Mervyn's closed their doors. Circuit City is now extinct. BLOCKBUSTER IS NEXT?

You made some good points tylerdurden... especially about Blockbuster's brick/mortar/labor expenses. And with today's economic conditions (and increased taxes** by our government on businesses), it will be tough on them.

I've read that, moving forward, the company is going to purchase fewer copies of discs to help offset expenses, among other things. Also, they have a new partership with TiVo that will begin soon (see Blockbuster OnDemand coming to TiVo), and other streaming avenues in the works.

Problem is they have a stronger debt load than Netflix, plus the higher monthly expenses. And strong competition from Netflix, RedBox ($1 rentals), etc. They do have a strong asset in shareholder/billionaire Carl Icahn (who owns more of their stock than anyone), who would probably be willing to bail them out if needed - and the company's stock is real cheap these days (under a $1).

Lots of debt is bad to have in today's economy (just look at the automobile industry for example). Even a company like GE (General Electric), a long time powerhouse in earnings and stock price, has seen their loan portfolio division (GE Capital) sour quite a bit the past year, and the company's stock is off a whopping 70% as result! Many may not realize that almost half of the company's profits come from their credit-lending financial division.

I'll tell you this... if Blockbuster goes under you can expect another price increase from Netflix as a result (less competition). Disclaimer: I have memberships with both, but since becoming a DVDTOWN staff member helping the site, I reduced my memberships down to 1-disc-out-at-time for each (cheapest cost).

One thing I really like about Blockbuster is the monthly FREE rental coupon (for any disc or video game), and the option of returning a disc to the store (instead of mailing), and being able to walk out of the store with a free replacement movie right then. And they have increased their Blu-ray rental selection more these days (in store selection). Online you see a bigger selection (of course).

**the IRS just mailed out the latest 2009 Wage Withholding Payment Tables (Publication 15-T), and now INCREASES the "matching" tax amounts a business must pay per employee. It had not increased for several years, but now under the new administration the taxes are higher (because of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"). This will no doubt result in companies laying off more employees (along with the same from general economic factors these days).

-JOE- (Love Hendrix!)

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[Post edited by Love Hendrix! on Apr 7, 2009 - CDT 9:34 PM]

Until right now, I hadn't thought about canceling Netflix and going over to Blockbuster...

However, I'm still put off by the no streaming to the XBOX 360, which has become a big deal for me...even when the selection at Netflix is really bad.

I hear that! The Netflix streaming is awesome on the xbox 360. That's the only reason I got the one at a time plan with them. Their Hi Def selection of shows looks great on an HDTV.

Die Blockbuster, Die Best Buy, Die Netflix... Just my personal opinion...

Die Blockbuster, Die Best Buy, Die Netflix... Just my personal opinion...

I liked my post so much, I repeated myself...

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[Post edited by ReaggieP on Apr 8, 2009 - CDT 7:15 AM]

We have all become a LAZY nation, yes all of us fall under this. Some more than others, but like I said before, we expect evrything to be delivered to us because of the technology. I agree Reaggie, die NetFlix and Blockbuster. But if we could only go back to the good old days.

I had a friend was a manager for them during their peak (essentially before DVD and PPV ruined them.) And he told me when they had no plan for the future. They thought dvd was a "fad" and they never looked to future because of their arrogance. Now they're playing catch up in a market that doesn't need them anymore. Why would I pay them $5 for a HD rental when I get it from home for the same price.