I've been doing this for years. I have a stack of Blu-Ray discs I've never opened because I send a request to my home server while I'm in line to check out at the store and by the time I get home the exact same content on the disc I just purchased has already landed there exactly as if I had ripped it myself.
As you note, every element of the user experience is better with the pirated copy and absolutely nothing is worse, even for those who legitimately own it. The only way you compete with free is by being better than the free offering, and the home video industry just refuses to acknowledge that reality.