Blockbuster Bu-Bye

[Ryougabot]

It is the end of an era
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-0...rotection.html

Blockbuster Inc., the world’s biggest movie-rental company, filed for bankruptcy after failing to adapt its storefront model to online technology pioneered by rivals such as Netflix Inc.

It is sad but the days of rental stores are ending.

More time and money to play Heroscape

[jschild]

Originally Posted by Ryougabot

It is the end of an era
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-0...rotection.html

It is sad but the days of rental stores are ending.

More time and money to play Heroscape

Not really sad - they absolutely refused to adapt to the modern world. What blockbuster, I can watch movies on-demand if I buy your special player. No way, thank you.

What, you're going to play the mail order game, only about a year after Netflix? again sorry.

What, you want to charge an arm and a leg for me to rent video games, when I can pretty much do the same for cheaper with Gamefly? Sorry.

What, only 2 years after Redbox pops up, you think you can play the 1$ rental game.

Blockbuster has been dying for years because they not only refused to innovate and join the internet age (instead being dragged kicking and screaming), but they decided taking a year or 2 to "adapt". You can't survive with a business model like that.

[J4Jandar]

Never a blockbuster guy though local rental stores were a pain.

Over priced and only able to rent for one day?

Hey! What do you mean I have a late charge? I already payed that off!

Yeah, buh bye.

[Jim]

Originally Posted by J4Jandar

Hey! What do you mean I have a late charge? I already payed that off!

Again, speaking as the 13+ year employee... Yeah, that doesn't happen (short of major computer crashes).

[J4Jandar]

Originally Posted by Jim

Again, speaking as the 13+ year employee... Yeah, that doesn't happen (short of major computer crashes).

Should have clarified the fact this was not a blockbuster incident but a local gaf-tastic rental joint.

[Dragonmaster384]

Yep, Blockbuster was overwhelmed by competition on every front that simply did what Blockbuster wanted to do, but better. And more importantly, first. I haven't used Blockbuster for anything in probably 5 years or more, and I won't be bothered in the least if they disappear completely.

[Dad_Scaper]

I always hated Blockbuster. I don't know about you guys, but I *love* movies, and I expected the movie rental guy to know something more than when The Last Emperor will be out on VHS.

Blockbuster killed the local mom & pop video rental businesses, and those were the ones that had employees who actually knew something about movies. "Liked Rumble in the Bronx? Try Drunken Master, you'll love it." Those guys couldn't compete with brightly lit Blockbusters and their 15 copies of Toy Story 2.

No sympathy or melancholy from me, sorry.

[loborocket]

Originally Posted by DaddyScaper

I always hated Blockbuster. I don't know about you guys, but I *love* movies, and I expected the movie rental guy to know something more than when The Last Emperor will be out on VHS.

Blockbuster killed the local mom & pop video rental businesses, and those were the ones that had employees who actually knew something about movies. "Liked Rumble in the Bronx? Try Drunken Master, you'll love it." Those guys couldn't compete with brightly lit Blockbusters and their 15 copies of Toy Story 2.

No sympathy or melancholy from me, sorry.

I never really liked them either, not because the workers did not know much about movies (I don't either). What I did not like was the kind of commodity model they used. they would carry 100 copies of the latest release but at the expense of having a really wide selection. The public wanted to see the latest stuff so they provided it.

I like to watch more obscure stuff, there was just not room on the shelf at Blockbuster. I always rented from a local mom and po place living in Minneapolis. they had good prices and good selection so it could be done, you just might have to wait a few weeks for the latest shoot em up. that is probably not so bad, it gave time to find something else you might not have heard of.

This is one reason I really like Netflix. I can think up ANY movie and ask for it and it is there in a couple of days. The selection is unsurpassed. Many I can even watch instantly on the XBOX.

[krysto2002]

Now the real question is: how will they go down?
Will the stores simply empty out overnight, or will they go "closing soon" for days. Or, IMO best for us, major closing sale! That usually means insane discounts. To prove chain stores can go nuts, consider this. At a nearby closing Pepperidge Farms Outlet, their Milano cookies (you know the tiny $4 packs) sold for half off-half off and buy 4 get for free. With $20 we filled the car...

So will Blockbusters have a sale? I hope so, I don't mind paying ridiculous prices in the opposite sense of what it used to be.

[Ryougabot]

Originally Posted by krysto2002

Now the real question is: how will they go down?
Will the stores simply empty out overnight, or will they go "closing soon" for days. Or, IMO best for us, major closing sale! That usually means insane discounts. To prove chain stores can go nuts, consider this. At a nearby closing Pepperidge Farms Outlet, their Milano cookies (you know the tiny $4 packs) sold for half off-half off and buy 4 get for free. With $20 we filled the car...

So will Blockbusters have a sale? I hope so, I don't mind paying ridiculous prices in the opposite sense of what it used to be.

This is not the end for them. Again it is the good kind of bankruptcy. It will give them a free pass to pay of their employees instead of their creditors and they can sell resources left and right. I foresee some of the stores going out of business. There will be huge sales and I see some other company (Netflix, Blockbuster, Redbox) making a bid on all of their inventory of rentals. Their stuff for purchase will be on sale quickly to the general public (they need cash fast). They will close stores until they are profitable again, and then they will stop. While they are picking up the pieces, Netflix will just get better and better. Things will be OK for a while, but it will happen again unless they change.

The other stronger and smarter companies will keep nibbling at them until they are gone.

[nyys]

The writing was on the wall as soon as Netflix hit the scene several years ago. Sorry about all the folks who are going to lose their job over this, but Blockbuster just never could seem to do anything right, they did it to themselves.

[Jim]

As a part-time employee of Blockbuster for the last 13 or so years, I can say that not all of them are as bad as people think.

Also, this is the good kind of bankrupcy (Chapter 11 - reorganizing to pay people) rather than the bad kind (Chapter 7 - liquidating to go out of business). K-Mart, Delta Airlines, and a huge list of other big businesses that are still around and thriving have done this same thing.

While I may not agree with some of the things that BB does, it isn't all thatit is made out to be.