nadako

September 24, 2010 at 3:28am

I really think blockbuster has missed the bandwagon I really think the head office people just never decided to try something new. Or ever even asked what is making redbox and netflix so dang popular i mean really they should have started a streaming service like netflix. They should have fallowed the trend instead of going against it. 

Biceps

September 23, 2010 at 9:16pm

You know what this means, right??  That's right!  Time to head over to Blockbuster and get your cheap-ass used DVDs for 2 bucks a pop!  I doubled the size of my movie collection the last time these guys declared Chapter 11!  Wooooooooooohoooooooooooo!

gymbeau2000

September 23, 2010 at 8:56pm

I did like BB for two things - one, after i recieved a movie in thier mail service, I could exchange it for any movie I wanted in the brick and mortar literally across the street.  The other thing was I got lots of coupons from them which I used for game rentals.

Eoraptor

September 23, 2010 at 7:19pm

Can they find a place? sure, the same place as Amiga, Polaroid, and others have found... they can sell off all its assets and become just a name stuck on low-budget products that have little-to-nothing to do with the market titan it once was.

As others have said, it basically took a look at the market, and the forces driving it, made a token gesture towards online content delivery, and just assumed "we're Blockbuster, customers would be fools not to use us"despite flawed and deceptive advertising (oh, you have to pay membership to both your local stor AND the online service incidentally)

Well, who's the fool? hollywood tried to squash netflix and bolster blockbuster-style disc delivery systems by denying places like redbox and neflix the right to first run material... and gee, look who the customers have still chosen to stay with?

Cache

September 23, 2010 at 6:59pm

They may as well rebadge themselves as 'Palm'.  They completely missed the market, had no idea where technology was going because they sincerely believed the world would stand still in 1992.  They did little, if any, innovation to secure themselves either to their customers or the growing trends.

They will likely come out with a service of some kind (Maybe name it 'Pre') that will have lackluster features, still clinging to its' glory days.  It will eventually sell off the inventory of movies that it has, maybe being lucky enough to have a more forward-facing company use the name for the grandparents who still argue which Back to the Future movie made them feel like kids again.

They are a corpse.  Blockbuster is dead.  This is just the remains we get to watch as it disintigrates and fades to nothing.

MRrelabled

September 23, 2010 at 5:41pm

Find a place in the market ?
They raided the market ! 
Now that they're bought too many stores and the economy is bad they're yet again gonna stick it to somebody else.

chrisv815

September 23, 2010 at 4:58pm

I was so done with this company and their shady practices and doubious late fees, and high prices years ago.

Redbox is the way to go,  would never use BB again.

I Jedi

September 23, 2010 at 4:24pm

I'm no businessman, so take whatever I say after this sentence with a grain of salt. Now, in my opinion, if Blockbuster wants to succede in this day and age, they need to move to online content delivery big time. This whole thing with buying a Blockbuster media player, so that you can stream movies to it, and the cost to rent just one movie is astounding. Instead, they should take after Netflix's model, and offer easy streaming to PC, T.V.s., and console gaming systems. Next, they need to offer incentives for using their services over other services, like Hulu and Netflix. For example, they could have a program where if a user's account is in good-standing for about 3 months, they get an extra dvd for free for a few weeks. Instead of whatever subscription base, if they take after Netflix, that the user is currently on. (2 out at a time, 3 out at a time, etc)

Finally, I think that they should change their name. Everyone, that I personally know, does not like Blockbuster at all. Changing the name might be a good idea for them, as they'll be able to start fresh with their customer base. Too many times have I heard of Blockbuster screwing over its customers, and I think that any reputation Blockbuster has isn't a hell-whole-of-a-lot.

XNeonMan

September 23, 2010 at 3:35pm

Their prices, charges and practices have run them out of business. Netflix is the way to go if not Rebox. BB employees often rude and forever putting bogus charges on my account that I had to argue about. Quit using them a couple of years ago. Best of luck with the future, I'm afraid it doesn't look good.

 

Number Six

September 23, 2010 at 3:04pm

I told my local Blockbuster store manager they were going to rue the day they charged me a late fee.  I have little sympathy for stupid business practices.

Havok

September 23, 2010 at 2:47pm

Netflix finally arrives in Canada and then Blockbuster goes belly-up?

There can be no coincidence there...