Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

reuters.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 74 posts

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#61

Post by lukifer »

nhebb wrote: post #10
city41 wrote: post #2

Not to dance on someone's grave but to me this is fantastic news. When Blockbuster was the dominate player, they were quite the nasty bully. Ridiculously high late fees that were very hard to avoid. Half the time you'd return the DVD on time, but the employees wouldn't inventory it until it was too late and still hit you with a fee. A fee which they were extremely reluctant to remove. Their customer service was downr…

I never understood the concept of buying movies. How many times can you watch the same damn thing?

Don't underestimate the ability to put a physical object on a shelf, so as to broadcast your identity: http://randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/08/08/the_book_stalke...

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#62

Post by Psyonic »

nkassis wrote: post #56
Psyonic wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of books does she read, that she can read 150 in a 9 months And when does she read these books? Good Lord! Unless she reads like Kim Peak... a page in like 2 seconds, then I suppose 150 books is well within reason.

She had the summer off before starting a master(in library science no less ;p). She also participated in a few 24 hour reading marathons. She has a blog about stuff she reads: http://talesandtreats.blogspot.com/

Impressive list, definitely. Sounds like you have yourself an interesting lady!

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#63

Post by SoftwareMaven »

nhebb wrote: post #42
davidw wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am starting to learn, with our 2 and a half year old daughter, that you can watch the same damn thing many, many times . Beyond that, I completely agree with you though.

My older son had a Lion King addiction, so I know what you mean. I was thinking in terms of movies for grown-ups, though.

My older boy was the same way. I still have that freaking movie memorized (and it is one of my least favorite Disney movies).

I am surprised, though, by how many times my older kids and my wife can still re-watch the same thing. I think it is comfort with the known; I am much more of a risk taker than they are.

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#65

Post by joanou »

In 1998 they tried to charge me for a late fee which I thought was not correct. So, in a long line on Friday night at Blockbuster, I asked the employee for the scissors where I promptly cut the card up and left it for them on the counter. I never went back and was happier shopping elsewhere. Then Netflix came around and I've been loyal to them ever since.

Losing customers by overcharging doesn't make for a good long-term strategy.

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#66

Post by sgoraya »

Not a fan of blockbuster been using Netflix for a long time (I did jump ship to blockbusters online service temporarily when it first came out - the incentives were too good).

To get nostalgic for a second, I will miss the experience of visiting the movie rental stores. The excitement was palpable as a kid - walking the rows, looking at all the movie covers, hoping that Dad would let me rent a game, etc.

The social experience of walking around with other strangers, looking for the entertainment of the evening...there was something fun and special about it that Netflix will never capture.

...the convenience of netflix trumps that though ;-)

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#67

Post by macrael »

nhebb wrote: post #10
city41 wrote: post #2

Not to dance on someone's grave but to me this is fantastic news. When Blockbuster was the dominate player, they were quite the nasty bully. Ridiculously high late fees that were very hard to avoid. Half the time you'd return the DVD on time, but the employees wouldn't inventory it until it was too late and still hit you with a fee. A fee which they were extremely reluctant to remove. Their customer service was downr…

I never understood the concept of buying movies. How many times can you watch the same damn thing?

So many times! With really great movies, they get better every time I watch them. It's A Wonderful Life, The Third Man, Casablanca, and The Godfather, to name a few. Of course I want to see them again. They may not change, but I see new things and understand them more completely every time I watch them. Like all great art, good movies deserve multiple viewings. I love rereading good books for the same reason. I can't imagine only looking at a statue like the Laocoön just once, why would I feel different about a film?

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#68

Post by gehant »

Does anyone else find it interesting that they plan to restructure with the intention of keeping ~3000 brick & mortar stores? Then they will try to re-enter the ring and compete with the same digital, by-mail, on-demand, and kiosk players that squeezed them out in the first place.

I feel like they would need to do an impressive reinvention of space use or turn their real estate inventory into a revenue stream instead of the bloated cost that is ends up being.

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#69

Post by michaelhalligan »

nhebb wrote: post #10
city41 wrote: post #2

Not to dance on someone's grave but to me this is fantastic news. When Blockbuster was the dominate player, they were quite the nasty bully. Ridiculously high late fees that were very hard to avoid. Half the time you'd return the DVD on time, but the employees wouldn't inventory it until it was too late and still hit you with a fee. A fee which they were extremely reluctant to remove. Their customer service was downr…

I never understood the concept of buying movies. How many times can you watch the same damn thing?

Same thing, but buying books.

Re: Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

#70

Post by CamperBob »

Andrew_Quentin wrote: post #50
city41 wrote: post #2

Not to dance on someone's grave but to me this is fantastic news. When Blockbuster was the dominate player, they were quite the nasty bully. Ridiculously high late fees that were very hard to avoid. Half the time you'd return the DVD on time, but the employees wouldn't inventory it until it was too late and still hit you with a fee. A fee which they were extremely reluctant to remove. Their customer service was downr…

I'm very glad to see the market can respond and a new player can come in I would suggest it is not quite "the market". It would have been the market had a competitor arrived before the technological advancement of the internet. As that was not the case, it is rather, or it should rather be a praise to the advancement of technology, and quite a condemning example of "the market".

Redbox would have killed them if Netflix hadn't. There are always at least a couple of people in line at the tiny Redbox kiosk in my local grocery store. At some point it occurred to me that that little kiosk was bringing in pretty much the same gross revenue as a 10,000-square-foot retail store, and that's when it really sunk in that video rental stores were history.
Post reply on HN