NCR wants to sell the Blockbuster Express DVD kiosk business, but it may have to deal with some angry customers on Tuesday when it implements its 3-2-1 pricing plan. The company will continue to charge $3 for the first night to rent a DVD that’s been out 28 days or less. (Actually new movies will cost a penny more; they’re now $2.99.) The big change involves DVDs from the 29th to the 90th day after they’ve been released: NCR is raising the first night price to $2 from $1. After 90 days the price drops to $1. In each case it costs an extra buck for each additional night. (Blu-ray discs cost $1 more than DVDs in each window.) Why is NCR making the change? It has some PR cover; Redbox just increased its price to $1.20 from $1. And last week NCR’s John Bruno told analysts that the company is exploring “profit-enhancing initiatives including premium pricing for the new releases.” NCR also wants to keep studios happy: With its higher price, Blockbuster Express isn’t subject to the 28-day delay on new releases that Warner Bros, Universal, and Fox apply to Redbox and Netflix. Bloomberg reports that studios will receive a piece of the action from the $2 rentals. NCR says it will guarantee that new releases will be available at its 10,000 kiosks; customers who find a choice that’s out of stock can text NCR asking for a promo code giving them $1 off another $3 or $2 disc. That enables NCR to position this as a pro-consumer move. “We are making this change based on feedback from our customers,” the company says, adding that “with this change we are simplifying our pricing structure and clearly defining our portfolio of movie rental options.” One thing that’s not clear: Blockbuster Express no longer is connected to Blockbuster, which Dish Network bought in April. The satellite company and NCR are in court fighting over NCR’s right to use the Blockbuster name which it licensed in 2009.


Screw Blockbuster Express. All the new movies are $3 instead of $1…Ripoff! No wonder the parent company went bankrupt.
Trust Blockbuster to always keep it stupid.
This company is going to be in the same pickle as netflix has been as of late, if they keep these practices up. Who the hell is making these decisions anyways?
They want to make money, and still have to cater to the studios, the content owners, the studios are pulling the strings, instead of people blaming blockbuster, netflix or anyone else, you should direct you anger to the real puppet masters in this game, the content owners, they supply the disks, and they supply the content to stream.
The studios want to make money, and consumers just aren’t buying the dvd’s like they used to.
^ and comments like these illustrate why you never let another company set the price points for your product.
And yet another reason why I don’t like Blockbuster Express. I went there just like a week ago (at like 0730) and their little electronic kiosk wasn’t working. It was turned off. And even when I go during the daytime to afternoon half the time the thing doesn’t work. And then they put policies like this crap? Dude.
**And yeah I may live in a small town where Blockbuster may not care, but in this little town: 1 Blockbuster store, 1 kiosk, 2 Redboxes, and another video kiosk that I don’t know the name of. So yeah we’re a rental town…
“We are making this change based on feedback from our customers,” the company said.
I’m sorry, but when in the history of retail have customers ever clamored, “We want to pay more! Charge us more!”??!!
I wish I could vote up your remark.
I am sure there would be outrage… If anyone actually used these machines. I’ve seen exactly 2 in all of West LA, and the moronic connection to Blockbuster makes people think you need to be some kind of member to use them. Now the crazy price structure (what consumer is going to remember how many days a film has been out on DVD) is yet another reason to not use the kiosk.
Blockbuster is the worst company in the world. It must be full of idiots with MBAs who think they are business geniuses. They’re going to charge $3 for the garbage straight-to-DVD films too? Idiots.