Video rental stores that still exist.

[Glitch]

I find it ironic that the big chains went down while most of the ones that survive right now are the family owned ones. I was surprised three years ago when I saw that the town I moved into had a small video store still operating. My guess is that it still functions since it's within walking distance of a neighborhood and has more videos than redbox offers.


And apparently, a handful of Blockbuster stores still exist. As this guy here talks about.(he also goes into a chain on the east coast ones called Family Video)


Honestly, I see the fall of video stores more to do with mismanagement than netflix and other services. Netflix definitely caused them to downsize(that was inevitable), but I feel like blockbuster could have focused on trying to offer what a physical store can do that an online service can't. I dunno.

[Burst]

Yeah, I remember Family Video pretty prominently from when I lived in Michigan. I moved in 2010 but I've seen zero indication that that chain is going anywhere.

[RadcapRadsley]

I feel like Mismanagement was a YUGE part of it and caused Blockbuster and Hollywood video's implosion but they would have eventually folded as it's hard to compete with 8 or 10$ a month for unlimited movies in your own home vs $3-4 dollars for 1 movie which you have to drive to and from somewhere. I would imagine the few stores standing are in more Rural towns where high speed internet lags or places with a high volume of older people who netflix,hulu etc is too complicated.

[Spider2024]

There's still a local one near where my sister lives that does movies and video games.

[Gus Richlen Was Wrong]

Aug 21, 2016 19:16:55 GMT -5 Burst said:

Yeah, I remember Family Video pretty prominently from when I lived in Michigan. I moved in 2010 but I've seen zero indication that that chain is going anywhere.

The one across the state border in Michigan (said border is only twenty miles away from me) still does good business. I actually bought a lot of UFC and anime DVDs when they've put them on the outright sale rack. It's also a good place to get cheap rentals of crappy movies if I feel like watching one.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

The price of DVDs is a heck of a lot cheaper than what videos used to be. Back with video, the videos would come out at a high price so video storea could cash in on rentals for at least six months before the movies would be re-released with a lower sell-thru price. Cheaper DVDs eliminated that phase.

I figure that a brick-and-morter store could make some money if they followed the same idea as RedBox, though... lower nightly price point (like $2 a night), no membership but credit card required, just as long as it's in a good location.

[Deleted]

The local Blockbuster has only just closed down here. I have no idea how it lasted as I hadn't gone in since PS2 days. Every time I walked past it seemed empty

[Ted Sheckler]

During the peak of video rental stores (1990's) my town used to have five of them with three being major chain stores. They all closed down years ago except for one which was always the least popular out of the big three.

I haven't been into the store that remains for about six years but last time I was in there they'd tried other areas to monetise their business. Instead of just doing rentals the entire middle of the store was dedicated to selling DVD's and old VHS. They sold snacks at very reasonable prices and had some crazy deals like 5 weekly rentals for 3 bucks and stuff like that.

Me and my family used to holiday in a little town in the country and they have a video store because as someone else said in this thread, the internet out there is slower, the people are older and it feels familiar and nice for those people I guess. For people in the city the video stores cannot compete with $10 for unlimited movies and I'd say a lot of competition comes from illegal downloading as well. Why pay 6 dollars for a new release DVD when you can get it on Netflix or illegally a month or so after it airs at the cinema?

Would love to see them make a comeback but smart money says they won't.

[Phil Parent]

The rental store I rented my first NES cart when I was a kid is still running, and the guy that worked there that day still does.

They own their building. They invest only minimally in decoration. They own their inventory and sell everything they no longer want, many stores actually themselves rent their inventory.

[stealthamo]

I know there's a local video store that still runs where I grew up, but I'm not entirely sure how well it's doing. Outside of that, the aforementioned Family Video seems to be doing well. Seen a few open around Michigan at the very least.

[Milkman Norm]

Four Star Video Heaven still exists here in Madison. It's an independent store where Dan Savage started writing Savage Love.

[DASH 243✅]

I have a video store near me called film is truth. You can still rent vhs there

[Juice]

I have one in town i support. Mom and pop. Family video in town near by. Red box and blockbuster box failed in this town. But the video store (box seat video) does other stuff now, books, toys and candles and jerseys

[Larryhausen]

My buddy owns a coffee shop/rental shop here in Philly. I love that place.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

The grocery store chain I work for still has a video rental department, apparently universally, because I've never been inside one that doesn't have a video department. Also, back when I lived in a Chicago, there was a kind of "store brand Blockbuster" that was operating about a mile from my apartment, and that was as recently as 2014, but no idea if it's still open.

[GuyOfOwnage]

My small town has a Family Video that moved into an old Blockbuster location, and surprisingly, it's thriving. And we still have various convenience stores that still offer rentals as well. Redbox tried moving in here and completely bombed. People here just love their traditional video rentals and won't let them die, it seems.

[Powerline]

There's a chain in Kansas City called "Family Video" that still has a few stores open. None close enough for me to support them, but still...

And there is actually an old gas station in a VERY small farmtown near me that still rents videos. Hell, a couple years ago they just started selling N64 games they used to sell. I wish I was more up on my videogame collecting at that time, because one of them was a Complete In Box "Super Bowling 64", which is $90 cart alone. The box was sun-damaged, but having it complete would've easily been the crown jewel in my still modest videogame collection.

[cageking666]

There's like 4 different Family Video's here in Green Bay

[魔界5号]

I had a Blockbuster not far from me up until about two years ago. That was the last time I ever saw one.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

There's still a smaller video rental store in my hometown, but it's only been there a few years. Had two of the big chain video rental stores here, but they both closed down.