You can and should haggle for a discount if the game does not come with a case or instruction manual.
Also, when I've bought from BB in the past and the game had everything BUT the instruction manual, I went to one of the rental display cases and pulled the manual out of that. They didn't have a problem with it; they said that when they (I dunno who "they" is) give them the pre-played games to sell, they usually ditch the manual and case because it saves shipping space/cost.

I'll throw in my 50 cent here and agree wit you

Personally, I think it's more creepy than that. At least with a video store, they're only able to select from whatever they have there, and it most likely does NOT include beastiality and other very disturbing/disgusting things. Not to mention the fact that, if you're using someone elses computer, the likelihood that they've recently been yankin' it in close proximity, especially to the keyboard area, are about 100%. Whenever you go to your friends house and use their PC, you're touching their dick.
The creepiness is still there, but it's not in your face, it's on your hands!!!! oh nooo

Mormons actually, but yeah, religious zealots are pretty much all the same

Does no one else remember the idiotic, "You're late, you bought it" policy?

Lackluster has been guilty of one stupid decision after another. It's almost as if they were deliberately sabotaging themselves.

@G-Dog: That's just Ludacris.

@mathew: Here, lets tie your sinking ship to my sinking ship! I can't see anything bad happening here!

@Front_Towards_Enemy: It also means we get to have 6 months worth of stories telling us about how crappy the Blockbuster liquidation sale is :P Looking forward to that!

Actually the really funny thing would be if Netflix bought Blockbuster and kept the stores open. That would really make my day

I'm digging the 79% drop in stock, but does that really mean much when your stock is worth less than a dollar before the plunge?

I got buck in my pocket. If someone wants to trhow in another 50 cents, we can buy the company...

@golddog: Got you beat...they tried to take me to collections over a negative balance. Never heard of someone trying to take you to collections over money that THEY owed to YOU!

@Brad Morrison: I loved the quote "Blockbuster and Enron Broadband Services have struck a 20-year agreement to deliver movies on demand to consumers' computers or televisions over high-speed telephone lines."

20 years- who in tech signs 20 year agreements...

Yeah, I used to have BB online when it *first* came out. I mean...I was the first person in our BB that used it. It was great when it came out..cheaper than netflix, and you got a free game rental every month. Slowly, but surely, they jacked up the price 2x over a 6 month period, and dropped the game rental. Now I am happy with my netflix. So I do bear a grudge against BB.

So since it came out, they raised prices like 30%, dropped the online game coupon, and now movies you drop off are not immediately credited towards your account (they used to ship you a movie as soon as the brick and mortar store received the movie, so you might end up with 4-5 movies at once...now you have to return your exchange movie before they ship your next online movie...dumb).

Where I live Blockbuster should be ok because of the lack of broadband in the area. They still have really crappy emo kids working there though. I personally can't stand the place since they decided to start charging us a crapload of money on late fees after we bought into their rewards program. No letter, no email, nothing. We just went in to drop off some movies and had to pay late fees where we never had to before. It was weird, not a huge deal, just shady.

I once returned 5 - get that? F-I-V-E - videos and they said I never turned them in, when I had four witnesses who said that I did. They then billed me over the list price for each video. Let's forget for a moment that I returned them and pretend that I did not. These were previously viewed videos and they couldn't possibly back up their claim. What was I to do? I couldn't take them to small claims court, but I never rented from them again.

Congrats Blockbuster! I told you then that one day you'd be sorry and you just rolled your eyes at me. What comes around goes around, you jerks!

Same here. Historically when you returned a movie in the drop off slot after hours, they'd catch you for the extra buck or two the next time you came in. Around 1999 I dropped a flick off and incurred a .97 late fee. I hadn't been in for a couple of weeks and got a postcard threatening collection of the .97.

Ah-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-freakin-HA. Couldn't happen to a crappier company. I'm honestly surprised it took until 2009.

Oh boy, it's time for a big rant.

Ok, first I would just like to point out that im sure most of the people here posting negative remarks are one's who were charged by Blockbuster sometime back in the 90's when they had late fee's. I would actually like to see a genuine complaint about a Blockbuster store that doesn't have to do with the old and now extinct late fee's, and nothing about the online service either. I doubt someone can come up with one.

Now, first of all Im going to point out that Blockbuster isn't perfect, neither is Netflix, or Redbox, or any other company out there. Take a look at the company that had the biggest stock gain this year: WALMART. Now, go walk into a Walmart store and try to get someone to help you find something. GOOD LUCK. No offense to anyone, but half the employees can't speak english and the other half are either ignoring customers or babbling away on their phones.

Next point in theory. Blockbuster isn't going yet. So stop saying "good for them," blah blah blah. If you read the articles they are only looking into refinancing, which probably means a few stores will close. What companies (besides Walmart), are actually doing good in today's economy?

Moving on, I know that so many people reading these posts will never change their mind, and those Netflix subscribers or those Redbox renters will stand behind their services even if a bomb was about to hit one. Well, let's look at these so called "amazing" services, and see how good they really are.

NETFLIX: Ok, posted a very nice profit this year, well duh, Blockbuster used to most massive profits too, for a company to purchase DVD's it costs almost nothing when buying in bulk. Of course, who the heck wants to wait for 2 days for something in the mail. If I want a movie I want it now, I might have to work tomorrow or do something else the next day. Not to metion they don't ship on weekends, and what about mail delays and holidays....the list goes on. And the movie queues, maybe some people have multiple movies on their queue. Lovely. But what about those savvy shoppers who are on a budget and only have one movie. Well, if it's a new release you certainly aren't going to get it for another week at the very earliest, Netflix gives all the new movies to those who have the higher priced plans. (They just don't tell you about it). Netflix is basically the epitamy of the average american: Downright LAZY. No one wants to get out and go shopping anymore, lets order it online, lets have our food delivered, lets not cook a meal but get fast food, why should kids bother excercising when there's entertainment inside on a comfortable bed or sofa watching television or playing video games. With all these lovely reasons America is built on, then why in world should someone even think of getting up to go to a movie store to find a movie they want. Im sure Netflix customer service is more than willing to help you find a movie.

REDBOX/Kiosks: $1 for a movie. What a great deal! Right? Not so much. Do you people really think redbox makes money on charging a dollar a rental. No stinkin way. They make money on late fee's, just like Blockbuster used to. If you don't bring your movie back to Redbox by so and so time, BANG, another dollar, oh and if your 2 days late its doubled, BANG 4 dollars. OH, forgot to bring it back during the weekend, BANG $8 charge on your credit or bank card. Holy smokes you could have almost purchased the movie already. What about those kiosks that are out of order or not working when you want to return your movie? Well, you can't go to the customer service in the store your shopping at because they have no control over it. Guess your going to get a late fee. What if the computer decided that you brought it back 2 days late and you didn't, there's another late fee. And the best part of all of it, that makes these boxes so much money. YOU CAN'T ARGUE CHARGES WITH A MACHINE. On a side now, 78% percent of people return movies late. That's a lot of late fee's. Oh, one other thing. Try finding the movie you want on a weekend, good luck with that one too, Blockbuster can't even keep new releases in stock and they carry over 100 copies of most movies, these boxes carry 20 at the most.

Online/Streaming: Ok, enough of the BS people. Half of you don't know how to play a movie on your computer, the other half don't have the high speed internet to do it. Stop pretending to support a format you know nothing about. (Not saying that everyone is an idiot). Netflix on Xbox 360 and the movies on your computer are to appeal to a different audience, teenagers mostly. This idea of digital content is still so far away from becoming a reality it's not even funny. Not to mention who the heck wants to watch a movie on the computer screen anyways. It took our country almost 30 years to just change to digital television, something countries in Europe have had for almost a decade. Now that more bandwith is free, you know major corporate giants are going to hog it all up. Which will still leave only a limited amount to all of us, have fun downloading that movie onto your lovely digital box for 2 hours.

Late Fees: A thing of the past, except maybe for Hollywood Video. Blockbuster dropped the policy years ago, and yet people still complain. Why? Your being charged for the movie, of course you are going to complain. Well, for one, try having money in your bank in case of backup. How the heckl do you not have at least $20 at anytime in your bank in case of a charge? I don't know. Im not going to lie i've been lazy plenty of times. This past summer I probably ended up buying 3 or 4 movies from Blockbuster from not returning them. But their return policy is more then leniant enough. INITIAL RENTAL NEW RELEASE: 2 DAYS, 10 DAY GRACE PERIOD= 12 DAYS: ALMOST 2 WHOLE WEEKS TO RETURN YOUR MOVIE! Well, I don't know about some people, but after seeing a movie once or twice I would bring it back, no reason to keep it for 2 weeks. Now even after that 12 days, you will get charged for the movie. Thats when the disaster begins for most. For me, I acutally thought that was it and I had to keep the movies. I soon found out that I had ANOTHER GRACE PERIOD! Even longer than the first, it was (don't panic) 30 DAYS!! Wow, so people have another month to bring their movies back to get their money back, minus what is that? Oh, its a measly $1.25 restocking fee. Well that's nothing for having a movie for over a MONTH AND A HALF! The real problem here is not the late fee's Blockbuster used to have, nor the policy now. It's the lazy a** consumer. That's right, you and me and everyone else. We are just too dam lazy to return a movie on time, and then god forbid we get a charge on our precious credit cards, ones which we already have maxed out anyways. Then we have to go in and start attacking the innocent employee's, as if its really their fault? Give me a break. Everyone makes mistakes, so Blockbuster missed your movie when they were checking some in, well they just found it on the shelf, there's your money back. Oh, and most managers im sure are more then willing to refund your $1.25 restocking fee, but by then you've probably already cursed out the manager and his whole family and the whole company. Im sure the only thing your leaving with is a "Have a nice day," response.

I guess the only other thing to metion is probably the movie plans. I just want to clear this up for everyone: NOT EVERYONE SPENDS ALL THEIR TIME RENTING MOVIES! Im sure a plan with Netflix is good for you people who spend their time watching movies every night or every weekend or whatever. And even retired people its great for. But for those who only watch 2 or 3 movies a month, its not worth it. Blockbusters plans are the same way, it only pays off if you are going to rent. I used to have a Video Game plan at my local Blockbuster in high school. I would probably go through 8 or 9 games a month with my friend, so for $20 it more than paid for itself. But now that im in college and working I don't have the time for it, as do many other people. So please, stop praising the "good" deal Netflix offers with it's plans, cause not everyone rents like you do. On a side note. I dont see anyone here complaining about the price of movie tickets. Isn't the reason Netflix started is because they wanted to compete against movie theaters? YEA. Well no one is shutting down Loewe's or Regal Cinema's. Of course not. Why? Well apparently no one can give a good answer, I guess people will care more about Dvd plans and a $3 rental difference between companies then worry about paying $10 for a one time movie ticket. Rather than just buy it on dvd for $15. The funny thing is, these people that are so stingy on their movie rentals, they are the ones who blow $40 or $50 a month at a movie theater. Well done guys.

I love my local Blockbuster. The guys there really know movies, they let me exchange my online rentals for Blu-Rays, and they always have the lowest prices on used DVDs. Unfortunately, they've changed the online deal so they don't mail your next online disc until you bring back the freebie rental to the store. Now I don't know whether or not to keep my online subscription or do the unlimited deal through the store...

about time! But hey, they are having a Twilight premiere event at midnight! That will sure bring up their numbers ; )

Can't answer any blue ray objections. Regular dvd's are fine.

Does this mean my late fees will go away?

Publish a story that says you're looking into bankruptcy, and immediately your stock plummets, forcing you into bankruptcy.

Clever!

One of the reasons I initially signed up was to be able to trade movies in at the B&M stores, which I still do occasionally, plus the free video game rental.

I would like to see them pull off what ever is required to survive, as it will give netflix a good reason to compete, and I feel I have gotten good value for my money. (Honestly!)

However, they just changed the rules so that your next movies from your queue don't ship until you return the off-the-shelf movies to the store. That's "value-subtracted" rather than value-added.

Also, they should lower their prices for purchases, I buy all my used DVDs through Amazon instead because they are asking way too much for heavily-used ex-rental DVDs.

Game prices at the BB location here were cheaper than Gamestop by quite a bit, in some cases 20$ lower, and the games were in good condition with original case and manual. They did have a bunch of disc-only games but those were reduced in price significantly (take note Gamestop!)

I was then charged 45 dollors 3 times for each of the movies I never recieved because I never returned them.

In the 4 years that I have been using netflix, I only not received my movies twice. I had never been charged for a movie that was not recieved, in fact once I called them because I had lost a movie and even then they never charged me for not returning a DVD, and I still recieve my 3 at a time. I often feel bad for the employees but sometimes a business deserves to be bankrupt.

Where any suburban husband could go to rent that special video for a Friday night alone with his suburban wife when the kids were at grandmaws...

Those were indeed creepy, creepy days. I once my friend's dad emerge from back there. I was just old enough to know [approximately] what he was renting, but not old enough to empathize. My mom was with me and I can only imagine that was a little awkward.

Glad the internets killed it. Though it can lead to some awkward browser-history-discoveries for kids today...

I had a feeling when I got a Blockbuster gift card at an office christmas party to use it quickly. When I finally found one (no where near where I lived or worked), it was totally empty when I went in to buy a DVD and redeem my gift card. Prices were incredible, even used DVDs (from rentals) were selling at $16.99. Hello, I can buy it at that price new from Costco or get a used dvd from netflix for half that price. Seriously I thought about not even using the $10 gift card, but figured I was still getting a movie cheaper and I'd made the effort to find the place. At least it played well.

So totally not surprised at all by bankruptcy talks.

@gomerkyle9: The Bolckbuster online is FAR better than netflicks... I cannot stand the piss poor new release selection that netflix has.

Although I currently use neither and redbox all my movies now.

Even if you think of the ostensible benefit over NetFlix, that you can return your films to the store and get more immediately - this corporation is keeping brick and mortar stores staffed all over the country so that you can get lots of free films. Makes sense from a renters point of view - NOT from a stockholders.

Dump suckers.

@Saboth:

um, just so you're aware, blockbuster offers the same service as netflix does, sans the streaming. i actually get three movies from them at a time for $16 and it usually takes 2-3 days from when i put my movie in the mailbox to get my next one, so i don't have any complaints with their service.

Possiblke bright side:

A major preowned game sale when all the B&M stores get shuttered.

At least Netflix is on the ball and prepared for the maturation of the digital delivery technology. When things go all digital, they'll probably be ready. Unlike Blockbuster who, as unajuaner indicated, failed to adapt to the markets.

I haven't figured out yet if most people here just aren't set up to download their entertainment or Family Video's the only game in town. Maybe both.

@DrKai: People will move over to internet renting and streaming, Redbox will likely get bigger selections, and perhaps the smaller stores will do a bit better. And what about Hollywood video? I wonder how they are doing...

Instore rentals are on the way out. It might take a while for the older crowd to catch up, but I would not be surprised if internet renting and streaming became the norm, and soon. I mean, it kind of already is.

While we're talking about Blockbuster mistakes, they poured hundreds of millions into Enron Broadband circa 2000. What they got in return:
* Huge travel expenses between Houston and Oregon
* Enormous computers doing nothing (several Sun e10Ks, $1M apiece)
* Promising rumors of development from Enron with no actual work performed.

Blockbuster thought they were getting Video On Demand to leapfrog then-current Pay-Per View.

("How NOT to make money on Broadband", [www.coolware.com] "Blockbuster, Enron Broadband enter accord to deliver movies on demand", [findarticles.com])

I just happen to have been working for a Houston company that had two e10Ks and was looking for a new team member in 2000. We interviewed no less than *ten* highly-qualified people from Enron Broadband. Each of them said that they were tired of sitting around doing nothing and being shuttled to and from Oregon. Each was turned down because their salaries were in the stratosphere.

@Jakuub: Eh, NetFlix seems to do okay. They support the indie side of films, and they do a fairly decent job of listening to their customers and having a fair price. We have Redbox and you can buy and then download from Amazon, etc. Blockbuster is on the way out, and internet movie downloading/streaming is on the way in. I doubt Netflix will be the only one in the game as time goes on.

@Marc Melton: You need to go to the franchise store local to me. A former "Turtles" store with lots of green accents based in a second rate strip mall. Its canopy is half torn and the store is in generally scuzzy condition. Like above a bunch of rapper movies, some games, boat loads of childrens VHS movies, lame games, etc.

It is sad but I can go to the local used book/movie store and often buy a used movie or game for far less than either renting one or buying their used ones...

Where will people rent movies? Most non-Blockbuster rental places have closed around me (last "chain" I saw was Hollywood Video, but they shut down a couple of years ago).

I know NetFlix will benefit, but there are a *lot* of people that use Blockbuster because they don't want to use a computer and wait to get their movies. Will this increase DVD/Blu-ray purchases? Or simply lower the already dismal sales of movies out there?

@ScottRose: Could it have been the rows of cheesy R rated bikini movies?

I remember the independent stores back in the vhs days - back when every video store had its "adult" section. Where any suburban husband could go to rent that special video for a Friday night alone with his suburban wife when the kids were at grandmaws...

@unajuaner: Blockbuster also screwed the pooch with their franchisee stores never agreeing on following the national ad campaigns.

I understand it from the store owners' side in not wanting to give up profits but main corp should have paid them back for free late fees or the like...

That was the end of blockbuster for me.

and have only rented one movie from them in the past year.

Yes, that's why they're failing. Even the people that like them don't rent from them.

[Citation Needed].

And with a name like G-Dog it seems like a reason to go there more, no?

Blockbuster filing for bankruptcy? Go on!

It's about time.

On a side note, I cringe at the possibility of even more users slowing down an already unbearably lagged Comcast cable line in my neighborhood.

Who would have thought that a company that does a poor job to begin with of renting and selling entertainment (read: luxury) goods would have financial troubles these days? Shocks me doubly well because they carry a large stock and have tons of brick-and-mortar stores along with the tons of requisite employees whilst their competition has minimal overhead.

Quick, someone pass the smelling salts.

Good news for the Netflix crowd though...

[www.google.com]

The quick and the dead.

Oh hear! let me tell you first:

Blockbuster's Board of Directors just dumped all their stock in preperation of some really bad news.