Out of my old circuit of 10 blockbusters, only one remains (Henn. Av., Mpls.). I hadn't stopped by in a few months, but did last week. Still have the same used stock as last spring at the same crappy prices. Most blu rays $16.99 per; so don't qualify for "sales." The store could vanish and it would make no difference. Hard to believe how big a source blockbuster used to be for used titles.

For years I used to get pre-viewed VHS, then DVD's at Blockbuster. Last year when they started with the 5/20 sales I was psyched. Definitely a ton of titles I would pick up for $4. Not sure if they didn't get the results they were expecting? But to basically get out of the game is nuts. They have their PPV priced higher than new in many instances. I still have Blockbuster online and have no complaints but they give me no reason to hit the stores any more

The last of *five* Blockbusters is leaving Bellingham, WA. Good. I used to work for the company for near 5 years and they micromanaged us to death (though the people I worked with were cool). To quote Bill Maher: "Blockbuster Video is going under? Oh no! Where will I rent a movie in 1988?"

I'm proud that the three remaining video rental stores in my county are independent.

The one in the town I live in is closing down soon. It's sort of sad to think about even though I don't go there very often anymore. I have a lot of good memories of going there and renting and sometimes buying stacks of VHS, DVDs, and various video games back in the day. The only two rental places left in town are independents.

I couldn't believe Store #1 (IE: the first Blockbuster EVAR) closed in Fort Lauderdale. That was a bike ride away from my house and the place where I rented my first VHS tapes and LOTS of Genesis games.

The store was a closet... but I built up so much film knowledge at that location. That and they let me rent rated R movies when I was like 12! They were cool!

The one near our house in Austin on South Congress closed a few months back... Hilariously the location is next to a laundromat and they are putting in ANOTHER LAUNDROMAT where Blockbuster was, RIGHT NEXT DOOR!

People will never be able to do laundry over the internet, so it makes sense.

Calhoun where'd you go?

Blockbuster is closing another 300 stores by the end of march. Supposedly all okla stores are going.

They STILL aren't doing anything to make me want to go in their remaining stores, so I say hurry up and die already.

My nearby store is finally closing down (Oroville, Ca)

I said finally because I have to admit by being impressed at how long they were able to hold out all this time. The only subtraction I feel towards this is that I now have to travel some 20+miles to get the nearest Rue Morgue (Or Fangoria) magazine (If I'm interested in what's being released)

Oh well. I plan on taking a trip to the store this week (With some $30+bucks) to see if they've got any Blus or DVDs to get rid of (I'll gladly contribute...Especially for DVDs--Yeah, I'm the last of that kind too)

I just noticed the one closest to me closed. Obvioulsy I don't go by there much since I didn't realize it was closing. Too bad, that makes in-store exchanges impossible now. I think there is one left in the area but that's about 25 minutes away.

I'm probably in the minority, but i actually kinda miss going to a store to pick out a movie. Whether it was Blockbuster or a local mom & pop. I like the convenience/price of Redbox, but there selection is limited and almost every movie i get from them is scratched to all hell.

Say what you want about the stores or the company but I have gotten some great deals on PPV stuff over the years. When I started with the online program it automatically included the in-store exchanges. With the 3 at a time plan for $20/mo, I was renting about 12 movies per week. No throttling, or delays of new releases. Much better than my trial with Netflix which ended in a dispute. Now I have trouble getting my 2 at a time turned around in a week.

Two in my area which survived the last couple rounds are now closing, there's two more stores I know of that I'll have to find out the status of. If those are closing too, that'll be the last of them.

Even ignoring all the stupid crap Blockbuster did in the VHS era, their main problem now is that I don't rent anymore! I've checked occasionally at Blockbuster for stuff to buy, but that just seems like an afterthought to them (and I don't buy used either, unless we're talking under a buck or so for a hard-to-find title.) Sucks for those losing their jobs, but the people running Blockbuster should've been on the streets a long time ago. They pissed me off for more than 20 years, now it's finally bit them back in the ass!

My problem is the opposite. I rent 90% of what I watch vs. the 99% purchase I did during the DVD heyday

Same here. I've gotten used to streaming and the occasional Redbox or Netflix mail disc, but I do miss the days of carrying a cup of starbucks into Blockbuster and wandering around the aisles. They screwed up in the biggest way. With the advent of Netflix and streaming, they should have focused on making their STORES better. Instead they did half-assed attempts at copying Netflix's model, only not as good (or at least the perception was that BB's was a watered-down version).

If it were up to me, I would have made the store experience BETTER. I would have made it more closely resemble a Barnes and Noble. Instead of those cheapy wire cage shelves, let's get some polished wood in the place. Tired of the blue-and-yellow hospital look? Let's get some warm earth tones and put in a coffee bar. Make the place a PLEASURE to visit. Hold screenings. Invite local film professors to come talk about a director or a particular new release. Make the store a killer place to hang out.

Instead they totally ghettoized their stores. They became even more disorganized, messy, boxes all over the place, clueless employees. Walking into Blockbuster feels like visiting a sick person in the hospital.

http://hollywoodandswine.com/former-...-took-his-job/

Blockbuster is starting another round of closings. The Bountiful Utah store is 2 weeks into its 'store closing' sale. The online fulfillment center stuff is supposed to be in this week. They have just last week closed their dvd/br by mail program. Since that is now closed, their may be some decent stuff in the fulfillment center discs.

The last Blockbuster left in Rhode Island has closed.

It was probably a good plan to just let the franchise run its course and then bail out.

I think trying to spruce up every Blockbuster location into an upscale hangout would be throwing good money after bad.

The idea may work in a handful of niche stores in the larger cities but the DVD rental market is simply out-of-tune with the streaming and rental model.

Rentals went out for me as soon as affordably-priced DVDs came on the market. I keep saying that Blockbuster could've gotten some business from me if they'd started carrying more stuff for SALE, but I went in during a week that had several big releases and only one of them was even in the damn store.

Funniest thing I ever saw at a Blockbuster was VHS head cleaning cassettes for RENT! Think about THAT for a moment...

So how many are actually left? And how many were around at their peak?

They had several thousand stores at their peak, now there are only a few hundred. Somewhere online are the actual numbers. When there were Blockbuster stores everywhere, I wondered where all those worthless VHS tapes were going to end up in the future!

I didn't know Blockbuster was still around.

The last ones near me closed years ago.

I fucking hate Redbox; their selection is absolute shit.