Best Buy Ends Sales of Physical Media Early 2024

[4Dblu]

Originally Posted by mikey horror

Why does everyone seem to think that Best Buy decides the fate of physical media? They’ve been on their last legs for years. They’ll be closing all their stores soon anyway. Surprised they lasted this long to be honest. People don’t shop at electronic specific stores anymore. If they need a new appliance, they’ll go to Home Depot where they can pick up a million other things they need. If they want a new TV, they’ll go to Target or Walmart where they can pick up groceries, clothes or home goods while they’re there. People love one stop shops.

Yup, so true. I haven't really been in BB in years. Either i buy from WM while i'm there or shop online... And BB pickings been getting smaller & smaller. Where WM hav a whole side isle full of movies. Yeah, i think by 2025 we will hear major closing of BB

[Areyakiddin]

And just after my local Best Buy moved their section away from the forgotten back corner of the store. LOL

[GloveSlap]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

This thread is fufilling that role. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=366791

Thanks, didn't see that one. I still think it deserves a thread in the main section, but oh well.

[Edo]

Originally Posted by mikey horror

Why does everyone seem to think that Best Buy decides the fate of physical media? They’ve been on their last legs for years. They’ll be closing all their stores any day now anyway. Surprised they lasted this long to be honest. People don’t shop at electronic specific stores anymore. If they need a new appliance, they’ll go to Home Depot where they can pick up a million other things they need. If they want a new TV, they’ll go to Target or Walmart where they can pick up groceries, clothes or home goods while they’re there. People love one stop shops. Physical media isn’t going anywhere, it’s just becoming more niché, that’s all.

very true

[DukeTogo84]

I've been inside a Best Buy store maybe 3-4 times in the last 24 months. I've ordered a couple of Steel Books online as well, but for the most part I don't think Best Buy is a good indicator that physical media is going to disappear.

[drb999]

Best Buy ending blu-ray sales won’t end physical media but it could be the start of a trend. Target May follow soon too. There blu sections are shrinking.

[Reignman35]

Didn't hear about this until Jimmy Fallon mentioned it last night during his monologue. Definitely sad to see this, as I've been shopping at Best Buy for over 25 years, and love going into the store sometimes just to look around. Their physical media section has been shrinking but seemed to be making a comeback recently (at least at my local stores), so quite bummed about this.

It also allowed me to go in and OCD browse the 4K slipcovers to make sure I picked out the most minty one .

[mikey horror]

Originally Posted by drb999

Best Buy ending blu-ray sales won’t end physical media but it could be the start of a trend. Target May follow soon too. There blu sections are shrinking.

Just because stores stop carrying something, doesn’t mean it ceases to exist. The only thing that’s changing is who and where you buy it from.

[Comicfan]

Yeah,I'm very sad about this. It's going to make getting physical media harder for me. I use Best Buy the most because i have free shipping. With Amazon and Target(I do use them but no where near as much as Best Buy),if it's under $35,there is shipping cost.(I'm not getting another credit card for Target or subscribing to Amazon Prime just to get free shipping. I only subscribe to Amazon Prime once a year for a month to a month and a half so I can binge watch all the shows I'm interested in).

The problem with Walmart for me is that the Walmart near me closed two years ago because the landlord raised the price dramatically on them(it was right down the street from me.)The next closest one is out of my way a bit.

I buy almost all my physical media with gift cards that I pay cash for. I need my credit cards for other more important things then movies and shows. It's why i don't buy directly from the boutiques unless it's something really special on a rare occasion like the limited Edition of Cloak And Dagger from Vinegar Syndrome.

With Best Buy,Target and Amazon,I can buy those gift cards at several local store near me. With Walmart,you can only buy a gift card directly from a Walmart store. Which means I have to travel out of my way to get the gift card to use on Walmart.com. I do that on occasion like recently with The Meg 2 Walmart steelbook but I can't run over there on the regular for gift cards every time I want to buy a movie or show if I have to rely on Walmart for the majority of things such as exclusives.

So this Best Buy news does create a bit of hardship for me and will probably cost me more in the long run overall with the shipping if I have to use Target and Amazon more or travel farther to Walmart using more gas to pick up the slack of losing Best Buy.

[metsfan1545d]

What I worry most is players not getting manufactured anymore because as is there hasn’t been new models in ages

[Locus-Solus]

Originally Posted by drb999

Best Buy ending blu-ray sales won’t end physical media but it could be the start of a trend. Target May follow soon too. There blu sections are shrinking.

Physical media sections have been winding down for some time at all the B&M stores. Newbury Comics used to be a favorite haunt of mine and they decided to switch floor space from films to Funko and colorful socks and that was pretty much the end of my patronage to a once great store. Now Bullmoose has replaced that in the New England area so I'm fortunate for that. Though maybe when Best Buy clears them out there will be some good sales for people like they did when they decided to abandon their Anime sets at 50% off. But realistically, I probably haven't bought anything from a B&M, aside from Bullmoose, in years and I don't have a problem finding material or even see a slowdown in physical media production otherwise.

I think we'll be good for some time regardless of streaming.

[dr. wai]

During the 2000s and the early 2010s, I went to Best Buy EVERY Tuesday without fail. They would stock everything and always had plenty of copies. I rarely shopped anywhere else because I didn't need to. As I started to use the internet more for shopping, I eased up on my Tuesday Best Buy visits but I still went at least once a week. Then Best Buy started to lessen up on their stock and I stopped going every week. I can go months without entering a store or ordering from their site. The only reasons I still shop with them are: 1.) I can make sure I get a nice copy and 2.) I have their credit card. Now that I don't have to use their store at all (if I need to buy a tv or an appliance, I will do so at a local electronics store) I will pay off my card and be done with them.

[NJScorpio]

With Best Buy and Target eliminating their in-store movie sections, who would have thought that the two remaining places near me to buy movies in person would be Barnes & Noble and FYE? I guess that's what happens when you charge MSRP.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by GloveSlap

So is a thread on this not allowed in the proper Blu-ray section of the forum? This is big news for movies going forward and deserves high visibility.

Don't think so. This is BS news where Best Buy just wants to jump off a roof and go out of business. There's still a very high demand for physical media and if Best Buy doesn't want any part of it... well, then they can say goodbye to themselves and file for bankruptcy!

[djpalacios91]

Originally Posted by mikey horror

Why does everyone seem to think that Best Buy decides the fate of physical media? They’ve been on their last legs for years. They’ll be closing all their stores any day now anyway. Surprised they lasted this long to be honest. People don’t shop at electronic specific stores anymore. If they need a new appliance, they’ll go to Home Depot where they can pick up a million other things they need. If they want a new TV, they’ll go to Target or Walmart where they can pick up groceries, clothes or home goods while they’re there. People love one stop shops. Physical media isn’t going anywhere, it’s just becoming more niché, that’s all.

If you bothered to read the article, you will understand it's not just the loss of physical media in-store. It's that they are also not selling physical media through their digital storefront as well.

Obviously, several large retailers will still stock physical media, but one less storefront also reduces competition and the trend for physical media is it's on the way out. Maybe not right away, but the trend is there.

While streaming and its convenience are just fine for some, heck, even for many, for those of us who do care about physical media and its advantages, there is no current replacement service to cater the need.

[mikey horror]

Originally Posted by djpalacios91

If you bothered to read the article, you will understand it's not just the loss of physical media in-store. It's that they are also not selling physical media through their digital storefront as well.

Obviously, several large retailers will still stock physical media, but one less storefront also reduces competition and the trend for physical media is it's on the way out. Maybe not right away, but the trend is there.

While streaming and its convenience are just fine for some, heck, even for many, for those of us who do care about physical media and its advantages, there is no current replacement service to cater the need.

As long as vinyl still not only exists, but thrives, I’m not worried.

[eightslicesofpie]

Best Buy ships my preorders early enough that they arrive the day before release which is always fun, RIP

Guess I have to get everything from Amazon now

[Shawn1968]

Originally Posted by mikey horror

Just because stores stop carrying something, doesn’t mean it ceases to exist. The only thing that’s changing is who and where you buy it from.

At some point the volume of sales just won’t be there to make disc manufacturing a viable business. The less major retailers selling discs the greater the chance that production becomes financially unsustainable.

[djpalacios91]

Originally Posted by mikey horror

As long as vinyl still not only exists, but thrives, I’m not worried.

Right, except did you forget that Music and Film are two completely different formats? It's not a similar comparison.

[NJScorpio]

So....does this mean they will stop selling Blu-Ray and 4k players?

It would be really weird to sell something yet not anything to play on it. I'm sure we've all read about attachment rates and such, people buying a bunch of new movies to go with their new player.

I've been meaning to pick up a cheap Sony Blu-Ray player from there, and keep it in the box, so in the far future I'll still have something to play back my physical disc collection (4k player prices aren't cheap enough yet for me to get a spare player to keep in a box).