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Movie Mart is India's first, and in our view, one of the best subscription-based DVD rental service. Based in New Delhi and Mumbai, they stock the latest in English, Hindi, and regional films. The site may not look as slick as some, but it is well-designed for easy browsing.
There are a generous 21 genres listed, including language filters for English, Hindi, and Others (Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, and others). The information on each title is good, listing stars, director, format, language, and their rating, as well as a very brief description. We'd prefer a bit more information here, especially recommendations and customer reviews, but there's probably enough for you to make up your mind.
Movie Mart reaches over 90% of its customers in one business day delivery by courier and also provides free pick-up in the same amount of time. Their terms and conditions state any order placed before 1pm will be delivered that day--deliveries are any time between 10am and 10pm.
Reports on web forums and the blogosphere about Movie Mart tend to be very positive. In one case, there was a problem with a particular credit card registration, so a driver was dispatched, and took a cheque, offering initial rental choices right on the spot from what the driver had handy--showing flexibility and trust without waiting for the cheque to clear.
Suresh Mansharmani, President of Movie Mart, describes the service as “very cost effective and cheap for the customer. We offer unlimited movies with no time restriction ...nothing can be more value for money with free delivery both ways.”
We are impressed with their customer service, including phone service lines for both their New Delhi and Mumbai offices. Both are open convenient hours for a DVD rental service, from 11am to 8pm, every day except Sundays and public holidays.
Likewise, Movie Mart has an excellent RSS feed feature which lets you subscribe directly and be kept up-to-date on the latest releases. Movie Mart is decidedly against movie piracy, and RS 5 from every subscription goes to anti-piracy and charity efforts--the only Indian site to make such a claim.
Prices: Movie Mart has two unlimited subscription plans: 1 disc out at a time for Rs 399 per month (refundable security deposit of Rs 500), their most popular plan--2 discs out at a time for a competitive Rs 499 per month (refundable security deposit of Rs 1000), and a whopping 5 discs for RS 999 (deposit Rs 2500). They offer a whopping 15% discount if you pay for a year's membership up front; we'd try them first, and if you like them, try this for added savings. Unlike many services, there is no initial membership fee--a lead we wish other companies would follow.
Upon cancellation, you must return any films in your possession within 24 hours. As with all rental companies, they will not provide partial credit for outstanding portions of monthly subscriptions, so if you want to cancel, it's best to do so toward the end of your month.
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Rental Basics