Best Buy Will Stop Selling Hard Copies (CD/DVD/BluRay) Starting Next Year (2024)

[RAMROD 107,653]

The consumer-electronics retailer will phase out sales of DVDs and Blu-ray discs both in-store and online in early 2024, according to industry sources familiar with the company’s plans. Best Buy made the initial decision to end DVD sales nine months ago, according to one source.

Best Buy confirmed Friday that it is ending sales of DVDs. “To state the obvious, the way we watch movies and TV shows is much different today than it was decades ago,” a Best Buy spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. “Making this change gives us more space and opportunity to bring customers new and innovative tech for them to explore, discover and enjoy.”

Best Buy’s exit from the market will leave Walmart, Amazon and Target as the top retailers in the U.S. stocking DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Also still in the physical-disc game is Redbox, now owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which maintains a network of about 29,000 DVD rental kiosks nationwide.

Amid the ascent of streaming video, sales of DVDs and Blu-Ray discs have been shrinking for years. U.S. physical media revenue in the first half of 2023 dropped 28%, to $754 million, compared with $1.05 billion in the year-earlier period, according to data from trade association DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group.

Ingram Entertainment, a leading DVD distributor, recently announced that it would wind down operations after more than 35 years in business. The company said it will “continue to provide catalog product” to customers into the fourth quarter of 2023.

 

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/best-buy-ending-dvd-blu-ray-disc-sales-1235754919/

[samaria 230]

Who would have though that vinyl (by far the most inconvenient option) would be the last one standing? 

[Red 97,780]

3 minutes ago, samaria said:

Who would have though that vinyl (by far the most inconvenient option) would be the last one standing? 

Most people buy vinyls as decor items tho 

[Bonkers 29,022]

Welcome to the 60's!

 

[Knife 6,828]

I've bought so many blu-ray sets for shows and movies that I never watch. 

[Bling 31,288]

Crazy because I was just thinking the other day, so many of the movies I love are never on streaming and I have to rent them. It makes so much more sense to shelve out money and start your own collection versus just waiting and hoping streaming will have it one day. 

Tbh I feel like all streaming services just rotate all the same movies (and I have Max, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount+, and Amazon)

[SpadesToStart 3,327]

honestly browsing all the DVDs and Blu-ray’s at BestBuy has always been a big draw to getting me in the store

I almost never regret buying physical media. Streaming is so unreliable and nebulous these days

[clementine 290]

I buy all my movies on Apple TV nowadays. If you wait for a good price you will only spend $5 and less per movie. I have so many movies on my wishlist and just wait for it to go on sale before buying. I’m so happy that I can build my collection this way and I’ll have them forever and not have to worry about physical media 

 

recently my most happy purchase has been the 7-film Audrey Hepburn collection I got for about $15. I can watch breakfast at Tiffany’s every day now 

[nATAH 46,584]

Just now, clementine said:

 and I’ll have them forever

forever as long as the service stays live* 

some of my movies came with a code for a free digital copy but the company decided to stop and now they're gone forever

[Whigney Houstan 1,218]

Dark times.  Companies don't want us to own anything anymore.  Even movies in the Cloud that you PAID FOR can be edited, censored, or removed from your library.  Not saying physical media needs to be sold in-store, but to stop selling all together is really concerning.

[Chromatography 10,183]

i understand peoples apprehension but physical media is so wasteful. hopefully this is a positive change.

[Bling 31,288]

Hmmm, does anyone have a suggestion for the best way to buy movies outside of physical? I have like 3 on Apple TV and Sam's for Google, but have never been sure which is best.