Blockbuster brings back the late fees...!

[Professor Zoom]

They are reducing the number of days out to 5 and then charging 1$ per day after that.

Late fees, right? Well...

the spokesperson insisted, "This is not a late fee. This is an additional daily rate."

Um. Yeah.

After a 17% drop in revenue, I guess they had to do something.

In the mean time, Netflix expects an 18% INCREASE in how many they ship this year.

Good luck Blockbuster!

 

[Chaos Descending]

The Blockbuster by my house has been doing this for awhile now, since at LEAST before Christmas.

 

[Data Holmes]

How is $1/day that bad? I mean, wasn't it "all the rage" when redbox offered it that way?

 

[David cgc]

Well, for one thing, Blockbuster made a big deal about getting rid of late fees a few years ago.

 

[Data Holmes]

Well, for one thing, Blockbuster made a big deal about getting rid of late fees a few years ago.

And? Things change. The program was no longer workable given the current economic times, and people were still complaining about how the "no late fee's" program worked. This is a much simpler program, far less confusing, and is a better business model for the company.

 

[Squiggy]

It's not the current economic times that are effecting them as much as it is their entire business model.

They're telegraphers in a radio world.

 

[Amaris]

Well, for one thing, Blockbuster made a big deal about getting rid of late fees a few years ago.

And? Things change. The program was no longer workable given the current economic times, and people were still complaining about how the "no late fee's" program worked. This is a much simpler program, far less confusing, and is a better business model for the company.

Netflix charges you the cost of two DVD rentals a month and you can keep them as long as you want, or send in two every day, getting many times that number back in a month, and yet they continue to grow. Blockbuster just tends to suck at everything, this latest tactic is just one more step toward further suckitude.

 

[Data Holmes]

It's not the current economic times that are effecting them as much as it is their entire business model.

They're telegraphers in a radio world.

I agree to a point. There will always be a place for brick and mortar stores, but the rental segment of the business will no doubt become secondary a service to retail. An access point, more so than a direct focal point. At least for some time.

Well, for one thing, Blockbuster made a big deal about getting rid of late fees a few years ago.

And? Things change. The program was no longer workable given the current economic times, and people were still complaining about how the "no late fee's" program worked. This is a much simpler program, far less confusing, and is a better business model for the company.

Netflix charges you the cost of two DVD rentals a month and you can keep them as long as you want, or send in two every day, getting many times that number back in a month, and yet they continue to grow. Blockbuster just tends to suck at everything, this latest tactic is just one more step toward further suckitude.

I still think it's a little unfair to directly compare BB with Netflix, but I will admit I like Netflix better in most cases.

 

[Small White Car]

There will always be a place for brick and mortar stores.

I doubt it.

I think Red Box will expand and make their boxes bigger.
So, physical locations: Yes (But in vending machine form)
Actual brick and mortar buildings? No

Red Box will eventually eat up whatever market the online/mailing companies don't take.

And it will be a large market. Red Box will do well, I think. Not everyone is going to stream or mail videos. But those people will be happy enough with vending machines.

Soon the market that consist of people who:
* Don't want to stream online
* Don't want to get DVDs in the mail
and
* Don't want the newest releases from within the last 6 months

...is going to be too small to support entire Blockbuster stores. That unique group will be out of luck. Everyone else will have something they like more than Blockbuster.

 

[Data Holmes]

There will always be a place for brick and mortar stores.

I doubt it.

I think Red Box will expand and make their boxes bigger.
So, physical locations: Yes (But in vending machine form)
Actual brick and mortar buildings? No

Red Box will eventually eat up whatever market the online/mailing companies don't take.

And it will be a large market. Red Box will do well, I think. Not everyone is going to stream or mail videos. But those people will be happy enough with vending machines.

Soon the market that consist of people who:
* Don't want to stream online
* Don't want to get DVDs in the mail
and
* Don't want the newest releases from within the last 6 months

...is going to be too small to support entire Blockbuster stores. That unique group will be out of luck. Everyone else will have something they like more than Blockbuster.

Redbox is a half measure. An example of a company takeing advantage of the shift in "format".

Physical media is going to be dead as a rental property within the next three to nine years. Direct Digital Download, what I have taking to referring to as D3 when I talk to customers, will be the sole surviving form of "rental" out there. It may be direct internet streaming, Pay Per View, or On Demand service, but it still means the physical media rental structure is fast approaching zero hour.

Netflix is on it's way there, but still using physical media, taking advantage of the established as well as developing the next level.

Hulu and similar sites are there in concept but have some ways to go in refinement of the product.

Apple has something up it's sleeves and will no doubt initiate the final plunge into the field or further. This will be signaling the end to not only physical media for rental, but also to an extend physical media retail, as the two concepts reach price parity. Once this happens, and there is no price savings to renting, the very concept of "rental" as far as media goes will be dead.

This end result will also knock down the current media broadcast model as well, killing the traditional TV network and Cable TV network models. No longer will they operate as a "network", but instead will become direct content providers. The segments of the RF spectrum allocated for "broadcast and cable" tv will be sold off or shifted for use to provide wireless broad band for portable devices like smart phones and portable media devices. Cable providers will turn over operations to focus on just providing high speed internet removing their TV transmission operations all together.

In ten years, the internet will become the primary method of entertainment transmission media within the common residential home, it will have fully supplanted both TV and POTS. Surprisingly, I think that Radio will remain as the secondary method of entertainment media communication followed by wireless 4g terrestrial/satellite assisted broadband until it develops as simply an extension of the primary landlines based broadband entertainment and media content distribution. At which point AM/FM Radio will exist as the "low tech" backup for use when the "high tech" broadband methods are down.

By the time that happens all media based "brick and mortar" stores will be done with. Everything related to physical media retail will be relegated to net based commerce stores. Even impulse buy items in places that sell electronics will shift away from physical media to simple "low priced download pin cards" at checkout counters, similar to Xbox Live points or iTunes gift cards.

 

[bigdaddy]

They are shit. End of problem.

 

[James Bond]

Blockbuster can suck my hairy left nut.

 

[dru]

Meh. They closed the local Blockbuster recently.

 

[Caligula]

It's been so long since I felt the need to go out and rent a movie (...Why should I when I have so many right here at home?) that I'm not actually sure whether or not the local Blockbuster is still open!

 

[John Picard]

Well, for one thing, Blockbuster made a big deal about getting rid of late fees a few years ago.

And? Things change. The program was no longer workable given the current economic times, and people were still complaining about how the "no late fee's" program worked. This is a much simpler program, far less confusing, and is a better business model for the company.

Netflix charges you the cost of two DVD rentals a month and you can keep them as long as you want, or send in two every day, getting many times that number back in a month, and yet they continue to grow. Blockbuster just tends to suck at everything, this latest tactic is just one more step toward further suckitude.

And I will dance a jig of joy the day I hear Blockbuster folds operations. I don't conduct business with Blockbuster, but I hate that company because of past experience.

 

[StolenThunder]

My local Blockbuster is frustrating. You can either rent one item for one night, or five items for five nights. Neither of those options suit me.

 

[Mr Light]

I only use Blockbuster for buying used movies cheap and rarely paying to rent the new movie that Redbox doesn't have. Redbox will always win for me. It's one dollar for a movie! I always return them the next day.

 

[Professor Zoom]

I remember Blockbuster's commercials when they got rid of late fees...

...I wonder if they will have a commercial for this new Day rate fee...

 

[Mr Light]

I popped in the BB today and there were big notices slapped on the in and out doors about this late fee return.

 

[Warp Coil]

I haven't set foot inside a Blockbuster store in years. I still have a membership card, but I'd might as well just cut it up and throw it away. I'll never use it again. I have to agree that their business model is obsolete. Netflix, Redbox, and online streaming are the wave of the future.