DVD rental by mail is a rapidly growing business in the UK. Could this be the end for the traditional high street movie rental shops?

The UK's largest online DVD rental by mail company, Love Film, has over 400,000 subscribers to it's service. Add this to the number of users of other online sites and this could explain the recent closure of a swathe of high street dvd rental shops, especially the small, independent outlets that were struggling to compete as it was with the main chains. Now the latest DVD rental service, online dvd rentals, has pushed many of them out of business.

How does it work?

First of all you have to choose between the main players in the market. All of the companies offer a free trial service, offering free online rental for various lengths of time (most commonly 14 days). Once you have signed up to your chosen service, you can then build a wishlist of films. When your first film is available, it is automatically sent out to you in the post. You are then free to watch the dvd at your leisure. Once you are finished with the film, you then send it back in the pre paid envelope provided. Your next dvd is then sent out once it is available. It is that simple!

DVD rental by mail is not ideal for people who like to watch movies impulsively, but if you can plan your movie watching, it can prove to be a very inexpensive way to watch new release and classic films.