5 ms·

History has shown that this isn't the case... otherwise people would've kept Blockbuster in business in the face of Netflix DVD rentals. People value the conven

History has shown that this isn't the case... otherwise people would've kept Blockbuster in business in the face of Netflix DVD rentals. People value the convenience, it's only recently that people wax nostalgic over the whole "going to the video store to rent on a Friday night". They generally forget the long lines, employees who were rude and didn't care because it was a minimum wage job, often messy as hell store where the availability was mixed... the list goes on.

NeedMoreTea 8y ago
Blockbuster wasn't good at video rental. They were the big, inefficient bully, and the last choice of anyone with any sense. The selection was tiny compared to the independents they mostly priced out of existence, then became the most expensive place to rent once that was done. They had major films sooner for about as much as going to the cinema. That's it. Their only selling point. They got shot of old stuff far too soon so you could never actually find old stuff in Blockbuster unless it was 2001 or Wizard of Oz. The corner shop near us that rented, and next door but 2 to Blockbuster, kept going years after Blockbuster closed. Having experienced Blockbuster in 3 or 4 places I've lived, I gave a little cheer when they went.
- ohithereyou 8y ago
  There's still a thriving video chain in the area where I live: Family Video. Family Video focused on owning their real estate instead of renting. I can get a BluRay from Family Video and a pizza from Marcos delivered to my door in under an hour with a $10 or more purchase from Marcos. It ends up being a cheap date night with my fiancee.
  - RandallBrown 8y ago
    Does the Marcos deliver the video too? I know some Family Videos have Marcos attached to them. I rented a lot of movies from Family Video in high school. There was a location about halfway between my house and my girlfriends. It closed at Midnight, and my curfew was midnight, so I stopped by right before closing almost every night one summer. They had a deal where you got an old release for free with every new release and it was like 3 dollars. That was a fun summer.
    - ohithereyou 8y ago
      Yes, Marcos delivers the video with the pizza. It's a five day rental, though I've returned it after seven days with no late fees.
- Klonoar 8y ago
  I worked there as a kid, and trust me, I agree for the most part. My comment just worked better with Blockbuster since Blockbuster is/was the poster child of that era of video rental. :)
Spooky23 8y ago
DVDs drive library engagement. Netflix is a Trojan horse. The whole business model is moving to in-house stuff, and each of the big content owners will stand up their own platforms.
- kickopotomus 8y ago
  ...and then we have basically come full circle to cable v2.0. I am curious about how streaming will develop over the next few years as more services come online. I doubt the average person is going to want to maintain that many (expensive) subscription services. I already dislike the juggle between Netflix, Prime, and Hulu.
  - alanfalcon 8y ago
    This is what the new Apple TV channels thing is trying to solve for while also contributing to the problem :-)
- tracker1 8y ago
  I'm at capacity with content platforms... I've dropped CBS, and once DC Universe expires, I'm out there too. It's worse that they're both the same damned company. Hulu and Amazon are all I'm keeping for now. May return to Netflix if anything really interesting to me hits. Or have it a couple months, binge watch and cancel again.
stcredzero 8y ago
People value the convenience, it's only recently that people wax nostalgic over the whole "going to the video store to rent on a Friday night". First, we got the convenience. Only when most everything went online and the alternatives had faded to irrelevance did the availability start to go away. Now we consumers have less than we did before.
pmoriarty 8y ago
I used to rent a ton of movies, and never once ran in to a rude employee. Long lines were annoying, but the worst was having to drive to and from the store. The independent video stores in my area were much further away than the nearest Blockbuster, so Blockbuster was more convenient but their crappy video selection made going to the independents instead worth it for me, and Blockbuster was the store of last resort. Once I started using Netflix's DVD service, I never set foot a brick and mortar video rental store again. Why would I drive somewhere when I had an excellent DVD selection at my fingertips that would mail the DVD to me?
- Klonoar 8y ago
  >I used to rent a ton of movies, and never once ran in to a rude employee. My guy, the rest of your comment is great. You've gotta realize how wildly useless this line is, though. Bad service exists and video store employees were known for being in this stereotype, as were theater employees. You just got lucky.
  - benatkin 8y ago
    Are you sure it isn’t the other way around? Wasn’t video store clerk a sought after job among young people with little work experience, because it was related to something that’s fun? Wouldn’t the staff usually be at least somewhat helpful because they’re passionate about movies?
    - Klonoar 8y ago
      This misconception that people who worked at those stores were all movie buffs is very much nostalgia poking through. Context: I was one of those employees, and I worked in multiple regions of the USA and have conferred with friends who worked at Blockbuster UK as well.
      - spronkey 8y ago
        Anecdotally, every video chain store I have ever visited, from Blockbuster to Video Ezy, Civic Video, Channel X, United Video (here in New Zealand) has had at least one movie buff employee. I've also never experienced a long line at a video store, despite it being a regular Friday night thing for me to do for many years... Gotta say, the thing I miss most is the ease of browsing through a curated back catalogue. Netflix and co are terribly awful by comparison. Several hundred square metres vs a 55" television screen...

NeedMoreTea 8y ago

Blockbuster wasn't good at video rental. They were the big, inefficient bully, and the last choice of anyone with any sense. The selection was tiny compared to the independents they mostly priced out of existence, then became the most expensive place to rent once that was done. They had major films sooner for about as much as going to the cinema. That's it. Their only selling point. They got shot of old stuff far too soon so you could never actually find old stuff in Blockbuster unless it was 2001 or Wizard of Oz. The corner shop near us that rented, and next door but 2 to Blockbuster, kept going years after Blockbuster closed. Having experienced Blockbuster in 3 or 4 places I've lived, I gave a little cheer when they went.

ohithereyou 8y ago
There's still a thriving video chain in the area where I live: Family Video. Family Video focused on owning their real estate instead of renting. I can get a BluRay from Family Video and a pizza from Marcos delivered to my door in under an hour with a $10 or more purchase from Marcos. It ends up being a cheap date night with my fiancee.
- RandallBrown 8y ago
  Does the Marcos deliver the video too? I know some Family Videos have Marcos attached to them. I rented a lot of movies from Family Video in high school. There was a location about halfway between my house and my girlfriends. It closed at Midnight, and my curfew was midnight, so I stopped by right before closing almost every night one summer. They had a deal where you got an old release for free with every new release and it was like 3 dollars. That was a fun summer.
  - ohithereyou 8y ago
    Yes, Marcos delivers the video with the pizza. It's a five day rental, though I've returned it after seven days with no late fees.
Klonoar 8y ago
I worked there as a kid, and trust me, I agree for the most part. My comment just worked better with Blockbuster since Blockbuster is/was the poster child of that era of video rental. :)

Spooky23 8y ago

DVDs drive library engagement. Netflix is a Trojan horse. The whole business model is moving to in-house stuff, and each of the big content owners will stand up their own platforms.

kickopotomus 8y ago
...and then we have basically come full circle to cable v2.0. I am curious about how streaming will develop over the next few years as more services come online. I doubt the average person is going to want to maintain that many (expensive) subscription services. I already dislike the juggle between Netflix, Prime, and Hulu.
- alanfalcon 8y ago
  This is what the new Apple TV channels thing is trying to solve for while also contributing to the problem :-)
tracker1 8y ago
I'm at capacity with content platforms... I've dropped CBS, and once DC Universe expires, I'm out there too. It's worse that they're both the same damned company. Hulu and Amazon are all I'm keeping for now. May return to Netflix if anything really interesting to me hits. Or have it a couple months, binge watch and cancel again.

stcredzero 8y ago

People value the convenience, it's only recently that people wax nostalgic over the whole "going to the video store to rent on a Friday night". First, we got the convenience. Only when most everything went online and the alternatives had faded to irrelevance did the availability start to go away. Now we consumers have less than we did before.

pmoriarty 8y ago

I used to rent a ton of movies, and never once ran in to a rude employee. Long lines were annoying, but the worst was having to drive to and from the store. The independent video stores in my area were much further away than the nearest Blockbuster, so Blockbuster was more convenient but their crappy video selection made going to the independents instead worth it for me, and Blockbuster was the store of last resort. Once I started using Netflix's DVD service, I never set foot a brick and mortar video rental store again. Why would I drive somewhere when I had an excellent DVD selection at my fingertips that would mail the DVD to me?

Klonoar 8y ago
>I used to rent a ton of movies, and never once ran in to a rude employee. My guy, the rest of your comment is great. You've gotta realize how wildly useless this line is, though. Bad service exists and video store employees were known for being in this stereotype, as were theater employees. You just got lucky.
- benatkin 8y ago
  Are you sure it isn’t the other way around? Wasn’t video store clerk a sought after job among young people with little work experience, because it was related to something that’s fun? Wouldn’t the staff usually be at least somewhat helpful because they’re passionate about movies?
  - Klonoar 8y ago
    This misconception that people who worked at those stores were all movie buffs is very much nostalgia poking through. Context: I was one of those employees, and I worked in multiple regions of the USA and have conferred with friends who worked at Blockbuster UK as well.
    - spronkey 8y ago
      Anecdotally, every video chain store I have ever visited, from Blockbuster to Video Ezy, Civic Video, Channel X, United Video (here in New Zealand) has had at least one movie buff employee. I've also never experienced a long line at a video store, despite it being a regular Friday night thing for me to do for many years... Gotta say, the thing I miss most is the ease of browsing through a curated back catalogue. Netflix and co are terribly awful by comparison. Several hundred square metres vs a 55" television screen...