Are you going to miss Blockbuster?

packetjones

I was reading this article and though about the good ol' days of blockbuster. I remember growing up and going in for the very first time. Before blockbuster it was only small locally owned video shops in my area. Blockbuster introduced the large corporate video rental service in my opinion. I was amazed at the selection of movies and would look forward to going in and picking up the latest movies and games.

However with the recent additions of Redbox and Netflix I can not even remember the last time I went to blockbuster. It seems that they were not able to keep up with the changing technology and may be done for. Do you still go to blockbuster? My kids will never know what it is like to go to the store and walk around looking for the latest releases. Going up to the counter to see what has been turned in but not put out on the shelf. They will just stream it or wait for it to arrive in the mail.

Kinda sad IMO.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/27/blockbuster-filing-for-bankruptcy-next-month-probably/

mole'

man it has been some time since i have been to BB.

Demiurge

Blockbuster is a **** hole and is the reason I switched to Netflix 5-6 years ago.

decal

Are you going to miss Blockbuster?

In a word,no.

Ricardo

That would suck. I still use BB mail service, and exchange at the store. I get all Blu Rays so it's great.

Yes, I would most definitely miss it.

grimmace19

I never rented from blockbuster to begin with. Their prices were always outrageous compared to the other chains near me.

Jstas

The hell with Blockbuster, I miss Erol's!

Demiurge

grimmace19 wrote: »

I never rented from blockbuster to begin with. Their prices were always outrageous compared to the other chains near me.

For me it was all of the hidden fees and deceptive advertising. Kept happening so I voted with my wallet and haven't gone back since.

I've had my issues with Netflix, but overall they're great and inexpensive.

mrbiron

Jumped on the Netflix train within the first year of it inception and haven't looked back!

Block-Who?

Ricardo

Never had a problem with them. I pay less that $20 a month for three at a time, so I always have something. I get to see all the movies I have the time to watch (which can be a lot). All in Blu Ray.

As I said, I will miss them.

zombie boy 2000

Does anyone remember when you had to pick titles from behind a glass case? Possibly the early '80's? I was just a wee lad at the time, so it's quite possible I was merely tripping my nuts off on a double dose of Carnation Instant Breakfast....

zingo

shack

Ricardo wrote:

That would suck. I still use BB mail service, and exchange at the store. I get all Blu Rays so it's great.

Yes, I would most definitely miss it.

Thats what we do. We can have 3 movies at any given time. We get a movie in the mail then take it back to the store pick up another one. When we return it, one of the titles on our mail queue gets sent. It's a pretty good plan. Costs about $25 a month.

It will be interesting to see how they restructure. I will miss BB if they don't survive.

billbillw

Bankruptcy doesn't mean that Blockbuster is going anywhere. They might close some stores, but they will still be around.

Personally, I use Netflix, but mainly due to the streaming feature that works with my Tivo.

I do like the Blockbuster concept of combining mail in and in-store.

cstmar01

filing BK doesn't mean that they are done for. Hell the crapola charter has filed and they are still around (which sucks) but not much you can do about it.

Honestly I've never had a block buster by me. We do have a chain called family video which is ok, and is the only place you can get movies around here besides Netflix which works well too, however it is nice to be able to go to the store and get a new release the same day rather than wait for it to come in the mail.

Ricardo

I can see how they are having problems. If you see under "Your Current Plan" I'm paying $19.99 for Total Access Premium, 3 at a time, unlimited mailings and unlimited store exchanges. That same plan today costs $34.99. They're screwed.

bigaudiofanatic

I had netflixs but canceled it but may start back up. I like being able to pick up a movie in the way home and not have to use a cc for those red boxes.

However I hate that they make the movies "rental versions with no way to skip the darn trailers except to fast forward thru them.

I will be switching to netflixs again this winter as soon as my last cc is paid off and I can than budget money out without having to worry about paying a big chunk to a cc.

packetjones

I dont think that BB has a good grasp on what to do to be competitive. I was just feeling nostalgic as I read the article and was thinking about the old days when BB first started. I thought it was great.

I do agree though that they are on the way out and that the late fee's and charges are ridiculous.

shack

Ricardo wrote: »

I can see how they are having problems. If you see under "Your Current Plan" I'm paying $19.99 for Total Access Premium, 3 at a time, unlimited mailings and unlimited store exchanges. That same plan today costs $34.99. They're screwed.

We have the 3 movie unlimited swap per month, but our plan just went up to $24.99 IIRC.

Ricardo

They have kept our price forever. Maybe because of when we joined, not sure. We've been with this for a long time. Maybe 7 years or so.

fishbones

I'll miss the convenience, but not their ridiculous fees.

thsmith

nope and have not used them in years

Toolfan66

What is Blockbuster?? Ohhh a place I have not been to in years..

On Demand same day as DVD and in HD... works for me..

markmarc

Their debt load is the problem, they expanded too fast, with fancy stores thinking they could dominate via the Starbucks concept of a coffee shop on every corner. Instead, the locations cannibalized each other. Add on the rise of Netflix and ridiculous fees and it's financial checkmate. I do hope they can survive, for the sake of job holders, investors, and property owners. Maybe they will figure out a way to run off a proper business model.

F1nut

If they close down the stores, yes I will miss them.

concealer404

Ricardo wrote: »

That would suck. I still use BB mail service, and exchange at the store. I get all Blu Rays so it's great.

Yes, I would most definitely miss it.

What he said.

zombie boy 2000

Now you can rent games for free. That's pretty stellar.

sucks2beme

It seemed everytime I got movies from them, they ALWAYS hooked me for
a late fee. I'd bring them back, and on the next trip in they would annouce I had a late fee. I would maybe get a couple of movies a month, so it
drove me crazy. I went out of my way to return them extra early any number
of times, and still it happened. I went Netflix and everything is fine.
I can't even decribe how much I hate blockbuster.

jflail2

Not at all; good riddance. As others have alluded to, their customer service was not top notch, and their movie selection (in my mind at least) was a bit lacking for a store of that size. If I'm going to go find a movie rental, I'm going to a local place here that has a TON more variety in foreign/ independent films.

Netflix for the win.

Willow

Have not missed them and will not miss them if they leave for good. Have not been in a video store in about 3-4 yrs

polkfarmboy

zombie boy 2000 wrote: »

Now you can rent games for free. That's pretty stellar.

Yep they just started this rent all the games you want so I think thats going to get them both netflix and gamefly customers .

For e this makes bb no1 and like its been said you can go to the store and swipe all the new blurays first on a tuesday .I have netflix and bb but I know for sure I will get that new release with bb and not so with netflix