THE DEATH OF THE LOCAL VIDEO STORE

A few years ago I visited a 'new' store at the 'new' strip mall where our grocery store moved...from the 'old' strip mall across the street.

The new store...was a Blockbuster. It had a plan that I liked. I could go to Blockbuster.com...order a couple of movies online to be delivered in the mail to my house. A few days later, the movies arrive. After watching them...I could take them to the Blockbuster store at the new strip mall where I was going to go to the grocery store anyway...and trade them in for 2 more movies off the shelf. While I was watching them...they were mailing me 2 more movies from my online list. For less than $20, we were watching 20-25 movies a month.

I thought the plan was a lot better than Netflix and the Red Box that were their main competitors. Netflix was also online, but had no place to trade in. You just put them back in the mail box and have to wait 'til the mailman took them back and then delivered new ones. With Red Box...I could see 'new' movies, but not old ones...like I could get through Blockbuster.

We watched a lot of movies over the last few years. But some months ago...Blockbuster changed their plan. They sent 2 movies that I could then exchange at the local store...but they didn't send me 2 new ones from my online list, until I had returned the ones I got from the store. Still...it wasn't a bad plan and we were watching about 4 movies a week. Still not a bad deal for the price.

Last week...all that changed. I walked into the Blockbuster store as I was heading to the grocery...and there were no movies on the racks. The store was being shut down. Bud, who I'd gotten to be friends with since day 1...was soon to be out of a job...and I was about to be out of a movie store.

Bud said that in a few years...'all' video stores will be going the way of Blockbuster. People don't want to go to the store to rent movies...when they can get online and download them immediately...without getting out of their car. Or Red Box is there, with an improved system, with movies for $1.

We want it 'now' and we want it 'cheap'.

Bud's out of a job...I'm out a video store.

Maybe the timing is right. Summer is coming...I don't want to stay inside and watch a movie anyway.


Dan