Redbox raises rates as physical rental market continues to decline

[Shawn Knight]

It’ll soon be a bit more expensive to rent movies and games from Redbox. Starting December 2, the price to rent a DVD at one of Redbox’s nearly 44,000 kiosks will increase by 25 percent, from $1.20 to $1.50 per day.

Redbox is also raising the price of Blu-ray rentals to $2, a 33 percent increase from the current $1.50 rate. Gamers are being hit the hardest, however, as rental fees are going up 50 percent, from $2 to $3. The new game rental rates go into effect January 6, 2015.

In a press release on the matter, Redbox said they expect an adverse impact on rental volume as a result of the price change. That said, Redbox’s parent company, Outerwall, believes the price increases will help offset future declines in the physical rental market.

J. Scott Di Valerio, Outerwall's chief executive officer, noted that this is the first time Redbox has raised prices on Blu-ray discs and video games and only the second time in more than 12 years that they’ve raised prices on DVDs. He insists that Redbox remains the best value in new-release home entertainment.

Once a disruptive service that helped eliminate video rental stores, Redbox is now on the opposite end of the discussion as people continue to migrate to more convenient sources of entertainment. By that, I'm of course referring to streaming video providers like Netflix and Hulu, among others.

Physical media still holds an advantage over its streaming counterparts, however, as movies are often released to disc much sooner than they arrive online.

Will the price hike affect your decision to continue to use Redbox?

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/58954-redbox-raises-rates-physical-rental-market-continues-decline.html

 

[Seventh Reign]

So they're raising prices because no one is renting movies? That makes a lot of sense..

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

So they're raising prices because no one is renting movies? That makes a lot of sense..

Obviously they feel they will make more money from raising rates than they will lose from the decrease in overall rentals. They're in business to make money, not see how many discs they can rent.

I'm surprised by this though... the redbox by my house was so crowded that they put in a 2nd one right next to it. It's in a walgreens parking lot, and enough people use the redbox that it messes up parking in the small lot. If they're seeing a decline, it sure isn't in my neighborhood.

 

[MoeJoe]

Everyone should have seen this coming. The percentage increase is a bit shocking.

 

[Guest]

Another reason to stick with torrenting.

 

[Guest]

I don't mind spending $2 to watch movies at is best quality (Blu-ray.) It sure beats paying $5 to stream an HD movie, which is not as good as Blu-ray.

 

[tipstir]

Ladies and Gentlemen, the trial experiment is now over!

 

[Evernessince]

I don't mind spending $2 to watch movies at is best quality (Blu-ray.) It sure beats paying $5 to stream an HD movie, which is not as good as Blu-ray.

You can blame your ISP for that. IF the USA's internet was up to the standard of most 1st world countries, streaming blu-ray would be a non-issue for most.

I don't know which service charges $5 to steam a movie either. Amazon charges $1 or 2 depending on the movie and age.

 

[captaincranky]

...[ ]....I don't know which service charges $5 to steam a movie either. Amazon charges $1 or 2 depending on the movie and age.

Well, you're obviously not referring to films from this century.

But you're right, they don't charge 5 dollars, it's 6 dollars for high def.

Here's the link for, "X-Men: Days of Future Past, maybe you can talk them down to two bucks! Tell them you know me...(y) http://www.amazon.com/X-Men-Days-Fu..._title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1416989900

 

[Evernessince]

Well, you're obviously not referring to films from this century.

But you're right, they don't charge 5 dollars, it's 6 dollars for high def.

Here's the link for, "X-Men: Days of Future Past, maybe you can talk them down to two bucks! Tell them you know me...(y) http://www.amazon.com/X-Men-Days-Fu..._title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1416989900

That came out on DVD/Bluray not too long ago so it's not a surprise They will always charge a premium for new content. It's still overpriced for digital though. I can see these high prices continue for some thing until more competition sets up.

 

[captaincranky]

That came out on DVD/Bluray not too long ago so it's not a surprise They will always charge a premium for new content. It's still overpriced for digital though. I can see these high prices continue for some thing until more competition sets up.

Please stop talking in circles. The price of that new release at Amazon in high def is six dollars.

The price of that Blu-ray at Redbox is $1.50.

Redbox only carries new releases. These are the hottest moving and in demand titles.

So, it really doesn't matter how much Amazon is charging for the 1st "Godfather" film. Every body has seen it a half dozen times

Amazon's price of a comparable new release is 4 times that of Redbox.

And it's 5 dollars... Compare apples to apples, and streaming a new title costs 5 bucks, (or more), exactly what you were told it cost.

So, skip the spin, and be wrong with a bit of dignity

 

[Evernessince]

Please stop talking in circles. The price of that new release at Amazon in high def is six dollars.

The price of that Blu-ray at Redbox is $1.50.

Redbox only carries new releases. These are the hottest moving and in demand titles.

So, it really doesn't matter how much Amazon is charging for the 1st "Godfather" film. Every body has seen it a half dozen times

Amazon's price of a comparable new release is 4 times that of Redbox.

And it's 5 dollars... Compare apples to apples, and streaming a new title costs 5 bucks, (or more), exactly what you were told it cost.

So, skip the spin, and be wrong with a bit of dignity

I did say that amazon was charging too much for new title in my last post.

"Redbox only carries new releases" Not true. When I live they have movies that are over 2 years old. It varies from region to region what they carry.

 

[captaincranky]

NO, this is what you said:

...[ ]...I don't know which service charges $5 to steam a movie either. Amazon charges $1 or 2 depending on the movie and age.

 

[Evernessince]

NO, this is what you said:

That came out on DVD/Bluray not too long ago so it's not a surprise They will always charge a premium for new content. It's still overpriced for digital though. I can see these high prices continue for some thing until more competition sets up.

Hey look, the post I referring to. Not like it matters though. Both my posts state that it's based on "age" of the title. You did completely dodge my answer so I'll restate it. Redbox DOES offer older titles. Just because you think they don't doesn't mean they don't.

 

[captaincranky]

I did say that amazon was charging too much for new title in my last post.

"Redbox only carries new releases" Not true. When I live they have movies that are over 2 years old. It varies from region to region what they carry.

You "painted over" your last bad information, with a new story. First you say "Amazon only charges 1 or 2 dollars for a rental (stream). Then, when you find out that's wrong, you claim, "Amazon charges too much for a rental". The more you argue with me, the more you change your story.

A Redbox Kiosk holds about 600 DVDs. "2 Years" is not really an "old movie". OTOH, I doubt if you could go to a Redbox, and find the entire, "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Redbox does on occasion bring back an, "older movie' . These are usually in sync with a sequel of the same title hitting the theaters. When you come down to it though, sequels happen oftentimes at 2 or 3 year intervals. As such, you really couldn't consider the original an "old movie".

As with any physical rental, Redbox will pull a movie when the rental turnover borders on nil. With Amazon having the much larger capacity of ranks of servers to deliver digital media, they can afford to have the original "Rocky" sitting on a dusty old drive, with little to no maintenance or expense. You are unlikely to find that at Redbox.

If you go a little further into Amazon's pricing, you'll find quite often you can buy the Blu-Ray set of a TV season for less than the price of the total of episodes as downloads. These are crap, stuck on the computer they are downloaded to, and loaded with DRM.

Stipulations: You can get the TV series by download long before the DVDs drop.

You can have the downloaded material on 2 computers, but they both have to have the same crap Amazon player software.

 

[Evernessince]

You "painted over" your last bad information, with a new story. First you say "Amazon only charges 1 or 2 dollars for a rental (stream). Then, when you find out that's wrong, you claim, "Amazon charges too much for a rental". The more you argue with me, the more you change your story.

A Redbox Kiosk holds about 600 DVDs. "2 Years" is not really an "old movie". OTOH, I doubt if you could go to a Redbox, and find the entire, "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Redbox does on occasion bring back an, "older movie' . These are usually in sync with a sequel of the same title hitting the theaters. When you come down to it though, sequels happen oftentimes at 2 or 3 year intervals. As such, you really couldn't consider the original an "old movie".

As with any physical rental, Redbox will pull a movie when the rental turnover borders on nil. With Amazon having the much larger capacity of ranks of servers to deliver digital media, they can afford to have the original "Rocky" sitting on a dusty old drive, with little to no maintenance or expense. You are unlikely to find that at Redbox.

If you go a little further into Amazon's pricing, you'll find quite often you can buy the Blu-Ray set of a TV season for less than the price of the total of episodes as downloads. These are crap, stuck on the computer they are downloaded to, and loaded with DRM.

Stipulations: You can get the TV series by download long before the DVDs drop.

You can have the downloaded material on 2 computers, but they both have to have the same crap Amazon player software.

I did not "paint over" anything. You just skipped over a section of my post so I had to go back and restate it. It's not my fault you cannot find the time to read the words that accompany the 2nd half of a post.

In addition, the point I was trying to make with redbox having older titles was to counter your point.

You Said

Redbox only carries new releases.

which you just said yourself is false. Who's the one who's trying to "paint over" now? Its ironic that almost everything you've accused me of doing you've done yourself.

 

[captaincranky]

I did not "paint over" anything. You just skipped over a section of my post so I had to go back and restate it. It's not my fault you cannot find the time to read the words that accompany the 2nd half of a post.

In addition, the point I was trying to make with redbox having older titles was to counter your point.

You Said


which you just said yourself is false. Who's the one who's trying to "paint over" now? Its ironic that almost everything you've accused me of doing you've done yourself.

You know, the latest crop of members is rapidly declining in quality.

I don't know which service charges $5 to steam a movie either. Amazon charges $1 or 2 depending on the movie and age.

This is incorrect. I've told you that several times. I linked new content on Amazon to show you that you're dead wrong.

Redbox DOESN'T stock old movies. Their older titles are replaced rather quickly to make room for new releases.

As I said, their boxes only hold 600 discs, so how far back can they reasonably go? Especially when you consider they need several slots for a popular new title. If you put 10 copies of "X-Men: Days of Future Past", (which incidentally is a title seemingly culled from an ancient Moody Blues album), that means 9 older titles with no activity need to be pulled.

Can you find an occasional old movie at Redbox" Yes, from time to time.

When you have Redbox "re-releasing" titles like, "The Hunger Games", (which is hardly an old movie), it serves to show how quick their turnover it titles.

Now, that should be semantically, and with proper attention to, "the fine print", sufficient to shut you up. I only tried to make one point here, and that was that you were spouting nonsense about, "Amazon only charges 1 or 2 dollars for a rental stream".

If this needs to continue past that, I can report the whole thread, then let the mods sort out the details. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[Evernessince]

You know, the latest crop of members is rapidly declining in quality.
This is incorrect. I've told you that several times. I linked new content on Amazon to show you that you're dead wrong.

Redbox DOESN'T stock old movies. Their older titles are replaced rather quickly to make room for new releases.

As I said, their boxes only hold 600 discs, so how far back can they reasonably go? Especially when you consider they need several slots for a popular new title. If you put 10 copies of "X-Men: Days of Future Past", (which incidentally is a title seemingly culled from an ancient Moody Blues album), that means 9 older titles with no activity need to be pulled.

Can you find an occasional old movie at Redbox" Yes, from time to time.

When you have Redbox "re-releasing" titles like, "The Hunger Games", (which is hardly an old movie), it serves to show how quick their turnover it titles.

Now, that should be semantically, and with proper attention to, "the fine print", sufficient to shut you up. I only tried to make one point here, and that was that you were spouting nonsense about, "Amazon only charges 1 or 2 dollars for a rental stream".

If this needs to continue past that, I can report the whole thread, then let the mods sort out the details. Happy Thanksgiving.

Your whole argument is based on the fact that we cannot compare old movie pricing on amazon to redbox because, according to you, redbox does not store old movies.

How about this

redbox link
http://www.amazon.com/ParaNorman-Leslie-Mann/dp/B005LAII62
amazon link
http://www.amazon.com/ParaNorman-Leslie-Mann/dp/B005LAII62
or
http://www.redbox.com/movies/the-little-rascals-save-the-day

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Rascal...=1-1&keywords=the+little+rascals+save+the+day

but to humor you, here is an example of an amazon movie that's only $2 from 2014.

http://www.amazon.com/Sharknado-Sec...F8&qid=1417111270&sr=1-1&keywords=sharknado+2

http://www.amazon.com/Possession-Mi...instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1417111318&sr=1-56&


It would be allot easier to find more if so many of them weren't FREE to steam for me. Over 90% cost me nothing.

 

[captaincranky]

Your whole argument is based on the fact that we cannot compare old movie pricing on amazon to redbox because, according to you, redbox does not store old movies.

For the most part, they don't. If an older title is still moving, obviously they should/do keep it.

Big name blockbuster new releases are still $6.00 at Amazon. This is an apples to apples comparison. In this case, my comparison is to go to Redbox and rent "X-Men: days of Future Past", as opposed to streaming it from Amazon.

Are you trying to claim that because "Sharknado" is a 2014 release, I'm wrong? It's an unmitigated piece of sh!t. Amazon is lucky if they get the two bucks they're asking.

It would be allot easier to find more if so many of them weren't FREE to steam for me. Over 90% cost me nothing.

I'm not even going to touch this. You have streaming memberships, Amazon Prime, you're a big time pirate? None of that is germane to the issue.

The issue is Redbox is raising its rental price. Making the comparison to a comparable movie on Amazon, it's still a bargain.

If somebody wants to go all the way to Redbox to rent "Sharknado", or stream it from Amazon, a fool and his money are soon parted company, no matter how they choose to waste their money, or offend their own eyes.

That movie is about on a par with watching reruns of the "Jerry Springer Show", whose audiences, I can only assume, are made up of the same people. Two bucks is way too much. Those holes at the Sy-Fy channel chose to cancel "Caprica", in lieu of making movies like Sharknado. That's a sad commentary even against 4th grade dropouts living in Appalachia.

 

[Evernessince]

For the most part, they don't. If an older title is still moving, obviously they should/do keep it.

Big name blockbuster new releases are still $6.00 at Amazon. This is an apples to apples comparison. In this case, my comparison is to go to Redbox and rent "X-Men: days of Future Past", as opposed to streaming it from Amazon.

Are you trying to claim that because "Sharknado" is a 2014 release, I'm wrong? It's an unmitigated piece of sh!t. Amazon is lucky if they get the two bucks they're asking.

You example of X-Men is just that, one sample. I can go through amazon and find plenty of examples of new movies that are cheap to watch. Instead of a flat fee like Redbox, amazon instead charges based on popularity. Of course the example you cited is favorable to you as it plays on that system.

In addition to that, many movies can be had on amazon prime. At $100/year, the video streaming alone works out to less than Redbox(unless of course you don't watch much movies but then you wouldn't really be using amazon video anyways). Frankly an "apple to apples" comparison isn't possible here as amazon locks many movies to prime.

 

[captaincranky]

You example of X-Men is just that, one sample. I can go through amazon and find plenty of examples of new movies that are cheap to watch. Instead of a flat fee like Redbox, amazon instead charges based on popularity. Of course the example you cited is favorable to you as it plays on that system.

"Whatever the traffic will bear", is a euphemism for,"price gouging"..

In addition to that, many movies can be had on amazon prime. At $100/year, the video streaming alone works out to less than Redbox(unless of course you don't watch much movies but then you wouldn't really be using amazon video anyways). Frankly an "apple to apples" comparison isn't possible here as amazon locks many movies to prime.

As I said, I bought 1 episode of "Nova" from Amazon Instant Video, or Amazon, "Unbox", or whatever they're calling it. I won't ever buy anything else

The player software is obnoxious, and Amazon deems it necessary to have that garbage running at start up. (And yes, I know you can easily stop that but, software that hijacks your system, (for example "Nero"), I consider invasive, adware, malware, or just plain high pressure sales tactics.

What I rent from Redbox won't be be in Amazon's 2 buck catalog, more like the 6 dollar stuff from Amazon.

I wouldn't be caught dead watching "Sharknado", 1, 2, 3, or however many banal incarnations of the "franchise" Sy-Fy chooses to inflict on the world.

When we're in the womb we're attached to our mothers via the umbilical cord. As near as I can't fathom, this new generation substitutes the internet for that cord, and reattaches itself.

I'd rather leave it cut, not get sucked into "Amazon Prime", or other such dependency scam,. and have my movies and music on physical media.

Amazon Prime is driving me away from buying things there, and in my area there are much better places to shop for the things I buy.

But, as always, your results may vary, and of course, different strokes for different folks.

All I see here from old timer land, is a bunch of fools walking the plank into the digital media delivery sea. With its DRM infested waters, and the corporate whales controlling all of your entertainment choices.

 

[Evernessince]

"Whatever the traffic will bear", is a euphemism for,"price gouging"..


As I said, I bought 1 episode of "Nova" from Amazon Instant Video, or Amazon, "Unbox", or whatever they're calling it. I won't ever buy anything else

The player software is obnoxious, and Amazon deems it necessary to have that garbage running at start up. (And yes, I know you can easily stop that but, software that hijacks your system, (for example "Nero"), I consider invasive, adware, malware, or just plain high pressure sales tactics.

What I rent from Redbox won't be be in Amazon's 2 buck catalog, more like the 6 dollar stuff from Amazon.

I wouldn't be caught dead watching "Sharknado", 1, 2, 3, or however many banal incarnations of the "franchise" Sy-Fy chooses to inflict on the world.

When we're in the womb we're attached to our mothers via the umbilical cord. As near as I can't fathom, this new generation substitutes the internet for that cord, and reattaches itself.

I'd rather leave it cut, not get sucked into "Amazon Prime", or other such dependency scam,. and have my movies and music on physical media.

Amazon Prime is driving me away from buying things there, and in my area there are much better places to shop for the things I buy.

But, as always, your results may vary, and of course, different strokes for different folks.

All I see here from old timer land, is a bunch of fools walking the plank into the digital media delivery sea. With its DRM infested waters, and the corporate whales controlling all of your entertainment choices.

To be honest, the only reason I have prime is because I get it as a student benefit. I realize that their system is setup to suck absent minded folk into it's clutches. I also prefer physical media as well. I like to own what I have, not just rent it. I would not call someone old if they choose to buy a physical product over digital. You just can't beat having something in your hands.

With that, I would like to alleviate the grievances you have had with my original post. I stated that amazon had movies, in comparison to redbox, at the price of a couple of dollars. I didn't realize at the time of writing that it was actually misleading about amazon's new movie pricing. Compared to redbox, amazon's new movie rentals are much more expensive.

Frankly, it disgusts me that companies like amazon can continue to charge that amount for a service that should cost a fraction of the price they charge. This even extends to ebooks (and other online retailers). Want a "Fundamental Calculus" Book? $200 at the bookstore or $250 for a digital copy.

 

[captaincranky]

Want a "Fundamental Calculus" Book? $200 at the bookstore or $250 for a digital copy.

Hopefully that was a rhetorical question.... You can teach me algebra n' stuff, but I always forget it a month later....

You know what though? That paper book would turn into a treasured memory over the years, yet the PDF never will.