When no private buyers, buy-out guys or vulture investors want to buy a company, it is a clear sign that it is nothing but a piece of crap. Same holds for BlockBuster, the once fabled Video Rental chain, which is facing hard times. Viacom has decided to spin-off this crapola and let the unsuspecting masses take their lumps. “Viacom, which realized 22.5 percent of its $19.1 billion in revenue and 12 percent of its $4.4 billion in cash flow from Blockbuster in the first nine months of 2003,” reports the New York Times. I am not sure if anyone is aware of this (now that all of us rent our movies from Netflix) but BlockBuster has now started selling used DVD and Video Games. Oh how desperate have we gotten. Titanic anyone?
Thats fine with me. They can keep selling used DVD’s and i’ll keep buying them.
They usually have good deals, and I don’t rent DVD’s… I buy them. Used or new (when the new releases come out).
It’s the only thing I collect, and I don’t use NetFlix.
I quit using BlockBuster years ago because driving a mile or so to the store and dealing with poor customer service to grab a movie was too much of a hassle. I like NetFlix, but I really like having the DVD when I want it — not a week later. Having a FlickStation (http://www.flickstation.com/) in my office lobby or grocery store looks as if it could give me what I want, when I want it and give both companies a run for their money.
I keep wondering how long the DVD purchasing craze will go on – VHS tapes went through a similar phase…not sure if DVDs will or will not repeat that path. But Blockbuster is definitely a piece of crap with an old model – late fees.
I really don’t know if the purchasing phase craze will go down unless a solution comes out that gives you access to a huge library without having to pay per viewing.
I’m all for video on demand, IF it had the selection I get via DVD’s and if I didn’t have to pay each time I wanted to watch the movie and if it had the extras that the DVD’s have.
I like DVD’s because they are tangible. I can pick up the box, look at the cover, and look through my movies to decide what to watch. Viewing movie names on a screen isn’t as interesting.
Also the extras… a good example of awesome extras is the Lord of the Rings boxed sets for each movie.
DVD’s will always be more popular to purchase then to rent, simply because they are relatively cheap and offer great quality.
I’m not sold on VOD.
They’ve been selling used DVD’s for a long time. That’s nothing new.
Boy, I guess it HAS been a while since you’ve been in a Blockbuster store!
😉