Blockbuster Will Offer 99 Cent DVD Rentals
Reuters says that Blockbuster will begin offering 99 cent rentals for the first time ever, according to CEO Jim Keyes. The details of which movies will be 99 cents have not been announced, but Keyes did say that the price point would include "thousands of DVDs, including many classic older movies."
"We do have plans in the month of January to more aggressively roll throughout the system a value offer that will include movies in the 99 cents price range," Blockbuster Chief Executive Jim Keyes told the Reuters Media Summit on Thursday.
"The 99 cents plan is targeted at the value-conscious consumer in this challenging economy."
"Targeting" the "value conscious" consumer in this economy is the equivalent of standing 5' in front of Soldier Field and trying to hit it with a shotgun, so we wish him the best of luck. It's certainly a better idea than Blockbuster's previous plan — buying Circuit City.
Blockbuster offers 99-cent DVD rentals [Reuters] (Thanks Phil!)
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The Blockbuster in my town disappeared one night, so this doesn't affect me. But I predict a whole lot of these 99 cent movies will be crappy and old, with just a handful of gems that I'd actually rent.
Good luck Blockbuster! even if you have .50 cent DVD rentals and the blockbuster is a block away from my apartment, I'm still happy as hell with my 2 at a time Netflix account.
I can't wait to get my hands on Mr. Mike's Mondo Video.
In other news, Blockbuster still charging between 8 and 15 dollars for a single video game rental.
Regional renter Family Video has been renting a lot of older DVDs for $1 for 7 nights for many years. And by older its really only 2 year old movies so the selection is pretty good.
Will Blockbuster have good movies for .99? Probably not. They would rather an old good movie sit on the shelf because no one wants to pay 2.49 to rent it than have it rented out constantly at .99. I've never been able to figure out why their new releases are considered new releases for MONTHS either. Its no wonder they are failing and need a bailout.
In other words, in addition to getting hammered on one side by Netflix, they are now getting beat up on the otherside by Redbox.
In further other words, bye-bye Blockbuster. Though it seems like we've been saying that for years now...
I bet you these companies could survive off free rentals. Most their money seems to come from late fees anyway.
Blockbuster is subsidizing their brick-and-mortar renters by raising (actually, having already raised) the online subscription fee for in-store exchanges. Now that they've equalized the online and brick-and-mortar sides, they can afford to reel in some new customers on the subscription holders' dime.
I can see them making an attempt to turn their brick-and-mortar operations into revenue-less exchange hubs, which sounds like a neat idea, but a poor business model.
I tried Redbox for the first time two weeks ago and was impressed. No more Blockbuster for me!
I don't understand how they think they can be competitive right now. Redbox is renting new releases for $1, how often does Blockbuster think people will get the urge to watch a classic movie?
When is the Blockbuster CEO going to be appearing to testify in front of congress and begging for bailout money?
"Mr Chairman you can't let Blockbuster go bankrupt. Think of the effect it will have on the economy. Where will people go to rent DVDs at grossly inflated prices. It just isn't American that people can pay only 99 cents to rent a new release from a machine when they are shopping. That's socialism. Please give us the money so that we can continue the fine tradition of ripping of consumers like we have for so many years."
I already rent new releases for 99cents from a local video store. They don't have 50 copies of a new release but I don't care. It cost me 1.04 with tax to rent a movie and I did manage to pick up last week, Hancock, Wall-E and Tropic Thunder and they where just relased that day and it cost me a whooping 4 bucks and some change because I kept Hancock and extra night so I was hit with another 1.04
If a small localy owned video store can rent new movies and make a profit so can Block Buster, they just choose not to.
I'll still with Edge Video thank you very much.
..."classic older movies."
Like the classic, older, 80's, B-rated horror flicks, trippy films, and other senseless crap that other rental stores already offer for $0.99, that only potheads on their way toward picking up $0.89 tacos would watch?
Keep trying, LackLuster. You attempts to turn a profit only grow more entertaining.
"thousands of DVDs, including many classic older movies."
Really Blockbuster, "many classics"? Like what?
I remember the last time I was at a blockbuster I asked where the Hitchcock movies were kept and the employee looked at me like I had 3 heads. He then replied "isn't he a painter?"
Anything is better than the $4.99 self-destructing DVDs they sell at Staples.
and they raised their game rentals to 9 bucks. Sorry too little too late.
I predict a Blockbuster bailout package...
It would be great, if Blockbuster would let us sign up for a memberships! We're college students from out of state, and when we tried to sign up we were told we HAD to have a Michigan ID. Good job turning away the profits from potentially THOUSANDS of college students in our area who are from other states!
Welcome back to the 1990s. When video stores were plentiful, 1 dollar rentals were common for ANY video not in the new release section.
BTW, Redbox is nice but you have to wait till the person infront of you is done and some of those people are very, very, very machine challenged. I have also wondered how secure their network is considering one has to use a debit/CC to rent the movie and what happens when you have returned a movie but the machine thinks you have not, it's bound to happen.
I know not everyone has a great 99 cent rental store such as I do but Redbox still makes me raise an eyebrow the two times I have used it.
They should have been doing this for a long time - moving here from the UK where catalog titles are at least half as cheap to rent as new releases, their pricing of them at roughly the same price always astounded me...
Screw them. 2 movies that were 3 days late to be returned = 18.00 late fee. I hope they are forced to watch their own children produce Z-quality pornos for all of eternity for their sins.
my local blockbuster stopped with the "no late fees", I have netflix so I only ever used them for the occasional game rental, which I liked because even though it was like $8 you got to keep it for about two weeks before being charged. They are now $3.99 or $4.99 (can't remember which, I haven't been back since they switched to this new policy)for 3 days and like $1.99 a day after that. Movies are now $2.99 for two days and $0.99 a day after that. No more Blockbuster for me!
I used to rent faithfully at Blockbuster. Sure, Netflix was "cheaper" in the long run, but I never had the ability to just get what I wanted when I wanted it. My last experience there involved THEM losing a movie I returned and then ME getting charged for it.
When I called to ask them about this they told me to "Check my couch cushins and the under the seat of my car."
I replied, "I didn't lose it, I returned it, I KNOW I returned it."
The final resposne was, "Well it's not here so you owe us."
Never again. I wrote corproate and told them and gotr the "we'll send this the right department" email and have never heard back nor do I expect to.
Obviously years of me renting, returning movies on time, and coming back was just a setup so I could steal "Meet the Spartans" on Blu-Ray.
@chemman: oh, and let me clarify. This doesn't appear to be a national decision. I asked and the manager said it was a policy they enacted locally due to problems they had been having (but he didn't specify what those problems were)
Gamefly is a decent alternative, but they ship games almost 3-4 days slower than netflix. My one-at-a-time rental, where I have the game and play usually just for one day and then ship right back - that gets me about 6 games a month... Netflix is still really fast. Not sure on how fast the blockbuster online service is...
"Classic older movies?"
So Blockbuster is essentially going to charge a dollar to rent the bargain bin DVDs you can buy at Wal-Mart at three or four dollars or watch for free On Demand with certain cable providers?
Something tells me that this won't be quite as effective as they think it will.
@beyondthetech: Do you return them or do they like self-destruct or what? I've been curious to try the thing.
You think they finally got the clue that charging what it cost to BUY the movie to RENT it??? Doubtful. Now they should look to the common sense of not charging MORE more USED DVD than customers can buy them elsewhere new. Amazing what a brain can do
@ChildrenAreSticky: i watch them all the time - on my netflix unlimited viewing for about $9 a month. and i get about 4 dvds a month, plus watch maybe 10 movies/tv shows on instant viewing, plus i don't have to drive anywhere to do it or wait in line, deal with snotty cashiers or turn down a super deal on some value of the moment upsell.... hmm, costs less, annoys less -
ONE WORD:
REDBOX.com
@Eyebrows McGee: They must be returned, and the rental fee is calculated at the time of return at $0.99 per day. If you reach a certain limit, you're billed a fixed amount and can keep the movie.
Too bad I know of NO blockbuster anymore that has a respectable stock of movies.
Redbox is great. If you don't return the movie they charge you another dollar. I think the cap is $25 and then the movie is yours.
We never go to blockbuster or any of the other rental places; we hit Redbox or the other vending service that Safeway has.
the banners have been up at Blockbuster for days about this...not a bad deal, there are a lot of older movies I missed in the theatre...
@orielbean: Pretty damn fast, like next day. We frequently got a two-day turnaround if we could get the store to scan our returns instead of waiting for them to receive by mail. But that lasts only so long as you have movies with "available" status in your queue. Most movies you put in your queue are marked available at first, but many of ours will suspiciously turn to "very long wait" the next time we log in. That status is code for "you'll never see it, pick something else."
I liked the service, mostly because of the turnaround, until this started happening. It became clear that the thirty movie minimum is meant to keep you trading for movies they actually stock. It doesn't seem much worth it to pay so much only for new releases, which is at best a once a year-only boon.
If Netflix is any different, I'd consider a switch.
I currently work at a Blockbuster store that has been part of the test market for this pricing scheme. It works thusly:
New releases are $4.99, and a movie remains a "new release" for 52 weeks. After that, the movie is moved to its appropriate genre in the middle of the store, off the new release wall.
Movies in the middle of the store (referred to as BSI -- "back stock inventory" -- by employees) are priced at $0.99 each. However, there are exceptions... many exceptions. Many movies are designated "Blockbuster Favorites," and these are $1.99. They are stickered as such, so the customer knows which ones are the more expensive rentals.
Many, but not all, movies that move from the new release wall to BSI are coded to be $1.99. Also, a lot of classic movies are $0.99. I wish I could think of specific examples, but plenty of Oscar winners can be had for $0.99 + tax.
That said, I think their pricing scheme is stupid and will only exacerbate their poor standing in the public's eye.
If anyone out there is buying Blockbuster stock, I have some magical beans for sale.
Email me at...
My Blockbuster in Starkville, MS has been doing this for at least a year when I moved up on older movies. They also offer "Gold Movies" (not as old movies, but popular) for $1.50.
I like Blockbuster and I go every week.
I only use Blockbuster for games now. The game deal is actually pretty good if you use it effectively. The initial week is a ridiculous $8, but it is actually two weeks because they don't count it as late until it is 7 days late. Then they "sell" it to you and you have 30 days to return it for a refund minus a $1.25 restocking fee. So you get it for a month and a half for $9.25. Not bad as there are very few games I play longer than this. I don't buy many games anymore. Plus, if you really like the game, you just don't return it and keep it.
Forget it. Walked in, saw the C$6.99 rental rate for ALL DVDs, and walked out years ago. I could buy half the movies in there 2 for $10 at Walmart. Why rent when you can own for less?
The Blockbuster by my house has been doing the 99cent rentals for months, granted alot of the better movies are a $1.99 but I'd rather pay that for an older movie than the $4.99 they charge for New Releases.
How about they stop charging $8 or $9 to rent a damn video game. That's stupid-expensive.
@albear: I know! I'm in love with Netflix! Nearly everything I ever looked up on there they have--except "The List of Adrian Messenger". Now that I have Netflix, I don't understand why anyone would even bother with Blockbuster.
In other words, clearance stuff and old junk they could care less about, but want to try to capitalize on anyway.
I can get 99-cent rentals of brand new releases from vending machines at supermarkets now.
Meh.