Demise of Video Stores
musicismylife78
Posts: 6,116
With record stores, its pretty obvious to me why they are closing rapidly and why they are obsolete in many contexts. With video stores, I still sort of am stunned at their demise. In my area, we had two major video stores, 3 or 4 blockbusters, 3 or 4 hollywood videos. I havent bought cd's in years, and havent been to a record store in years save to apply for a job or to buy a gift certificate for someones birthday. With dvd's i for the past few years would visit a video store and rent a ton of movies 7 or so at a time. This was in 2007/2008/2009 or so. So not that long ago. Now Blockbuster the company, may have to file for bankruptcy, this isnt just in my town but nationwide the company may have to file. and hollywood video sounds like its going under as well. There are few of either video stores left in my town.
Is Netflix really that popular? We all know their has been a rise in sites where you can see entire movies online for free.
It is an interesting trend, in that, we all know why downloading has become popular for music (high cd prices, napster launching, media and record label consolidation, radio payola, the history of exploitation in the industry, and the customer being fed up with the music being offered), with movies and the movies industry, i am sure that exists, in fact I know it exists, but its lessened somewhat. you can rent movies for a few bucks for example.
is this the same for all you in your town? Are the Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos all closed down?
Is Netflix really that popular? We all know their has been a rise in sites where you can see entire movies online for free.
It is an interesting trend, in that, we all know why downloading has become popular for music (high cd prices, napster launching, media and record label consolidation, radio payola, the history of exploitation in the industry, and the customer being fed up with the music being offered), with movies and the movies industry, i am sure that exists, in fact I know it exists, but its lessened somewhat. you can rent movies for a few bucks for example.
is this the same for all you in your town? Are the Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos all closed down?
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we're sinking faster than the titanic...
care to explain your theory as to why?
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
Ok I have been working there for about 3 and a half years. In the neighbourhood we are the smallest of three movie stores, one of which being Blockbuster. Back when I started, we could staff two people on friday and saturday nights and turn a nice profit. These days, my boss is lucky if he even makes enough to cover my wage for my shift.
Not only can people download movies and use netflix (though I don't think netflix is as popular here) but they can also order them thru their cable provider (most people here use Shaw). Basically Shaw has a system called Shaw On Demand where you can order new release movies through your cable box for a flat fee that gets charged to your monthly bill. Also, they usually have like 20 or so free movies you can choose from which are relatively new.
Also, new movies are expensive. Blockbuster is like the wal-mart of movie rentals, they can buy 10,000 copies at a time so they can get them lower. But smaller movie stores can't do that, so there is a company which orders movies in bulk and distributes them to their clients (us small stores). They still can't compete with volume, however, and movies can cost up to 35 dollars per dvd (blu-ray up to 40, 45 maybe). If we rent out movies at 5 dollars a piece, each copy needs to be rented upwards of 6 or 7 times just to cover the cost of the movie alone. And wal-mart is the wal-mart of movie buying - if we try to sell our previously viewed dvds we still can't sell them as cheap as wal-mart can.
The distribution company i was talking about has already downsized, and from what we hear a lot of them are on the fringe of losing their jobs ...its just really a dying industry and everyone who works in it knows it.
Lucky for our store is that we are kind of a one-stop shop sort of place... as in, we have a Canada Post outlet counter in there and some other services that bring in some extra revenue (but clearly not enough)
i think its convenience, like the other poster said.
they'd rather spend a dollar or two more and not have to actually go to the store, or worry about returning it
But what you're not taking into consideration is late fees. Someone like me, who doesn't necessarily adhere to a rigid schedule when watching and returning movies, easily ends up paying that same 18 bucks you said is too much for a cd - but doesn't even get to keep the movie. That's really expensive!
Plus, I've had such lousy customer service experiences with Blockbuster that I'm not sad to see them go. They have not only tried to send me to collections for a $13 late fee (that I planned to pay next time I was in that part of town but didn't want to make a special trip for), but they have also tried to charge me for movies I returned and wouldn't remove the charge no matter how much I insisted I had returned them (until they finally did inventory and found that they had them all along). In my mind, they knew they were the major movie rental chain and the only option for many people, so they had no regard for the customer.
With Netflix, on the other hand, they send unlimited movies to your house (which is extremely convenient), they have a humongous selection, you can keep them as long as you want, there are never any late fees or threats of collection agencies, and their customer service is great! I could break a movie into two pieces and they would just send me another one, no questions asked. Plus, now you can watch unlimited movies right on your computer or TV any time you want, with no need to get dressed or leave the house. And all this for a low, flat fee (so there are never any hidden or extra charges) that's automatically deducted from your account. What's not to love?!
If you have a netflix account it's a way better deal. I have an account and pay $18 a month for a max of 3 rentals at a time. If you get 3 movies a week that is 12 movies a month at the minimum. Also you have several thousands of movies you can watch for free online with and you can watch as many as your heart desires. So If I watch 25 movies/shows/docs a month for $18 that's a good deal, + as others have said there is no late fees. Not leaving your house to go to blockbuster to find a movie they might or might not have is very convenient.
Also, who pays $18 for a CD? Just go to best buy and pay between $8-$12 for a new release. Lot's of new releases sell for under $10 which is cheaper than itunes and you get the physical copy.
i'm pretty sure it costs more than that to rent a movie at blockbuster. i think new releases are at least $5 for 2 days and games are something like $8 or more. you can keep it for a few more days before they charge your card for the full price, if you return it after that they credit you all but $1. i think older movies are in the $3 range but the last time i was in a blockbuster they had movies that were out on dvd for more than a year still listed as a new release.
i have netflix, same as south of seattle, 3 movies at a time for $18. if i wanted to rent say the new season of dexter it would cost me over $20 to rent 4 dvds, i can spend less than that and get a lot more dvds (depending on how fast i watch them). they are pretty fast, i normally get a new movie 2 days after mailing 1 back. plus i can watch a bunch of movies, docs, tvshows....online and on my wii from netflix.
the only drawback is with new releases if you don't save it on your que early you could be waiting a long time since there's no timeframe that whoever has it before you has to return it by. like, the fantastic mr fox shows up as 'very long wait'. for times like that or now and then just to look around i'll go to 1 of the 2 locally owned rental places. other than that there are a few blockbusters and those redbox things.
also, if it happens to take longer for netflix to get you the dvd they will send you the next 1 on your que. like i had 3, sent 1 back,the next in my que was joe vs the volcano which took an extra 2 days to get to me so they sent the next 1, spaced disc 1, while i 'waited'. i've sent that back and gotten disc 2, so i'll have 4 dvds until i send joe vs the volcano back.
and probably all cable providers have an on demand thing where you can watch a movie for a cheaper price than blockbuster (although theirs is generally for only 24hrs) but they have a lot of free stuff, too.
and it seemed like blockbuster was always trying to sell me something. their rewards program, their online/mail thing, their movie pass deal, game pass deal, rent another movie and get a bag of popcorn for a reduced price.....
what are you but my reflection? who am i to judge or strike you down?
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Exactly and it's cheaper
Open shop close to a hotel, or advertise around hotels.
Hotels/motels charge insane prices to rent movies via their central cable system. Seriously, like $18 for a new movie. It's ridiculous.
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
Even the whole Blu Ray thing can't last long... digital media is quickly replacing everything.
Even Netfilx is putting more and more titles in the streaming library.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
In fact, I would argue that it's not just killing the video stores, but also the big cable and satellite providers.
If I can watch any TV show or movie anytime I want instantly for $10/month, why would I pay $50/month for cable/dish?
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Not to mention having to return the movie, late fees, lost movies, damaged movies.. Once everyone has highspeed internet access and the equipment, there's no point to video rental places.
It's also going to kill blu-ray discs eventually. If you can have any movie at anytime from the internet, what's the point of keeping a copy on your shelf?
The advent of email reduced the need for snail mail.
Fax machines made us less reliant on snail mail, and then the ability to email a pdf file made us less reliant on the fax machine.
The internet has made us less reliant on the storefront purchase. The internet has cut-out the middleman in the travel industry.
etc, etc
Fuck Blockbuster!
it's technology, man.
i do hope record stores stay afloat.
also, i wish more ppl bought cd's and dvd's.
but then again
i am old fashion.
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
I'm with ya'. I love going to the record store!! I love the smell of my two local indie stores.
"To question your government is not unpatriotic --
to not question your government is unpatriotic."
-- Sen. Chuck Hagel
Same here, but as far as video stores go, I think the last time I stepped into one of those was to see if I could borrow their phone.
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i've personally never liked blockbuster to begin with. they have always been over priced
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but as for the industry it is dying and i understand why.
the store i work at has been in my neighbourhood since i was a toddler! sadly it wont last much longer.
what can you do? when VHS died we replaced it with DVD but now that DVD is being replaced with internet, there's not much you can do but move on i guess.
RIP little movie stores, RIP :(
It makes more sense to me that video stores are shutting down than record stores. People buy music, but usually you just RENT movies, which makes stuff like on demand seem logical to me. I don't have netflix- I don't need an extra monthly bill! But netflix does make a lot of sense. It's a lot better business model than a blockbuster or something. I also tend to not go to any types of national big stores. If there's a little shop for something by my house, I'll go over, but anything that involves the car and parking lots just isn't gonna happen.
What I do kind of miss is going to the video store was almost like going out...