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Mailer directions

A basic how-to page for the mailers (sample) is finally up now, if you want to check it out in preparation for making your own. A similar page will be up for making our sleeves within a couple days (mostly for anyone that will send their own discs; or if a renter needed a replacement). Both will be part of the broader How It Works page, which should finally appear this week. :-)

It's time!

You're now able to add a card for payment (from your Account page) – the first discs (that are available) are ready to be sent on Wednesday! :-) (Those other details about the mailers, that you should know before using the service, will be available shortly.)

Also, if you check your Queue now, you'll be able to see which discs are available (for the first mailings). There are [many] more, currently not queued, but those you see "available" are for sure. :-)

Mailer preview

Well, didn't get it revealed yesterday (busy looking for more discs to stock up on! :-)), but here's a sample of the PDF mailer that we'll be using. That's the exact design you'll be seeing and using to send discs (pre-paid postage version will not have the stamp area, obviously). Look for the "How It Works" page later tonight (?) for more explanation, instructions for usage, etc. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Updates & Black Friday week/launch promotion

Thanks to the people that have registered so far! TV series are still missing (though it doesn't look like anyone was looking for them anyway, so it's on the back burner).

We hoped to have the mailers revealed today (20th) along with a "How It Works" page so everyone can understand things in time for discs to be sent. :-) Look for it all by Wed. at the latest!

We will have a discount on rentals for people who've joined so far (of course), and anyone else that joins through next Monday, the 27th. $5 off on the first 8 rentals ($1 for 1st/8th; 50 cents for 2nd-7th).

Additionally, for everyone that joins through the 27th, and adds at least 10 releases they own to their account (and would hopefully be willing to send to others if requested), you will get a FREE rental (won't count in any way, for first 5 days). For people that joined before the 20th, that will be your first rental, before the $5 off 8 starts; for people joining over the next week, the free rental would be after the $5 off 8 (e.g. the 9th rental).

Remember, you need to add UPCs for at least 10 releases you own before you're eligible for the free rental (you can even add them after the 27th, as long as you registered by then).

Finally, at the end of the year, whoever has contributed the most discs ("biggest crowd-sourcer" ;-)), will get a bonus: $1 extra for each distinct disc they've sent out up to that point. That almost doubles the standard initial minimum payment! (To be clear: if you had 5 distinct discs sent a total of 8 times among them, you'd get a $5 bonus).

So, get ready to rock soon! Load up your queue with everything you want, especially upcoming releases, so we know what's needed. Add what you have... And spread the word to friends and family! :-)

And we're live!

Midnight ET... Better late than never. :-) Things are very basic and plain-looking for now, but you can search for titles (or browse all 3D and 4K) and register and start adding to your queue. And there's now an "Account" page where you can indicate what releases you have, etc.

Some things to note: There's no payment system integrated yet, but it will of course come shortly, before discs can be sent. :-) Also, TV series are temporarily missing, but they should show up by the weekend!

There's still much to be done to have all information we want to have on the site or your account. Artwork/posters, basic details (runtimes, ratings, etc.), differences between multiple editions of titles, and so on. But up next will be revealing the mailers, sending automated e-mails, and integrating Stripe payments so the service can actually be used! :^)

Please feel free to e-mail help@massflix.com for any reason.

Oct. 25, 2017

(Follow @MassFlix on Twitter. Early supporters will be rewarded! :-))

Welcome to MassFlix! A new idea, for a crowd-sourced movie rental service. To the renter, things should work similar to what you're used to with Netflix by mail or Blockbuster Online (remember them?!). That means a queue, keeping discs as long as you want, etc. But, with MassFlix, instead of a monthly subscription fee, we will have fair, pay-as-you-go pricing, so you only pay for what you rent, and can stop and start shipments as often as desired, without wasting money. :-)

Same prices whether you rent DVD, Blu-ray, 3D, or 4K! And, unlike Netflix and Redbox, there's no degraded "rental version" of movies – only full retail versions.

But unlike traditional rentals, there's not a "box" or warehouse with inventory. That's where the crowd of users comes in! So many people have disc collections just sitting around while they're not being watched. So why not rent them out to people that want to see them, get paid for doing so, and get your disc back, anytime you want, guaranteed with insurance? That's what we're here to coordinate. :-) (And yes, it's legal.)

So, you can choose to only rent, only send stuff you own and make money, or any combination; whatever you want.

To "return" or send out discs, we have a PDF mailer (hopefully simple enough; feedback welcome) that prints to a single sheet of paper, generated on demand. Addressed, with USPS tracking, postage-paid or use your own stamp. Can't print on demand? No problem, there's also hand-addressable mailers that you can print as many of as you want, ahead of time.

For all discs, you'll be able to see all USPS tracking information (which is nearly real-time, 24/7): See exactly where stuff is, when it will arrive, or that it's on the way to its next destination.

When sending out your own discs, we also created a sleeve that must be used to protect discs as well as possible. (Renters shouldn't need to worry about this unless a sleeve is damaged or lost. :-))

At launch, we'll have a "library" of 26,000 30,000 titles to choose from (of course actual availability is subject to someone having them!), and 65,000 75,000 UPCs for releases that we'll recognize for your "have" list. We hope to double those numbers shortly (by the end of the year), while filling in many more details about the titles and releases!

Although we don't have a warehouse of inventory, we'll try to pick up the slack and get things started for high-demand discs, with new releases, etc. There should be good opportunity for people to make money with new releases, when there's less supply for demand...

Pricing (renting):

$5 base price – Covers 30 days or 6 rentals, whichever is longer. So if it takes months to use 6 rentals, there's no additional cost. (Base price will only be $4.50 if a non-card payment method is used: ACH (bank account), Bitcoin, or account balance (earned from sending your own discs))

$2.10 per rental – 5 days included. Keep discs as long as you want for 10 cents/day after 5 days. When mailing back, Sundays and holidays won't count, so you won't be penalized when there's no mail service. :-)

Postage is included and paid by us. Or, you can save 5 cents by using your own stamp (e.g. we'll give you a 54 cent credit).

Payment (sending):

$1.10 initial minimum – For each disc you send (whether many discs, or the same disc many times).

Again, postage is included and paid by us. Or, you can earn 5 cents extra by using your own stamp (e.g. we'll give you an extra 54 cents).

When you've sent a disc, after 8 days (Blu-ray) or 10 days (DVD), you'll be paid an additional $2.50 (Blu-ray) or $2.00 (DVD) per 30-day period (prorated). For example, if you sent out a Blu-ray for 32 days, you'd earn $1.10 + $2 (24 extra days) = $3.10. But there's more...

And additionally, you'll also be paid 25 cents for each subsequent rental (e.g. if it's passed along to others instead of being sent back to you). So, for example, if you sent out a Blu-ray for 98 days, covering 12 rentals, you'd earn $1.10 + $7.50 (90 extra days) + $2.75 (11 subsequent rentals) = $11.35.

You'll be able to see detailed information about every disc you send: its journey (where it's at, where it's been), number of rentals, earnings, etc.

You'll also be able to request that a disc be returned to you at any time.

And with the assurance of being insured against damage or loss.