Blockbuster Essay

Years ago, it was not uncommon to pass by a Blockbuster on your daily commute to school or work. The place was adorned with bright lights, and rows upon rows of endless movie titles to consume. Yet now the chain is a relic of the past. People recall the stores like a childhood memory. Some with pleasant nostalgia, others with the grumblings of an old sore. The point being, this once far-reaching chain of rental stores has broken into a faint memory. Why did this happen? Some might not know about the change in technology that cheapened movies from expensive VHSs, to more easily produced DVDs. Some might point out Blockbuster’s fees and unrelated merchandise to nickel and dime customers. Most will cite the advent of Netflix, and online streaming

The average movie would cost roughly $75; this is excluding the cost of a VCR to play the movie on. Rental stores sprang up in this time to help close the cost gap. Customers would gladly pay a small percentage to rent over purchasing. However, movies started coming down in costs. They included previews and advertisements to bring down the cost of production. Technology sprung forward, and “films” were no longer printed on long strips of plastic. Instead, they were etched digitally on DVDs. Movies were now being sold around ten to twenty dollars each. While rental stores could procure movies for cheap, so could consumers. With rental numbers going down, stores had to turn to other means to increase their profit.
Blockbuster, among many other rental stores, knew they could not raise the fees for movies without driving customers away. So instead they opted to earn more through high late fees and other products. At first they would stock small things like theater faire popcorn and candy. However, as time went on, Blockbuster started to look more like a convenience store with all sorts of tiny knick-knacks. The late fees were nothing to slouch at either. It’s reported that a $40-dollar late fee became the inspiration for (name) to start up