Technology - Changing Times - Blockbuster files for Bankruptcy

Hi all
How technology changes.

With fast broadband and other ways of delivering Muti-media content one of the Last Century's almost impregnable Giants - Blockbuster- has filed for Bankruptcy in the US.

BBC News - Blockbuster files for bankruptcy in US

This should be a warning to ANY business -- nothing lasts for ever and no matter how large you are new technology can make your current seemingly invincible business model as DEAD as the DODO.

Cheers
jimbo

Proves you have to keep up with technology or fall by the wayside.

I'm really surprised they made it so long. they are like the type writer manufacturer who missed the PC train (or didn't even see it coming)

they somehow were like circuit city (went bankrupt 1 or 2 years ago) where I whne i accidentally went in always wondered how they stay in business with their service/knowledge/technology.

I knew that when netflix started up that blockbuster wouldn't last too much longer. IMO Blockbuster started charging way too much to rent a movie and didn't jump on the US postal DVD bus soon enough.

they got what they deserve after going after netflix, because they were to greedy to follow netflix business model and save themselves.

I was wondering when this would happen after Hollywood Video went under.

NetFlix put the final nail in the coffin of Blockbuster. A clear case of offering a product more efficiently and at a better price. No tears for BB here.

Keep in mind that Netflix has been around for quite a long time. I joined Netflix in the summer of 2001. So, I've been with them for almost 10 years. At first, you paid $4.00 for Netflix rentals and could keep them for up to 14 days and they had to be postmarked and sent back. A few years later, Netflix moved to the subscription model to ensure recurring revenue streams.

In a way, i find it sad though that all of these businesses end up out of business. Especially the smaller mom+pop shops. Everything today is the big online store in the cloud....and getting good service at the local shop is more or less a thing of the past.

pparks1 said:

Keep in mind that Netflix has been around for quite a long time. I joined Netflix in the summer of 2001. So, I've been with them for almost 10 years. At first, you paid $4.00 for Netflix rentals and could keep them for up to 14 days and they had to be postmarked and sent back. A few years later, Netflix moved to the subscription model to ensure recurring revenue streams.

In a way, i find it sad though that all of these businesses end up out of business. Especially the smaller mom+pop shops. Everything today is the big online store in the cloud....and getting good service at the local shop is more or less a thing of the past.

Click to expand...

Sadly its true, that is one of the things I like about living in Oregon (in my area at least), people support local businesses more than big corporations like Walmart. I guess large part of that is due to the enormous hippie population we have here but none the less I agree with it.

I think the South Park episode about Walmart sums up big business.

Actually I think Redbox put the nail in. I think that solidified Blockbusters demise. You can't beat $1 rentals and return at your local grovery/convenient stores and now at any Redbox.

So that's why there is heaven and hell...!
anyways...

i saw a water tank something like with water
forming the letters and characters in some images that was a good technothing..

I don't get how Circuit City can go bankrupt but not Best buys?

romy134 said:

I don't get how Circuit City can go bankrupt but not Best buys?

Click to expand...

Well, where I live the best buys are always packed out and circuit city was typically desolate. At Christmas time, there was a line around 1/2 the store at Best Buy...but there was hardly more than 1-2 people in any line at Circuit City.

I'm actually surprised that CC lasted as long as what they did after their intentional misleading of consumers during the DIVX debacle. Perhaps some of you remember that $3.99 format that you could watch as many times as you wanted with 48 hours, but they you would pay rental rewatch fees for playback after that.

Blockbuster's failure was due to their long-held virtual monopoly. By the time I stopped using them several years ago, their quality was horrible, I don't think I ever got a clean DVD from them, nor did I ever get a DVD that played all the way through. Lack of any real competition on the national level caused them to really slip in terms of price/quality.

One can also see the effects Best Buy's customers are suffering from that company having a virtual monopoly. Nowadays, the last place I would ever go for tech is Best Buy, because I know they will rob me blind, charging me at least double what my favorite Internet retailers charge.

BCXtreme said:

Blockbuster's failure was due to their long-held virtual monopoly. By the time I stopped using them several years ago, their quality was horrible, I don't think I ever got a clean DVD from them, nor did I ever get a DVD that played all the way through.

Click to expand...

Geez, consumers must be really hard on stuff in your area. I've only had a few dvd's ever that wouldn't play all the way through...it certainly isn't every single one of them.

BCXtreme said:

One can also see the effects Best Buy's customers are suffering from that company having a virtual monopoly. Nowadays, the last place I would ever go for tech is Best Buy, because I know they will rob me blind, charging me at least double what my favorite Internet retailers charge.

Click to expand...

It's sad through that there isn't much choice these days in a retail shop. I mean once in a while, i want a part and I want it today (I don't want to wait for it to ship from an Internet retailer)...but sadly almost all of my choices are now gone. Nearly all of the small mom&pop computer shops are gone, CC is gone, CompUSA is gone, etc. I do have a MicroCenter, but it's about 45 minutes away and traffic is a real headache.

And if you know what you want, BestBuy is not always 2x more expensive than some online retailers. For example, the 1TB Western Digital Caviar Block is $89.99 from Best Buy for the retail packaging, while NewEgg is $87.99 for the OEM, Amazon is $86.99 and Tiger Direct is $87.99. So, I fail to see where the huge rip-off is.

pparks1 said:

BCXtreme said:

Blockbuster's failure was due to their long-held virtual monopoly. By the time I stopped using them several years ago, their quality was horrible, I don't think I ever got a clean DVD from them, nor did I ever get a DVD that played all the way through.

Click to expand...

Geez, consumers must be really hard on stuff in your area. I've only had a few dvd's ever that wouldn't play all the way through...it certainly isn't every single one of them.

Click to expand...

Maybe so. Although at the point I'm referring to, Blockbuster was still mostly on VHS, they didn't even have a whole lot of DVDs yet.

BCXtreme said:

One can also see the effects Best Buy's customers are suffering from that company having a virtual monopoly. Nowadays, the last place I would ever go for tech is Best Buy, because I know they will rob me blind, charging me at least double what my favorite Internet retailers charge.

Click to expand...

It's sad through that there isn't much choice these days in a retail shop. I mean once in a while, i want a part and I want it today (I don't want to wait for it to ship from an Internet retailer)...but sadly almost all of my choices are now gone. Nearly all of the small mom&pop computer shops are gone, CC is gone, CompUSA is gone, etc. I do have a MicroCenter, but it's about 45 minutes away and traffic is a real headache.

And if you know what you want, BestBuy is not always 2x more expensive than some online retailers. For example, the 1TB Western Digital Caviar Block is $89.99 from Best Buy for the retail packaging, while NewEgg is $87.99 for the OEM, Amazon is $86.99 and Tiger Direct is $87.99. So, I fail to see where the huge rip-off is.[/QUOTE]

I'm more referring to "everyday" tech like cables and such. The stuff where 2x-3x increases are not hundreds of dollars. For example, just recently I needed an HDMI cable, and Best Buy and RadioShack's best price was $30 for 6ft. I was able to get a 3ft cable from TigerDirect for $8 (I only needed a 3ft, but the 6ft was still only like $10 from them). I agree that when it comes to "bigger" tech like HDDs or even TVs and such, you could still get a good price from Best Buy. But for smaller stuff, I have found that I will generally pay more at Best Buy.

Oh yeah, without a doubt, cables and such are the huge money makers for these retail stores. Same thing applies for Office Max, Office Depot and all of the other places. With these things, they sell because people come in and buy a $1,000 TV and figure what's $40 more for everything that I need to use the TV tonight. You just have to know what you need and decide if you really need it.