Wallace wrote:
I owned 2 of these kiosks… I truly believe that it is a bad business to get into.. the hidden costs that are not discussed at the sales orientation amount to about 25% of the operating costs of these kiosks, irregardless of their location.. plus technology has flat passed it up.. it was a good Buseness model in Europe 6-7 years ago but now Bit Torrents, Free Movies by Hulu and others, Netflix has become so cheap, not to mention the biggest competitor in the Industry is privately owned, REDBOX.. they are everywhere and they rent for $1.00.. the average cost of the dvd’s you buy will be about $17, possibly more.. and the buyback program for wholesale DVD’s is not good, get exact info on that beforehand.. just check out how many are desperate to sell their kiosks, it’s unbelievable.. I gave up last year and chalked it up as experience and a loss…
Wallace warns of hidden fees & costs, and mechanical problems:
You must use their software and their technical assistance.. they charge for that tech assist, they charge for all rfid’s, they charge for all parts .. The Kiosks are made in China … they are great when they work but they are a nightmare when they don’t and your phone will be ringing off the hook because there is noone there at your kiosk.. people will rip you off left and right… you will either be chasing money or trying to find the dvd’s they stole.. the credit card companies that process your transactions are outright THIEVES… all the costs will never be explained to you… the owner of the company LIED to me .. I was told I had to buy two kiosks… thats $35,000 US plus shipping…. come to find out from other owners that they didn’t have to buy 2… Do Not get involved in this Business…
Jason Miller cautions that DVD vending could soon be obsolete:
DVDs are going the way of the dinasaur. Right now you can order the most recent movie releases “on demand” from cable/satelite right from your couch. I’d expect the number of movies that one can access at home will continue to grow exponentially… In my opinion, the business model is not great, and the only people who make money are the ones who sell the machines.
UnhappyFranchisee.com does not have firsthand experience with the DVDNow vending business opportunity, but we always urge extra caution when dealing with a vending opportunity, especially one that promises vending machine placement services. Vending machine locators are notorious for making big promises, demanding cash upfront, and then not delivering as promised. As Always, Caveat Emptor.
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View Comments
This company is only looking to sell kiosks and could care less about the customer after buying them! They say that they will help you place their kiosks and make sure you get into a profitable location, but once you pay them their $20000+ for a machine they no longer return your phone calls. I have never worked with such a more worthless bunch of criminals in my life. Please do your self a favor and look into a legit company before wasting money with these numskulls! I even had a location set up to place the machine and they contacted this location and offered them a better deal so I had no place to put mine. There are plenty of other dvd kiosk companies that you can get involved with for less money and I would suggest you do just that! I mean they buy these machines for $6500 and sell them for $20000+ that right there should tell you something. They act like they are experts in the dvd kiosk business, but ask the sales person how many they personally own. NONE!! if was such a good money making opportunity why wouldn't they own any?? Do your research and please don't waste your money on these crooks!!!
thanks for sumitting your comments,, i will staw away from this company
Yeah. I won't bother. Tx for posting!! Wonder how to become a kiosk seller lol
I have had the exact opposite experience with DVDNOW. I started with a 2 machine purchase in April 2012. As of the date of this post I now own 9 DVDNoW machine and just had my first break even month 3 months into ownership.
The hardest part is picking what movies to put in the machine. There are a lot of crap movies out there that dont even deserve the research it takes to look up info on them. But when you find your groove on picking the right movies for your clientele it takes off like a bullet.
While it is true you can compete with RedBox, they are just too big. You can offer services rebbox cant, customer service, a human to talk to when problems arise, even while the customer is standing there at the machine you make CC charge adjustments or return movies for them on your smart phone.
Location is everything with these machines. You can pay thousands of dollars by hiring someone to locate them for you. But I have done all my location finds on my own while working a full time job. Its not rocket science but it does take some research.
My problems with tech support have been non existent. DVDNOW is a growing company experiencing growing pains. Hold times are between 5-10 minutes at certain times of the day but they are quick fixes for the most part and very knowledgeable technicians.
All in all I would totally do it again. I am doing this to supplement my retirement income. Even with streaming, bit torrent, and PPV there will always be someone out there renting movies. Thats enough for me.
Cheers,
Michael
I have seen a lot of people invest in DVD Kiosk regardless of the manufacture it is very hard to make money unless the machine gross more than 2K per month. Very few sites will gross these kind of numbers. Based upon the standard IRR returns one expects from a vending machine it doesn't meet the criteria to justify the investment
Thanks for the experienced comments.....was an interesting idea but can readily see more cons than pros....
Thanks 4 the heads up changing my mind
i was thinking about doing this too, until i did my hw.. and i will keep my money thanks! (BY THE WAY ANYONE CLAIMING THEY HAVE MADE MONEY WITH THIS I BELIEVE WORKS FOR THE COMPANY)... especially that "MIKE" guy.. guess i'll keep dealing pot as its the best way to make money around here lol no seriously.
its amazing at how stupid people are these days. People believe anything they read from anyone. Most of the time when someone isnt successful its because they didnt try, not because it just didnt work. I personally know people with many of these machines making anywhere from 1k-5k per month per machine. It does work. If a location sucks, move it. Its not rocket science.
"Most of the time when someone isnt successful its because they didnt try, not because it just didnt work."
This is a ridiculous statement and not true. How many people do you know would invest their hard-earned savings and then NOT TRY? Vending opportunities are all scams and when you fail sales guys like "unknown" will tell the next suckers in line that your failure was your fault
"its amazing at how stupid people are these days. People believe anything they read from anyone."
Not from you, they don't.
If these things made money the company would just place them themselves? Ask yourself why would a company turn over $1 - $5K per month per machine to you when they could rake in all that dough themselves? Would it really be that hard to pay someone minimum wage to stock and maintain it?
My guess would be that the company makes their money on the upfront payments by franchisees. My guess would be these positive commenters are commissioned salespeople who get a cut of the plunder from the suckers they reel in.
I agree you shouldn't base your decision on blog comments alone, you should use your own common sense. Common sense tells me DVDNow is not on the up and up.