Blockbuster files for bankrupcy - end of an era

[dud]

back in days I rented that horrible Wayans movie called Blankman from Blockbuster. it was a VHS tape btw and I returned it after viewing. well, a month later they sent me a letter wanting $110 claiming they never received it. fought against it and it went to collections. I hated blockbuster after that.

That's why you have gone Beta. BB was just punishing your horrible taste is movies.

 

[thegimp03]

I think the last time I rented a movie from them was 4-5 years ago. Been mostly Netflix since then.

 

[ravana]

Good riddance!

 

[Regs]

A business model built to maximize late charges is going to drive away customers-it doesn't take a genius to see that. Frankly I think the good will value of the Blockbuster name is negative.

A Chapter 7 liquidation or the equivalent is inevitable-the only question is how much more time and money is wasted before that conclusion is reached.

If Blockbuster had a gravestone I'd delight in p*ssing on it.

After they deal with the senior and subordinated debt holders, there is not going to be anything left for the stockholders. Right now, it's just a matter of which debt holders get first crack at whatever remains of their assets.

 

[TheTony]

I hope this somehow puts an end to the partnership BB has with Warner (others?) for an exclusive 28 day window on DVD/BD before they can go to other outlets (ie Redbox/Netflix).

 

[mugs]

A business model built to maximize late charges is going to drive away customers-it doesn't take a genius to see that. Frankly I think the good will value of the Blockbuster name is negative.

Explain how their business model is "built to maximize late charges." They give you more than ample time to watch and return movies. What exactly are they doing to maximize their late charges?

I started with a local place that was $3 for a one night rental in the late 80s/early 90s. Every day after that was another rental fee. I always thought Blockbuster was crazy for giving people so long to return movies, because I knew from the owner of my local place that the first month after release was when he needed to recoup the cost of the movies. Blockbuster significantly reduced the number of times they could rent a movie in the first month by giving people no incentive to return the movies promptly.

All the late fees ever were was an incentive to return the movie promptly so it'd be on the shelf for someone else to rent it.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Good riddance!

i don't understand statements like this.
has the company wronged you in some way that you look forward to their demise?
if you don't like them, don't go into their stores.

the way i see it, the more competition there is, the better it is for us consumers.

 

[Regs]

the way i see it, the more competition there is, the better it is for us consumers.

They first have to improve their business to entice more customers. I think they had plenty of time to adjust their business model. Sometimes the only easy answer is bankruptcy.

 

[DT4K]

I hope this somehow puts an end to the partnership BB has with Warner (others?) for an exclusive 28 day window on DVD/BD before they can go to other outlets (ie Redbox/Netflix).

WTF are you talking about?

The "partnership" is between Redbox and WB and between Netflix and WB.

Redbox and Netflix are the ones who made an agreement with WB and agreed to NOT rent their movies for the first 28 days in exchange for other perks like lower bulk disc prices (Redbox) and more streaming content (Netflix).

Blockbuster is the only one who has NOT bent over for WB yet.

 

[Standpoint]

They didn't have a reasonable return time. Most of the movies I used to rent from them had to be either returned the next day or two days. I could only rent what I could watch that night. And for 5.99, not a good deal at all.

 

[Jeeebus]

do we really need another stupid, uninformed "the end of Blockbuster" thread? Is there something wrong with the other one?

Yes, BB may not emerge (anything can happen), but given the fact that they've already got 80% of the secured note holders on board and have secured DIP financing from the current holders, this isn't likely to be a liquidation.

Will BB remain a brick & mortar rental store? Hell if I know. But all of these 'farewell BB' posts are idiotic.

 

[Kadarin]

No love for BB here, but as an old guy (42) I do like the video store model where I can go and browse dvds and pick a movie to watch. Online rentals like netflix streaming and iTunes just don't quite get the experience right.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Used them before Netflix.
The ex and her family was slow and stubborn to change, a few times she'd drive to BB without warning, while we were out, pick out something, then look at me expecting me to pay. That's what I had NF for! Obviously I couldn't argue this, or she'd do something to make me look like the bad guy. Not cool.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Good riddance. Blockbuster had a long-standing policy of not carrying movies rated above R (this includes artistically legitimate NC-17 and unrated movies, as well as adult films). This is similar to how Wal-Mart does not carry CDs with Parental Advisory stickers.

I find this kind of censorship offensive, since the labels and rating systems supposedly exist in order to protect the right of adults to purchase whatever material they want, while allowing parents to make informed decisions about the type of material their children consume.

As such, I don't shop at either chain.

Now, the CD argument is somewhat moot nowadays, since there is such a good selection of music on iTunes, but video rental stores are still alive and well in Canada. Netflix has only recently been released and it does not have anywhere near the selection that Rogers Video (large national chain) or many of the independent Vancouver stores (e.g. Black Dog Video) do.

Furthermore, neither Rogers or Black Dog stores pander to censorship. Movies are appropriately rated and labeled, and the adult section is separated from other movies.

Even if Netflix improves its selection here, I still enjoy browsing titles in the store, and I often find cool independent movies which I doubt are even available on Netflix.

 

[ravana]

i don't understand statements like this.
has the company wronged you in some way that you look forward to their demise?
if you don't like them, don't go into their stores.

the way i see it, the more competition there is, the better it is for us consumers.

There is a reason you no longer get certain releases on Day 1 via Netflix & I'm pretty sure Blockbuster has a lot to do with that.

So yes, I do feel that as a consumer, they have wronged me.

 

[krylon]

Good riddance. Blockbuster had a long-standing policy of not carrying movies rated above R (this includes artistically legitimate NC-17 and unrated movies, as well as adult films). This is similar to how Wal-Mart does not carry CDs with Parental Advisory stickers.

I find this kind of censorship offensive, since the labels and rating systems supposedly exist in order to protect the right of adults to purchase whatever material they want, while allowing parents to make informed decisions about the type of material their children consume.

As such, I don't shop at either chain.

Now, the CD argument is somewhat moot nowadays, since there is such a good selection of music on iTunes, but video rental stores are still alive and well in Canada. Netflix has only recently been released and it does not have anywhere near the selection that Rogers Video (large national chain) or many of the independent Vancouver stores (e.g. Black Dog Video) do.

Furthermore, neither Rogers or Black Dog stores pander to censorship. Movies are appropriately rated and labeled, and the adult section is separated from other movies.

Even if Netflix improves its selection here, I still enjoy browsing titles in the store, and I often find cool independent movies which I doubt are even available on Netflix.

Where's the rant about Netflix not renting porn brah? Cool story though

 

[RavenSEAL]

Too many people pulling the good ol' switch-a-roo with MW2.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Where's the rant about Netflix not renting porn brah? Cool story though

People (apart from dirty old men) still rent pron?

 

[TheFlyingSquirrel]

they were too slow too adapt
too bad for them

 

[dud]

(this includes artistically legitimate NC-17 and unrated movies, as well as adult films)

... my God, I haven't laughed that hard in nearly forever.

Thank you ...

 

[PsiStar]

One reason for "Good riddance Blockbuster" is how they pushed out all of the independents which did a good job of keeping variety. Blockbuster did originally until they didn't have competition.

 

[rayray2]

hmmm.. time to invest in some family video stock

 

[QueBert]

They first have to improve their business to entice more customers. I think they had plenty of time to adjust their business model. Sometimes the only easy answer is bankruptcy.

You know what business model I like? Being able to rent a movie I want without waiting days for it to come in the mail. With that said the BB up the street from me is still in business so I'm going to go there and rent a movie I want right now, right now.

There is a reason you no longer get certain releases on Day 1 via Netflix & I'm pretty sure Blockbuster has a lot to do with that.

So yes, I do feel that as a consumer, they have wronged me.

Nothing's stopping you from getting a BB membership and being able to get day 1 releases. That's like me bitching at AT&T because I can't get the iPhone on Verizon.

 

[Wreckem]

Ummm they only plan to shed 1,000 of their current 3,000 stores, which they have been doing for awhile now. In Lubbock they shut down all their stores a few weeks ago.

They will still have a B&M presence, but will heavily focus on online distribution and mail distribution. Blockbuster, I beleive, is not limited by the movie co's like RedBox and Netflix. RedBpx amd Netflix cannot rent new releases for 28 days after the DVD release, Blockbuster doesn't face that limitation plus they also rent games via mail. Under right management they could compete with NetFlix and GameFly.

 

[UberNeuman]