Another one bites the dust.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100923/ap_on_bi_ge/us_blockbuster_bankruptcy
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100923/ap_on_bi_ge/us_blockbuster_bankruptcy
Due to our great economy
- Thread starter Superduper
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baddboybill
Boomus Fidelis
MasterBlaster84
Boomus Fidelis
baddboybill said:Radio Shack is on its way out too
My local Radio Shack has significantly cut it's inventory so I'm sure it's not doing to well. They used to have stacks of stuff everywhere, it was hard to walk through with more than a few customers but now you could have a small party with all of the empty floor space.
MasterBlaster84
Boomus Fidelis
jaetee said:bill said:
it seems history repeats itself....
I feel fortunate to have grown up in a world without the Ipod or Cell Phone that both seem to be glued to most youths hips and ears.
ford93
Member (SA)
You're right on the money MB!
I too feel previledge to have grown up to an era "the 80's" that will never ever be duplicated.
Handball courts, Boomboxes, a 40 oz., Cardboard to freestyle, the Ladies, and a little puff puff.
Nowadays it is the XBOX where you can get overweight and not even want to go outside and play.
Bring those MotherFunkin' boomboxes back!!
I too feel previledge to have grown up to an era "the 80's" that will never ever be duplicated.
Handball courts, Boomboxes, a 40 oz., Cardboard to freestyle, the Ladies, and a little puff puff.
Nowadays it is the XBOX where you can get overweight and not even want to go outside and play.
Bring those MotherFunkin' boomboxes back!!
MasterBlaster84
Boomus Fidelis
Ford, I have the fond memories of being able to tell my mother I was going over to my friends house where we would take off all day without these leashes called cell phones.
Strānj-Bōōmbŏks
Member (SA)
...Without the leashes called cell phones and goin' to an AC DC concert and comeback smellin' like pot and go to bed with that awesome ringin' in your ears!!! YEAH!!! Gotta LOVE the 80's man... 
Superduper said:
I wouldn't blame the economy so much as Blockbuster having a failed business model. With the advent of cheaper produced DVD copies the cost risk became so low on rentals that a company like Netflix could succeed. By the time Blockbuster (and Movie Gallery which was based out of Dothan, AL) figured it out it was too late. Stores where clerks acted like jerks, profiting on late fees, being blaming people for damages not caused, having to go out to hope the movie is in, affecting credit reports, etc. all cost them.
Netflix wins bacause not only can you stream the movie when you please, but if you get a disc, you don't have to watch it right then, you can actually "plan" to watch the movie, not burn gas to get it, or worry because "all the copies are out".
As much as anyone would like to blame the economy, it can't be done here. Blockbuster, was simply out maneuvered, outclassed, outdated, which ultimately means they were outsmarted.
MasterBlaster84
Boomus Fidelis
oldskool69 said:As much as anyone would like to blame the economy, it can't be done here. Blockbuster, was simply out maneuvered, outclassed, outdated, which ultimately means they were outsmarted.
Oldy, Blockbuster just didn't keep up when they really needed to although the bad economy probably sped up their demise by a few years.
baddboybill
Boomus Fidelis
I believe that video rental stores have lasted longer they should have considering you can rent online, or through mail, and even through cable/dish for some time now Also purchasing and pirating is much easier and cheaper 
Also purchasing and pirating is much easier and cheaper 
jaetee
Member (SA)
oldskool69 said:Superduper said:
I wouldn't blame the economy so much as Blockbuster having a failed business model. With the advent of cheaper produced DVD copies the cost risk became so low on rentals that a company like Netflix could succeed. By the time Blockbuster (and Movie Gallery which was based out of Dothan, AL) figured it out it was too late. Stores where clerks acted like jerks, profiting on late fees, being blaming people for damages not caused, having to go out to hope the movie is in, affecting credit reports, etc. all cost them.
Netflix wins bacause not only can you stream the movie when you please, but if you get a disc, you don't have to watch it right then, you can actually "plan" to watch the movie, not burn gas to get it, or worry because "all the copies are out".
As much as anyone would like to blame the economy, it can't be done here. Blockbuster, was simply out maneuvered, outclassed, outdated, which ultimately means they were outsmarted.
Great points, Freddie.. An interesting point in all of this is that Blockbuster got started at a time when the rental format was VHS tapes, so movies were stored on something that had to be manufactured and the quality decrease from copy to copy was considerable. IMHO, at least in that capacity the late fees (esp for new releases) were somewhat more justified as the OEM videotape was inherently more complex to replace, requiring repurchase. You could not simply burn a new copy! And if it was late getting back to the store (who had a fixed number of movies) then it was lost potential revenue for them. Blockbuster's business model worked just fine for many, many years... allowing them to grow to ridiculous proportion. It was a great stock to own for more than a decade!
But, as such, their corporate attitude seemed to take a "we're so big we can't fail" and "we control the video rental market" mind frame.
So, while I agree with just about everything you said, I think it's more accurate to say that Blockbuster's biggest failure was to cling to that business model for too long and not adapt to a changing market and changing media formats. Can you imagine trying to mail VHS tapes the way they do DVD's...?
Plus, it's not a secret that once a business (or any organization) grows beyond a certain point change is more and more difficult to implement. Blockbuster turned into a juggernaut who's direction could not be easily changed. Yea, they probably should have made moves towards a Netflix type model as soon as they first learned about it.... but with so much infrastructure and so many employees involved, they HAD to milk that cow as long as they could.... so to speak.
I bet the first draft of Netflix's business plan and their model was formulated by someone who took a long hard look at the inefficiencies of Blockbuster's model. And I guarantee you Blockbuster's failure is probably being discussed in just about every college level Strategic Management class in the country, and will be for years to come. This makes for an easy case study.
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