Vidiots

Doesn't Recommend

Marine

Joined 4 years ago

Great selection - Poor disk condition. One of the best independent video stores in LA, with a wide selection of mainstream, independent, foreign and obscure movies, and very knowledgeable staff.

Problem is, a lot of their DVD are in bad condition: dirty, scratched, damaged. We have been renting a lot of DVD from them over the past few years and we live in the neighborhood so it's convenient, but more than once a DVD messed up in the middle of a movie, and we couldn't get it to work despite cleaning the disk and player, or trying it on different machines -- a really frustrating experience for cinephiles.

We've been reporting disk problems to Vidiots as an FYI, but found out that we were "flagged" on their computer system, and got an attitude from their staff because we were making too many reports (still less than 5% of the disks we rent). They blamed our DVD player, but we don't have any problems with disks we buy, borrow from friends, or rent from the library -- only with Vidiots disks. Plus, we always double-check DVD with other (computer) machines, because once we're in a movie, we want to finish it! So their uppity innuendos are disingenuous as much as they are unpleasant.

We love Vidiots, and we love supporting neighborhood stores, but we're at a point of frustration where we're seriously considering subscribing to Netflix, and dropping Vidiots altogether.

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Looking for independent movies on the Westside? Be a Vidiot.. In Short
Vidiots is one of the few Westside video rental stores that specializes in independent film. It carries over 26,000 titles (2,500 are DVDs), and the weekend rental crowd rivals the two nearby Blockbusters. It stocks films from a mix of major and independent studios, as well as a wide range of foreign titles. Vidiots also offers a decent selection of fiction and non-fiction books for sale.

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dylawat

Joined 7 years ago

Lots of old school. great place, lots of Classics and rare finds. Bit out of the way, but worth the trip. The staff is knowledgable and friendly.

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alipoo2002

Joined 11 years ago

The best video rental place.... They have pretty much any movie ever made plus the finest selection of rare and obsure titles, documentaries, sci-fi, genre defying, art films, etc. The people that work there are all helpful and really conneseurs of film.

They also have really great, unique holiday cards when christmas comes around...very california-centric or goofy-beachy themes. Fun.

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tychovski

Joined 8 years ago

The Most Comprehensive Video Store. Vidiots has the greatest selection of Videos & DVD's I have ever seen. All genres and mediums are represented. The staff are not only very knowledgeable, but friendly and helpful as well. Street parking is available, but not reliable. Rental rates are quite reasonable, considering few other stores have half the selection they do. If you've been trying to find something you'd seen years ago, and no-one knows what you're talking about, Vidiots has two copies of it waiting.

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hexerei

Joined 8 years ago

How Could You Rent Anywhere Else?. Vidiots has it all, from extremely knowlegable staff to cheap rental fees to UNLIMITED obscure titles! I've loved this place for years and cut up my Blockbuster card after my first visit to Vidiots. Support these folks - they rock!

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veramtt

Joined 11 years ago

vidiots addict. every time i rent a movie, i pass two blockbusters on my way to vidiots. they have every title you could possibly imagine and the people who work there really know their stuff. which is good, cuz the shelving system can get tricky, but they'll navigate you through it. the only thing is that video rentals are only 2 days. also know that in order to get the 3 dollar rental rate (as opposed to 4.25 or whatever) you have to get either an annual or lifetime membership. but either way, it pays itself off with the free movie rental card they give you when you sign up, so it's better to get the annual membership just in case.