Segment Information (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Segment Information (Details) [Abstract]
Number of retail installment sales stores	43		43
Number of rent-to-own stores in Canada	18		18
Number of rent-to-own stores in Mexico	130		130
ColorTyme's royalty fee percentage, minimum			2.00%
ColoTyme's royalty fee percentage, maximum			4.00%
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	$ 760,511	$ 749,698	$ 1,579,792	$ 1,584,952
Gross profit	530,620	526,973	1,081,298	1,087,390
Operating profit	77,437	79,027	156,720	171,061
Depreciation of property assets	18,760	18,338	37,233	36,332
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	1,165	1,481	2,055	2,816
Capital expenditures	25,184	20,892	44,821	48,320
Rental merchandise on rent, net	849,288		849,288		821,887
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	218,263		218,263		198,917
Assets	2,940,452		2,940,452		2,869,105
Core U.S. [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	619,687	654,356	1,289,253	1,382,186
Gross profit	449,944	474,414	923,009	984,471
Operating profit	66,029	79,463	134,665	174,671
Depreciation of property assets	15,990	15,952	31,918	31,708
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	1,023	585	1,770	1,023
Capital expenditures	20,147	16,692	35,197	37,033
Rental merchandise on rent, net	588,427		588,427		597,771
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	207,105		207,105		189,526
Assets	2,537,770		2,537,770		2,508,370
RAC Acceptance [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	117,493	77,060	244,656	164,788
Gross profit	68,770	44,617	135,877	87,787
Operating profit	17,612	6,897	33,529	9,765
Depreciation of property assets	1,162	856	2,251	1,684
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	142	896	285	1,793
Capital expenditures	2,262	1,047	4,202	2,391
Rental merchandise on rent, net	244,717		244,717		209,964
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	3,434		3,434		2,979
Assets	333,279		333,279		292,070
International [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	14,095	8,900	26,430	16,609
Gross profit	10,184	6,242	18,889	11,609
Operating profit	(6,746)	(7,811)	(12,719)	(14,571)
Depreciation of property assets	1,588	1,506	3,024	2,891
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Capital expenditures	2,775	3,153	5,422	8,896
Rental merchandise on rent, net	16,144		16,144		14,152
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	7,724		7,724		6,412
Assets	67,794		67,794		65,954
ColorTyme [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenue	9,236	9,382	19,453	21,369
Gross profit	1,722	1,700	3,523	3,523
Operating profit	542	478	1,245	1,196
Depreciation of property assets	20	24	40	49
Amortization and write-down of intangibles	0	0	0	0
Capital expenditures	0	0	0	0
Rental merchandise on rent, net	0		0		0
Rental merchandise held for rent, net	0		0		0
Assets	$ 1,609		$ 1,609		$ 2,711