Comments on: The Blockbuster Museum http://thewildinvestor.com/the-blockbuster-museum/ a money and investing blog Sat, 14 Apr 2012 20:55:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: TheWild1 http://thewildinvestor.com/the-blockbuster-museum/comment-page-1/#comment-5185 TheWild1 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:01:06 +0000 http://thewildinvestor.com/?p=721#comment-5185 I guess these other companies should look at broadening their services. I guess these other companies should look at broadening their services.

]]> By: Praveen http://thewildinvestor.com/the-blockbuster-museum/comment-page-1/#comment-5182 Praveen Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:22:15 +0000 http://thewildinvestor.com/?p=721#comment-5182 I even remember the "before Blockbuster" days of the early to mid '80's - when VCR's first became popular, blank tapes cost $19 each, and mom-an-pop video rental places sprouted up all over. Just like everyone started "dot com" companies in the last '90's, a lot of local businesses jumped on the video bandwagon. I even remember how the dry cleaners that my parents used went from being called "Countryside Dry-Cleaning" to "Countryside Dy-Cleaning and Video"! Then, there was a big shakeout, and only a few chains, like Blockbuster and Hollywood video, were left. Today, the only mom-and-pop stores that carry movies are Asian stores (i.e. Indian, Filipino, etc) that specialize in ethnic movies. As a side note, even though dry-cleaning and video rentals sound like completely different businesses, they actually complement each other. With dry-cleaning, you drop something off and then pick it up after a few days. With movie rentals, you are picking something up then returning it a few days later. The "Countryside Dry-Cleaning and Video" actually lasted longer than some of the other mom-and-pop stores. I even remember the "before Blockbuster" days of the early to mid '80's – when VCR's first became popular, blank tapes cost $19 each, and mom-an-pop video rental places sprouted up all over.

Just like everyone started "dot com" companies in the last '90's, a lot of local businesses jumped on the video bandwagon.

I even remember how the dry cleaners that my parents used went from being called "Countryside Dry-Cleaning" to "Countryside Dy-Cleaning and Video"!

Then, there was a big shakeout, and only a few chains, like Blockbuster and Hollywood video, were left. Today, the only mom-and-pop stores that carry movies are Asian stores (i.e. Indian, Filipino, etc) that specialize in ethnic movies.

As a side note, even though dry-cleaning and video rentals sound like completely different businesses, they actually complement each other. With dry-cleaning, you drop something off and then pick it up after a few days. With movie rentals, you are picking something up then returning it a few days later. The "Countryside Dry-Cleaning and Video" actually lasted longer than some of the other mom-and-pop stores.

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