[mikeocool]

Anecdotally, I recall a brief moment in the late 2000's where the mom and pop shops had a bit of resurgence (or at least a stay on their execution) -- when Netflix DVD's by mail had put most Block Busters out of business, but before every movie was readily available on streaming services.

If it was Friday night, and you'd just sent back your netflix disc -- or you were looking to watch something that wasn't at the top of your queue, the mom and pop video rental place was your only option. At least in NYC, it seemed like this kept those places going a little but longer than anyone would have guessed when Block Buster was still around.

Though once streaming became prevalent they all disappeared pretty quickly.

[rhino369]

NYC probably had more indie rental stores around just because of the population density. In my suburb, Blockbuster had already wiped them out in the 90's.

[Apocryphon]

Feels like even without streaming or even Netflix’s original DVD-by-mail delivery service, Redbox could’ve eaten brick and mortar movie rental stores.

[exmadscientist]

According to a coworker, Redbox/Outerwall had massive management issues, which probably explains why they had so much trouble. He insisted that the corporate culture got significantly better when private equity bought them out, which is a statement I don't recall ever having heard before.

[TedDoesntTalk]

I don't recall Redbox existing, at least in my area, during that time.

[WalterBright]

This was before Netflix streaming, when Netflix was just dvds.

[TedDoesntTalk]

Yeah -- still don't remember Redbox then. I did use Netflix DVDs by mail, too.