retroremakes
March 2nd, 2010, 19:20
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/03/500x_504x_blockbusterkid.jpg (http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/03/504x_blockbusterkid.jpg)Blockbuster's not doing so well, closing another 500 locations (http://gizmodo.com/5480585/blockbuster-to-close-500-locations) in an attempt to straighten its ship. The latest tactic? Bringing back late fees (http://gizmodo.com/tag/latefees/), which they ditched back in 2005 (http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-127788616.html) in order to compete with Netflix.
Slashfilm says that the late fees will work on a $1-per-day basis up to 10 days, so the most you'll ever have to pay is an extra $10. Blockbuster's reasoning is that people keep new rentals an average of 4.7 days, which "[keeps] that title away from somebody else." Which then means Blockbuster needs to buy more copies of the same movie to satisfy more customers, then try to sell those as pre-rented versions after the hype dies.
Personally, I've been grandfathered in on the Blockbuster Online (http://gizmodo.com/tag/blockbusteronline/) program to still keep getting two free game/video rentals per month, and being able to exchange the online movies for a free in-store rental. That, plus having online rentals, keeps me coming back. But unless Blockbuster figures out an equivalent to Netflix streaming, it's hard to compete. [Slashfilm (http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/03/02/blockbuster-brings-back-late-fees/)]
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1)http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/xFs4lptDwnk
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/xFs4lptDwnk/blockbuster-digs-itself-a-deeper-grave-brings-back-late-fees)
Slashfilm says that the late fees will work on a $1-per-day basis up to 10 days, so the most you'll ever have to pay is an extra $10. Blockbuster's reasoning is that people keep new rentals an average of 4.7 days, which "[keeps] that title away from somebody else." Which then means Blockbuster needs to buy more copies of the same movie to satisfy more customers, then try to sell those as pre-rented versions after the hype dies.
Personally, I've been grandfathered in on the Blockbuster Online (http://gizmodo.com/tag/blockbusteronline/) program to still keep getting two free game/video rentals per month, and being able to exchange the online movies for a free in-store rental. That, plus having online rentals, keeps me coming back. But unless Blockbuster figures out an equivalent to Netflix streaming, it's hard to compete. [Slashfilm (http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/03/02/blockbuster-brings-back-late-fees/)]
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1)http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?i=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/gizmodo/full?a=xFs4lptDwnk:dS5kfflIJbA:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~4/xFs4lptDwnk
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/xFs4lptDwnk/blockbuster-digs-itself-a-deeper-grave-brings-back-late-fees)