Is Blockbuster going out of business?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

II can't see how waiting a couple days fulfills the "instant gratification" a physical rental outlet provides when someone wants to see something right now

If I want to see something 'right now', I'll rent it *from my cable box*. My cable provider has On Demand, which is all the rental I'll ever need. Which isn't that much, really. I haven't rented anything in years. But if I ever do, this is it.

Not only is Blockbuster apparently going byebye, so is Hollywood Video apparently. Both of those are vanishing from here. Can't say I'm surprised. I think the need for physical media in rentals, has long since passed. Digital downloads may not be realistic for *owning* movies, but they are perfect for *renting* them.

 

[Jax]

A Blockbuster in the next town closed but the town next to that has one still open. I hear they been culling stores lately they are getting hammered by such firms as Love Film etc.

 

[Broccoli]

Good. Blockbuster can die a nice, painful death. I won't shed a tear when their doors close.

Hooray for the unemployed!

I tend to rent videos from Family Video myself. Rather out of the way, but less expensive and not so stringent about late fees and all that.

Eh, Family Video is kinda in the same jam, although not as bad as they are not as widespread as Blockbuster and pretty much thrive in college towns/more-rural areas.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Hooray for the unemployed!

Eh?

Nobody's advocating that. Nobody wants people to lose their jobs. But if Blockbuster or Hollywood Video can't keep up with the times, they're going to lose business, and they're going to go under. It's a simple fact.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

They are doing ok. The company is still sitting on a mess though, but they are working their way out of it. Between the mess left over from when it spun out of Viacom and the previous CEO's failures, there is a lot to clean up.


If this very situation was going on five years ago, it wouldn't have been an issue. The problem is that with the recession on right now, it's reducing business a little and making everyone all "doom and gloom".

And anyone who buys into red box is a little batty. Red box is a dollar a day. Block buster is $4.99 for a latest new release for two + seven days. As such, if you took advantage of all seven days of the grace period, it works out to $0.50 per day. Half the cost of red box on a per day basis. For slightly older new releases, it's the same 4.99 plus tax but now it's for seven + seven days. So taking full advantage of the seven day grace, you get an adverage cost per day of about $0.35. An older movie, released a year ago or longer, is $3.99 for a seven + seven, which taking the full grace works out to be around $0.30 per day.

1) With Redbox you can access the movies 24/7 (assuming they have what you want in that machine).

2) Most Redbox users I know will rent it, watch it, and turn it in the next day. Why keep what you've already watched?

3) Most Redboxes in my area are in high traffic zones. Rentals and returns turns are easy, since you don't have to go out of your way to go to a specific store.

4) For the OWNERS of Redbox, it's a no-brainer. As it's entirely self-serve, they pay out no wages, rent for a space on the sidewalk is WAY cheaper than paying rent on a whole store. Furthermore, their payment scheme virtually ELIMINATES disc theft. They get your card information up front, and keep charging until the system shows you've returned the film.

 

[jkladis]

Hooray for the unemployed!

That is unfortunate. As mentioned, the industry is changing shape right now. Stores are going away, Redbox is fighting Hollywood on release timing and people are lining up in droves in front of the vending machines. Personally I prefer real video stores that I can browse. I suspect there's another lesson in humanity here -- we're virtually fed our entertainment via conveyor belt.

As for Blockbuster, they were thugs plain and simple. They ran a tight ship, marketed well, expanded fiercely and had everyone wrapped around their finger in rental agreements, complete with CC# on file. They got my business about a dozen time over the last twenty years.

 

[John Picard]

As for Blockbuster, they were thugs plain and simple. They ran a tight ship, marketed well, expanded fiercely and had everyone wrapped around their finger in rental agreements, complete with CC# on file. They got my business about a dozen time over the last twenty years.

The requirement of a CC (keeping it on file) as well as their high prices and ridiculous rental timeframes is what drove me to Hollywood. After a while, I grew tired of Hollywood (at least my local store) having almost nothing worth renting. The BB model is dead.

 

[RandyS]

The ironic thing is, one of the Blockbuster stores near my house has been a bank for two years now, and one of the banks near here has been a Blockbuster store for at least three.

 

[RoJoHen]

I am on the 3-DVDs-at-a-time plan. I ran some numbers one day and estimated that for $18/month I am watching over 180 titles per year. This is a far cry cheaper than those thieves at Blockbuster or even the cheap, but title-lacking, Hollywood Video.

I'm on the 2 DVDs at a time plan with BD option. I estimate I get 6 physical DVDs/BDs a month, far fewer than John Picard and watch a ton more streaming (seen all of The Office, 30 Rock, Leverage, No Reservations, and several other series this way). With my viewing habits, it's not even a contest which option is cheaper for me.

Every once in a while I was afraid that I wasn't getting my money's worth, but especially now that I can stream Netflix to my PS3, it's not even an issue.

I watched the first 5 seasons of The Office in 10 days for just the cost of my $18 subscription. Definitely couldn't do that with Blockbuster!

 

[Nerys Myk]

Hooray for the unemployed!

That is unfortunate. As mentioned, the industry is changing shape right now. Stores are going away, Redbox is fighting Hollywood on release timing and people are lining up in droves in front of the vending machines. Personally I prefer real video stores that I can browse. I suspect there's another lesson in humanity here -- we're virtually fed our entertainment via conveyor belt.

As for Blockbuster, they were thugs plain and simple. They ran a tight ship, marketed well, expanded fiercely and had everyone wrapped around their finger in rental agreements, complete with CC# on file. They got my business about a dozen time over the last twenty years.

Well they did start as a way to launder money for the Mob.

 

[Mike Farley]

And it's not just other rental avenues that have helped do in Blockbuster, but also the fact that DVD's have turned home-video into an impulse-buy market. Back in the VHS rental market heyday few people had video collections, at least not comprised of professionally-made pre-recorded content. But with DVD and new releases in the $15 range and catalog titles often under $10, more and more people just buy the movies they want.

 

[IndyJones]

And anyone who buys into red box is a little batty. Red box is a dollar a day. Block buster is $4.99 for a latest new release for two + seven days. As such, if you took advantage of all seven days of the grace period, it works out to $0.50 per day. Half the cost of red box on a per day basis. For slightly older new releases, it's the same 4.99 plus tax but now it's for seven + seven days. So taking full advantage of the seven day grace, you get an adverage cost per day of about $0.35. An older movie, released a year ago or longer, is $3.99 for a seven + seven, which taking the full grace works out to be around $0.30 per day.

I think it's a little batty to assume that most or even many people want/need a rental for 9 days. And with a Red Box located outside of every McDonald's and grocery store in town, it's not exactly tough to return them within 5 days and at least break even.

Blockbuster did have the advantage of variety, but that's what I use Netflix for.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

As for Blockbuster, they were thugs plain and simple. They ran a tight ship, marketed well, expanded fiercely and had everyone wrapped around their finger in rental agreements, complete with CC# on file. They got my business about a dozen time over the last twenty years.

Well they did start as a way to launder money for the Mob.

Explain.

 

[Nerys Myk]

As for Blockbuster, they were thugs plain and simple. They ran a tight ship, marketed well, expanded fiercely and had everyone wrapped around their finger in rental agreements, complete with CC# on file. They got my business about a dozen time over the last twenty years.

Well they did start as a way to launder money for the Mob.

Explain.

A friend of mine who owned a video store told me that. No idea if its true.

 

[Starbreaker]

And Netflix has the best customer service I've ever encountered. They fix the problem right then and there no questions asked.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Well they did start as a way to launder money for the Mob.

Explain.

A friend of mine who owned a video store told me that. No idea if its true.

So it's probably not, then.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Explain.

A friend of mine who owned a video store told me that. No idea if its true.

So it's probably not, then.

One of the early owners was in the Garbage disposal business, so thats probably where it come from.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Blockbuster new releases are $5.29 here. Frickin' ridiculous. I just go to Redbox and get it for $1.00!

/facepalm

No wonder they are in trouble. 5+ bucks... to RENT A DVD!? I thought for sure they would have lowered those to compete with netflix.

 

[Sheep]

I think it's a little batty to assume that most or even many people want/need a rental for 9 days.

I don't quite understand this logic either.

I've seen Blockbuster defenders use "long" rental periods as an argument against Redbox, yet also tout being able to get what you want when you want it as an argument against Netflix. Together those arguments make no sense. If you want something right away, that means you're not going to keep it for more than a day or two which eliminates any value proposition you try to create, making Redbox the better value option. If you are going to keep it for awhile, you just eliminated the instant gratification argument which makes Netflix the better option. Blockbuster loses both ways.

 

[Broccoli]

Hooray for the unemployed!

Eh?

Nobody's advocating that. Nobody wants people to lose their jobs. But if Blockbuster or Hollywood Video can't keep up with the times, they're going to lose business, and they're going to go under. It's a simple fact.

If you read the comment which I was commenting on, when people make blanket statements about being happy a place is going out of business and hoping it dies a painful death, they seem to forget that many people from the execs to those who simply work at a branch will be out of work. People may have issues with the way Blockbuster runs, but that is no reason to rejoice in the fall of the chain and subsequently the loss of work for many, many people.