When the girls were little, we used Redbox a lot!
Driving to/fro both grandparents' houses, it was so easy to pick-up and return DVDs at any one of various machines along the way. And at one time, Decatur had 5 or 6 of them scattered around grocery stores and drug stores. No matter what side of town we were on, there was never a Redbox too far away.
Very easy. Very economical.
I was always fascinated by how the whole Redbox system worked. The machine itself. Inventory control. Communication between the website and the boxes to know what was in stock and to place holds on a certain DVD.
I thought it was a great business model too..... no late fees. Since they had your credit card number, they would just charge the daily fee for how many ever days you kept the movie/game. After a certain point, you would own it.
We've not rented from a Redbox in years, although I do still see them sitting around, especially at Walgreens and Walmart.
Now, they will likely disappear into the great beyond..... another casualty of changing technology and movie streaming. Oh, poor management too, as is the case with nearly all business bankruptcies.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, the parent of DVD rental operator Redbox, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Read all about it:
Farewell to another piece of fun memories.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
p.s. This article is from 13 years ago (2011); predictions were right..... mostly right:
LESSONS FROM A DYING BUSINESS
"Redbox is an excellent example of how to create growth from a business that will ultimately die."
