What is really in the hatch on LOST
In 4 years, we've gotten opinions and insane suggestions from a wide variety of people. Some are helpful, some are angry, others are just bizarre and slightly creepy. Most people don't realize the surreal and irrational world that is video rental, or business for that matter.
With netflix, redbox, and other means for renting movies, our biggest gripe is that people are blatantly persuaded of things that are either not true or completely trivial. A few examples.
At some point during the beginning of Harsh Times or Factory Girl, a polite title comes up - exclusively available to rent at Blockbuster.
Which is strange considering we rent these out.
The Weinstein company, the one that split off from Disney - run by the infamous Weinstein Brothers, has come up with an ingenious marketing ploy, lying.
Weinstein and the big blue made a deal to exclusively rent their titles. There were ads, press, a whole public marketing campaign, as seen from the in-dvd warnings.
Except that its illegal. Little known law called the "First Sale Doctrine" is the entire ground that allows the rental business to exist. This is what allows any rental store to rent movies out without having to get explicit copyright permission for every single film, individually.
Everyone is renting the Weinstein discs, the Weinsteins are in court for this blatant misinformation campaign.
We are the ones who are asked if we can rent them out.
We get customers afraid of giving out their credit card information who will swipe it freely at some random and anonymous mcdonalds rental kiosk, a kiosk that flat out tells you it will charge your card for everyday you have it. Customers who keep a film for 3 weeks who complained there was no 1 day option. This is the wonderland of customer service in the video rental niche.
The omnipresence of this saturation, its beginning to get out of hand.
You see - netflix, redbox, downloads - its the same waste repackaged. If a company doesn't take money out of your pocket and put it in theirs, they don't open to begin with. These companies have done the numbers. If the consumer actually got more for their buck, it wouldn't be worth the companies time to exist. Remember, the house always wins.
Video rental and the film experience is always worth something. No matter how much the current climate seems to make movies and TV disposable as if it were a contest to see who can digest the most film fastest with as little reason, we still firmly believe brick and mortar is the way to rent. It connects the film and the experience to a tangible place, a place that exists and is vulnerable to the environment around it, that changes and can be changed, that is reminiscent of the worlds you visit on the screen, dramatic - eventful but well, real.
As long as both we and you, the movie watcher, stay honest and realize that our financial well being rarely hinges on insisting for 2 days instead of 3, that we do in fact drive quite far to go to stores and restaraunts, or bars and bookstores out of our way apart from BPE, and that no matter how technology changes, the stories seem to stay the same, we will get along nicely.
Now if I could only get rid of those "community" movie bloggers at the register......................
With netflix, redbox, and other means for renting movies, our biggest gripe is that people are blatantly persuaded of things that are either not true or completely trivial. A few examples.
At some point during the beginning of Harsh Times or Factory Girl, a polite title comes up - exclusively available to rent at Blockbuster.
Which is strange considering we rent these out.
The Weinstein company, the one that split off from Disney - run by the infamous Weinstein Brothers, has come up with an ingenious marketing ploy, lying.
Weinstein and the big blue made a deal to exclusively rent their titles. There were ads, press, a whole public marketing campaign, as seen from the in-dvd warnings.
Except that its illegal. Little known law called the "First Sale Doctrine" is the entire ground that allows the rental business to exist. This is what allows any rental store to rent movies out without having to get explicit copyright permission for every single film, individually.
Everyone is renting the Weinstein discs, the Weinsteins are in court for this blatant misinformation campaign.
We are the ones who are asked if we can rent them out.
We get customers afraid of giving out their credit card information who will swipe it freely at some random and anonymous mcdonalds rental kiosk, a kiosk that flat out tells you it will charge your card for everyday you have it. Customers who keep a film for 3 weeks who complained there was no 1 day option. This is the wonderland of customer service in the video rental niche.
The omnipresence of this saturation, its beginning to get out of hand.
You see - netflix, redbox, downloads - its the same waste repackaged. If a company doesn't take money out of your pocket and put it in theirs, they don't open to begin with. These companies have done the numbers. If the consumer actually got more for their buck, it wouldn't be worth the companies time to exist. Remember, the house always wins.
Video rental and the film experience is always worth something. No matter how much the current climate seems to make movies and TV disposable as if it were a contest to see who can digest the most film fastest with as little reason, we still firmly believe brick and mortar is the way to rent. It connects the film and the experience to a tangible place, a place that exists and is vulnerable to the environment around it, that changes and can be changed, that is reminiscent of the worlds you visit on the screen, dramatic - eventful but well, real.
As long as both we and you, the movie watcher, stay honest and realize that our financial well being rarely hinges on insisting for 2 days instead of 3, that we do in fact drive quite far to go to stores and restaraunts, or bars and bookstores out of our way apart from BPE, and that no matter how technology changes, the stories seem to stay the same, we will get along nicely.
Now if I could only get rid of those "community" movie bloggers at the register......................
posted by BPE at 3:27 PM
3 Comments:
"You see - netflix, redbox, downloads - its the same waste repackaged."
If by "same waste" you mean a more convenient customer experience, than I agree whole heartedly.
I have a Redbox machine in the building where I work and it's so easy to pick up a movie for a night and return it the next day. I don't need to make two stops that are out of my way in order to do it - and it only costs me $1. The thing is, I don’t need a physical retail experience when renting a movie. I just want the movie. I want it quickly. I want it conveniently. And I want it cheaply.
Boy, if everyone had the same standards (fast and cheap, no matter the cost) as our anonymous poster here, our communities would really suck...
No locally-owned, brick and mortar specialty retailers. No attention to detail and no reason for business owners to actually know about and care for the product and/or service they're providing.
BPE has great rental rates and policies, and they actually do care about movies and their place in the community.
I also wouldn't rent from Redbox because I don't want to put more money into the pockets of the likes of Coinstar and McDonald's, which does enough damage to our earth and communities as it is... no extra bankrolling from me, thank you!
One, 'anonymous' sounds like an infomercial salesman.
The one thing we as Americans have learned is we accept being sold. I don't mean sold in a metaphorical sense, I mean actually submitting to and accepting any persuasive argument.
You are wrong in your assessment of redbox. It has 30 movies at most at one time, it does in fact 'run out' of films like we do, they carry b and c movies you couldn't sell at a goodwill but without a 'context' (gong!) you don't know any better.
The problem is when reflecting on yourself, a consumer will always act like they are perfect. You dot your i's, if someone is being screwed by a business model, its those 'others'.
It simply, by running a video store and knowing the numbers, is wrong of you to assert that. You will rent from redbox. You will be charged the automatic $1 a day late fee to your credit card which is now in a databank.
You will, given enough rentals, loan it to a sibling, loved one, and they will keep it 2-3 weeks.
You will detach the movie experience from any meaningful connection with th evalues that define your identity as a human, if one is left.
You don't 'need' a physical retail experience anymore than you 'need' a physical relationship with a man or a woman. But need is not much to base your voluntary decisions on.
No one's lifestyle has ever been preserved/threatened by the 50 cent to a dollar difference on movie rentals.
Companies count on your vanity to guarantee you toe the line.
Netflix had their first new membership drop ever recently.
Blockbuster online program has cost it millions, and it now must raise the online price and cut back on ads.
Movie gallery declared bankruptcy.
The quality, availability of movies has not increased, and all the hype shoved down our throats won't change you get the community you choose. Look outside lately?
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