Is Blockbuster done, share price went down 77% in one day to 22 cents - 3/3/2009 (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

I hope they can survive, too. Since getting into BluRay, we have started renting again and Blockbuster by far the most convenient store to our home. I really do not want another monthly subscription ala Netflix -- we have enough monthly bills, we do not rent enough to justify the fee, and usually rent on a whim.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I've seen stocks lose a high percentage of value and rebound within a week or so. On the other hand, it's a tough economic climate and we're beginning to really see which companies have a sturdy business model and which ones are run by a member of the Ministry of Silly Walks.

Personally, I wouldn't lose any sleep if they went out of business. I haven't been there in years and will never go again.

Oh, and by the way, good riddance, they stink, I hope they rot in hell.

 

[Malcolm R]

I'd like to see Blockbuster survive. It's Movie Gallery I'd like to kick out of town. I can't understand how they're still in business in the current economy when they were struggling mightily back when things were still relatively stable.

And I agree that a 77% drop sounds like a lot, but when it only comes out to about 74 cents, it's not such a big thing (unless you own a bunch of the stock ).

 

[Matt^Brown]

I am on the same plan and I love it. We watch about the same amount of movies a month (8-12) and once a week I go to the BB that is 3 minutes from my house and let my kids pick out a movie. I really hope they stay open.

My Question -- Why doesn't a place like BB join forces with a cable or satellite company and offer new movies on the PPV channels. Maybe I am wrong but it always seems that the PPV channels are about 5 weeks behind the B&M stores.

 

[Ron-P]

I was that way with BB years ago, but so far they are much improved and beat out Netflix by far. You cannot beat the instore trade in, that is fantastic, no more "very long wait" comments in my queue like with Netflix.

 

[TonyD]

do you guys know the in store exchange was adjusted to
allow for no due date on the from the store rental.

anything you rent for free with the envelope will not have a due date.
your next movie in your Q will not be released until the in store dvd is returned to the store.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Actually it makes no difference if the drop is in cents or dollars.

For example, suppose you bought 100 shares of some blue-chip (if that term can still be used) at $96.00/share for a cost of (leaving aside commission, etc.) $96,000 and the stock is now selling at $22.00/share. So if you sell (again ignoring transaction costs) you realize $22,000, or a loss of $74,000 (77%).

Now make the same dollar investment purchasing $96,000 of Blockbuster stock (or 10,000 shares). The drop from 96 cents/share to 22 cents/share will result in the same dollar loss.

The price of each individual share makes no difference—it is the differential that counts. There is no reason to assume that any investor will decide to purchase only $1, or $10 or $100 dollars of stock because the price is low.

 

[Ed Moxley]

I was with BlockBuster.com at one time. In one month, they raised their prices twice. I had unlimited in-store returns. Suddenly, without notice, if I wanted to keep the unlimited in-store returns, I had to buy the higher priced package. I told them to kiss my a$$, and I dropped them. I went with Netflix and like them much better.

I don't work a regular job, and am home most of the time. I used the online BB to get box sets and concerts (stuff not in the store). Then, on Tuesday morning, I'd go exchange the three I had, for three new releases. That worked out good. When I suddenly had only five in-store exchanges, that was a lot less than the 12 a month I was used to. I sent them an email, and told them if they weren't going to live up to the deal I signed up for, they could kiss.......... the place already mentioned. I've been in the store once since then, and rented a BD movie to watch at a friend's house, when he got a new tv and a BD player. If that's their usual way of doing business, it's no wonder they are in trouble. I hope they don't close though. They will come in handy occasionally.

 

[Walter C]

That would be the main reason why I would chose Blockbuster over Netflix. A faster exchange rate, which is a big deal to me when renting mainly TV shows. When I'm done with Disc 1, I could go to the store and exchange it for Disc 2. And Disc 3 would be delivered right away. No more now.

 

[Randy_Sh]

Hmm...just got a notice telling me that I owe them about 10 bucks for a couple of movies that my wife rented and returned late a month or so ago...

I'll pay up and up their stock price for all you share holders...

R.

 

[Matt^Brown]

I just noticed this as well and it is bullshit. I went from unlimited rentals, to five a month, and now none. I realize you still get some from the store but they took the other ones away so it is like loosing the instore part. Stupid.

Also I use to get one free game a month but they took that over a year ago.

 

[Dick]

I've had exactly the opposite experience. With BB, about half of what I want is tagged with "Long Wait" or "Very Long Wait." I've even come to the conclusion that the later means they actually have, at most, one copy of the movie bouncing around to everyone in the country, as I've had numerous titles at the top of my queue for over three months with no change in availability. Plus, they pause when they get to a "wait" title in your queue and spend a day or two looking for outlets that might have it, delaying the shipment of your next title. Netflix, on the other hand, actually gets me the movies I want within a reasonable time. When they encounter a "wait" title in my queue, they immediately go to the next available title, meaning they check their data base, and if no outlets can ship the movie to me that day, the next title is sent. In the interest of full disclosure, however, I choose to continued renting with BB because they actually do offer upgraded editions of older titles, i.e, special editions of films that Netflix still has only the original releases of. It's a trade-off.

 

[Ed Francisco]

Not very good news for Blockbuster -

Blockbuster says it may not be able to continue - U.S. business- msnbc.com

I'm hoping that they don't go under, as I love my Total Access subscription. But I guess this means that in this age of $5 DVDs and instant video streaming, maybe the video rental business just isn't viable anymore.

 

[Clinton McClure]

It's perfectly viable for a company with it's head not planted deeply up it's own behind.

I know of no other video rental business experiencing all the problems Blockbuster is having.... Of course, I know of no other video rental business which has created so many problems and ran off so many customers with it's insane and perpetually changing policies.

 

[Matt^Brown]

I agree with the changing policies part of your statement. It seems like every time I go into that place something has changed with their rentals and my BB online.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

That's because all of its national competitors have gone belly-up. I only rent through Redbox now; $0.99/day beats whatever Blockbuster is charging.

 

[Malcolm R]

You'd think it'd be thriving if it has the B&M rental market all to itself. But I agree that Redbox is really hurting them. No sense in paying $5/night at Blockbuster when I can pay $1 at Redbox.

 

[DaveF]

But "B&M rental market" is not the market. "Selling videos to people" is the market, and it's filled with competition from non-B&M Netflix, Cable / Satellite video-on-demand and pay-per-view, iTunes / Amazon / Netflix downloads, the pervasive $5 bargain-bin DVDs at Retailers, buying new DVDs instead of renting, and now even vending machines (RedBox)!. It's also facing competition from TV watching in general and video gaming: customers are doing other things instead of renting movies.

There's clearly still money on the table for video, but just because BB is the only video store in the strip mall doesn't mean they've got possession of the video-sales market.

Losing BB will be sad; it was a significant brand-name to me growing up. And yet I'm the reason for their decline: I've rented only a handful of movies from them in the past ten years, with my dollars instead being spread through all the video options.

 

[Lew Crippen]

All valid points Dave. But I'll not mourn the passing of Blockbuster, as I thought that their selection left a lot to be desired.