The Decay of Independent Video Stores

[Mr. DS]

For all the Blockbuster haters, I wouldn't worry.  I heard Blockbuster is standing on shaky legs anyhow.  I recall a news report where they reported millions of dollars in loses.  They tried to be cool with the whole "trade in your online movie in the store while you wait for a new one" thing.  I can't see how that was a smart business move. I took out at least several hundred dollars worth of rentals for free using the in store exchange plan.  Now they cut back because I'm sure they were losing their shirts at an even higher rate.  Thats the thing with Blockbuster, they seem to come up with ideas and not think about them.  Anyone remember the "no late fees" thing.  That was sure short lived. 

[CheezeFlixz]

For all the Blockbuster haters, I wouldn't worry.  I heard Blockbuster is standing on shaky legs anyhow.  I recall a news report where they reported millions of dollars in loses.  They tried to be cool with the whole "trade in your online movie in the store while you wait for a new one" thing.  I can't see how that was a smart business move. I took out at least several hundred dollars worth of rentals for free using the in store exchange plan.  Now they cut back because I'm sure they were losing their shirts at an even higher rate.  Thats the thing with Blockbuster, they seem to come up with ideas and not think about them.  Anyone remember the "no late fees" thing.  That was sure short lived. 

Oh I don't hate BB, I have friends that manage them. Put the ONLINE TRADE IN thing was a great deal until they more than doubled the rate and the online service got slower and slower.
You are correct they are in trouble, but so are many of the chain video stores. Even Movie Gallery is a penny stock. BBI is trading at about $3.00 share, Movie Gallery (MOVIQ) is trading at about $0.03 share and is currently in Chapter 11. The only big rental place is Netflix that is somewhat stable (NFLX) and still it all over the board in the last year trading from about $15.00 to a close today of $26.90 still a fairly cheap stock, and I think a good long holder as they year in, year out realize a 5%+ profit margin which is good.

So while all these big chains are eating up a lot of the Mom and Pop shops in the end the Mom and Pops Shops might have the last laugh as they can often change and adapt faster than these big chains and with the always failing price of movies, it's easier to open a store if one should want. In the end it's your business plan, a good solid business plan and a little common sense goes a long way to success.

[Torgo]

Blockbuster drove me nuts, even years ago, because their selection sucked. If you wanted a fairly recent release, or an older film that had an established fanbase, you were fine.  Otherwise - sorry, out of luck.

Not to mention that up until a  few years ago the Blockbusters around where I live refused to carry unrated versions of movies or would carry a censored R rated version that would sometimes be specifically made for their chain (Requiem for a Dream comes to mind).

I agree with everyone that a lot of the mom & pop type stores near where I lived waited way too late to make the DVD jump and ended up getting run out of business.  There's only one mom/pop type store near my house that made that DVD jump right after the advent of the new technology and they're actually still in business and doing very well I might add. 

[GrandMaster]

you're right cheeseflix the mom and pops might have the last laugh, good point sir

[dean]

if i had a million bucks i would just buy a store, stock it too the roof with in b movies and live upstairs. Also my main problem with blockbuster is they try and censor you by not carrying certain titles, example: Short Bus

That really sucks.  We can even rent softcore at some of the local Blockbusters, and yes Shortbus is on the shelves.  Shame they didn't have it, since it's a great film [if you can make it through the first few minutes, then you've passed the test and can continue]


I personally think the places that give you the cheap deals gets the goal.  There's a place near me that is a M+P store which has a great selection, but is a bit pricey for my blood and the other places nearby are still pretty good enough to go to.  Recently they merged with the nearby newsagent and became a video/paper store.  Makes more sense, I don't see how renting dvds gives you a whole lot of money really.

[RCMerchant]

Tara Sue's daughter, Angel, works at a video store in Gobles called MovieMagic which also is a tanning salon. They have 5 movies for 5 days for $5 . Theres also a used video game and movie dealer in Paw Paw who sells (new) gaming systyms,new and used video games, and used dvds and videos.

The nearest Blockbuster store around here is in Kalamazoo...which is about 30 miles away....I never been in it,though.

[Mr. DS]

Oh I don't hate BB, I have friends that manage them. Put the ONLINE TRADE IN thing was a great deal until they more than doubled the rate and the online service got slower and slower.

Yeah thats the thing I noticed too. Pay the extra $$$ and you can get unlimited online trade ins.  Of course before that it was unlimited with all plans. 

[AnubisVonMojo]

After last year's big Hollywood Video shake-up, and with Blockbuster creeping closer and closer to the same, maybe Mom & Pop places are due for a comeback! The problem with franchise stores is that one the home office goes under, that's a LOT of stores going out of business because they rely on the corporation to finance them. Meanwhile, once the chain stores disappear from an area, what better time for a little privately owned rental store to swoop in and pick up the already established customer base! And by being a privately owned store, and listening to your customers' requests for titles that chains otherwise don't stock (i.e. out-of-print stuff and porn), you can build your inventory around your customer base, rather than forcing them to mold their tastes around your inventory like the limitless number of "we don't care about what you want, just give us your money!" stores do. It's something to consider...

[Hammock Rider]

There are two Mom & Pop's near me here in Chicago, although I'm sure there are plenty more elsewhere in the City. Facets for example has to be one of the primo video stores in the country.  The stores near me are a different story. One is huge and carries a huge selection, but it smells intensely of cat pee and cats roam the aisles. Sometimes you have to shoo them away from your selection. I almost had to kick one to get a copy of Alligator People. I don't go there any more. The other one was a nice general video store but at some point the owner had to move to a smaller store over a Chinese restaurant and dedicate three times more space to porn in order to survive. If B movies would "porn down" or porn movies would "B" up that guy might do alright.

[Patient7]

Blockbuster is evil because it is an enormous chain that provides a wide selection of films for a reasonal price.  We Americans have something against corporations that we want to assume are evil just because of what they are.

IF Blockbuster's stores had a wide range of films AT a reasonable price I'd buy that but they don't. Their selection is very limited, and their prices are average at best.

I find Movie Gallery as far as chains go, much better and cheaper. You can get 5 gallery rents for 5 nights for $2.97 here.

Honestly, I haven't been to blockbuster in a while, but it has a higher selection than the only other video store that's nearby, but we go to that one anyway.