Peerflix For Savings Over Netflix

I used to be (twice, in fact) a member of Netflix. I really liked it and I thought the service level was very good. My main problem was that I didn't really watch DVD's often enough to justify it. I'd end up getting a DVD and keeping it for weeks before finally giving up and sending it back unwatched.

About six months ago, I tried a relatively new offering called Peerflix. Basically, you create a list of DVD's that you have (just type in the UPC codes) and create a list of DVD's that you want. When someone wants one of your DVD's, you just print out their PeerMailer (basically two sheets of paper into which you insert your DVD, fold over, and tape to create your own envelope--it even has postage pre-printed on it) and drop it in the mail. It gets mailed straight to the "peer" who requested it, rather than to a central distribution center. Then you'll get PeerBucks (which vary depending on the popularity of your DVD) which you can use to get DVD's off of your want list. In addition to the PeerBucks, you pay $0.99 + postage for each DVD that you receive.

What I like about it is that there's no monthly fee and the disks that you receive are yours to keep for as long as you like. So, I can have a few unwatched DVD's on hand for when I finally get a moment to watch one.

Compared to Netflix, the biggest downside is the availability of DVD's. It can vary a lot and newer, more popular DVD's will likely have a long wait. The way they describe the availability status is also pretty confusing to me. However, in my case, I don't get to watch often enough to be "caught up" anyway, so it's less of a problem.

Edit 9-24-07:  I find that the utility of Peerflix has really gone down and don't recommend it anymore.