Best Buy to Discontinue Physical Media

[buckguy]

Handelman was more or less set up in business by SS Kresge. They supplied all the major variety chains and, later, discounters including KMart and Walmart. People have great nostalgia for these record departments, so it’s funny that one jobber supplied almost all of them. A real music fan might have bought new releases there on sale, but these places were not considered good places to buy music, so the backlist was unlikely to do well in these stores.

[SamSpade]

Off Topic

It's interesting to me as a random observation of personal choice, that my favorite departments in multi-department stores and category killers were largely handled by third parties until the modern era (books, magazines, CDs and cassettes, shoes). I suppose some of the reason behind that may be because these are usually the kind of things kids can buy with saved allowance (besides candy) as parents usually handle clothing, home basics, etc. until you're a teen with a paying job.

[Alpha8472]

Best Buy in the early 2000s used have half the store devoted to CDs, DVDs, etc. It was a fun place to browse all of the different TV show box sets, animation, movies, etc.

I spent so much time discovering new TV shows. Also the music selection was pretty good. You got to see all the different albums covers and artwork. Now with everything online, you don't get to see the artwork. It is much more difficult to discover new artists and new movies.

Going to the store used to be fun. Now it is a place you only go to for online pickup.

[mjhale]

The speculation is that the distributor Best Buy used was indeed the same one that Walmart acquired, so this might not be within their control.

This might explain why Walmart.com seems to have much broader selections of new DVDs and BluRay versus an Amazon or another online seller. When I have wanted to purchase physical media, I am finding that Walmart has the product in stock online and the pricing is better than others. I mostly watch niche and independent movies so it is helpful to know someone has the media except for the few that you have to buy direct from the movie distributor. The last DVD that I ordered from Walmart.com had a return address other than Walmart. I wish I had kept that package so I could mention the name. Other products I have ordered from Walmart.com have a Walmart return address on them, many being Harrisonburg, VA where Walmart has a huge DC.

[ClownLoach]

Best Buy in the early 2000s used have half the store devoted to CDs, DVDs, etc. It was a fun place to browse all of the different TV show box sets, animation, movies, etc.

I spent so much time discovering new TV shows. Also the music selection was pretty good. You got to see all the different albums covers and artwork. Now with everything online, you don't get to see the artwork. It is much more difficult to discover new artists and new movies.

Going to the store used to be fun. Now it is a place you only go to for online pickup.

I'm sorry but the music and movie department has been a poorly maintained dump that looks like they hired the three worst Ross, Kmart, and Big Lots employees to maintain it for the past decade (which is probably the last time they put out new stock). Nobody's buying anything because all they have are empty shelves that have been gathering dust bunnies. Like I said maybe they'll make a deal to order a few copies direct for new releases like Target and others do, or maybe the business is so completely gone for them that they truly will just formalize the shuttering of the department which for all intents and purposes stopped bringing anyone into their stores a decade ago. Let's not kid ourselves and pretend that anyone's changing their shopping habits since there hasn't been anything to shop for in that area for years.

[Alpha8472]

FYE used to have a small selection of movies and music. Has that disappeared? Walmart seems to have a larger selection of movies in store than Target now. Target has really reduced the movie section. It seems like it is mostly books now.

[ClownLoach]

FYE used to have a small selection of movies and music. Has that disappeared? Walmart seems to have a larger selection of movies in store Tham Target now. Target has really reduced the movie section. It seems like it is mostly books now.

If you can find an FYE apparently they still have a decent selection. Target just receives new releases outside of the usual Black Friday type events, and they order studio direct instead of using a distributor.

It really seems that the issue here is that nobody is still around who deals in the complicated warehousing and distribution of CD and DVD inventory; there was apparently one company left and Walmart should not have been allowed to purchase them if their intent was to make themselves a physical media monopoly. I understand their primary customer base probably can't afford to sign up for many costly streaming services, however that doesn't mean that they should have the power to apparently cut off Best Buy and others from having a catalog or RTV rights for unsold inventory (which always requires a distributor as studios do not buy back their own goods direct but rather through a distributor-clearinghouse).

[mbz321]

FYE used to have a small selection of movies and music. Has that disappeared? Walmart seems to have a larger selection of movies in store Tham Target now. Target has really reduced the movie section. It seems like it is mostly books now.

I've seen a few newer (yes, they've been opening new locations here and there) stores and it's basically 95% collectables of all kinds, TShirts, Japanese snacks, etc.

[storewanderer]

What is funny is the closing Rite Aid has a little section of CDs and DVDs, some of them look like they've been there for 20 years. The price for the store closing sale was $1 for DVDs and 75% off CDs.

In some countries though this physical media is still much more of a "thing."

[Alpha8472]

Rite Aid has had some really old movies and cds at their stores. I have seen many that have been sitting on the shelf for 20 years. I did find some interesting treasures over the years. There were some obscure TV series dvds: Vampire High, etc.

Walgreens had some interesting and cheap dvds in their bargain bin in the 2000s to 2010s. Some of them were rental discs that somehow ended up being sold at Walgreens. They were previously viewed, but in good condition... Batman Begins, Batman The Dark Knight, Star Trek, etc. for $3 to $5.

Even a few years ago 7-Eleven had some bargain dvds for cheap prices. They appeared to be former rental discs. They were probably from those Redbox kiosks or the rip off kiosks that eventually disappeared.