Divx Sells Movies Online
(09/30/98 2:23 p.m. ET)
By Steve Koenig, Computer Retail Week
In addition to its national retail rollout, Divx is selling
movie titles online at its website, divx.com.
The Divx site is the exclusive Web store for Divx movie
discs and also sells DVD movies.
The Divx Web store, called Divxflix, is run by the
company, and orders for movie titles are shipped from
Divx's national distribution center, in Jackson, Tenn.
Searches for movies on the site can be performed using
title, genre, or actor/director. In addition, sections are
provided for what's new, what's hot, coming soon, and
a title index.
Clicking on a movie title links to an information/ordering
page that gives a brief synopsis of the movie, Motion
Picture Association of America rating, run time, and
other details -- including a comparison rental cost.
By clicking on the price, users can add a movie
selection to their shopping cart. Orders for Divx and
DVD discs are shipped via the U.S. Postal Service
first-class mail and usually arrive in two or three days.
Handling charges of $1 apply for Divx discs and $2 for
DVD discs. Rush delivery is also available for an
additional $10.
Users can also place advance orders for unreleased
movies in either Divx or DVD formats. According to
Divx, advance orders arrive in the customer's mail
usually on the same day as the state release date.
Divx downplayed the sales end of its website,
positioning it instead as a source of information on Divx,
as the nationwide launch proceeds.
"We receive lots of questions about Divx from
interested parties via the website," a spokesman for
Divx said. "In addition, visitors have given us a lot of
feedback, which is mostly positive."
Divx said it expects about 20 percent of Divx disc sales
to come from the Divxflix Web store, with orders
coming from customers outside major market areas and
advance orders for forthcoming movie titles.
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