Video Americain FAQ

How much do late fees cost?
For New Releases, the fee is $2 per day, per title.  So, if you rent
two New Releases and keep them a day extra, you’ll owe $4.  If you
keep it two days extra, it’ll be $8.  For catalog titles (i.e. the
non-New Releases and the non-Kids/Family titles … basically, the bulk
of what we carry), it’s $1.50 per day, per title.  For Catalog Kids
titles, it’s $1 per day.

Why do you have late fees?
This is a good question and one that we continually consider.  When
the initial rental period is up and we don’t have the DVD back at our
store and available for someone else to take, we lose that opportunity
to make money.  We need to compensate for that somehow, so we charge
the rates described above.  Some have said, “why don’t you just renew
the rental when it isn’t returned on time?”  This is a worthy
suggestion, but then we’ll have customers upset that they have to pay
to rent the movie again when they were only one or two days late
(which is usually the worst it gets) and had to pay $4.50 instead of
$2.  You get the picture.   There are such a variety of circumstances
with late returns that we thought it best to stick with the daily late
fees.  People sometimes ask, “why don’t you just do what Netflix does
and let me keep the movie until I’m done with it?”   The problem with
that is that we’re being asked to share the same standards as a
company that possesses a level of resources that completely dwarfs
ours.  We’re an independent, local video chain consisting of three
stores.  They’re a massive company that sprawls all over North America
and Central America.  We just can’t afford to let people pay $4.25 to
keep a movie for as long as they want.  It would be great if we could
but, at this point, we can’t.  We hope you understand that’s part of
life for a small business and know that we don’t charge late fees out
of greed.  If you want to compare the pros and cons between Video
Americain and Netflix, we feel that we stack
up very well.

What are your store hours?
From Monday through Thursday, we open at 11am and close at 10pm.
Things change on the weekend.  Friday and Saturday, we open at 11am
and close at 11pm.  On Sunday, we open early at 10am and close at
10pm.

Is your rental catalog accessible online?
Unfortunately, no.  The computer program that we use to process all of
our rentals and catalog is pretty old fashioned and doesn’t provide us
with a way to export the contents.  So, the best way to find out if we
carry something is to just ask a clerk.  You can ask in person or you
can call us.  We’re here to help, so don’t be shy.

If you don’t carry it, will you order this DVD/Blu-Ray disc that I’d
like to rent?
In most cases, yes, we love to do stuff like that.  Customers are one
of the best ways for us to find out what movies we should carry.
Almost without exception, customers suggest interesting titles that we
really should have.  It must be noted, though, that we can’t get
everything customers ask for.  This is especially the case when a
customer wants us to carry a title that is not in print on DVD or is
very expensive.  We’ll do our best, but we have to budget accordingly.

Do you carry Blu-Ray discs for rental?
Yes, we do.  Over the past year, we’ve slowly started to add Blu-Ray
titles for rent on an experimental basis.  If they rent consistently,
we’ll continue to get more.  If they don’t rent much, well, we’ll
probably just focus on DVDs then.  If there is a particular title
you’d like us to carry on Blu-Ray, tell a clerk.

Do you carry video games for rental or sale?
No, we don’t.  Several years ago, we gave it a try but it was too
expensive and not very popular.  We thought it was best to focus on
movies, so that’s what we’ve done.

What DVDs do you have for sale?  Are they new or used?
Although a few new titles are mixed in there, the vast majority of the
DVDs we sell are used titles.  Usually, they’re surplus copies from
our store or we picked them up from another store.  All DVDs are
guaranteed to play.  If you have an issue, bring the disc back and we
will test it on our player.  Refunds/exchanges are only processed if
our DVD player encounters the same errors that yours did.

Why aren’t the sale DVDs arranged or cataloged?
We’re about to reconfigure the way we sell used DVDs to make it easier
for customers to sort through.  Titles will be alphabetized very soon.

Can I special order a DVD for purchase?
Up until recently, we’ve said no to this.  Recently, though, we
thought we should give it a try so we can be of service to customers
in yet another way.  If there is a title that you would like, ask a
clerk about it.  If a manager is on duty, she/he will call our
distributor and find out if the title is available and, if so, how
much it will cost.  If it isn’t available through our distributor, we
can search for a copy elsewhere online for you but there is a 20% fee
for that service.  If it’s available through our distributor, you’ll
just pay the list price.  Payment in full is due when the order is
placed by the manager.  If there isn’t a manager on file when you ask
for your title, the clerk will take your name, number and title and
inform a manager that you’re looking for a film.  A manager will get
back to you with the availability and price of the title ASAP.

Why do you still carry VHS tapes?
We’ve steadily scaled our VHS selection back over the past few years,
as it was clear that only some customers still wanted to rent them.
Indeed, we have far more titles on VHS than is probably necessary.
That said, there are thousands of titles that have yet to be released
on DVD and are only available on VHS.  Video Americain is also an
archive of sorts, so we want to keep those movies available for those
who may be interested.  Admittedly, there are also some movies
available on DVD that we still only have on VHS due to the massive
scale of the conversion of our stock from VHS to DVD.  We’re always
working on it but if there is a particular title that you want us to
hurry up and get on DVD that we only have on VHS, just speak to a
clerk.

Do you rent DVD/Blu-Ray players or VCRs?
No.  The task of renting DVDs is large enough for us already, so we
just keep it to media.

Do you repair DVD/Blu-Ray players or VCRs?
No.  Unfortunately, we don’t have the means, the time or the skill to
help customers with that.

Can I mail my rental DVDs back to the store?
We’ve had some customers do this in the past.  You’re welcome to do it,
but it’s at your own risk.  If the disc gets damaged during shipment,
you will need to pay to replace it.  Also, the movie won’t be checked
in until we have it in our hands.  So, even though you mailed it
before it was due, if it gets to us after it’s due, it’ll be
considered late.  So, we don’t really recommend returning your movies
this way but know that it’s an option, if you really need to resort to
it.

Can I pay for my movies when I bring them back, if I don’t have any
money on me right now?
As long as your account is clear (we have an active credit card on
file and there is no outstanding balance on your store account), you
can pay on return.  We do P.O.R.'s (Pay On Return) all the time.  Just make sure to
bring the disc to the counter when you return it and let the clerk
know you need to pay for your P.O.R.

How long are New Releases considered “new”?
Six months.

Do you have any rental specials?
Yes.  Monday through Thursday, if you rent 2, you'll get a 3rd title
for free.  Friday and Saturday, if you rent 4 titles, you'll get a 5th
free.

How many movies can I rent at once?
There is a limit of six rentals checked out on an account at one time.

What are “New Classics”?
New Classics are DVDs that are new to the store but feature older
films.  This could mean anything from Lumiere’s films at the dawn of
cinema to something from 4 or 5 years ago.  It’s a wide swath and
you’ll find a broad variety of interesting movies there.  It’s a good
place to look to catch some titles you may have missed or just haven’t
seen in a while.  The rental period is one week and it costs $4.25 per
title.

What is the Film Club?
Flim Club is where the customer pays a flat fee ($35 for one month,
$65 for two months) and is then able to take out three non-new
releases a time and keep them for as long as they want/for as long as
they’re film club members.  So, you can rent as often or as little as
you like.  If you want to rent three movies a day, go for it.  If you
want to rent three movies for the month and not have to worry about
late fees, go for it.  If you’d like to rent a New Release, it’ll
still be due back in 2 days, but you get a discounted rental rate of
$3 per New Release rental if you’re a Film Club member.  When your
Film Club membership expires, you have one week to return your titles
before late fees kick in.

What are your membership fees?
There are no membership fees, other than what you pay whenever you
rent movies.  We always keep your account alive, even if you’ve been
away for years.  So, if you come back, we’ll just update the security
account on file and your contact info and then your account will be
active again.  We discontinued use of membership cards a few years ago
and use the last four digits of the phone number on file to call up
the account.

Do you still do film screenings at the store?
As of now, no, but it’s never something we rule out bringing back.
We’ve experimented with screenings at the store a few times over the
years and we’ve never been able to draw more than a few people.  Part
of the problem was that we thought it would be disruptive to hold
screenings while the store was open for business, so we had the
screenings at night after the store closed.  This made it unlikely
that many people would show up and, indeed, that’s what happened.  If
enough people ask for it, we may bring it back, so let us know if
you’d like us to resume our in-store screenings.

What happens if I lose a movie or if I just never return it?
Generally, we call customers with a reminder if a movie is 5-10 days
late.  We check back a few more times if it still hasn’t been returned
until it gets to 30 days late.  At that point, we consider the movie
lost and we charge the credit card kept on file in the account for a
replacement copy of the movie and for the full late fee.  This isn’t
meant to be punitive.  It’s to replace the lost movie and, in the case
of the late fees, to compensate for potential rentals that were lost
while the movie was still out.  If you know that you’ve lost the movie
and it hasn’t hit the 30-day mark yet, you can speak to a manager at
the store and arrange a replacement, which will also halt the late
fees at that point.  If you’ve been charged for a replacement copy but
you find the movie, feel free to contact a manager.  If we haven’t
already purchased the replacement copy, we’ll refund the replacement
charge (but not the late fee).  We tend to order replacement copies
pretty quickly after they’ve been lost, so act quickly if you find the
lost disc.

A charge appeared on my credit/check card account from Video Americain
last week but I haven’t been there in a month?  What gives?
If late fees or a Pay On Return sit unpaid on your store account for
more than 15 days, it will be charged automatically to the credit card
on file.  This is part of the rental agreement when you sign up for an
account at our store.

VATP Article in The Takoma Patch

There's another nice article about the store out now.  This time, it can be found at http://takomapark.patch.com/articles/at-video-americain-movies-never-end.  Thanks to the people at The Patch for the nice coverage.