Avid Video

My husband and I have been customers of Avid Video for 5 or 6 years. We have had great service from the owner the entire time. We always purchase the pay in advance package and giving us films for $2.50 each. Several times when we've forgotten to return a film, the owner gave us a call and charged a second rental on the film instead of charging 2 or 3 day late fees. We always find something we want to see and if we've seen a film he doesn't have in the store, he's interested in hearing about it and ordering it for his customers. I love working with this family run business and keeping my money in Durham. Avid's location is around the corner from Whole Foods makes it super convenient. more

Granted, the owner has great knowledge of film, but lacks social graces. I have seen him bruch off customers and get into unnecessary arguments. He seems to have a huge chip on his shoulder. Now in the new space on Perry St., the aisles are so narrow, one has to bend way down to read the titles. He opens and closes the store whenever he feels like it, and simply does not have an attitude of helpfulness. Poor guy could take a lesson in customer service. It's like he's always on edge. The place is just unpleasant. more

I have been an Avid customer for six years, and I specifically opt out of Netflix to support an excellent, family-run local business that is driven by passion and a genuine knowledge and love for great film. (I can't help wondering if the person below who complained about service ever really engaged in conversation with the people behind the counter). At Avid, they know their movies. It's like going to a great record store, where you discover stuff you would otherwise never have found. Pros: Superb films from a local, family-run business. more

the owner is shy, but super helpful. cut him some slack! they have a great selection of indie, documentary and foreign films. more

I really wanted to like this place as I'm a big fan of local and indie businesses. I don't even mind paying a bit more for a product or service when I feel like I'm supporting a quality local shop. The problem is that with all the alternatives to brick and mortar video stores owners and employees need to consider ways to stay viable. Visart in Carrboro is a great example of a video store that is service and knowledge oriented. Now that I'm in Durham I'll stick with Netflix. High cost of rental, short rental period (one day for new releases), late fees charged on DVDs returned literally as the door is closing for the night (at 10 pm)... In addition to poor service... All reasons to stay away from Avid. more

I couldn't resist giving this place a review - in fact, I signed up just for this purpose. I used to think that Avid was overpriced and that the manager was really rude, too. But once I started talking to him instead of assuming the worst, I realized that he is just really, really shy. After I put in a little effort, he opened up and he is such a sweetheart! He is knowledgeable, helpful and, as another reviewer mentioned, very willing to get titles he doesn't have. Of course, if you walk in with a combative attitude, he is unlikely to help you, but that is true anywhere. Now he even recognizes me in public and goes out of his way to say hi. They have a surprisingly good selection for the size of the store; I've rarely been there and not found what I wanted, and when I did, they ordered it for me. I still think it is a bit overpriced, but the prepay option is completely reasonable at a rate of $2.50/movie - less than a 1-night rental at Blockbuster. Plus, the prepays do not expire, so you don't have to watch a ton of movies for it to be worthwhile, like you do with Netflix. I love this place, plus it is independently owned, which is a bonus. The location is also really convenient if you live around Duke. Give it a try sometime. Pros: Good location, friendly staff, independently owned, wide selection Cons: Overpriced if you don't pre-pay more

I've been going to Avid since soon after they opened. The selection is smaller than you'll find on Netflix, for sure. But, it is surprisingly varied, especially for a store of its size. A couple of the other reviewers indicated poor customer service. I find the service there top rate. I've requested 5 titles and the owner happily ordered them for me. Not to sell to me, but just to have in stock. That never happened at Blockbuster! They have refunded my money when I rented a damaged disk and gave me an additional free rental. I'm a big proponent of shopping local, Avid is great because I can do that and not feel like I'm sacrificing. Pros: Good selection, owners are great people, good prices more

I rent movies here all the time and have never had a problem, either with finding what I wanted or playing any of the discs. The owner is always there and, while he seems to be a pretty quiet guy, if you take the time to talk to him he's really nice and helpful. Their selection is excellent, especially foreign stuff. They offer blocks of prepaid rentals which are a really good deal. Pros: selection, price, convenience more

This place is really a waste of time-- I went there because I was desperate, but actually, it would have just been easier to buy a copy of the movie from Walmart or Target or Best Buy. The copy I rented from Avid was completely scratched up, even though it was a new release, and when I took it back because it wouldn't play without skipping, there was no other copy to switch it with, and they refused to give me a refund! So I wasted my time going back there twice, and still ended up without a movie. Useless. This store will be going out of business soon! Pros: close to duke Cons: scratched movies, rude staff more

After Visart Video (a great indie chain in the area) closed down, I turned to Avid. Mistake! The guy who owns (and works at the place) is the rudest little troll you'll ever meet IRL, and the mopey girl who helps him isn't much better, though at least she's just taciturn, not actively rude. Half the videos you'll try to rent there will be missing when you bring the case up to the desk to check it out, and you'll end up wasting your time in addition to being spoken to like you're a three year old. All of the movies are horribly scratched, and usually skip a ton and look awful when you play them. And the ""drop slot"" for videos is actually locked after hours, so you can't return them unless the store is open! Late fee scam, anyone? This guy obviously focuses his business model on renting new releases to Duke students from across the street, because the level of service he provides is so lousy that only a captive audience would be satisfied with it. The art films he claims to have on the shelf are always ""missing."" And the new releases are always out, so that's no good either. Do yourself a favor and just go with Netflix-- it's cheaper and better and less hassle. And don't let Avid cajole you into a pre-pay plan for a slight discount; you'll quickly find out, after you've pre-paid, that the movie selection they seem to have is in truth pretty poor, with the movies you want to see constantly lost or out. If you're a Duke student, check out Lilly library for videos first-- they have a huge collection, including new releases and tv series. But don't bother with Avid unless you're willing to put up with lousy treatment and getting bad service. Cons: bad, rude service, poor actual selection more