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Scarecrow Video in Seattle had a huge selection, more than any other video rental place. A small, independent video store was able to compete in a local market

Scarecrow Video in Seattle had a huge selection, more than any other video rental place. A small, independent video store was able to compete in a local market with the giant chain, and they did pretty well for themselves. I wonder how feasible it would be for a small, independent streaming service to even exist these days.

techsupporter 7y ago
FWIW, the past tense isn't needed: Scarecrow Video still operates, five years on as a non-profit. Reckless Video is also still in operation at Roosevelt and 90th in Maple Leaf.
- aaronbrethorst 7y ago
  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/644154729/the-scarecrow-project https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/644154729/the-scarecrow...
derekdahmer 7y ago
What value would they provide in a world where it only costs $5 to instantly stream almost any movie ever created directly to your TV? Location and inventory are now irrelevant, and recommendations are instantly accessible on the web. Viewing devices typically have multiple rental provider options. The only things left to compete on are be bitrate and price.
- apatters 7y ago
  > a world where it only costs $5 to instantly stream almost any movie ever created directly to your TV Wait, where is this world you speak of? I have a Netflix streaming subscription and it's way inferior in terms of selection to when I used their DVD mailing service ten years ago. But it sounds like you're renting individual titles. I am a bit of a movie buff into old and slightly obscure titles so I went to Google Play and tried three of my old favorites from the 1990s off the top of my head. None of them were available. (I didn't even try the truly obscure stuff.) On the other side of the market, Avengers: Infinity War is $10 to rent on Google Play! Where is this place I can go where they have everything and it's all $5?
  - ghaff 7y ago
    I actually still have the DVD mailing service from Netflix (in addition to their streaming). But their back catalog is really rotting away. I'll probably drop it. It's one of way too many services I have that I don't really get my money's worth from.
    - Dylan16807 7y ago
      Their DVD catalog is shrinking? Why, from sheer apathy?
      - ghaff 7y ago
        Literally bit rot. Not restocking discs that have to go out of service. I'm not sure apathy is quite fair. Netflix has been pretty clear their disc business isn't strategic. Unfortunately, having pretty much put other DVD rental out of business, it means that you're pretty much stuck with buying discs if something isn't available digitally.
        Dylan16807 7y ago
        Pressed DVDs don't rot. If they get scratched, that's proportional to use, which is proportional to revenue, and shouldn't be a burden to replace.
        ghaff 7y ago
        DVDs can rot. But, yes, the problem is likely more scratched/broken/lost. I assume that the vast bulk of Netflix' DVD rentals are new releases just as they were with Blockbuster. So they're essentially a Redbox competitor. Netflix simply has no interest is servicing a long tail of DVD rentals. And no one else has figured out how to make that long tail profitable either. You're welcome to give it a shot.
    - tigershark 7y ago
      It’s probably the tenth comment that I read about Netflix DVD mailing service, but I hope that’s just the name of the service and you aren’t really watching DVDs in 2019. Can you please confirm that you are indeed receiving blu-rays? Or I’m missing something here?

techsupporter 7y ago

FWIW, the past tense isn't needed: Scarecrow Video still operates, five years on as a non-profit. Reckless Video is also still in operation at Roosevelt and 90th in Maple Leaf.

aaronbrethorst 7y ago
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/644154729/the-scarecrow-project https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/644154729/the-scarecrow...

derekdahmer 7y ago

What value would they provide in a world where it only costs $5 to instantly stream almost any movie ever created directly to your TV? Location and inventory are now irrelevant, and recommendations are instantly accessible on the web. Viewing devices typically have multiple rental provider options. The only things left to compete on are be bitrate and price.

apatters 7y ago
> a world where it only costs $5 to instantly stream almost any movie ever created directly to your TV Wait, where is this world you speak of? I have a Netflix streaming subscription and it's way inferior in terms of selection to when I used their DVD mailing service ten years ago. But it sounds like you're renting individual titles. I am a bit of a movie buff into old and slightly obscure titles so I went to Google Play and tried three of my old favorites from the 1990s off the top of my head. None of them were available. (I didn't even try the truly obscure stuff.) On the other side of the market, Avengers: Infinity War is $10 to rent on Google Play! Where is this place I can go where they have everything and it's all $5?
- ghaff 7y ago
  I actually still have the DVD mailing service from Netflix (in addition to their streaming). But their back catalog is really rotting away. I'll probably drop it. It's one of way too many services I have that I don't really get my money's worth from.
  - Dylan16807 7y ago
    Their DVD catalog is shrinking? Why, from sheer apathy?
    - ghaff 7y ago
      Literally bit rot. Not restocking discs that have to go out of service. I'm not sure apathy is quite fair. Netflix has been pretty clear their disc business isn't strategic. Unfortunately, having pretty much put other DVD rental out of business, it means that you're pretty much stuck with buying discs if something isn't available digitally.
      - Dylan16807 7y ago
        Pressed DVDs don't rot. If they get scratched, that's proportional to use, which is proportional to revenue, and shouldn't be a burden to replace.
        ghaff 7y ago
        DVDs can rot. But, yes, the problem is likely more scratched/broken/lost. I assume that the vast bulk of Netflix' DVD rentals are new releases just as they were with Blockbuster. So they're essentially a Redbox competitor. Netflix simply has no interest is servicing a long tail of DVD rentals. And no one else has figured out how to make that long tail profitable either. You're welcome to give it a shot.
  - tigershark 7y ago
    It’s probably the tenth comment that I read about Netflix DVD mailing service, but I hope that’s just the name of the service and you aren’t really watching DVDs in 2019. Can you please confirm that you are indeed receiving blu-rays? Or I’m missing something here?