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Ask Slashdot: How To Make a DVD-Rental Store More Relevant?
smi.james.th writes "Here on Slashdot, the concept that older models of business need to be updated to keep with the times is often mentioned. A friend of mine owns a DVD rental store, and he often listens to potential customers walk out, saying that they'd rather download the movie, and not because his prices are unreasonable. With the local telco on a project to boost internet speeds, my friend feels as though the end is near for his livelihood. So, Slashdotters, I put it to you: What can a DVD store owner do to make his store more relevant? What services would you pay for at a DVD store?"
My friend manufacturers and sells horse whips. With this trend towards horseless carriages he doesn't seem to sell as many as he used to. Does anybody have any ideas on how he can increase his business?
If he is lucky enough to find someone to buy his business he should, otherwise, he may start transitioning his business to something else, like becoming the hometown Ebay storefront, or a shipping center.
Time to find a new business. He's a buggy whip salesman in the era of automobiles.
Nice, shiny coasters.
Sent from my ENIAC
I don't see any relevance, sorry. I agree the end is near for your friend. I have many digital services or dvd by mail services and do not need the hassle of a brick & mortar.
Unless you had a bar, I dont understand what value could be added to renting films on any medium.
He's making wagon wheels in the age of the automobile. He is going to either have to shut it down or become a retailer in a successful retail market (difficult). I just laid off two employees and let go of half my customers because it just wasn't the success I tried a year and a half to achieve. I'm not stopping my entrepreneurial drive I'm just going to do something different.
I really hate yo say that because there are great entrepreneurs in that industry, but reality is reality. Maybe your friend could do a hobby/games shop? He could transition his current store to that gradually perhaps as DVDs become obsolete.
or sell the shop :)
I don't remember titles that well. One of the things I like about Netflix is to know if I have viewed a title previously and if I liked it. See http://movielens.umn.edu/html/tour/index.html for an idea of what your friend should be doing.
The only possible way to survive is to develop a niche. Streaming services are usually pretty good for recent movies, but a lot of back catalogue stuff is hard to find. Specialize in the stuff that's out of print, rare, etc. But really, I'm hard-pressed to see how that business model would be sustainable as a primary income source in most communities. There simply isn't enough demand for the content, especially given the huge amount of material available through Netflix's mail catalogue.
People often change their minds, and are inspired to see other films when browsing. Having said that, The biggest advantage the online destinations have vs a brick and motar physical store is volume, and you can't compete with that.
The latest movies - sure you can get that. I think the real question for financial success is to offer a "flavor" or style, that isn't generated by an endless catalog, because you just have to get the people who are there, rent what you have, and be happy about it. They have to see what you have, and think "Hey that looks cool/good! I want to watch that." Even if it's an older movie.
I think people who are leaving a store don't know what they want, and can't make up their minds, or aren't inspired by anything they've seen. I think what you're aiming for is a niche destination. It can never compete on a sheer volume of scale with Netflix, or other services, but it will need to offer something that captures, and rewards a certain group of people. Somewhat like Starbucks vs the local coffee shop.
..........FULL STOP.
Offer free DVD re-winding for the returned movies.
Obviously you are totally unaware that there are legal and reliable sites that make movies available online. Let's start with Netflix and Amazon, two services you apparently don't know about.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
...with hookers and blackjack....
Don't be a DVD rental store.
This is like asking what buggywhip manufacturers can do to stay relevant. Not much other than get in a different business.
You do realize that legally downloading movies is an option, right? iTunes, Amazon Prime, Netflix...
- W. Blaine Dowler
http://www.bureau42.com
I think your friend needs to target movie audiences that like movies. Don't confuse those customers with customers who are just using movies to pass the time. Also, try and cater to an older crowd.
Some movies are harder than others to find a good torrent for. A lot of this stuff is indy. Rent things that are harder to download.
Blurays take way longer to download. Those who rent blurays are likely not to mouth off to your friend about downloading, which is a pretty rude thing to do.
Rent games and consoles, especially retro stuff that isn't commonly available.
These guys are my favorite movie rental place.
http://www.libertyhall.net/
Click on the video link on the left to see what they carry. They show no signs of slowing down business.
Retrain as a cobbler or lift-boy.
All the video rental shops are closed, taking the video game rentals with them. I miss being able to rent a game instead of outright buying it. May not be a big enough market though.
Buying and reselling used games that don't cost as much as their brand new counterparts is something that people are sorely in need of. Maybe credits for game rentals with a trade-in instead of cash?
Even if you don't charge much less, charging $20-25 for a used game opposed to the $40-50 EB and Gamestop charge might drive some business away from them and towards your friend.
I just watched all the Warehouse 13 I could on Netflix. I want to watch more, and I'm willing to pay to do it. What I'm not willing to do is watch a single commercial. Hulu-- even their paid version-- is thus out. I'd like to call up a local video store and order up a custom disc for pickup like I'm ordering a pizza. "Hey, yeah... I'd like the current episodes of Warehouse 13 season 4, starting at episode 1. Oh, and the same with Castle, season... uh, which season is Castle on now? 5? Yeah, thanks. All of those. An hour? I'll see you then. Thanks."
I'm sure there are a thousand reasons why this would be difficult or impossible, but that's what I'd pay a DVD store for. Somebody make it happen!
Compute how much these new internet business models actually cost you in the long term. Send them a bill for potential losses.
MPAA and RIAA do it all the time!
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Use it as a front for selling illicit substances?
There is pretty well nothing you can do save radically change your business model. Get some rooms set up with very nice projectors, seating, sound systems, etc and let people rent them to have a private screening of some movie, for example (remember to have concessions). That, or find some other way to capitalize on your library of DVDs to make money. Make copies of DVDs for people who can show that they owned said DVD, maybe.
Well, people who come to a DVD shop presumably want to rent DVDs...which means that perhaps they're not comfortable with the latest tech, even if - as you quote - many say they would rather download the film. My experience with DVD shops has been that they are pretty miserable places, which make most of their profit from overdue fees.
Make a comfy place with 'cult' DVDs to hire, plus give advice on ways to upgrade your home cinema. Sell overpriced coffee.
Unless he has a wide selection of movies unavailable on streaming services he's out of luck and even then he'll only ever have a niche market of people who want old obscure movies. How can he possibly compete with the internet and things like Redbox? He should get out now while he still can.
Relocate to the country where the local rubes ahve just discovered DVD players.
Come up with creative-funny gift ideas (Christopher Walkin Box set, Chuck Norris Box set),Sell retro computer games(similar shelving), Lend the book that goes with the movie, gather other good info with the movie, Have amazing memorabilia that will attract people into the store (celebrity death masks aren't always expensive), Like an art space, do other things to attract people there: small indie-video screenings, movie discussions, director talks. Put on a local TV show discussing movies coming out on DVD.
Personally, I find renting a DVD a pain in the ass. If I have a movie in mind that I want to watch, it's not there, or already rented out. Then I have to go search for another movie to watch. When I find a movie to rent, I either watch it right away, or decide to watch it later and "buffer" it on my PC. Now I have to go back to the movie store to return it, another hassle. To be honest, it's so much easier to go watch a movie on iTunes or other online services.
What would be awesome is USB stick rentals. I bring a my own USB stick, and get a copy of the DVD on my USB stick for a rental fee. I wouldn't mind if there was some time limited DRM on it because it would be like a rental. This eliminates the supply problem and the return problem. But this is essentially what a streaming service provides, so it would really only be popular with people with bad Internet connections. Also, I doubt the MPAA would be happy with this.
.. I have an idea or two.
Buying people's old stuff is a tricky business, though.
Move to 4K and HighDef movies only along with Games. You can put this into a membership plan with flat revenue. Make sure you also provide these movies through mail and vending machines at the store during closed hours.
I would go to a store that has 1080p and 4k movies that are not online and/or I don't want a record of them in some corporate DB that I rented it. Some folks don't like to be profiled =)
Transfer the business over to $1.00 sales for most and go up to new releases. I prefer having the harddisk and will rip and stick it on a media center.
My price point is a dollar for movies. I'll either pay your friend, the studios or I'll pay for the internet connection, bittorrent proxy and Ill pay the bittorrent website that runs 10,000 servers.
The least likely to meet my price point is the studios, the next is your friend/dollar store/sales bucket at walmart/etc The bittorrent one is fair though I should pay for three accounts which would up my price to somewhat painful level. My best effort so far has been to crack 30 local wifi routers and use those but bittorrent, even with a hacked hydra client is not very good and gluing them together only works with one proxy service who are a tad excessively priced.
If the owner of the store is listening to people say they don't want to rent and it isn't due to the prices, then why isn't your friend asking them what they do want? Find out what it would take to get them renting. Or look into changing the business so it is less about rentals and offers something else. Don't ask Slashdot what to do, ask the customers what they want and try to give it to them.
What is annoying is to rent a turkey movie DVD. So, open imdb.com and get only movies with a rating of 7+.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
This is what will happen to you:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s16e12-a-nightmare-on-face-time
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nightmare_on_Face_Time
http://eztv.it/ep/38966/south-park-s16e12-hdtv-x264-asap/
Please end it now. There's no need for horse carriages, oil lamps or business models based on imaginary property anymore.
Your equivalent in the new world is iTunes (well, not really, since they still cling to a impossible business model), Kickstarter.com (a more sane path) and The Pirate Bay. So if you want to live on, you have to re-invent yourself from the deepest depths of your philosophy.
You certainly have my support.
He should expand into seedboxes
Burn it down for the insurance... Altho that would be illegal.
A dvd rental store... It's been a long time since i BOUGHT a dvd. And i don't think i've ever rented one. I quit renting back when it was tapes.
Dvds are too customer unfriendly and i want no part of them anymore. Everything about them was mostly a lie too. My favorite one (oh they'll get cheaper!) yeah, they did.. for blank ones. ones with movies are still insanely expensive for what it is.... a bunch of 1's and 0's that can be replicated forever. for near free.
Maybe the best idea... Turn it into a 100% porn store. For some bizarre reason the pervs still do the rental and buying thing. Someone should tell them the internet is chock full of porn... Altho your friend might blow all their profit margin on hand sanitizer then...
...your buddy needs to get out of the buggy whip business. 5 years ago. He might have been able to sell to some sucker named Randy back then.
Music stores, book stores, and movie rental stores: No longer viable businesses.
Anything that can be transmitted electronically has no place in a physical storefront. The sooner your friend accepts reality, the sooner he can transition to services or physical goods.
DVDs' primary advantages are from how obnoxious advertising becomes online for online movies and how content control interferes with maintaining and replaying copies around a house. DVD prices need to be lower to move faster in volume, closer to current rental prices where people buy armloads at a time. Home archives without DVD may become a problem because of "IP" controls.
Plus most countries except the US have legalized downloading media for personal use - they pay extra taxes on certain products to fund the equivalents of the *AA in their countries to offset the economic cost of downloading thus making it legal to copy media for home use.
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A Nightmare on Facetime
Unfortunately, you can't (legally) watch it yet.
Unfortunately, unless he's in a rural area, he's pretty much screwed. He can try to follow the model Family Video uses, since they all seem to be successful around here for some reason, but other than that either get out or get screwed.
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
I remember trying DVD rentals when these shiny new DVD thingies came out.
Trouble was, 1/3 of the movies I rented were ruined due to the discs being scratched to death.
In my experience VHS tape survives typical renter mistreatment a lot better than optical discs.
Not to mention all the unskippable shit. I presume there are now DVD players that ignore the 'do not skip' flag. Ugh.
DVD rental stores drove me away long ago.
Maybe your friend should try renting movies on VHS, and don't forget betamax!
DVDs are cheap and plentiful, whereas new release movies on betamax are hard to come by.
Supply and demand, you see. Now all you need to do is convince people that watching movies stored on magnetic tape is really the only way to truly enjoy them.
Magnetic tape? What am I thinking!? Your friend should rent out the latest release movies on spools of film.
You also get to rent out the projectors, screens, piano-players, etc, that you need, remembering that all of this is a loss-leader to sell organic popcorn.
Maybe emphasize video game rentals. Last I checked the OnLive service wasn't doing so well. Our university here has a great media library that allows checking out video games and movies, I would guess the video games are more popular. Perhaps even renting the consoles themselves, here there is always waiting list to check out the 360, the controllers, etc.
Install some booths and buy a hole saw.
Not this again.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
If your friend is running a successful business, then he's got a particularly useful and uncommon skill.
Some 80% of all first businesses fail, but only 20% of second businesses fail. That's because after the first business, you learn from your mistakes. Your friend has the skills and experience needed to start a new business - and that's what he should do.
So, what's trending on the map right now? What brick-and-mortar establishments are on the rise?
How about setting up a hackerspace? These seem to be popping up everywhere, and unlike McDonalds, there's still room for more.
While running the 'space, keep an eye out for things that might be products. With a hackerspace available it's easy to "test the waters" for a new tech product: you have access to people with skills for design, construction, [website] sales, and so on.
What they don't have is someone who can steer the ship, someone who has experience in things like incorporating, taxes, management, planning, accounting, and so on.
Consider starting a hackerspace. I hear that they can be successful and lots of fun.
We've all just been trolled it seems
At this stage in the game I would likely get out myself.
It's entirely possible to rent from a dvd from netflix or an automated teller (conveniently located). There are things these creatures lack that could be filled in some manner or you could just go crazy with something different.
Knowing there is a good deal of competition online and off you have to ask yourself is there a niche or service that can be provided. Multiple check out lines wouldn't hurt and several trailers playing on various positioned screens would be nice. Basically, the goal is to sale movies while you don't have to. However, if the entire establishment looks like it's a step away from either providing shelter for the homeless or a offering boot leg copies out back then don't bother. No one gets comfortable if the place is a shit hole unless they have enough familiarity to ignore the dirt. Anyhow, you get the idea or at least should. A nice little shack with some HD screens, free popcorn and a little motion. Make em want it now and make em want to come back.
Nothing says you can't join in the game either. An automated teller for after-hours might not be a bad investment, but it really depends on how much night life exists.
At this stage, we've simply thrown lipstick and a dress on a pig. It's a still a pig and it's not likely to last the night in a mob of hungry Europeans. If you happen to have a few delivery places nearby you could determine their interest in pairing up orders. This is going to require a hybrid online ordering method and very likely that stick in the mud delivery joint has an awful sql-injection ready website already. You'll have to convince them to give up their "already under new management" website and throw down with you. (Technically you could maintain two presences, but then you lose out on some potential sales).
This is neat because they will be serving in an area within your surroundings. Individuals will be less hesitant regarding the return trip and you could throw in some fairly lenient rental terms. (2-3 days DVD, 1 Day bluray) It might take a little play to figure out what works best. The other benefit is the service is now a "premium" service and you might squeeze more then a dollar a vid. Other incidentals like managing orders for another company also come with a surcharge as well. The more local delivery food shops you can add in the better. (Obviously, they will unlikely want to throw in with competiting businessess, but you you may get lucky with a trifecta of chinese, pizza and indian.
Well there is what I got. The first is to look like a first rate dealer and the second is do be more of a software/financial manager of sorts. You still rent DVD's under the second model, but it's a paradigm shift into only order management.
Find some way to sue your consumer base and competitors like the other guys do when their business model erodes and collapses.
Sad alternative is to change to a sex toy / video shop.
1. Get out of the rental business. That market is better served by other models like Netflix and RedBox.
2. Get into the movie sales business. Some people prefer a real world experience when dealing with media. They like owning the plastic cases. They like to see a collection grow and at home display it proudly.
3. There is a lot more to movies than just the movies them selves. Posters, special editions, collectible figurines. Visit a good comic book store to see how they thrive in a world where print is dead.
4. Specialize. Become the best at something. Pick a genre like Sci-Fi or Horror and become "The Place" to go for the latest and greatest in the genre. Collect and cultivate a back catalog of hard to find titles and associated items. If a new movie is coming out people should find out about it while visiting your store.
5. Make sure that you and the staff stay completely updated on current movie news and study movie trivia. When a movie fan is visiting make sure you can hold an intelligent conversation with them.
6. Be lucky enough to live in a town large enough so that a store such as this could be supported.
7. Hope that the comic book stores in the area don't catch on and start trying to attract more movie fans.
I actually might be qualified to answer this since my business partner and I are in this very scenario and we have already made adjustments that have had a real positive impact.
My partner's dvd rental store has been in business and at the same location for over 16 years. During that time, Blockbuster gave it a run for TEN years directly across the street, but closed down 2 years ago. He began supplementing the business by becoming a wireless dealer and bill payment station. Here in Houston, multipurpose shops are EVERYWHERE and are VITAL in small, mostly Hispanic communities, so in order to compete, your store must offer all or at least some of the following: Phone service, phone cards (for international calling), bill payment such as local utilities and cable, Western Union, MoneyGram, money orders, copies, fax service, etc...
We recently began offering computer repairs and upgrades in addition to the cell phone repairs and he has quite a bit of retail space dedicated to not only popcorn, candy and soda, but even chips, sweets, fortune cookies, designer fragrances, and tons of accessories.
This may seem crazy to a lot of readers here, and it's certainly a lot to juggle for a store owner, but the truth is, he has been a staple in the community for so long that our customers keep finding reasons to come in. Sure, they still rent dvds, but they really come for the multitude oi other helpful services we offer.
I live in china and here there are about a dozen movie/tv-show libraries online free of charge here, quality is generally good (especially pptv) when streaming dvd quality content. The selection is less so though, while there are new content most is old and obscure (lot's of B-rated movies). For that reason I prefer to visit my local movie-shop, where I'll be presented with a huge library of movies. Most are pirated and price is about 1$ for a copy. For that price, given a choice between clicking on a torrent-link and waiting an unknown amount of time, versus, going to the shop, I always go to the shop. But, if the movie is available through a stream online, I'll pick that since it starts as soon as I click it...
However, the shop still has an upper hand and that's the selection they can keep, since I'm a frequent movie watcher, the shop owner (who also happens to be the general agent for distribution of media in my city) knows me and trusts me enough to view his warehouse where he keeps titles that has not sold well and things that has not even been released yet, I'll usually find movies before they hit the torrents there. Can't beat that. Same goes for normal dvd rentals, if you get to know them well enough, you can usually get to rent before it's officially released for rent.
Streaming services have woefully poor selection. DVD by mail takes 3-5 days to receive the movie you wanted to watch tonight. Perhaps your friend could use delivery drivers to cover that gap for the next few years (decade+ with the way content distributors fight).
High speed popcorn delivery.
I'm a nature photographer.
Bookstores are trying to maintain their relevance by becoming coffeeshops that sell books. The idea is to make the store a destination in its own right, rather than just the means to get a chunk of entertainment. At a bookstore you can sample the offerings before picking one out (not possible with DVD-by-mail, and possible – but not really done well – by streaming services), so maybe set up DVD players with headphones, or (shhhh) rip the DVDs and let the customers preview them on kiosks in the store. Put together displays that draw on the staff's expertise (e.g. favorite dystopic sci-fi films, throw in a free second DVD that makes for a good double feature) rather than homogenized wisdom-of-the-crowd correlations or dubious one-random-idiot's-faves lists that you find on web sites. A DVD rental store can never compete with the stock of the latest blockbusters or the depth of the library that Netflix or Amazon has; don't even make that a goal. To work, you need to focus on the "service" side of the business; every person on the floor needs to be a seasoned cinephile, not short-term minimum-wage high school kids. Set up a mini "home theater" and have regular "movie night" events for small groups of people to watch old films with fellow fans of the films. (This would probably require paying performance-rights fees to the studios.) This is all stop-gap stuff, of course. This store is not going to exist to be passed down to the kids as the family business. But it might keep the doors open and the lights on for a while longer.
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
Slashdot isn't the best place to ask because most of us have bought into digital distribution. We are unlikely to be the video store's target audience so we aren't the best people to ask.
Your friend also has some challenges because copyright laws limit his options. A lot of things that could be done would be illegal or require a lot of paperwork because it would be considered a public showing (e.g. previews, a showing room for private events).
Yet they may be able to transition their business if they are into film. This could be tied to tangible products or people oriented. They could try to sell the hardware to show movies, provide a forum to discuss them, or even provide a hub for people who want to produce independent films.
There are a lot of other ways to adapt. The key though is to talk to the people who matter: the customers who would actually use the service.
Take off your MPAA controlled glasses. Nothing in that quote says they are going to necessarily download it illegally. And Amazon does do individual downloads, sometimes for free, and many movies for just a couple dollars.
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
You can do that in a University town where you've got lots and lots of new faces every year. Tucson, Az has several independent video rent places near their U of A.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
As it happens, I have a friend with a video store also.
It's surviving, but it's still hard. Not like the good ol' days before movie downloads and Netflix were easy.
Part of it is that the shop is set up in a community with a large percentage of the population being over retirement age; they haven't figured out how to download movies from the internet. They still rent films. Also, the shop moved to a cheaper location.
But that shop's days are definitely numbered, I'd guess.
Maybe measure the social value of the shop and see whether a transition to a new business model would be better or a complete break.
Make the decision and spend a month selling off all the stock to pay outstanding debts, then proceed to do the next thing; either find another job or start up another business.
Maybe DVDs, books, comics, board games, coffee and muffins with a cool and essential public hang-out space would work.
Our DVD shop has been consistent for the last ten years as far as new customer sign ups go. Rentals have dropped a little bit since 2009, but the biggest change is used DVD sales. Obviously, we can no longer sell used DVDs for $9.95 anymore. Even at $2.00 we barely sell anything.
The nice thing about people supporting us is they are contributing to the neighborhood economy. I spend most of my money in my own neighborhood.
Other folks are right though, especially if this video shop of your friends is his primary business. Perhaps it's better to cash out while the inventory still has some value.
Maybe he could try his hand at the used video market?
Just as game stores increasingly earn their profits through buybacks and re-sales of used games and console hardware, he could get into the business of purchasing and re-selling used DVD/Blu-ray movies, and maybe used video players as well.
The old stuff. Get a good Disney section. Get a good Classic Western section. Good Sifi section. Make sure I don't feel like i am walking into a Porn store....unless you are selling Porn. Know the art. If I walk into a video rental store...and we have only one in our town other than RedBox.....I have a very specific movie or actor I am looking for and If I ask for something know it.
In Ireland they have xtravision stores, that diversify by:
- selling cheap but good quality hardwares
- sell ice creams, soft drinks and popcorn, as a bundled for each DVD/BluRay rented
- sell video games
I think they are quite successful, and because of their central location, they are still relevant (compared to out of town malls)
Or burn the place down for the insurance..
- wide selection of movies and TV shows, stuff you won't find elsewhere or downloadable via torrents, like lesser known foreign and independent movies, the place is huge.
- enough copies of popular movies so you can almost always get what you went there for
- blu-ray, DVD, VHS (!), Xbox 360, Wii, etc., whatever you and your family needs, it's there
- two for one days on slower nights of the week and other coupons for the past decade brings plenty of people into the outlet
- extras are sold off at a good price when they're no longer rented
No they haven't. It was legal to download movies and music (software and games usually wasn't), but that changed like 10 years ago in most european countries. They do pay extra cost on certain products but that doesn't mean downloading would be legal now.
There are tons of movies and TV series that just aren't available on Netflix or Amazon for rental.
Topless sales-bunnies and DVD and beer bundles are the way to go.
If you are in a small town, specializing in out of print or hard to find catalogs probably won't be enough to survive... Kinda how record stores are restricted to large metro areas.
But here are some ideas:
Get a post office account and offer pre-paid mail-in returns. It will take some doing to ensure the packaging is light and small enough to keep mailing costs down, but it would make it far more convenient to rent.
Allow reservations online.
Open a small pizza pro or similar franchise in the corner of the store so people can grab dinner and a movie all at once.
Sell esoteric candy and theater popcorn, for the same reason, but at reasonable prices.
Buy and sell used DVDs. Take the movie home and keep it? Just 12.99-19.99 depending on the movie. Bring it back? Then just the rental fee. Look at what Vintage Stock / Movie Trading Company is doing, where the buy-in price is determined by software that looks at the current stock across all stores vs the past few months of sales. More popular movies or really rare ones are worth more, and thus entice people to bring them in.
Buy and sell game systems, used and new.
Offer disc resurfacing services for damaged discs.
If your market supports it, buy and sell Vinyl records, including new releases that come with digital downloads.
Offer home theater consulting services, offer training on what surround sound is or how to build your own HT setup.
Make sure the store is a fun/inviting environment to be in: have couches setup and the latest game systems available to play, have a kiosk with IMDB so people can easily lookup who was in what movie (bonus points if you can hookup Google voice search API to it so its voice controlled). Become an Apple authorized reseller/service center. Sell cables/adapters, the AppleTV, and demo AirPlay to people, etc.
I'm sure you could think of others. If people feel comfortable and want to spend time in your store, they'll be much more likely to purchase something.
These are just a few ideas that spring to mind.
Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
He's selling buggy-whips, only worse. There's still a small market for buggy whips.
When I lived there, many countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Germany?, Spain even Canada) had laws where they paid extra taxes on media to pay specifically into funds for artists (which were managed by their versions of the RIAA/MPAA) in order that they would still get reimbursed for downloaded movies and music.
Ergo I would argue that if you pay a tax to pay the RIAA/MPAA for downloaded movies and music, that doing that act wouldn't be illegal.
You wouldn't pay taxes on your car if it's illegal to drive said car.
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Tell him to start a local streaming service. Rip the DVD's and stream them for the same cost as RedBox or Blockbuster.
Generally, at RedBox you can rent the title for $1, as opposed to Amazon or Vudu, which charges $2-$4 per title.
He could even do it through a service provider like Roku and have them collect the money for him.
So long as you only have one stream per disc owned this has proven to be legal.
Make the move to an in-store streaming cashless video system - assuming this DVD store is carrying porn.
Works just fine for us over here in SoCal.
Also, if you can find it, videos on flash drives are getting more popular as a selling item.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
...and a pizza.
If it is ease of delivery that's the competition, then fight fire with fire: Team up with local pizza places to offer a DVD rental for $2 with a large or two medium pizzas. Either have the pizza delivery person stop by for the pickup, of have a limited selection pre-stocked at participating businesses.
And not only pizza places: DVDs also go good with Thai.
Start with businesses in the same block, so take-out folks can also get a DVD with minimal hassle.
You may want to find a way to maintain a common customer database with participating businesses, so there will be a way to get the DVDs back. The delivery person can do pickups on subsequent deliveries, and take-out folks can drop them off. The logixtics will be difficult.
There is a wave of new cinemas that also serve food, so I think joining the two may be a growth business.
Video games and pinball games?
Pinball is picking up right now and it's hard to find good places to play in many areas.
Delivery.
While many people have sick mindsets and are looking towards the future with open arms (and deep pockets it seems. I mean you just bought a $400 iPad and you just dished out another $500 just for an iPad with extra features? Really?), I have a valuable suggestion that I would enjoy: variety.
No, I'm not talking about sci-fi and action, I mean bring in movies from other countries. I know a great many otakus who would be willing to shell out money just to watch Naruto in Japanese or the Nutcracker in original German. I myself am wishing to watch Russian films, after watching Ballad of a Soldier. Relevance can't be simply construed to a time frame or even a style such as Claymation or Live-Action. Imagine your next Valentine's Day with you special someone with a French or Italian film instead of some American romance movie and a bucket of popcorn?
Perhaps run classes (not for free) on how to setup a VPN in a different country and how to use that to BitTorrent the movies that they no longer want to rent?
There was a South Park episode about this, A nightmare on face time
I like our family trips to the video store. Gives the kids something to look at. We usually get a movie but its not about that. Its more about getting out of the house.
Here's a strange idea. What about renting nothing but anime DVDs? Legal anime streaming sites often are missing lots and lots of titles. If you could offer for a reasonable price, the ability to rent DVDs from a decent sized catalog, you might be able to run a decent business. You could possibly do this in conjunction with the renting cult DVDs idea. Make sure you get some copies of Hausu. Lots of copies of Hausu. If you are looking for an example of a store that does something like this, take a look at Facets. http://www.facets.org/
There are tons of movies and TV series that just aren't available on Netflix or Amazon for rental.
Yes - And purchasing these items (licensed for rental) is expensive for a rental shop. Having 'Misfits of Science' available for rental for the one geek per year who might ask for it is not good business.
Something useful rather than "just close":
My problem with DVD rental now is the amount of choice. Back in Chicago there was this AWESOME place called specialty video. Loved it. Problem was, they had so many good and rare movies that I would walk out without renting because I couldn't decide. Hundreds of movies, and what the internet does now is narrow down the frustration of making a choice. It gives us a handful of movie ideas and we can pick one if we want.
Also, there are definitely DVDs that we cannot get online, lots of them. I say market to the cinephiles, the people looking for the rare gems. Get online.
I really think that dvd rental has a place still. I like going someplace like that, but the interface could use some updating IMO
-
Better make a fire-sale and close his business. This is going to be Dodo Time within 720 days, plus minus.
OR:
Switch to cheap 3D Blu-Ray player rentals, glasses included, with a free movie thrown in.
Slam a sticker on the front door reading "museum" under the current store name and charge entry fee.
Coffee, doughnuts, a sandwich. Might as well slowly convert the place into a convenience store.
Not sure how much floor space your friend has but..
Coffee shop
Sell books, comics/manga, magaines
Study pods/counters
Rent or sell music cds and live concert dvds
Sell not rent
Rent game consoles
have screens showing trailers of new films
Contract with indies to sell theirs
If it is in a major location, special events for example a director gives a talk
Link with film festivals
Allow people to watch any films in the shop, plus some streaming accounts, on large screens in the shop - you can just charge per hour and let people try titles one after another
Look at the kind of films that get shown on MUBI.
Write reviews / recommendations for titles, like in book stores
Sell hardware like ebook readers, cameras, hard disks
Sell fun and funky products
Provide cheap or free coffee or other drinks/eats like in a movie theater
Provide books about cinema to get people interested in huge world of film
Go after foreign film genres, both classic and contemporary. For example Japanese film, Finnish film, Mexican film, French Film.
Put up great movie posters. Not just cheapo sci-fi flix. French posters are often well done.
Sell audio books and classical/jazz too, your audience doesn't have to be just little kids, these are popular among older people for car and for home listening. My parents put audio books in the car and also into an ipod for listening at home for my father.
Could bring in other crowds - older people, people who are into design, art and architecture, people who are into looking for new films instead of watching the same ones over and over
Sell sets of classic movies, like hitchcock or car grant, etc.
Sell sets of movies like 007, etc.
When a new film is out in theaters, sell or rent all the films that director or lead actor/actress has made.
Make a members card that gives you discounts
Tie up with other businesses
Make new "film festivals" or "Now Showing xxxx" events every week or month
(I think this is fair use...) Offer to load ipod with music the person rents, then they don't have to bring the CD back to you..
Rent high quality equipment for people who want to make their own films, or provide studio space for band to record or something to engage community and people who are enthusiastic.
Engage film clubs (not sure if this works)
Research lots of films so people can always come to you to find them.
Fill the store with servers and sell downloads instead.
With bandwidth restrictions on people's net access, there could be a business for walking in and downloading directly to your device. Still faster than over the net, its an incentive over piracy (speed, reliability). You could even have previous stations where you could quickly flip through movies and preview whatever you wanted (ie, fast-forward through it you like). To save more time you could rent the movie on a memory stick in your preferred format.
Never mind you could get things that arent on DVD or arent popular enough to stock normally. And no running out of DVD's.
It would be a risky business and it would have to be done just right. You'd probably want to rent video games (still probably some life yet in that business) too and also sell iPods and memory sticks and such.
-- Senior Software Engineer, Attorney appearance services, locallawyerapp.com.
Nothing.
Aren't you forgetting the towel?
Blockbuster Offers Glimpse Of Movie Renting Past.
It would be great if you rent out tools and media equipment too. Just combine other products for renting out and diversify into other forms of rentals.
~ Best man at your service.
I would walk into, and rent from, a physical DVD store if:
1) It had what I wanted but couldn't get on netflix.
2) It would guarantee my privacy (the database maintains no association between what I rented and who I am once I return the dvd and pay up, so even a court subpena couldn't get any more than what I currently have out or what I owe on).
3) It would let me keep the DVD for as long as I want with no late fees (just a linear rate like a buck a day until I bring it back, and that's it).
4) I can hit a website to see if what I want is available, and reserve it via the website, saving me a trip out if what I want isn't there.
5) I can ask that the DVD be mailed to me via the website, to save me the trip out if I don't mind waiting for shipping.
6) I am not required to pay a subscription (just whatever I owe as a function of what I rented * how long I rented it).
Make that happen, and I will sign up.
If you are close to me, I can do without 6.
The business should have moved with the movement from the start. It is too cheap and easy for someone to acquire an image and burn a dvd... so don't rent dvds, sell cheap burned copies at rental prices or slightly higher. No more late fees, no more out of stock problems(which cost them uncountable amounts of sales). At the same time, be an outlet for "collectable" original releases and merchandise that true fans can purchase.
Going to the movie store was a hassle due to, might not have it and might not return it in time problems. Guarantee a copy is in store and make it easy. I would have started a movie rental store but I don't have the corporate connections to even get an appointment with a secretary of a lowly assistant to propose a deal... so I watched the industry fail year after year; shaking my head.
netflix and amazon are subscription services, not individual movie downloads. itunes is an awesome service, but it's expensive - $5 per movie. So the only conclusion is freetards.
Amazon, Youtube, iTunes and others all let you legally rent or buy digital copies of newly released movies. The prices and quality are competitive or better than DVD rentals, but the convenience factor of digital is the huge differentiator.
Well, that's how it is. You pay the tax on blank media but you don't obviously get the right to pirate whatever you want. The tax is to reimburse for lost revenue regardless of if you pirate or not.
both i luv video and vulcan video are thriving in Austin, TX, because they offer a huge selection and also curated choiceand themed sections of stuff thats rare, foreign, obscure, or just cool. this is the only way ive seen it work in present times.
I appreciate that you feel wronged, but I don't see how turning away ANY customer who wishes to make a purchase is a good idea. Consider that pirates statistically buy more music than any of your other customers. As an aside, if I even witnessed the kind of confrontation you described in any store, that store would be on my OWN blacklist. That might be worth considering as well.
Do you see what I did there?
So I didn't just pay to download Brave from Amazon last night? The only conclusion is freetard? Seriously,.. the only conclusion?
And referencing your statements above:
I download a movie in about 10 minutes, 30 minutes for full HD. They both can start playing within seconds. It's not a crappy copy, it's HD. No, there is no 50/50 chance of viruses from online movie rental services like Amazon. I have never gotten better advice or curation from a store than I have gotten from an online distributor of movies.
I just have to ask. Why do you want to spread false information? I'm tempted to accuse you of straight out lying but for now I'll just assume total ignorance in the topic...
I was trying to find a reason why it could work but really I can't see it happening. Even if it worked short term, in the not to very long term you'd be screwed. The only thing you have going for you is people have bandwidth constraints and older people are scared of technology. If you offered happy endings in the backroom you might have a shot! :)
My advice is close the store, get a Redbox franchise
The trouble with Redbox is that it has only new releases. How is one supposed to watch movies that have already expired out of the Redbox system yet aren't on Netflix? And should "the local telco['s] project to boost internet speeds" fail, how is one supposed to watch more than a couple movies a month on the single digit GB per month cap of a sat or cell connection?
Sell your DVDs, put in some servers, start an advertisement-supported torrent site.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
As bandwidth improves
It's not just burst bandwidth that has to improve but also sustained bandwidth. Several types of home Internet access, such as satellite and cellular, have acceptable burst bandwidth (in the high hundreds of Kbps to low Mbps) but unacceptable sustained bandwidth (typically less than 10 GB per month). That's not going to change until A. it becomes drastically cheaper to get rural areas wired for fiber, or B. the state subsidizes getting rural areas wired for fiber.
In my experience Amazon Prime unlimited streaming is roughly on par with Netflix
Except that Netflix is available on a wider selection of tablets. The only tablets I know of that support have Prime streaming are Kindle Fire and iPad, not my Nexus 7.
Others: - Hors d'oeuvre plates - Feng Shui reflectors near your front door - Scarecrow in your garden - Pistol target practice
Your imagination is the limit!
There's no sense in being precise when you don't even know what you're talking about. -- John von Neumann
maybe offer coffee and a place to sit and watch a movie.
Good luck negotiating public performance licenses with the big six movie distributors.
Make it as easy as possible for his customers to shoplift.
Free postal return envelopes would help.
Drive-thru returns would help.
Browsing and renting online would help.
Maybe even a drive-through pickup for online rentals.
If there is a drive-thru fast food in the parking lot, it can be a two-fer
Make a deal with the fast food joint to let online rentals be picked up from their drive-thru window.
The reason I won't rent DVDs any more isn't that I can't find a movie in the store, or enjoy it.
It is the hassle of returning the DVD and late fees and all that.
I use to go to a local pawn shop twice per week to buy DVD's as for a while they were super cheap around $2.99 each and get a 5th one free. Then all of a sudden just like CD"s the DVD's pretty much disapeared and it was all games and BR's. So now I only go there every few months. I picked up two box sets yesterday but only because they were rare box sets.
Now for me even though I still downlload lots I'd rather buy the original and rip it. Plus I get a kick out of finding rare films/shows I've forgotten about and at $2.99 I'dd be stupid not not buy something.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
I recently spent a couple of days in Raton, NM. It's quite small but they have a thing there called the Whittington Center. It's a gigantic place to shoot, museum, store, and library on all things having to do with shooting. (How it got there is a fascinating political story that I'll leave for another day.) I'm retired and I love to shoot but it was that library that drew me in. I spent hours and hours there, finding new gems and old, every time I scanned a different shelf. I would literally consider moving to Raton just to have easy access to that specialty library...if it weren't for the fact that I spent enough time there to discover that Raton is an armpit of a place.
In the large metro area where I currently live there are a couple of niche stores that are doing at least OK. I can think of two stores that sell just vinyl records. I can think of one that rents rare DVDs, has an extensive anime section, even has some old stock on tape that never made it to disc, and sells a small selection of high-value, carefully-selected hardware to equip your home theatre. They have employees who seem to know *everything* and can make a dozen recommendations based on scanty evidence. I've brought three discs to the front counter and said "I've seen these. I liked them. What else would I like?" Within three minutes, an employee will have sprinted me around the store and put a dozen other titles in my hands (guaranteed I haven't even heard of half of them) and I can pick at random from that pile with no fear of disappointment.
I'm definitely willing to pay for that kind of service. It's just too bad I retired and I'm too far away from them to use them now. (In fact, I've been away for so long that I don't know if 2 of the 3 examples I just gave are still in business and I don't want the potential heartbreak of looking them up online to see if they still are.)
That brings me to my last point - location. Most DVD stores that were successful back in the day did so by being where there were the most people. Everybody was renting DVDs so you just had to be located where the most people were to be found. There were even DVD stores that did rentals inside major shopping malls.
Times have changed. Joe Average is no longer your customer. If the store in question is in a place with good traffic flow but no *specialty* traffic flow, then they're screwed, doubly so since not only is the customer base falling but the location rents are probably higher *because* of the good traffic flow.
The first idea that pops into my head is that specialty equipment stores that sell guns, weightlifting equipment, cosmetics, whatever, etc., tend to have a shelf somewhere with a couple of "how-to" discs to buy. The selection is always lousy and the discs are for purchase only. I wish someone would come up with a way to put a smaller, lower-tech version of a Red Box in every speciality store in the country. Said kiosk (or just a shelf of DVDs with bar-coded labels that somehow communicate with whatever vertical app the store is using to sell all their other stuff) would rent out "how-to" and specialty DVDs to those people who are interested in the goods sold by that particular store.
Wherever there's a successful brick-and-mortar store, there's the potential to sell and rent DVDs with highly-specialized content to the customers of those stores.
Why not abandon the "DVD store" concept? Bring the stock to the customers instead of making the customers come to the stock. I know one gun store that tried this with books and it failed but only because it took up too much room. On a per-square-foot basis, keeping a book store inside a gun store is stupid; there's so much more profit in just adding more display space for high-dollar-markup guns. With DVDs, though, we're literally talking less than two square feet of floor space for a tall, rotating rack.
Just an idea. I hate to see the OP's friend go out of business without at least an idea or two on the table.
http://www.scarecrow.com/
Enough said.
"he often listens to potential customers walk out, saying that they'd rather download the movie, and not because his prices are unreasonable."
That means customers have ZERO intention of renting anything from the store, so why do they bother entering his store? They are TROLLING him.
there is only a matter of time before the drones are ignited and we all become mindless zombies turning on each other witlessly to feast on the organs reposessed by impotent "leaders" endquote.
But you can always turn your congloborate slave of a business into a museum, That's the only archivial means of preserving your right to have your own insurance, produce your own diy audio video recording wares. Preserve the artifacts considered obsolete, and teach about there inner workings, hell reproduce your own dvd's and then just leave the door's unlocked so people in the neighborhood can use the space and security of its wall's and locker's, this way you don't have to pay for increasing insurance prices and you still have your business, until the hammer comes down of course.
Then why can't a DVD store be successful?
So, show the movie not from the big six, develope a nitch.
Inside each box include a link to
http://kat.ph/
or
http://thepiratebay.se/
or
http://h33t.com/
with a direct link to the movie on a notecard so they can also download a standard definition, 720p or 1080p bluray rip as well :)
If caught blame it on some ex employee tried to get you in trouble but you fired them for putting notecards in your movie boxes
done.
hehe
Offer 1 free rental with purchase of popcorn or something like that. Additional rentals $1 per day. Concessions can be lucrative and people will buy more if being offered a free product. Make late fees $1 per day. People will go for it thinking free is good. Meanwhile they're spending extra money on snacks since they dont have to pay for their rental.
OR
do a membership of $10 per month unlimited rentals. rentals due back in 2 days or $1 each day late. This way you know how many subs you have, how much income per month, etc etc.
There are the right answer in this episode - burn the place and get insurance money!
Seriously, DVD rental? Consider buying my collection of music stored on compact cassettes, you could add innovative music rental service to your store, I'm sure there got to be a HUGE demand for rare punk rock albums!
See subject.
Here is Sarasota, FL, there's a place that's been around for a long time and continues to survive. Business is probably not what is was 10 years ago, but the last time I was in, I asked such questions. Before I learned much, I interrupted to ask about Terry, one of the guys who for the last decade (or two?) seemed inseparable from the place. Unfortunately he'd passed away. Terry Porter was a real wizard of film. Aside from being a kind and interesting fellow, I knew I never had to leave the store empty-handed if I could just vaguely describe a desired genre to him. All the folks who've worked there (or still do) exhibit an impressive knowledge of film. One advantage of the store is that for many years, they've specialized in difficult-to-find material, and I suspect that even in the age anything-you-want-right-now, they still have a few things up their sleeves one would struggle to find elsewhere.
That's about all I can say. Whether I've described their virtues well or not, they remain in the same location - with customers, but apparently without a website. I dug up their Faceclamp page and a news article on Terry; maybe between the two you'll find an idea.
Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
I see two potential options that MIGHT allow a DVD rental company to stay above water. For the first, you could change the focus to porn and market more to the folks who like that sort of thing. For the second option, you're going to need a time machine, since nobody wants to go to a store to rent DVDs anymore and there is too much competition from RedBox and everything on the internet. Other than that, trying to keep that sort of business alive seems like an exercise in futility and being poor.
This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
Your friend might try branching out into porno films complete with private viewing booths, lube and plenty of tissues.
Partner with a local pizza chain to offer dinner and a movie delivery.
First-Night-Free rentals. use it as a way to drive feet into the store and sell things (Niche Merch, Snacks, T-shirts) in the store. Right now redbox is 1 dollar, and only charging a dollar is almost the same as charging nothing, so youre going to have to drive profit from foot traffic anyways.
Set up a couple of "Living Room" style theaters that can be rented for watching a film. Would this happen often? Not really... but the space would allow you to show off what a home theater setup can be like which dovetails into....
Sell digital home theater setups. Don't focus on speakers or screens, but rather the process of taking your media services and privately owned digital media and combining them into an HTPC, Streaming Device, XBMC, or what have you. People would pay a ton for that to be set up for them. Partner with a local AV store to provide screens and speakers, they might even let you use their floor samples in your store if you have signage indicating it came from their store.
Offer services such as
-Commercial Media Digitization(Bring your DVD or Music collection and have it ripped to MKV, MP3, FLAC or whatever. DMCA allows for a backup, you just make the backup for them. They can BYO storage medium or purchase from you).
-Home Movie Conversion to Disc or Digital
-Archival quality data back up. Scare people with the very real fact that facebook, tumblr, instagram and all the others could just go away one day- and explain that they need archival quality backup of photos and important documents. Many organizations do this for corporations, you could do it for consumers. It could be a tack on yearly fee with the digitization services.
These are all just off the top of my head, if you have more specific details about the area I could be less generic.
Perhaps add a lounge area and sell coffee. Provide movie magazine literature wifi for browsing. I myself prefer browsing in a physical store and the movie banter that can be had. My biggest problem is the returns, late rentals remembering to return physical media. It would be nice if this could be solved by using a temporary media or return by mail.
Many a long talk since then I have had with the man in the moon; he had my confidence on the voyage. Joshua Slocum
I don't know how you structure late fees, but consider having some sort of amnesty policy. There is a very cool video store in town that I would love to rent from, but I haven't for 5 years because they want me to pay $20 to start doing so again. I know it seems silly, but the fees weren't my fault and the store didn't care, and then the years just passed and it became a pride thing.
There are a lot of people who have what they consider good reasons not to pay the late fees on their account. A store can't really afford to say "Well then we don't want you as a customer." anymore.
I'd say try putting up a banner that says anyone who comes in during the month of January gets all past late fees removed (New Year's fresh start, etc) See how many old customers come back.
Oh wow, this takes me back. I remember when this sob story was posted on /. about five years ago and kuro5hin about ten years ago. And it was always a store that had been around for 12 years.
Ah, happy days.
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
This is a really old copy/paste troll from back in the Napster days.
<xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
If I just want to rent a DVD, I will go pay a buck twenty at a redbox. If I go to a rental store, I am automatically paying 3 to 5 times in premium for the same service that a vending machine provides... why would I pay even more for some arbitrary service when you really should be kissing ass for even having me as a customer in the first place?
When I designed a database to store sequenced DNA and it's attendant "annotation", clients had to subscribe individually to about 80 feeds (beyond a few free ones) of data. Each one was a negotiated rate and contract. A client told me that if I could negotiate with all of these sources and deliver data from a single source, he sou;d make me an extremely wealthy man. I found that the only way to accomplish this would be bribes, beatings and blackmail. This is why Netflix has a lineup of movies for streaming that include the worst movies ever made, from "Amazon Women on the Moon" to "Nazis from the Center of the Earth". There is no reason why every movie, every made, in every language couldn't be available to stream on the web. Movies aren't that big and bandwidth is growing. I watch HD movies over wireless - no problem. Negotiating with the movie owners and getting reasonable contracts is the problem. He who can do this will become a very wealthy man (or woman). DVDs, CDs, etc. are used less and less to distribute everything, including software. If you must, at least for the moment, sell the DVDs that people can't get anywhere else.
Actually the buggy whip business isn't dead, but has turned into a niche market. A quick google search revealed http://www.jedediahsbuggywhip.org/sales.nxg which goes after the accurate period reproduction whips and repairs and has been in business since 1851. A different company has gone after the modern market with LED buggy whips (for visibility at night). The advantage is that these stores can reach a national market from a centralized location (much like Netflix).
The real solution is to redefine the business using the existing customers as a base...video game rentals, snack food/beer with a side of video. But it's a pretty tough challenge in a saturated retail market with not a lot of IP other than a customer list, knowledge of movies and location.
You're a fool if you really think that it takes 3 hours to download a movie for most people. Hell, I used to live in a very rural area (The entire county only had 3 stop lights), but I had a good enough wifi connection to download a movie in half an hour. Now I'm in an area where I can literally download a movie in less time than it would take me to walk to the Redbox that's a few hundred feet from my house.
As far as quality, of the hundreds of movies that I've downlaoded, not one had any porn spliced in, let alone CP. The only ones that were "crappy copies" were ones where the DVD had not been released yet, and were clearly labeled as such before downloading.
Yep, that's it. Convert it to a cozy cafe with a few shelves of DVDs attached, provide space for laptops, and charge per hour. Provide some small separate rooms to watch the DVDs together, in case people like to sit around and have some selection.
(Oh. I must admit this idea is stolen. Manga cafes in Japan work that way - and they are still relevant).
Alternatively: One of the things where people may be more comfortable paying in cash than via a credit card and somebody keeping a central record may be adult movies.
DVD-watcher here.
Your friend may have to get with the times, because let's face it: the days that physical media were a requirement for distribution are over. It's so much more convenient for people not to have to leave the comfort of their own home when they want to watch a movie. It's for a reason that rental places have now started mailing out the media and accepting them back by mail: It's far more convenient than having to go to a DVD store.
I don't rent movies, but I do buy them on DVD. However, I'm cheap; I rarely ever pay full price for them. For the most of it, I either get them refurbished or from the thrift shop. Very sorry but I'm no longer willing to sponsor the thugs that call themselves "the movie industry". Also, I still like having the physical item, which allows me to watch them at my convenience (rather than being forced to watch them within 24 hours from paying), in reasonable full-screen quality. To me, there's still some added value to physical media. If your friend wants to remain in business, he'll have to either switch business model to media-less distribution, or provide significant added value that downloadable movies cannot offer.
In the end, it's not about watching moving images but about entertainment. If your friend provides a one-stop no-hassle solution for that, he might draw people to his shop. In addition to DVD, he might consider selling various snacks and beverages. For rom-coms, perhaps he might provide candles, essential oils or whatever else sets the mood. Perhaps it's worth considering making a deal with a local restaurant and provide dinner vouchers at reduced price.
Now the above isn't new. The media business has been doing many of the above already for a good number of years. If your friend insists focusing on selling or renting out physical media, he'll have a very, very tough time ahead.
Visit http://ringbreak.dnd.utwente.nl/~mrjb/growingbettersoftware to download your free copy of the book
There's a locally owned DVD rental store near where I live. This may not be viable for your friend, but they've always also been in the market of Game Rentals/Used Sales. They are essentially the only place to rent video games, and their prices on Used Games are way better than EB/Game Stop. Not only do they pay more (cash) for your used games, they also sell them for cheaper, so competing with EB/Game Stop is not incredibly challenging. Only problem, is that they've been in this business since BEFORE we had an EB games in the mall, back when I'd buy my Super NES games used. I'm not sure if it'll be possible to start that up from scratch at this point, with most people already granting EB the monopoly in their minds.
My buddy used to own a video store. He's a bartender now. He makes more money, and I get free beer.
In Germany there is a kind of tax on blank media like CD, DVD or USB-sticks to compensate for *legal* private copying. You are legally allowed to copy for your own friends but not for people your known only to share with.
If it is a good retail location, look at storing the DVDs in a more efficient manner to make room for other products to sell. I would look at what is missing in the area of the store and see if you could offer that as well. Maybe serve good espresso, and make room for a few tables if it is allowed by zoning laws.
Website Just Down For Me? Find out
All of the go niche posts are going to lead to tears. I keep seeing do anime, or do unusual scifi, or become and expert service, book/movie clubs. The trouble I see here is these all rely on exclusivity and digital media by its very nature defies that.
It might be true that today none of the big streaming services is quite all things to all people but the market is speaking pretty clearly. The horse has left the barn some combination of streaming and digital downloads are the future video distribution, at least as far as entertainment is concerned.
All the nice plans will require a major investment, and the corner video store guy is not going to be able to negotiate any kind of license exclusivity. All it would take is one of the big streaming players to get some blanket license agreements for the big content players ( who own the rights to much of the independent and historical stuff one way or another ) and suddenly his very narrow selection of customers is gone to greener pastures. In the meantime he will have invested lots of capital into assets of little or no residual value.
Personally I think his best bet if its good retail space is sell off library and lease or sublet the shop to someone interested in operating a business of some kind fit for the modern era.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
I live in Austin and there are actually still quite a few video rental places around town. Some within blocks of each other. The reasons these places have survived seems to be a mixture weird Austin culture, and the video stores having genuinely unique and hard to find titles. The atmosphere of the stores is usually something quite good to. For example "I Luv Video" in Austin offers FREE BEER on Tuesdays. Here are some links to their websites so you can see what make these places special:
http://www.iluvvideo.com/#!home/mainPage
http://vulcanvideo.com/
If his store is located in Colorado or Washington, he could sell a bud with each disc rental. Beats streaming off the net anyday!
I always thought that a really good business could be had in store sales of on demand burned dvds. As a store owner, you wouldn't need any inventory. As a consumer you wouldn't need to worry about figuring out how to play a downloaded video on the big screen ( several middle aged and younger idiots really can't figure it out) or worry about you not having the video they want. They just need the studios to be on board and not charge exorbitant prices for the movies.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
The Rental Stores can perhaps set up web services such a live streaming to you home,laptop,phone, or other mobile device. And perhaps they can also provide more special features such as interviews with the actors and such. Another idea could be selling mobile devices with collections of movies and or music. That way people would have more options when they go into the store. Boy do I wish I wasn't so sick with so many health problems or this world would be very different. Long live Tesla
Turn it in to a museum for archaic media models - like the various 'Computer Museums' that can be found in many cities.
Porn.
Seriously... in a world where many titles are now completely downloadable -- and content creators are designing their products to resist the second-hand market (one-time use product keys, etc..) -- Gamestop is still surviving, even in cities where bandwidth isn't a problem at all.
Why? Events, employee knowledge, various rental policies, buy-backs, reasons to pre-order/frequent the location, etc. Whatever they're doing, try to duplicate it at your movie shop. Make it a "go-to place" for your community and provide the best, most custom service you can.
Millions of fans stood in line for Breaking Dawn, Part 2 this weekend when many could either wait for streaming soon, or pirate it the same day if they were technically inclined. Why? There's a shared experience in a midnight showing. Find a way for your rural location to provide something similar and you might be able to buck the trend.
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,
I think DVD rentals will be dead in a few years if not already however if you are not going to supplement inventory with something else, like a coffe lounge or other products like people mentioned, how about DVD viewing rooms for people rent. Perhaps couches and nice TV's out in the open so people can watch it in the store. Have options where they can upgrade to private rooms for up to 12 people with stadium seating, popcorn, soda machine etc. Many audiophiles will have a crazy home setup but many people don't so they may be willing to rent a DVD and then watch it in these rooms. Kid's maybe will have b-day parties there
Prime streams in a flash-enabled browser.
"Chrome for Android does not support this plug-in."
for those services that allow you to download a time locked copy to view offline you could allow folks to pay a certain amount of money for %timeblock%.
you could have different types of blocks for sale
1 cheap/free: you get throttled down to 256K speeds
2 economy: 1M speeds
3 Gold: 2M speeds
4 Platinum: Unthrottled
Of course you would want to have good logs and say thumbprints of each account holder (legal reasons)
Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
Maybe he and his employees, or his customers, "Swede" those movies on DVD, a la Be Kind, Rewind?
Go with it!
- Allow people to walk in with their own hard drive. Plug in by USB and download directly to it, no knowledge encrypted form via a connection that won't involve harassment (VPN, copper pair to Data Centre, I'm sure Slashdotters can elaborate), and possibly even setup so the data is "owned" by the people downloading it, if that's possible, like a shell. You could have a fee to deposit your drive, a fee to retrieve it and a fee to store it. You have to get those 3 fees balanced reasonable yet at the right rate so people treat it with respect.
- Rent 3D displays and other expensive 5 minute wonder gaming equipment no one can (should) be able to afford. When not being sold, allow people to play with them in store for a small fee
- act as a porn shop for people's gadgets that they no longer need, then rent them out to people as part of the agreement!
- come to some sort of agreement with Valve and Steam? Let people play in store? I'm sure this was covered before somewhere...
A blog I run for the wealth
Seriously, every movie rental place that still exists in my area has tanning beds. It's just a bandage, not a cure but it may keep him going for a bit longer while he figures out what the NEXT business will be.
Look at top-film lists for any genre or time-period and then see which of those are available on Netflix (streaming). It's less than 1 in 10. Then look at new releases. Very few are available on Netflix for download. Selection is a big divider for Netflix and brick/mortars. These two areas (popular/classic favorites and new releases) are Netflix weaknesses that are local video store strengths. Hang on to these and try to do them well.
Common weaknesses are general selection. The fact is there are millions of movies out there, and not even Netflix can offer all of them. I'd really like to see all the films of Francois Truffaut, for example, but you can't on Netflix. You also can't at your local video store. But this is where I like what another slashdot commentor said: let the user sponsor the dvd. I think they said through buy-back, which is a good option if the store wants the disc, but if not, I'd also let them purchase the dvd and share in any profits from rentals and let them own the disc after a time if no one's renting it.
One area where video rentals could have innovated 10 years ago but are still resisting is in video research. Put up a kiosk in your store where people can do movie research and that shows them whether the movie they want is available (for rent, and whether currently in-stock) in your store. Put this online too, so people can look it up before they drive all the way to your store. You already have computerized systems that tell the store the same info, so it can't be too hard to make it available to the customers. Even Netflix is squandering this possibility, especially since they split the dvd and streaming business lines. Now when you search for a movie that is not in their streaming-only system, it doesn't show you the title and say 'sorry-not available for streaming' or give you the option to rent-by-mail, it actually suggests totally different movies, making you think you entered the wrong title or something. And while you're at it, give the users a flat-screen tv to watch movie trailers on while they're there.
There are ways for brick/mortar's to survivce for a bit longer, but I give dvd/hd rental companies 3-5 years max, for the ones that really try to hang on. The ideas I've given above are areas where locals can offer big advantages over digital streaming services, but those wrinkles will be ironed out soon enough in streaming. I guess then you could try to target poor areas where the net isn't ubiquitous. Long-term, perhaps there is a way to take advantage of the meat-space aspect of local stores, but I can't think of any, except for the general fostering of community. Sorry I can't help in this area, but if you want to survive long-term, it's got to be in the community--something that puts customers face-to-face and interacting in a fun way.
What I miss at my local DVD rental store is the ability to see online if they have a specific movie.
A first step would be to put up a list of all movies and the current number of copies owned by the store.
The next step would be to include real-time information on how many copies are available right now.
Registered members could be allowed spice up the entries with more information (links to imdb).
They could place a reservation for the next 15 minutes or request a notification for when it is available again.
The front page could list the new arrivals and the movies that will be available soon.
Like many customers I prefer price models where I have to pay little.
At my local shop you pay for the number of days at which you had access to the video.
So if I rent a movie at 10pm and return it at 11am, I have to pay for two full days.
I would prefer them to bill me for the 13 hours or even for 24 hours.
This would fit the common use case of deciding on a set of movies in the afternoon and watching those
over night without paying attention to the clock to return them before the shop closes.
...is CANNONBALLS! Your friend should join forces with a cannonball maker and create an unstoppable retail juggernaut of unparalleled relevance! For further research, please see this link: http://s-p-s-16-e-12.blogspot.com/
The only possible way to survive is to develop a niche. Streaming services are usually pretty good for recent movies, but a lot of back catalogue stuff is hard to find. Specialize in the stuff that's out of print, rare, etc. But really, I'm hard-pressed to see how that business model would be sustainable as a primary income source in most communities. There simply isn't enough demand for the content, especially given the huge amount of material available through Netflix's mail catalogue.
Videomatica in Vancouver was (is?) famous for their foreign films and back catalogues and were staffed by movie buffs.
They had talked about closing up, but checking them just now (redirects to new site), they've closed their flagship store and are sharing a location with a record store.
They'd been in business for some 25 years or so, yet had to downscale their location in a reasonably large city just to keep the doors open.
http://www.scarecrow.com/ - it's just a matter if your local market will support it..
Videomatica in Vancouver was (is?) famous for their foreign films and back catalogues and were staffed by movie buffs.
They had talked about closing up, but checking them just now (redirects to new site), they've closed their flagship store and are sharing a location with a record store.
They'd been in business for some 25 years or so, yet had to downscale their location in a reasonably large city just to keep the doors open. And I think they were popular Canada-wide for those really hard to get rentals among people willing to pay shipping...
Your friend might be able to get some ideas by looking at how they adapted to the times.
PS Tried to post this before, still have the "Working" throbber on my screen; apologies if it's a repeat.
IMO, the brick-and-mortar movie rental business is in its very last days. I spent over 10 years working at an independently owned, two-location movie rental business that closed our last shop just under two years ago. Certainly, just because we couldn't continue doing it, doesn't mean no one else can. Local markets are all a bit different (I have no idea if your friend is even based in the US). Still, I feel I do have some insight into the issue.
In short, there is only so much you can do to "stay relevant". The very nature of the at-home movie watching market has changed and will only continue to do so. You can do your best to offer films which are not yet available from Netflix, Amazon, and the other online companies, but the clock is ticking there. You can minimize your overhead as much as possible and streamline expenses to keep your doors open for as long as possible, but again, the clock is ticking.
We outlasted the local Hollywood Video and the local Blockbuster but arrived at the conclusion that our days were numbered. The question for us was how we wanted close up shop: Holding on and scraping by until the last minute, racking up debt and anxiety in the process, or going out on a good note. We chose the latter.
We announced our closure 30 days in advance. We threw a party and invited all of our customers and staff, old and current. The local community radio station came and broadcasted live from the store. There was food and drink. We arranged a giveaway to select customers who met certain criteria: Our first customer through the door on day 1, and our last customer through the door on our final day of formal operation, our top five highest-renting customers, and the customer who payed the most late fees. These customers were allowed to pick any 5 DVDs and keep them for free. Every other DVD was available for sale. Turn out was better than we could have hoped, we sold a lot of inventory, and the kind words from our customers were amazing. It was bittersweet to be sure, but we ended on a good note and when it was all said and done, the owners made it out alright financially.
Best of luck to your friend and their employees.
I'm going to share what I would do if I was opening a video store today: I'd make sure to have enough space for 3-4 screens, in addition to the rental and server space. When the screens are not in for special events - for example, showings of Christmas movies around Christmas or the Lord of the Rings Trilogy before The Hobbit comes out - they can be used to show trailers, like many of the TV screens used in many of the video stores today are, and the area itself could be used for a cafe/coffee house that has wi-fi hotspots built-in. I'd also throw in a record and book store, and sell stuff relevant to the movies. For example, around Christmas I'd make sure to stock up on the famous leg lamps similar to the one in "A Christmas Story", as well as a constant supply of red Swingline Staplers (in addendum to other geek-based staples, such as lightsabers and star ship models.) I'd try to keep the merchandise consistent to the videos we sell - for example, while we'd sell CD's by Linkin Park, we'd probably have more "Dracula 2000" or "Transformers" soundtracks - where they're featured artists - than studio or live albums in stock, except when new releases come out. I'd also play on social media, trying to keep people interested in the store, and encourage customers to "hang out." Most businesses think of customers who stay in longer than a set period - usually 30-45 minutes - as wasted space, but I see them as opportunity. Offer services, such as food and drinks, while customers decide on something; offer private screening rooms for "Twilight birthday parties"; etc. On the web site, offer links to services you offer, games and other things to keep people interested, etc. Heck, even offer electronics - why not go home with a new TV and Blu-Ray Player for those three copies of Harry Potter you just rented? I'd also go as small as possible in two areas: Price and franchises. If possible, in fact, avoid franchising altogether - you may get a good deal by going with BlockBuster, but their rules and marketing may interefere with your strategies and prices. Likewise, you want to attract people to YOUR business - you can't stop others from copying your idea, but if you can limit your base to one store like yours for every 200,000 customers, you should be able to do the kind of business that video stores used to do when there was one every other block. Pricing should be kept to a minimal as well - it may cost $100+ per copy of every movie, but charging more than $2 a night on any movie is a little unreasonable, especially in an age where people can easily access illegal copies for free.It may mean that you make only a couple of dollars an hour more, after expenses are paid out, than your top managers, but the adoption of little niches and things that make you stand out will, in the long run, keep you open and more relevant longer than your competitors that stick to the "tried-and-true" business model adopted by many video, record, and media stores that have and are going by the wayside. This is just what I would do, though - I don't know what this guy has for space, whether his video store is a franchise or is his own business, or the kind of location dealing he has for his area or with the companies he deals with.
I'm not sure but my best guess is that I MIGHT think it would be a decent deal to pay say $35-$50 to be able to have 5-10movies at home and be able to switch as often as I like. The most annoying part with rentals is that you have to return them on time.
And then ofcorse the normal possibility to buy popcorn, candy and pizza.
Another idea would be to build small rooms with good sound and say a 46" tv and a recliner chair where people could watch a movie. That is something I'm accually quite sure could work. It could cost as much or a little more then a cinema ticket. I would pay for it every now and then, not for the great experience as much as for 1,5-2h of time to UNDISTURBED accually watch a movie. (anyone with a family knows that alonetime is a luxery you would pay for)
Find something else to sell. Possibly the use of on-site 'screening rooms' with equipment, that customers can use to watch a movie they just rented with friends, or make the DVD a free gift, when spending $30 to rent a room -- make the money on selling drinks and popcorn.
Switch to selling books, posters, art.
Find a legal way to provide a "digital" version for the rental period.
It all boils down to: begin developing and executing a backup plan immediately, get into other business besides DVD rental, plan carefully but move post haste into other businesses that are similar that you can execute, that are more long for this world than DVD rentals.
awI bought a 3d tv and BRDVD, but I dont want to drop$40 every time I want to see smoething in3d,but my local dvd shop wont carry 3d dvds.nice business model, dinosaur. make sure you carry premium options because generic dvdsare ony $5 to buy. Idpay $5 -7 to be able to rent a 3d disc...
I think the problem is if you forever want to rent DVDs you will never turn a profit... because DVDs are basically inferior to what I can download. That said, I think there is a tremendous untapped market on game console rentals. Being able to go down and rent a Wii for a weekend is a stellar move, and you move games with every system rental that goes out the door. Glue a GPS to them in case they don't come back. There is a massive video store down the road from my house. Completely useless building. I can't even rent PC games from them. And why would I ever want to rent a $5 DVD when I can own the damn thing for $19.95? Hell, the last time I used a Blockbuster the assholes tried to stiff me with a $50 fine.
Putting money into a niche is risky. If you are into hard to find DVD's movies (which I imagine is a small pool to begin with) you are probably looking on the internet and not locally. The population size of the area may not even be large.
He's identified DVD's are on the way out. Game rentals / dvd's etc are dying as wel all know. Even netflix doesn't believe in the DVD business, and is going to streaming (they tried to spin off their dvd business, now it will just slowely die off). There is no way to compete with streaming.
A website of the inventory would be helpful, but honestly that is more money into a loosing business. The model needs to change.
If the dvd business is still profitable now, then shrinking it and using the space for something else is the way to go. Subletting to another business (pizza / coffee / etc ) can help pay the rent. I've seen a cartridge world (ink / toner refiller) do ok, depending on the area it could work. People are still printing and need ink.
Finally what I have not seen mentioned is try to sell the business now, and get out.
They all turned into DVD vending machines here about 5 years ago.
Suburbs of Paris, France
Watch this Heartland Institute video
its cheap, and the smell brings in people that the rational mind would not.. :-p
of coure —you've got to get them out from behind their computer at home first.. :-p
j
Change to a Dinner Theater Partner with someone.. don't rent just one movie, rent 3 at a time and come up with themes work up about 100 theme based rentals start a $20/mo club .. offer a dinner theater.. with themes during the week.. if you don't have a beer license or food partner with someone that does and cater it.. charge $25 or so for the experience.. run old quirky movies.. think mystery science theater 3000 one of the nights.. showing the films might have legal issues this is why out of copyright movies should be able to be utilized. Make the movie in the background.. have small speakers on each table.. so people can hang out laugh about the movie.. have some snacks have a few drinks and get out of there by 8 or 9 PM. It might take a while to get the formula right.
People want experiences .. Nextflix is fine and all, but it's like the tap water of the world.. be the bottle water, be the independent brewer of beer.. but for the movie rental world. If your in a city even maybe try and get some past movie stars of old to drop by and get some PR. Don't think of it as evolving into something new and fun..
There are ways to adjust I believe. Offer independent movies that earned prizes at some of the many (many!) festivals worldwide like Canne, Berlinale, Sundance etc. Basically build a niche that is quality versus recent stuff. Oscilloscope movies for example are often good and Netflix is lacking many of these. Get international movies which are really hard to get in U.S. except through shopping like Infidel, Samsara, Intimate Strangers, Dragonhunters (french) etc. Cater to themes, Star Wars, Star Trek etc with special editions which fans will want to watch but you can't get through streaming. Offer if possible random but acclaimed picks of each major genre so people can just go and grab something without searching much for a movie. Deliver movies like a pizza with people able to select/order one online. We have Netflix and such in streaming but still often go for Redbox or small DVD rentals because ... there are lots of movies we'd like to see but not available in the mainstream market.
Our local mom & pop DVD rental does okay, they have a huge library and I enjoy the foreign section, perhaps educating the clientèle on the best and latest foreign DVDs.
Seriously. Once a medium is past, you can't pump it up again.
in the retail space - i'd try selling high-profit items - like cellphones, plans, laptops, etc... just like some of the other suggestions - even then, that is a tough space.
if your town only has box-store service for computers/electronics - then you could win a little with customer service - selling/fixing computers/cellphones.
honestly though - if i was an investor - i'd probably try to force you to sell\sublet the space, or start a brewery (i like beer) lol.
there is no good sustainable market for dvd rentals. period. - no amount of frivolous bullshit is going to change that - if any of your family/friends are encouraging you to keep that business - but are not willing to put their own money in it - then they are full of shit and they aren't telling you the truth.
regarding businesses in entertainment - first thing that happens if there is a slight dip in the economy - people stop buying/renting entertainment. don't do it - not now anyway - in a booming economy - yes/maybe - but this one is so shit in North America that i wouldn't possibly even consider it.
go to school, learn something useful that gets you a job - none of this fairy arts bull shit - get a job - when the economy is better, then go back do whatever the hell you want.
you are screwing yourself over if you invest in a business that is DOOOOOOOOOOMED to fail - though you can probably strafe off the inevitable with good customer service and selling high-volume/highly profitable shit.
maybe if it's small add viewing nights or themes. providing a lounge is a good idea. adding books and well basically local B&N yourself but make it worth the time of the customer to enjoy your place. There is a place in orlando called stardust that kinda has a feel on this situation
some people are a "glass half empty" some are "glass half full" i'm a "there is something in the glass be happy" person
How is one supposed to watch movies that have already expired out of the Redbox system yet aren't on Netflix?
Netflix.
Somehow I don't understand. Would you explain how to use Netflix to watch movies that aren't on Netflix?
Answer #2: Any unskilled employee who'd like to have a paycheck if they live in a right to work state where "at will" employment predominates. Which unsurprisingly happens to be the states with the lowest unemployment rates right now.
And the highest percentage of minimum-wage and sub-par wages, I'm sure.
With the first link, the chain is forged.
Start stocking a ton of 20th century movies. Concentrate on pre-1975. Lots of sci-fi from the 40s and 50s. Have you seen Netflix's "classic" movie selection? It doesn't exist. Fresh prints of cinema classics are coming out on Blu-Ray all the time. Capitalize on it!
Video rental stores can still eek out a living in rural areas where internet speeds are too slow for useful streaming.
The choices for those movie viewers are satellite TV (where most movies are edited or broadcast without the full picture), Netflix through the mail, or driving into town to rent a movie.
He needs to move to a Redbox style setup. There are plenty of vendors online that have better setup's than Redbox. DVDNow and a few others. Even offer video games which suprising is still a pretty good rental market. A lot of kids rather rent the game for a few days to a week since that is all the time it takes to beat most of them now days.
When all else fails, hire me!
I've trolled thru some of the comments today. There are a few good ones. That being said, the effort level to execute most of the suggestions is very high. Running a business that is relatively straight forward to begin with (DVD rental) is already of a high 'effort level'. I'm sorry, your friend should start looking at another line of business all together. I know it's not an impossibility to turn things around. It's a sad reality unfortunately. I feel for him. I actually (somewhat) enjoyed going to the video store and renting movies.. I miss the local BlockBuster - there is nothing else around where I live to rent movies. Most of the movies on NetFlix suck. That being said, with the Internet delivering the movies right to my TV, I doubt I'd be visiting a 'good rental store' even if one existed. Just my 2 cents worth of lazy advice. This problem of attracting customers is going to get more and more difficult. Friend needs to move on with a different business. I run a tech business, and even the tech business is getting harder to run. Less people are buying physical servers - they want more cloud offerings. Sure I have set up a cloud a few years ago, but most of the younger techs out in the field now are growing up with Amazon's and Heroku's etc - I can offer cost effective cloud service but too many people just side with the "big guys". I make the same mistake in my life.... There is a small hardware store that has most of the everyday items you need close to my home.... I still go to home depot instead - most of the time just because I forget about the little place, or I know 'for sure' that Home Depot will have what I need. Sad reality. He shouldn't give up on running a business - maybe just not the business he is in. I know I have a defeatist attitude here, regardless, this is just one persons opinion.
Birddog Video in Calgary, AB had one of the best selections of obscure, import, and limited-release titles imaginable, the most helpful staff I've ever encountered, and they closed last year because they could not sustain business in a city of over a million people.
OP needs to tell his friend to open up a Hot Topic or something.. unless of course his friend is Randy from South Park, that episode was gold.
I have a favorite DVD rental store that keeps my business and seems to stay sufficiently useful to my community. Others have mentioned the importance of niche films--classics, art films, sub-genres (e.g anime, LGBT, etc.). It's not that these can't be found on-line (I don't know--maybe they can't), but they provide an environment where it's easy to browse through them along side of the blockbuster movies. Thus, you might go in looking for the Avengers, but you might also come home with a documentary, too. They also do a nice job of assembling temporary theme shelves that again mixes the new and familiar with the older and more obscure. Hey, I still enjoy bookstores, so maybe i'm living in a bubble of yesteryear.
Part of the reason that streaming/downloading is so popular is that I don't need to go to the video store, deal with lines, etc.
Combine DVD rental with that other staple of human laziness - fast food delivery. Get into business with the Pizza store and provide food + blu-ray / dvd delivery as a bundled service.
If you're going to simply keep your existing product and try to compete with digital downloads, you will fail.
Actually even then it might be hard - another beauty of digital download is that once I'm done with the movie, i need to do nothing - no returns, no overdues, etc. So they'll need to address that as well.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
Offer a membership to a movie 'Club'. Have a monthly fee and let the customers have 3 movies out at a time. This would be better than Netflix in that you could pick and watch your movie within the hour. If a customer wanted have a movie marathon one weekend, they could literally go through a dozen movies in a weekend. It is no sweat off of the rental store's nose if the customer changes his movies a half dozen times in a weekend. They will still only have three movies out at a time.
While you are at it, include games. There is a lot of crap out their for all of the systems. The games are expensive. Being able to rent a few games, and when they suck, take them back the same day and try something new would be a boon.
I don't know if anyone does it in other areas, but I haven't seen any rental stores that have a Netflix style subscription.
There is a lot to be said for viewing porn, in the confines of your own home, without anyone knowing about it. Privacy has become a serious issue in the digital age.
Blockbuster know this. This is why Blockbuster are selling up. That said, Domino's Pizza are offering free movie rentals with pizzas now - maybe move to pizza delivery?
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
This takes me back. Back about oh, six years ago when I read this exact same story on another forum. WORD FOR FUCKING WORD.
Operation Guillotine is in effect.
There is still a significant market for DVD rental in this country - senior citizens. They tend to own TVs and DVD players but they tend not to own computers (or at least, with high-speed internet). Stock up on the movies they want to rent. Offer a senior discount (maybe just on Tuesdays or something). Advertise in areas where they go and places where they live.
Naturally, that market is time-limited, but you should be able to make money off of it for a while yet. While it's still viable you could even try running it as a senior-centric internet cafe, offering them assistance with things that might not be easy for older folks to do online.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
Take on your biggest competition - Netflix and Redbox - head on. This will only take "homework", which is just the owner dedicating a little time. Create a special, prominent movie section. Start picking out very popular yet older movies. Check if each of those movies are available locally at Redbox, Blockbuster kiosks, and / or streaming (Netflix, Amazon, etc). That can be done totally online. Any of those movies that you have for rent that are not available through those other sources go in your new movie section. This section needs to be promoted as movies you can get NOW, that you cannot get ANYWHERE ELSE. "Instant Entertainment", that can only be had from your rental store.
You do have exclusivity! That is what you need to play on. There are HUGE gaps in what is available for streaming, and Kiosks have such small capacity that pretty much all they carry are the latest releases. All that is required is to recognize which titles meet that marketing criteria, which should be done weekly, and most importantly, to let customers know that your competition actually provides a very small and incomplete selection of movies.
Take this even further by promoting series and prequels to movies currently in theaters. For example, The Hobbit is coming out next month. Interest in the entire LOTR series will be increased because of it. Same with Twilight. Promote all the previous movies. Most of those are not available via streaming, and would be hit or miss in kiosks.
In addition, you need to have as large a collection of older movies as possible. Even if they don't fit on normal display shelves, or if you have to pack them in tight like books on a bookshelf, you cannot have too much selection or too many older movies. If you must, store the older ones in a storeroom and provide a listing / directory of those titles people can choose from. Ideally, list the movies on your website so people can at least browse them online. Even you don't have the infrastructure to set up a site allowing people to reserve online, they can still easily call and reserve that way.
The most important part is bringing specific movies to people's attention. There are many, many older flicks people have completely forgotten about that they would enjoy, and can only get instantly through your business locally. So you need to promote good movies on a regularly changing basis.
Now, I will point out that Netflix and others do have mail service, where people can "rent" physical movies online. Yes, you can pretty much get every movie ever made that way. However there are two huge downsides:
1) No a la carte. People have to pay a recurring monthly membership to get those moves, and Netflix has split that service off of its streaming services. The customer can't just pay $2 for a single movie that caught their eye, and that is a big turn-off. That makes your service more economical for people who aren't planning on circulating a dozen different DVDs back and forth to Netflix a month.
2) It's not instant. A huge appeal of a brick and mortar store is the ability to go in on a Friday night and grab a few movies for the weekend, and that requires instant gratification.
Better known as 318230.
Don't focus on renting DVD's. A lot of people own a few hundred DVD's that they don't watch. Offer to buy those, and sell used DVD's cheap enough so that it amounts to a rental that you don't have to return. You can make money over and over on the same DVD that way.
Allow people to do this by mailing in DVD's. Make it as easy as Netflix.
Otherwise, make him watch the latest Halloween South Park and pour him two or three shots of a good single malt scotch.
If moderation could change anything, it would be illegal.
Allow customers to mail returns back. Personally, at least, going out to pick out a movie is no big deal, but making the trip to return it feels like effort. That alone would take some of the shine out of Netflix in comparison I'd think.
- Offer online reservations. - Blu-rays and DVD's are the same price - Free popcorn in small bags - Eliminate late fees. The one thing that pisses people off the most is rushing down to the store before it closes to avoid the late fee. Many people probably never return to a rental place if they pay a late fee. - Have enough copies in in stock for newer movies. The 'New Releases' wall was almost entirely empty every time I went. It really pissed me off. - New movies should be the same price as the older movies, or at the very least, put the "new" movie releases into the 'regular' priced section a lot faster. Rogers Video often had New Releases there for 6 months before moving them. Pathetic. One month maximum. - Maybe offer something like Netflix did for their physical rentals - tiered pricing: Rent 'x' movies at a time for a certain price per month. The more they want, the more they pay. - Offer regular movie fair snacks like chips and drinks.
A couple of things would have to change. Your pricing would need to change . Why would someone pay X dollars + possible late fees for a few days rental when they can get an entire month for only $8 at Netflix.
So NO LATE FEES.
and instead of a pay per disc, offer a monthly subscription these customers would be the VIPS.
Give the VIPS some extras. For example let them keep a list of movies coming out with you. When the movie comes out they get a copy automatically to rent instead of having to wait.
Maybe team up with a local pizza company for pizza and DVD delivery.
Try renting out Large Screen TV's or movie projectors.
Back in the early 80's video stores also rented VCRs. Now there's 3D films on blueray, but many people don't have a 3D TV. So rent out a PASSIVE 3D tv (LG makes a good one) with a half dozen glasses. Kids parties would be a natural (or 3D porno for adult parties).
Also if he is not doing S-8 to DVD transfers and picture scanning he's missing out on a big advantage, as his customers would not have to risk mailing their orginals.
Another idea would be to get a WIDE assortment of gizmos from DX.com. Most of the items could be kept in a stockroom, if he had a few kiosks for customers to browse. Use the display for new items and kids toys.
Quite simple really. Set up a local mirror of all the usenet groups.
Sell them the right to download news articles unmonitored and unlogged to their laptop/phone/tablet at approximately $2-$4 per 4.7GB at gigabit speeds while they browse your DVD selection.
Just a thought...
3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D 3D
Ok that's crazy, but you do you know how expensive 3D movies are to buy for the oddball movie you don't want to buy. Almost no major outlets rent blu-ray 3d. Family Video is the only place I've found that rents 3D movies. I'm there every tuesday and more so for other movies not just the 3D.
Where is the store that I can walk into with usd 10 and a usb stick and buy a movie, buy software?
It does not exist. That's what needs to be addressed, I believe.
I'd love a store where I could get any of the current top IMDB 250 movies.
But what I'd *really* love is to be able to get those movies on iTunes, so I guess that idea has a shelf life.
Use rfid or other tech so that when someone is leaving with movies, they are automatically logged and displayed. This is what you will be billed for starting now.
Bill by the day.
Make it easy to purchase the movies as an alternative to returning them. Take advantage of lazy purchasing.
Keep a computer terminal up and locked on IMDB so people can look up the movie or find a movie they remember.
Have three return bins. Liked it, hated it. Defective. Let your customers vote on which movies to keep in stock.
Make it easy to order movies for purchase an put on their account. Take advantage of impulse purchasing.
Dont ever ever ever ask them to sign up for an additional type of membership. Always a downer.
Make it so that they never leave without a movie. Have a "are you feeling lucky" freebie movie.
stress the importance and worth of the special features (which are unavailabe on streaming)
Dont waste shelf space with all your titles flat. Keep one face up, the rest on edge.
Dont be prudes
Stock movies you would watch. Dont stock movies you could never stand to watch. Be a good place to find good movies.
Contrary to the grandparents, I think this guy should go mainstream. Become a DVD retailer and try to get the box office hit DVDs as soon as they come out before the bigger guys get them. I think it's quite feasible because the big studios and online streaming services are always on a tug of war on the share of royalties. And make sure you advertise the hell out of it so everyone knows they can rent the movie before you can even stream it online or get it mailed to you on Netflix.
You can also beat Netflix with their cost model. Every time Netflix ships a DVD, it costs them postage. How much longer can Netflix ship cheaply when USPS starts reducing service and increasing prices to cover their financial black hole? Every time your customer picks up the DVD from your store, it's free for you, and marginally free for your customers if they're already on their way doing something. Netflix allows only at most 3 discs at a time. Give your customers 7 discs at a time plan. And promote the hell out of it too.
There is no way you can cater to a customer who considers downloading pirated movies as an option. You might as well sell them home theater projectors and expensive sound systems. Also going niche would not work at all. Torrents are much better at providing the long-tail niche movies.
I once had a signature.
He should liquidate as soon as possible and use the funds to start a different business that has a market. A pizza place or a McDonalds franchise would be 10x more profitable.
Bundle trilogies, Star Wars, LOTR, Back to the Future, etc. Multiple seasons of popular tv shows for a moderate price may be able to keep up with netflix
Also xxx movies really do well, (I am displaced as a result of hurricane sandy) but there is actually a dvd AND VHS rental store around the corner from my current residence. It seems you will have to invest in private viewing booths, etc. but it seems to be the only way these stores actually stay in business.
Lately my politic is if whatever content are you offerring it's not delivered online then you just lost a client. The only reason I would go to a store and rent something would be if I can't download something, probably something very obscure, 'cause nobody is seeding it or sothing like that.
I don't go to rental places. mostly because it's inconvenience with no benefit over downloading. perhaps he can build an awesome "home theater" in his store that is not as good as a real theater but better than what most folks can afford at home. have enough seats for a family and charge $25/film. dunno if that small revenue would fix the issue, but it gets bodies in the door.
I thought it was common knowledge that it's the adult section that's kept mom-n-pop (or brother of a friend) video stores in the black since the mid-aughts. What would make that profit center's browsing experience more pleasant are electronic kiosks with well lit seating. Less risk of in-store fapping when the erotica isn't hidden away in narrow back aisles, and with a decent kiosk UI, you may get quicker turn-around and more browsing converted to sales.
I used to think offering iPod, et al loading for music and video would be a winner, albeit only for individual stores in the sticks that can stay under the licensing radar.
Luke, help me take this mask off
The only kind of DVD rental that can possibly survive is a specialist store that carries something that is not readily available on the internet. Nowadays that would mean older films, artsy films, all sorts of older tv series... basically everything except newish blockbusters and porn..
Catering to film geeks is harder and requires building up a reputation.
Adding wifi or coffee or whatever into his business is probably not that great an idea as it is likely to draw focus from the core business. Unless he wants to found a coffeeshop with a few DVDs and wifi in competition with Starbucks, because that's the competition he would then face and have to compare himself against.
1) When selecting your area of operation, select low competition sectors.
2) Select, create, or maneuver into, a position of high bargaining power against clients and suppliers. That is, you can apply price pressure to suppliers and the client has not much leverage with your prices.
3) And last but not least: Thou shalt not go against macro trends in Economy, Demography or Technology.
I think your friend's business fails in the the three rules of basic strategy, specially sinning against the Third. There is nothing much to be said, except trying to reinvent the shop, preferably as other kind of shop. If keeping it as a video rental is paramount, I'd specialize, perhaps in terror-gore films, or European films, or black and white. But of course only if the shop is in a big metropolitan area, not in a mall.
Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
Pretty sure that medium has long gone and passed. I got a DVD drive in my MBP and a Bluray drive in my PC. However both of which I have used maybe twice in the last year. The Mac Mini in the living room still has a DVD drive and I used that once because my gf got a DVD from a collegue "that we had to watch".
Can you name we 1 advantage of a DVD in this day and age? It takes me 10minutes to download and unpack a whole DVD ISO if I would download it from Usenet. However the same content as 720p is usually available encoded to a size of a max of 2.5gb. So that takes just 5minutes. Even the few DVD's I have in my house take longer to find back, pop open the case, pop it in the Mac Mini and wait for the DVD Player to start then it takes to download a NZB and wait for it to be downloaded and unpacked and hit play from my TV.
I read somewhere here you could dabble in WU/MG and other shady side business practices. Part time ink refill, copy shop, internet cafe... all fun and games. Jack of all trades master of none. I have been to MANY of those 'stores' in my area cause a certain minority group here thinks it's the ultimate cashcow and so far they have been:
1) unable to send a fax properly
2) make a copy of a document properly
3) get a proper internet connection suitable for 10+ machines
I could go on.
My point it? Sell off the assets you now have and call it quits. Who the fuck is interested in physical media.
...because the snarky responses just don't seem merited to me. the attitudes here are the reason why physical media will be dead within 10 years. i really don't want physical media to die. then i won't have anything i can rip or actually own. when physical media dies, there will be no more ownership.
to answer the question...
make the video store as much like redbox as possible. i have even joked that my local blockbuster that closed a year ago should have taken all of their shelves out, lined the walls with redbox kiosks, and charge a dollar at the door. so, here are my recommendations for a video/game rental store:
1. create a nice web-site window into the store where people can see what movies you have in stock, whether or not it is available, and allow reservation through the web-frontend.
2. ALL rentals must be $1 or less per disc per day.
3. create some other attractions to the store. this is very important. it needs to be something that can take up the slack and become your real business as video rental dies.
You should have sold the business back when redbox and netflix burst on the scene, It's a little late now to do anything with your business, except maybe have it as a second business. Coffee shop with TV's at the table. Restaurant with TV's at the table. I doubt you would even make enough ends meet to have those rare flicks not on netflix. I would say switch to xbox /ps3 games with rare films, but probably with the new systems coming out they will forgo media and have those download only games.
Lots of negative responses. I thought I would email you since I have some information that may actually relevant .. and helpful. I live in eastern, PA in the Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton area. 5 years ago, we had a ton of blockbusters, megavideos, 48hours ..all the chains. Now they are almost all no longer in business.
There are a few "mom and pop" shops around us that are still open .. and business is booming for them. But they all seem to follow the same formula. Hard to find / Cult Classics / and rare imports. The closest one to me is about a 15 minute drive and we are there about 2 -3 times per month. Ether buying or renting. It was really cool to walk in for the first time and see the Australian release director's cut of Army of Darkness on the shelf to rent. They have a ton of stuff you can't find anywhere else. Here is a promo video that a local news crew did with them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfJMLfifFHc
if you want anymore info just let me know.
Hope this was helpful .. oh yeah and remember .. according to slastdot your buddy might own a "horsewhip" store in the age of automobiles . .but you know what you can still buy horsewhips ... just not on every corner.
Cheers,
Why not sell a box that connects to your store? your store would then be a regional point of access. the people that live near you can pay a subscription fee and they can watch movies instantly from your stock. or you could charge them a dollar per movie. The box would be sold at your store or you could re-program other boxes to connect to your store, in the case someone moved. The only problem you would have is to stay linked to dvds or blue rays. the times are changing and while some people want to still purchase movies to watch, I think rentals are going to be electronic. Want to keep the local blockbuster open it's the only way I see this working. might also be able to allow access to movies from the network of stores in case it's an old movie that one store has per state. don't want to sell a box then you can have an application, they could watch on their laptop phone or smart TV.
That won't stop streaming.
I agree that the poor Internet connections in rural areas have not stopped Internet VOD services from becoming popular in urban markets. So what business model do you recommend to reach rural markets? Or are you of the opinion that rural customers are an edge case not worth serving?
People like Netflix because they are lazy, and the disc arrives/departs without them leaving the house. But they don't like waiting too long, so they stream. So why not give them what they want? Have a delivery guy there that delivers the movies, and include a prepaid envelope to return it. That way, they get the convenience of Netflix without waiting 2 days for the next disc. Plus, you should have a much better selection than Redbox. Also, you should be able to upsell a bit with *reasonably priced* snacks.
seriously, this was my first and only thought.
Offer blowjobs. Why? Because frankly, I have physically touched a DVD maybe 3 times in the past year. I don't buy them anymore, I don't use them. The vast majority of media that I consume comes through my internet feed.
I just don't see these coming back, I am sure they have some niche for some people but, short of removing the net from people's homes? Blojobs is your most realistic answer; that or location....locate the store some place where this is not true and people still need DVDs for entertainment....beyond what the red vending machines at the supermarkets and discount dvd bins provide.... where people can't afford cable with on demand content.
"I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
My thoughts are an amalgamation of others with a little of my own sprinkled in. I live in central Washington State. We have seen a number of video rental stores close down, both locally owned and big box type.
We are supposedly in a recession, or at least the tail end of a recession, but there never seems to be a lack of people in line at drive through coffee stands to purchase $5, sugar bomb, diabetes/obesity causing coffees. People wait in line, with their engines running, to do this!
Redbox has also popped up all over town. People are also willing to stand in line at Redbox on Fri and Sat evening.
There have been many people suggest combining coffee and movie rentals. I suggest combining coffee *drive through* and movie rentals with online ordering and monthly billing.
Charge $1/day Mon-Thurs and $2/day Fri-Sun for movie rentals.
Make it so that a person can reserve a movie online by some time the night before, say midnight, and have it ready to pick up when he/she drives through to get coffee in the morning.
Allow customers to keep a debit/credit/gift/paypal card/account on file and charge them monthly for all coffee/movies.
Accept returns through the window from people purchasing coffee.
Make it so that they can order their coffee while waiting in line. Get a Googlevoice number, or similar service, and let customers waiting in line text coffee orders in. This stops the people who just sat in line waiting to order coffee from having to wait for the coffee to be made. A computer with a web browser open to the stores GV text page would make this pretty easy to set up.
Keep your in store floor space, but add tables where people can drink coffee and browse/reserve/rent titles. Link every title in your catalog to the pertinent IMDB page. If you put the tables against the walls, touchscreens mounted to the walls should work for this.
Maybe make it so that after a certain time of the day, when coffee sales are slower, people coming through the drive through can purchase microwave popcorn, movie candy, sodas, (take and bake pizza if you are really industrious) as well. If they can reserve movies online it should be trivial to add these other things being available after a certain time, and even orderable online. They pull up and get handed a bag with the evening's entertainment in it and drive away, card to be charged at the end of the month. And this is a pretty easy way to up sell too. Make it a "combo pack" of some type and give a small break off what it would cost to walk in and purchase all those things separately. Maybe include an older title with the rental of a new release and combo pack, or include a children's title, something with less demand/movement.
Just my thoughts.
Y'know, I'd go to a store that offered all the stuff in the checkout area of my local Fry's (plus their magazine rack) with some regularity. That's a pretty attractive product mix.
But if they've got the "Let's make everybody feel like a suspected shoplifter" jerks at the exit door, then the whole idea is a non-starter. :-)
Seriously, though, the GP is in Houston. There are plenty of neighborhoods around here where stores like he describes are found and doing well. It's partly cultural and partly the fact that Houston has (essentially) no zoning.
... and call it Netflix. Sure to be a big hit!
In Reason We Trust
Stock cult classics, hard to find titles. Cater to the hipster, and cultivate a "vintage/retro vibe" Works for the Videodrome near Georgia Tech.
Movies like "Split Second", "Neon City", "Working Trash", "Hell Comes to Frogtown" and other really old movies that were never really big hits. Those are the kind I like to watch these days. Preferably on a dusty old television with broken knobs and a vhs player on top. Makes me feel young again.
Have events. Screen movies. Have old TV show marathons. Make opportunities for socializing around movies/videos. Server coffee. Make it a membership only video club. Server beer and wine.
Switch from hiring know it all movie buffs who look down on the customers to know it all movie buffs who actually recognize that they are in the service business. They need to smile. Make people feel welcome.
I mentioned this when I first got into programming school in 2000, and came up with a new business model that would replace the (back then) current dvd rental stores.
Simply put, you have a dvd burner on the spot, and catalogs of movies available, and images to burn them unto dvd on the spot.
This means the person will never have to wait for a release again, and also, can keep the dvd should they want it for an extra charge of ?$
The rental itself would be 1$ and when they are done, they can bring back the dvd (with watermark stamped into the dvd itself with barcode to identify the returned dvd)
This new model requires no personel nor heat , only electricity and legal rights to burn the dvds, and this can all be done in a small cubicle the size of a 2 x 2 closet
The dvds that are returned can be placed into a slot that can be emptied once a week, and those dvds can then be resold at a lower price, or given the chance to buy if the person wantys to hold on to it, through their credit cards, so if they pass the 5 day return limit, they have actually agreed to buy it outright, say for 5$ vs. the 12-25 $ in the stores...
A sound business model that requires no employee benefits, vacation tracking, heat, oversized room, sick days, etc....
Netflix is already on this model, sort of, when you would get the cds in the mail....but i think that ended, no?
except for the post roads, roads were just paths between towns and farms, that towns and counties improved as traffic increased. The idea that roads generally were built by governments is a fantasy from people who weren't there when it happened and can't imagine anything but government building roads.
So the government built all the post roads, and the government rebuilt all the roads from towns to farms to serve postal customers who happen to grow the food that urban dwellers eat. I see no fantasy here.
Just in case we all get too complacent in our snarkiness
To bring back your 'DVD store' - you would want to offer titles that aren't available with a competing business. Netflix is prohibited from offering new releases for the first 30 days - so you would have to get those on the first day or earlier, and then get rid of them after 30 days to be replaced with other new releases. Also, if you were to shift DVD out of your stock and replace those with BluRay - BluRay takes longer to download, so perhaps that could help get more rentals.
With Hollywood Video out of business, Blockbuster on its way out of business, and Red Box struggling with limited poor selection, what makes you think coming and asking here will provide you with the answer the mega-billion dollar companies have not been able to come up with to save themselves? lol... Just like Hostess, their time has passed.
not in the logical order...
1. movie buffs at the store, so I can talk to someone about his/her perspective, especially when I am exploring beyond what's familiar to me
2. I like to browse in a physical space, physical objects--It would help if there are short comments posted next to the DVD like "staff favorite!" "read this review!" etc.
3. A Redbox type return outside the store would be great.
4. the store could work on a "niche"--like becoming known to have the basics, like "movie greats/classics," all awarded films--like if I wanted to watch all the Oscar winners for actors/resses or films, etc., or indie awards, etc.
5. when there are sections as described above, I would go to the store instead of Netflix or Redbox, because going to the DVD rental shop becomes a kind of self-education process
6. it would be great to have viewing screens to see trailers of movies.
One browser not having a particular plugin is different from
"Android tablets are not supported by service X."
You might want to try Dolphin, or Firefox.
Were that I say, pancakes?
Your friend must face reality that his world business view is doomed to become extinct. Tell him to go back to school!
Vinyl records are making a comeback.......so a vintage shop would be a good idea! HAH seriously, that is an idea though. Frankly I'd look into a coffee shop / internet cafe type of thing.....I really saw video stores being passe about 10 years ago. That would be cheapest, plus most video stores have lots of windows, so they are conducive to coffee / juice bars. Actually the "new thing" is 3D printing. I'd tell them to invest in various 3D printers and offer services to print 3D objects. I have been pushing this tech for 10 years (not in that market area, but recognize the potential) I thought the DVD store thing was dead anyway.....Now with Netflix, VuDu, roku, GoogleTV, etc DVD is pretty much a data storage media or backups.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C. Clarke
seriously, this was my first and only thought.
Offer blowjobs. Why? Because frankly, I have physically touched a girl maybe 3 times in the past year.
FTFY.. Yeah, the most contact I seem to get with the opposite sex is when I get my hair cut. God, that's sad. Yeah, my first thought was 'blowjobs', too, but thought that was a bit crude, so how does 'lapdances' sound?
No sig for you! Come back one year!
[To run Flash on your Nexus 7,] You might want to try Dolphin, or Firefox.
From this page: "I got a notification from Dolphin that Flash would be disabled in my browser because it was no longer supported and caused the browser to become unstable. Now all Flash sites won't work for me."
I tried this tutorial with Firefox. I was able to watch halfway through a Zero Punctuation video until I clicked "full screen" and the video stopped, replaced with a circled exclamation point. Did Flash Player crash? I just want to make absolutely sure it'll work before I commit to a 12-month Prime subscription.
Swede some new movies. Don't put them on Youtube, just make the movies and put them directly in the store. It worked for Jack Black!!!
Let me get your logic straight. You are saying it is management's fault for agreeing to the unreasonable demands of the unionized employees?
There is nothing voluntary about a union contract. In most states in the USA ALL employees in a union company must be union: even employees who do not WANT to be in a union and would rather keep their union dues. There is nothing capitalistic about unions. Without government legislation protecting unions they weaken quite quickly. Look what happened to the public employees union in Wisconsin after the law changed: one union lost 55% of its membership, another union lost 70% of its membership. http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/05/31/public-employee-union-membership-in-wisconsin-drops-after-collective-bargaining-law/
Portland Oregon has a local chain of video stores next to a gym. I think it seems like strange combination but they keep hanging in there.
Yes it's a big city, but does it have the demographic of people that would shop at a business like that? I mean, if a business can survive in Victoria (greater area of 300K people), then it has to be demographics and marketing.
"If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
Promote a local community.
Your friend needs to offer something that Netflix and others can't provide.
Organize local meetings about movies, promote rare movie trading and other fan activities in the store, keep people visiting frequently and they will keep buying stuff.