Blockbuster bids for Circuit City

When this news feed passed at work today I had a nice chuckle! Two bad franchises potentially coming together to make...an even worse franchise, what an awesome idea! At least the poor people holding stock in Circuit City saw some relief today. And yes both companies are doing horrendous, just look at comparison charts regarding stock value between Circuit City/Best Buy and BB/Netflix.

I dont get it :/

Originally posted by svtstang:

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When this news feed passed at work today I had a nice chuckle!

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Two bad franchises potentially coming together to make...an even worse franchise, what an awesome idea!

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At least the poor people holding stock in Circuit City saw some relief today. And yes both companies are doing horrendous, just look at comparison charts regarding stock value between Circuit City/Best Buy and BB/Netflix.

I dont get it :/

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Only in America !

I'm not sure about this marriage....

I used to work at Circuit City back in the commission days. This bonehead move just follows suit to the others that I have seen over the past 10 years. It may not be officially done yet, but if it were to go through, it would be because the CEO's of Circuit City are cashing out while they still have something to sell.

i don't think it would work very well, but i really wouldn't know.

then again, the merger of two dying giants could be a good thing for both.

Originally posted by snowlock:

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i don't think it would work very well, but i really wouldn't know.

then again, the merger of two dying giants could be a good thing for both.

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if they would easily share their stock with each other and be able to buy and reorder stuff from each other it would be great but these mergers never go to well for the average consuemr it just means the status quo will continue...

instead one one company going down in flames now two will lol

It's sad. Circuit City killed it's self with over pricing their stuff. Best Buy kills them in price everytime. and Blockbuster has the same business model of overpricing themselves out of business.

Also just like Blockbuster never comes off with an original idea...instead they copy a competitors idea and try to tweak it so they can still somehow over price it. In the end they completely fail at it and end up hurting themselves more by pushing away customers that are smart enough to know they’re getting the better deal at the competition. Circuit City does this too (Firedog anyone?)

So they deserve each other. However I still would shop at Circuit City from time to time because they sometimes have items you can’t get elsewhere. But once the merge with Blockbuster, they are dead to me. I will never again give my money to the crooks at Blockbuster.

Actually, at the moment I think pricing is as good at CC as at BB...certainly for TV's.

They hurt themselves with their salesman commission model that scares off customers vs. BB. They also always seem to have less approachable/friendly sales-people than BB. On the other hand, in my experience, they have much better displays of TV's.

interesting... circuit city IS having a lot of trouble now, Best Buy has taken over

I will be getting my next HDTV at Circuit City. Only because I don't have a credit card with them, and even though I will have the cash for it, opening a card would give me 10% off. I hope they are still around by then :P

I hate Blockbuster. I recently rented a PS3 game there. It was crap. So I returned it the next morning (less than 24 hours). I asked if I could switch games and the middle aged lady shook her head and pointed up to their "monthly gamers plan" which was scribbled in chalk on a chalkboard. I should have joined that she told me. For $21/month, I could have taken out as many as I wanted, 1 at a time. So I left the store feeling like I just threw $8.00 down the sewer. Not a good way to treat a customer. Especially a business that is hurting like they are. I would have signed up if I would have seen the deal or been made aware of it when I rented the game to begin with. What she could have done is apply the $8.00 I spent to the cost of the monthly fee and let me join for a month. Instead, she lost my future business. No more game rentals from BB for me. And then I asked if they had a bluray selection yet. Of course not. So I'm going to subscribe to Netflix now and just rely on downloading free demos of games I want to try out if they are available.

I've always bought stuff from both Best Buy & CC depending who had the better price. Both will rip you a new one on non sale items. Circuit City's customer service is deffinently lack something.

As for Netflix & Blockbuster I prefer Blockbuster because their distribution center is closer and I only have a one day turn around on movies by mail. Blockbuster's game rentals are a major rip off, I agree 100% on that.

Gamefly is the way to go on game rentals though. For the price of one game you can have almost four months of their serivce. After buying F.E.A.R. I vowed never to buy another game without renting it first.

Emugamer ... what a load of crap. You hate Blockbuster because you rented a game and didn't like it? Give me a break. Try going to McDonald's (or anywhere else to eat) and order cheeseburger. Eat half and then go back up the counter and tell them you really don't want the cheeseburger anymore. Ask them to give you half price off the next burger you buy instead. Post the results of this conversation you have with the food person here, please.

Originally posted by loxley32:

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Emugamer ... what a load of crap. You hate Blockbuster because you rented a game and didn't like it? Give me a break. Try going to McDonald's (or anywhere else to eat) and order cheeseburger. Eat half and then go back up the counter and tell them you really don't want the cheeseburger anymore. Ask them to give you half price off the next burger you buy instead. Post the results of this conversation you have with the food person here, please.

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loxley32 ... what a load of crap. Your illustration is completely unrelated. Perishable vs non-perishable. Try thinking first. I'm not going to Blockbuster because of what I feel was poor customer service, not because of a game. Read carefully. And I should have mentioned that this was the straw that broke the camels back. I've had less than stellar service there. I'd rather deal with an online checkout system than with their employees I've encountered. If they would have tried to work with me, I would have been more inclined to give them more business. Give the customer a little and they will come back for more. It wasn't asking for much in the grand scheme of things. They would have still received $21 from me, and in the end, I probably would have subscribed for another month or rented a bluray when available. So don't give me that crap about a half-eaten burger. That's just low class.

emugamer, having worked at a Hollywood chain, I can see both sides of the story, however, the standard rental model is not "all you can eat" like their subscription plan.

Basically to have them exchange the game you rented, more than likely would be flagged as a free rental in their system, and you would get an extra day on a game. In this day and age where people copy/backup everything, I'm sure they are pretty strict on things like this.

And for a better comparison, go buy a game or DVD and try returning it for something OTHER than the same copy of said game or DVD. Not gonna happen.

Originally posted by SProdigy:

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...go buy a game or DVD and try returning it for something OTHER than the same copy of said game or DVD. Not gonna happen.

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true.

even walmart doesn't do refunds on open media,
and they have the best (loosest) return policies anywhere.
you can buy a brand new game system from walmart,
keep and play it for a month then return it for a full refund.

Originally posted by SProdigy:

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emugamer, having worked at a Hollywood chain, I can see both sides of the story, however, the standard rental model is not "all you can eat" like their subscription plan.

Basically to have them exchange the game you rented, more than likely would be flagged as a free rental in their system, and you would get an extra day on a game. In this day and age where people copy/backup everything, I'm sure they are pretty strict on things like this.

And for a better comparison, go buy a game or DVD and try returning it for something OTHER than the same copy of said game or DVD. Not gonna happen.

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Thanks for the info. The standard rental model makes sense. Yeah, I'm pretty aware about the policies surrounding all media (movies, games, CD's). It's a shame about that. I guess I was thinking it wouldn't make a difference with a PS3 game since backups are useless. But I guess if there is a rental model, it pretty much applies to all things. I just wish she would have pointed out the subscription plan when I first rented it.

Anyway, back on topic, there is a Circuit City where I live directly across the street from a Best Buy where I live. Circuit City is pretty much dead compared to the crowd in Best Buy. And the B&M Blockbusters near me are pretty much the same. Blockbuster teaming up with Best Buy (not buying them) would probably be a more practical business choice I would think.

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Originally posted by SProdigy:

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...go buy a game or DVD and try returning it for something OTHER than the same copy of said game or DVD. Not gonna happen.

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true.

even walmart doesn't do refunds on open media,
and they have the best (loosest) return policies anywhere.
you can buy a brand new game system from walmart,
keep and play it for a month then return it for a full refund.

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What most people don't recall is that the industry both publisher and retail got together and created the whole on return thing for new media, this blanket martial law ban has empowered the system to maintain a status quo and further develop the casual market, IE we can make all the crap we want to and the consumer is stuck with he bill.

this is why I never buy new anymore and fight for my consumer and fair use rights every chance I get.

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Originally posted by SProdigy:

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...go buy a game or DVD and try returning it for something OTHER than the same copy of said game or DVD. Not gonna happen.

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true.

even walmart doesn't do refunds on open media,
and they have the best (loosest) return policies anywhere.
you can buy a brand new game system from walmart,
keep and play it for a month then return it for a full refund.

---

What most people don't recall is that the industry both publisher and retail got together and created the whole on return thing for new media, this blanket martial law ban has empowered the system to maintain a status quo and further develop the casual market, IE we can make all the crap we want to and the consumer is stuck with he bill.

this is why I never buy new anymore and fight for my consumer and fair use rights every chance I get.

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no offense since i totally agree and support your stance, but...
it ain't happenin: it will stay that way with media since they've gotten away with it this long.

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Anyway, back on topic, there is a Circuit City where I live directly across the street from a Best Buy where I live. Circuit City is pretty much dead compared to the crowd in Best Buy. And the B&M Blockbusters near me are pretty much the same. Blockbuster teaming up with Best Buy (not buying them) would probably be a more practical business choice I would think.

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Didn't Block Buster team up with Radio Shack or someone like that? I remember going to a BB in Houston, that had a Radio Shack in it. Or vice versa.

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Anyway, back on topic, there is a Circuit City where I live directly across the street from a Best Buy where I live. Circuit City is pretty much dead compared to the crowd in Best Buy. And the B&M Blockbusters near me are pretty much the same. Blockbuster teaming up with Best Buy (not buying them) would probably be a more practical business choice I would think.

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Didn't Block Buster team up with Radio Shack or someone like that? I remember going to a BB in Houston, that had a Radio Shack in it. Or vice versa.

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Hmm...never saw that in NY.

Yea, here's an article..

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0..._27/ai_70896525

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The companies will launch Phase I of the concept in approximately 130 selected Blockbuster stores in four markets, which is planned to be followed by a Phase II nationwide rollout of the company's remaining stores in 2002. Completion of the approximate 130 stores is expected by this summer and will include the markets of Las Vegas, Nev., Norfolk, Va., Austin, Texas, and Tulsa, Okla. RadioShack's highly trained sales associates will manage the stores within Blockbuster, which will offer and educate consumers on the latest digital entertainment products including home electronics, telephony services, high-speed Internet access and emerging connectivity technologies along with other fun gadgets.

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So it's kind of like they have already tried this and from what I've seen, it hasn't done very well. So will this buyout actually help?

**update**

Hah, BB is owned by Viacom. Viacom as you know, owns Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, MTV and a bunch of other things. Seems like with all those successful businesses/corporations they got going, they could think of some ways to keep BB going.

Originally posted by goodswipe:

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Yea, here's an article..

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0..._27/ai_70896525

Quote:

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The companies will launch Phase I of the concept in approximately 130 selected Blockbuster stores in four markets, which is planned to be followed by a Phase II nationwide rollout of the company's remaining stores in 2002. Completion of the approximate 130 stores is expected by this summer and will include the markets of Las Vegas, Nev., Norfolk, Va., Austin, Texas, and Tulsa, Okla. RadioShack's highly trained sales associates will manage the stores within Blockbuster, which will offer and educate consumers on the latest digital entertainment products including home electronics, telephony services, high-speed Internet access and emerging connectivity technologies along with other fun gadgets.

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So it's kind of like they have already tried this and from what I've seen, it hasn't done very well. So will this buyout actually help?

**update**

Hah, BB is owned by Viacom. Viacom as you know, owns Nickelodeon, VH1, BET, Paramount Pictures, MTV and a bunch of other things. Seems like with all those successful businesses/corporations they got going, they could think of some ways to keep BB going.

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ya but tis radio shack, the main trouble with RS is that the American populace no longer builds tings and RS has a 30%+ mark up on stuff making you wonder why china gods are not cheap.

I mean really if RS would drop prices by 30-50% they would get more traffic.


speaking of RS,whats a good RS like store that all has them bit and bobs? the one here closed down due to the plague known as wallmart and I need to get some odds and ends no one else carries here.. I dont want to pay shipping ontop of RS prices at thier website.


as for making BB "work" heres a thought 5$ rents a DVD for up to 2 months, the DVD needs to be returned in that time frame or you will be charged the going rate for a new DVD.
If you just want it for a day thats 2$ for 24 hours with a 12 hour grace period before being charged 3$ and it slotted to the 2 month plan.

Games are handled the same FCKING way, when you rent 3 games theres a 5$ deposit on the 3rd one and 5$ for each there after ,once you return them you are refunded the money, this is better than over charging BS they do for games currently.

One could also use a rain check system where for 2$ you can have them hold something that was out for 2 days, having a intuitive system thats not insanely overpriced but seeks to provide a premium service at cost will do them far more good than the mindless drooling price fixing they have going on now....

BTW about BBonline, heres how I can see it being good for 15$ you get a take home to the store plan,1 at a time unlimited, you get it through the mail and return it to the store, it also lets you rent from the store 2 discs at a time within 24-30 hours of each other.

For 25$ you get either 4 at a time or 1 movie 1 game which translates to 5 at the store in a 1 a day in the week allotment(7 a week Sunday to Sunday or 15 hours per disc) or 2 movie and 1 game or 2 games alone in a 30 hour period.


To return these to the online system you about pay a buck a disc

For 39$ you get 8 DVDs or 4 games (games count as 2 dvds) in a 20 hour period, return to the online system is free of charge.

Both these let you rent something at the store for free and give you 90 days before the system warns you of a late return at 110-120 days you are charged the price of the time to be refunded on the return of the item minus a 1$ handling fee.

BB needs to up turn around but handle saturation control as well and treating games the same as movies or at least 2 movies in the form of 1 game, BB still has teeth left in it but without the correct plans , consumer freindlyness and low but firm prices BB will fail.

Also a 50$ gold membership plan that removes the deposit and other fees and increases the warn date on rentals would not be a bad idea, renew it for 10 every 20 months and send them 30$ worth of coupons a year to finish it out if need be.

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speaking of RS,whats a good RS like store that all has them bit and bobs? the one here closed down due to the plague known as wallmart and I need to get some odds and ends no one else carries here.. I dont want to pay shipping ontop of RS prices at thier website.

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Hmm, maybe try Monoprice?

Originally posted by goodswipe:

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speaking of RS,whats a good RS like store that all has them bit and bobs? the one here closed down due to the plague known as wallmart and I need to get some odds and ends no one else carries here.. I dont want to pay shipping ontop of RS prices at thier website.

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Hmm, maybe try Monoprice?

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dosent have leds,stero jacks and other bits dose has audio and data cabling tho and at a good price.

Are you ready for Circuit Buster? LOL