It looks like Blockbuster is finally losing to Netflix. Based on my personal experience I would have predicted this a long time ago – I’ve been a happy Netflix customer for 5 years now and I haven’t been to Blockbuster in at least 5 years. Three reasons I think Netflix rules over Blockbuster:
- No late fees. It wasn’t convenient for me to return my movies to Blockbuster as it was out of my regular way so I always paid a day or two of late fees.
- Convenience. Movies just show up in my mailbox with Netflix and they come with a return envelope with postage already attached. I just drop it in the mailbox the morning after I watch it. I always have a good movie or two at home to watch.
- Ratings. I can shop for movies on Netflix and see the ratings so I know if they are good or not. At the Blockbuster store I have to guess if the movie is good or not. (I have the same problem with bookstores now – I have to look up every book on Amazon.com on my phone to make sure it’s good before I buy it. And the I see that it’s cheaper on Amazon …)
And just to make the problem worse … movies aren’t like books – I don’t need to see them and hold them and read the back to know if I’ll really like them or not. (Although even with books, I find that I’m more and more comfortable with Amazon.com.)