With an emphasis on the “bust” – Slate has a fascinating article about the missteps that led to
the rapid decline of video renter Blockbuster. It’s now considered a “zombie” by Hollywood, who used to depend on the chain to get its product out. Now it’s been rapidly passed by Netflix and (surprise!) Walmart. But no more late fees –
whee.
4 comments:
I haven't rented a movie from a Blockbuster store in over 4 years. The last time I was with someone who rented one, it cost over $4.. insane! I signed up with Netflix about 8 months ago, and have rented approximately 150 movies at the cost of $144.. at least half were new releases (often received in the mail the day they were released in the stores).
At the time I signed up for Netflix, Blockbuster was just starting up a similar mail delivery service. I signed up, but dropped it after two months because the delivery time was about a week per movie, compared to the 4 day turnaround time for Netflix (meaning I'd receive the next movie 4 days after dropping the current one in the mailbox.. often it has been just 3 days). My research showed that Blockbuster Online Rentals had more movies than Netflix, but I wasn't impressed with the service.
I've heard so many horror stories about Blockbuster, especially about late fees, but this is the first story I've seen that clearly details why it's going down in a heap.
basically Netflix offers lower cost, faster service, no hidden fees, and major convenience.. hard to beat that
We cancelled Netflix because we just don't watch very many movies, but it is a revolutionary idea, for all the reasons Joe cited. I have nothing but praise for it. Netflix will flourish, places like Blockbuster will fall by the wayside... The free market is a beautiful thing.
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