Frequently Asked Questions

What areas in the world do you ship to?
Currently we are only able to accept Membership and DVD Requests from the United States and its territories.
Do you have an Affiliate Program I can join?
Yes we do! We use Shareasale.com as our trusted third party to administer our affiliate program. To begin earning money from your website visitors, simply cut and paste the following link in to your browser window: http://www.shareasale.com/shareasale.cfm?merchantID=13750
Why are subscription rates on your website higher than Netflix or other large online DVD rental companies?
Large online DVD rental companies who allow unlimited DVD rentals by mail including free shipping both ways and no late fees, rely on high volume for their profits. Some of these companies have millions of subscribers and can earn millions of dollars worth of profit by making only a few dollars per subscriber. However, this is not the case for smaller speciality online DVD rental companies such as ours who would go broke if they offered their members unlimited rental plans for $9.99 per month. Also, the larger online DVD rental companies pay less postage for their bulk mailings, less for their DVDs, less for their envelopes, shipping labels, etc. As you are no doubt aware, martial art's instructional DVDs can be very, very expensive to purchase and Bushido DVD does not receive the same bulk discounts as the larger online DVD rental companies do for their inventory of mainstream Hollywood movies. Also, because our DVDs are so expensive (and many are extremely fragile), we need to use protective cardboard inserts which increase the weight of our mailings and use additional postage for hand sorting by the post office. There was also a major shape based rate change introduced by the USPS on May 14, 2007 that increased our postage by over 50% and another rate increase on May 12, 2008. Therefore, the only way Bushido DVD can provide its members with unlimited DVD rentals (including our unique Fast Return feature), no late fees, no due dates, and free shipping is to charge the subscription rates that we do. The vast majority of our members have a "cost per rental" below $4.99. This is a tremendous value considering that most of our DVDs have a purchase price of over $39.95 and some have been purchased for $97. If you can find another online martial art's instructional DVD rental service that can offer you a better value than Bushido DVD, please let us know! (Make sure to ask if shipping - both ways - is included in their "rental fee", if they have a "Fast Return" feature, and if you can be charged late fees if their DVDs are not returned "on time").
Can I cancel at any time or do I need to stay a member for a certain length of time?
You can cancel at any time by simply selecting the "cancel" option on your account page or by contacting us directly! Once we receive our dvds back, your account will be closed and you will never be billed again.
How does billing work exactly?
To become a member of Bushido DVD you will need to supply us with a credit card number (Visa or MasterCard). Depending on the membership plan you select during the registration process, you will be billed every month on your anniversary date (the date you first registered with our site) for the amount of your selected plan.
Is it best to join on the first of the month since membership fees are paid each month?
It makes absolutely no difference what day of the month you subscribe to our service. If you join on the 8th of the month you will be billed on the 8th of each month. If you join on the 24th of any month, you will be billed on the 24th of each month. We definitely notice a dramatic increase in new subscribers on the first few days of any month and we believe this may be attributable to the belief that you will receive a better value by subscribing early in the month. Of course, this is not true.
I own the copyright to one of your DVD titles and I don't want you to rent it to your members! Is it legal to rent these instructional DVDs?
Yes! All of the DVDs we rent are lawfully made copies, meaning that their reproduction was licensed by a copyright owner. Under United States law, as the owner of a lawfully made copy, Bushido DVD, is specifically entitled to rent them without the consent of the copyright owner. Sometimes copyright owners favor a sales model, but they have no right under law to prevent rental, and could violate antitrust laws if they try to restrain trade in the lower-cost rental option. Most copyright owners realize that rentals make the DVDs more widely available to people who would never pay the sales price, allow more people to discover their works, make it less profitable for pirates to make and sell infringing copies and require merchants like Bushido DVD to buy more copies to meet the rental demand from customers who would not have considered buying them.
Are there any advertising or sponsorship opportunities with your company?
The vast majority of our members are dedicated martial artists, school owners and instructors. Their styles range from the traditional to the exotic and they live in nearly every part of the USA. Therefore, we have a very defined target market for companies who wish to market their martial art's related product or service. We do not want to interfere with our member's user experience, so we try to keep marketing to a minimum; however, we have some unique ways for your company's message to reach our members. We could incorporate your company's logo and information on to our customized two-way dvd mailers as part of a primary sponsorship package and/or we could include small pieces of marketing literature inside of our DVD rental envelopes to be direct mailed to our membership base! A large membership base and high turnover rate will assure that your message reaches a wide population of martial arts enthusiasts, students, instructors and school owners. In addition, there is some space available on our website for banner ads of various sizes and the possibility of e-mail marketing campaigns targeting our users when e-mail announcements are sent out regarding new arrivals, or DVD shipments, etc. Please contact us today using the "Contact Us" form on this website to discuss these opportunities further.
I have not received a DVD shipped to me by Bushido DVD. What do I do?
Bushido DVD ships throughout the United States and shipping times will vary depending on your location. Normally, you should receive your DVD within 4 business days. Please allow a minimum of 10 business days before you report a title as “missing” since a wide variety of weather and logistical issues can slow down a title in transit. If your shipment does not arrive after 10 business days, please report the problem to us using the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page.
I returned a DVD to Bushido DVD and I haven’t received a confirmation that you received it. What do I do?
See above.
I NEVER received a DVD shipped to me by Bushido DVD. What do I do?
Report the problem to us using the the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page; however, extensive experience has taught us that it is extremely rare for DVDs to be 'lost in the mail'. We will investigate each and every missing shipment with the full cooperation of the United States Postal Service. This version of mail fraud is taken extremely seriously as this type of business is new and profitable for the United States Postal Service.
I returned a DVD to Bushido DVD and you NEVER received it. What now?
See above.
I received the wrong DVD. What do I do?
Please return the DVD to us immediately and then notify us through the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page. We will send the correct title to you immediately or the next available title on your Wishlist if that one is not available.
I lost or damaged a DVD. What do I do?
Please notify us using the "Contact Us" link at the top of the page, and you will be charged what it costs us to replace the DVD – we are not interested in making a profit from a lost DVD, we just want to make certain it is available for our other members in the future. Depending on the title, it may cost us anywhere from $10 to $100 to replace an individual DVD from our suppliers - including shipping and handling - with instructional DVDs usually being the most expensive. We want to be fair and honest, so we will discuss the matter with you fully before anything is done, and even provide you with the opportunity to purchase the DVD yourself from our supplier and send it back to us that way! Again, we are NOT interested in making a profit from lost or damaged DVDs. Also, it is very important that you send back the damaged DVD to us using the prepaid return mailer provided. NOTE: many of our DVDs are copy guarded by Macrovision and any attempt to copy a disk will result in permanent damage to both the disk and your DVD burner. Bushido DVD Inc. is not responsible for damage caused to your DVD burner if you are violating our terms of use by copying our DVDs. You will also be held liable for any damage caused to our DVDs that has resulted from an attempt to make a copy of them.
I received a DVD that was broken or unplayable. What do I do?
If you receive a defective DVD, please make a note on the protective sleeve that the DVD fits in to make us aware of this problem when we receive it back from you so that we can inspect it ourselves and remove it from our inventory if necessary. If possible, you should attempt to play the disc on another player or on your computer if properly equipped since we find that the vast majority of playback problems are a result of the DVD player rather than the actual disc. If you have received a damaged DVD, you must return the broken disc to us as you would with any other disc you receive so that we can credit your account for the disc's return and send out your next available selection.
I have misplaced the return envelope. What do I do?
To return the disc to Bushido DVD, you may use either of the following methods: Return the DVD in the same return envelope as another DVD you are returning to Bushido DVD. Please add additional postage to the envelope to cover the extra shipping costs. Return the DVD in a new envelope that offers sufficient protection for the DVD and with the correct postage affixed.
The DVD I received skips or sticks frequently when being played. What do I do?
When a DVD skips or gets stuck at a particular spot, this can be due to debris on the disk’s surface. Bushido DVD regularly inspects all discs in our inventory and performs a routine cleaning of their surfaces. However, if you receive a disc that skips or freezes regularly, please include a note on the DVDs protective sleeve when you return it so we can investigate it ourselves. Often, simply removing the DVD and gently wiping the surface with a soft cloth AWAY from the center of the disc (NEVER in a circular motion) solves the problem. A dirty lens in the DVD player or some other technical problem with the player may also be responsible for the skipping. Unfortunately, some DVDs are also poorly produced and may skip or stick from time to time. This is another advantage of renting a particular company’s product before you decide to purchase further titles. Please keep in mind that all our DVDs are RENTAL DVDs and have likely been played numerous times by our customers. If we find that a particular disk is poorly made or damaged in some way we will remove it from our inventory and replace it as soon as possible.
How does the Return Notification feature work?
You may take advantage of our “Return Notification” feature on your Wishlist page. Simply check the box next to the title you have returned and we will place your next available title in the mail! This feature is designed to minimize the shipping time and maximize the number of DVDs that our valued members can view each month. (Please note that members may only have one “extra” title in their possession at any one time. A DVD “in transit” is considered to be in your possession, therefore we cannot send you more than one DVD until we have received at least one back from you in the mail. This is necessary to protect our inventory levels and ensure that all subscribers receive the best service possible.
What is the difference between the "ASAP" and "Standard" priority designations on my Wishlist?
By setting a DVD selection to ASAP priority, you are telling us to send this title to you as soon as we possibly can, and ideally before we send you other selections on your Wish List. You are able to set DVD selections to ASAP priority yourself by logging into your account and making the changes within your Wishlist. You may designate up to two titles as ASAP. However, we ask that you please have at least 15 titles in your Wishlist at all times. Most of the time, we will send you your ASAP selections before others on your Wishlist; however we may not have them on hand when we receive a returned DVD from you. Since we believe it is important to promptly send you a new DVD whenever you return one to us, if one of your ASAP titles is not available on that day, we will send you one of the other titles on your Wishlist.
How does the Wishlist Priority System work? Can I set the order in which titles are shipped to me?
Whenever you add a DVD selection to your Wishlist, its priority is set to STANDARD by default. In addition to STANDARD, Bushido DVD also offers ASAP. You may have as many DVD selections as you wish set to the STANDARD priority. These selections will be shipped to you based on a number of factors, including but not limited to: 1. Titles Bushido DVD has on hand when we receive selections back from you. 2. Which titles have been on your Wishlist for the longest period of time. 3. Other titles on your list. (If we can manage to, we will always attempt to ship a volume 1 title before a volume 2 title in the same series.) To ensure that Bushido DVD always has something to send to you when you return selections to us, you should always try to keep at least 20 selections in your Wishlist. You are allowed to designate up to two titles as "ASAP". We will try to ship these titles to you as quickly as possible based on their availability. At present, you are not able to select the order in which you receive your DVD selections; however, as already mentioned above, we will make every attempt to send you the first volumes of a multi-volume DVD set before we send you the later volumes in the series.
When are DVD rentals shipped?
When we receive a DVD from you in the mail, or a "Return Notification" on our website, a new selection will be shipped to you the following business day. Titles are shipped Monday to Friday, except on statutory holidays.
How can I change my membership plan?
Bushido DVD offers four choices of membership plans to meet different viewing needs. To change your membership plan, please contact us using the response form located on the "Contact Us" page. We will upgrade or downgrade your subscription plan as requested and confirm the change within 24 hours. Any change in membership plan will only become effective upon the billing date following the date upon which you change your plan. If you have upgraded your membership to a more expensive plan allowing you to have a greater number of DVDs in your possession, your new DVD titles will be shipped at the start of the next billing cycle. If you have downgraded your membership to a more restrictive plan allowing a lesser number of DVDs in your possession, you will need to immediately return any extra DVDs to avoid the higher charges associated with your previous plan. If we have not received these extra DVDs by the start of the next billing cycle you will be charged at the same rate as the higher plan.
Do I return all my DVDs at the same time?
Bushido DVD starts by sending you your first DVD selections from your Wishlist. You may keep them as long as you like and return them to us all at once, or one at a time. Each time we receive a DVD selection back from you, or receives a Return Notification, we will ship you a new selection from your Wishlist within one business day.
How do I return DVDs?
Bushido DVD provides postage-paid return envelopes for sending DVD selections back to us. We include a stamped return envelope with all the DVDs we ship to you. After inserting the disc and it’s protective sleeve into the return envelope, all you have to do is drop the envelope into the nearest mailbox and it will be returned to us at no cost to you. You may then go on-line and report to us that you have returned the DVD using the Return Notification feature in your Wishlist area. Of course, this is an honor system, and we trust that our members will be conscientious about reporting their DVD returns accurately.
How do I cancel my membership?
You may cancel your membership at any time. To cancel your Bushido DVD membership, please follow these steps: 1. Log in to your account at www.BushidoDVD.com. 2. Click on "My Account" at the top of the page, or beneath the "Member Profile" section on the right hand side. 3. Click on the link in the area beneath the heading: "Account Cancellation", and follow the on-screen instructions to finalize the cancellation of your account. Bushido DVD does not provide refunds or credits for any partial monthly membership periods. Please return any outstanding DVDs immediately following your cancellation to avoid extra charges to your account. It is recommended that members cancel at least one week before their billing anniversary date.
Does Bushido DVD have a telephone number I can call to reach Member Service?
At this time, Bushido DVD does not offer telephone support. We do, however, answer your inquiries sent through our "Contact Us" page ASAP. You may also wish to browse this FAQ page to view the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions.
Does Bushido DVD rent VHS movies as well?
No. Due to shipping costs, Bushido DVD rents only DVDs.
Does Bushido DVD sell DVDs?
At this time, Bushido DVD does not sell any of its titles. However, this may change in the future depending on customer demand. We would be happy to provide you with a link to some of our valued suppliers.
How does Bushido DVD protect my personal information such as name, address and credit card number?
Bushido DVD makes all reasonable efforts to protect your personal information from loss, unauthorized access, misuse or theft. We use a secure server (SSL) and encrypt all transmissions of personal information by you. We limit access to your account information with login and password protection features. We encourage you to change your password regularly and to provide us with accurate information through the My Account section of our website. Only those Bushido DVD employees who have a legitimate business purpose for accessing the personal information collected by us are authorized to do so. Unauthorized access to or use of personal information by an employee is prohibited. You also have the ability to update or remove your personal information at any time by accessing the “My Account” section of our website. You may change your credit card information, shipping address, billing address, e-mail address or password. Please read our site's "Privacy Policy" accessible through the link at the bottom of the page for further information on how Bushido DVD stores, uses and protects your privacy.
Can I copy, broadcast or publicly display my rental DVD?
All DVDs are the property of Bushido DVD. You may not copy or alter any rented DVD in any way. Bushido DVD has no right to grant a license or any intellectual property right whatsoever in the work embodied in any rented DVD. The rented DVDs are meant for performance in a private non-commercial setting. It is your sole responsibility to obtain all requisite permission from the owner of the copyright if you chose to perform or authorize the performance of the work embodied in any rented DVD in a manner other than a private non-commercial setting. In addition, many of our DVDs are copy guarded by Macrovision and any attempt to copy a disk will result in permanent damage to both the disk and your DVD burner. Bushido DVD Inc. is not responsible for damage caused to your DVD burner if you are violating of our terms of use by copying our DVDs. You will also be held liable for any damage caused to our DVDs that has resulted from an attempt to make a copy of them.