# Do you still visit brick and mortar video stores? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 27, 2010, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630 "2010-01-27T05:38:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/41 "2010-01-27T20:57:37Z")
Another happy FamVid customer here. We supplement with on-demand, but it’s twice as much and doesn’t come with free kid’s rental. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/42 "2010-01-27T21:04:54Z")
Yes, we go weekly. We don’t use the local equivalent to Netflix because it generates too much waste. An audio books shop recently closed its doors to become an audio books version of Netflix. They use re-usable envelopes and such. Don’t know why Zip (Canadian version of Netflix) doesn’t do the same. ---
**Author:** ![Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/43 "2010-01-27T22:00:51Z")
Looks like I’m the first one here to mention Hasting’s. I’m there every Tuesday when the new movies hit the shelves. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/44 "2010-01-27T22:08:53Z")
There are still video stores? With a TiVo and a dozen movie channels (not the high premium ones, but the various Encores, Retroplex, Indie, TCM, and MGM) there’s always movies worth watching available on the DVR. But occasionally I’ll want to see a specific movie or, especially, rent the DVDs of a TV show. And I’m SOL – it’s much too infrequent a desire to justify a whole Netflix membership. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/46 "2010-01-27T22:37:31Z")
No. I have netflix, but rarely use that. I should probably cancel my membership. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/47 "2010-01-27T22:51:34Z")
I still go quite a bit. I like the feeling of it, the teenage clerks and the stale popcorn smell. I like touching the DVD boxes. Sometimes I bring a list, but it’s much more fun to browse there than scroll through IMDb. I should note that my local has tons of indie and foreign stuff. And candy. I know, last of a dying breed. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/48 "2010-01-27T22:59:12Z")
I’ve never rented a DVD. I do however go to video stores to buy used DVD’s. The only time I’ve been tempted to rent any DVD’s is when I’m at Video Barn, a video store in a nearby city. They have an amazing selection of rare DVD’s that I’ve never seen for rent anywhere else. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/49 "2010-01-27T23:30:55Z")
I LIKE Family Video and I hope they stay there - but I don’t know how much business they do to make a profit, other than on busy weekends. ---
**Author:** ![pendgwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3da27b/32.png) [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/50 "2010-01-27T23:55:03Z")
Only to buy used DVDs ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/51 "2010-01-28T00:01:47Z")
Yes - we don’t have Netflicks in Canada, and my local video stores are fantastic. [Suspect Video and Culture](http://www.suspectvideo.com/) and Queen Video (doesn’t have a website.) For buying, there’s Vintage Video, which has all the Hollywood Classics. I suppose ‘progress’ will wipe them out in the same way that record shops and book stores are being wiped out, but I’m not looking forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/52 "2010-01-28T05:43:56Z")
Last week, the Blockbuster Video store at the mall I visit next to the grocery store was open on Tuesday. On Thursday, they had signs on the windows all taped up and what not that said they were closed. On Saturday, the store was empty and what my friend and I assumed were former employees cleaning the walls and glass surfaces and vacuuming the carpets. My friend said it was probably an attempt to recover the deposit from the leased space (my friend is a retail property manager). So I guess when the decision is made to close a store, it happens pretty fast. Just my second-hand experience. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/53 "2010-01-28T05:59:44Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > At a Grocery store / Supermarket [Publix] near my Parents, there is such a machine. By a company that (apparently) got bought out by Blockbuster. Blockbuster re-named the machine “Blockbuster Express”. > > The problem is, a traditional Blockbuster is in the same strip center, at the far end of the complex. > > I think one or the other has to go, and soon. Cannibalism, pure and simple. I dunno. They aren’t really competing with each other if they’re the same company. While the vending machines are really convenient, the brick-and-mortar stores have a bigger selection. I could see this working to their advantage, similar to a fast food place having a drive-thru. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/54 "2010-01-28T07:27:06Z")
Bookstores and record/video stores for browsing. I buy most of my academic literature and harder to find music online, but most novels and more easy-to-find CDs and DVDs I get at brick and mortar stores. I still get pleasure from the browsing experience and impulse buys. And I’m still tied to physical media - I don’t do any sort of permanent music downloads at all. But the poor video rental store has pretty much been forsaken. Haven’t been to one in maybe two years, though I do still have a local membership. Either I buy them, I watch on cable one way or another or I stream/rent from Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/55 "2010-01-28T08:43:35Z")
I go to used video stores. For the price of renting the movie, I can usually own it. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/56 "2010-01-28T09:28:06Z")
I do, if somewhat infrequently. Mostly if it’s something netflix doesn’t have, or I don’t want to wait two days to get in the mail, or even if it’s something that isn’t on DVD. Sadly, one of my video stores—which has come back from the dead _twice_ in the last few years—has sold off most or all of their VHS stock, while the mom & pop nearby is almost all DVD at this point, but still has VHS in stock…all of which are for sale for a coupla bucks, though. The _National Geographics_ sold out _fast_. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/57 "2010-01-28T18:16:34Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Dude, **BetsQ**. Profiles! Seriously. You can have your movies and he can have his movies. The kids can even have theirs. The boyfriend and I together have I think five profiles - movies for both of us, my stuff, his stuff, dramatic long-format shows for both of us, and shorter shows or comedies for both of us. But you can still only have three out at a time, right? I find it difficult to plan ahead of time when I’m going to have the enthusiasm for movie watching, so when a movie for me comes from netflix, it generally sits on the mantel for 3-4 weeks until I get around to watching it. Drives the hubby crazy, since he’ll go through 10 or 12 movies in the time frame. It’s easier to just run out to Blockbuster when the mood strikes. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/58 "2010-01-28T18:25:25Z")
I haven’t in years. I used to belong to Blockbuster’s and before that Kim’s Mediapolis in New York but that stopped after the latter company screwed me over for a movie they claim I never returned (and I got tired of clerks getting the vapors when I checked out movies by directors who were still living and making money, and of getting jizzed on when I took out the odd Fellini film). Go team netflix! ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/59 "2010-01-28T23:04:39Z")
> [@I\_Am\_The\_Lorax](#): > > We just started going to Family Video since our Blockbuster closed. (Not that we went to Blockbuster more than twice a year, anyway.) Now I understand why Blockbuster couldn’t compete. Kids movies are free to rent, so are workout DVDs and educational. Most other movies are 2/$1 or $1, and new releases are 2something. These are five day rentals. SO and I rented a movie at Blockbuster last year (before we got Netflix) and he was aghast at the price of a movie - $5 rental, and I’m sure in other places it’s much worse. He rented a lot from the video store near his home, so I had no idea why he thought it was exorbitant. Fast forward to having dinner at his family’s house weeks later, he suggests we stop at the video store by his home. I’m in total awe - I haven’t seen rental prices below $3 in YEARS! - and it’s a Family Video. Amazing selection to boot. Their prices are so low that I joke that they’re a front for SOME shady business. I’ve just never seen a business model with prices so radically different than the competition. But I won’t miss the brick and mortars when they’re gone. I do, however, hope that Redbox flourishes, with better selection to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/60 "2010-01-29T01:17:38Z")
The weird thing is people ask me why I buy DVD’s. I can’t figure out why anyone rents them. Blockbuster rents DVD’s for five dollars. Come back in three months and they’ll be selling that same DVD for five dollars. And five dollars is actually a relatively high price for used DVD’s. I know several places where I can buy them for three dollars and I’ve seen them for less. ---
**Author:** ![Chimi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/73ab20/32.png) [@Chimi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimi)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630/61 "2010-01-29T04:19:57Z")
Really, one of the main things about the chain places like BB is bulk. We’ve gotten 300 copies of movies, with about 10 stores in Lincoln, NE. It’s set up so that there’s a darn good chance of getting the latest big thing even if you don’t bother coming the first few days of it being out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-visit-brick-and-mortar-video-stores/526630.md?page=4)