Best Buy Best Buy is exiting the physical media business for good in 2024

[ShadowWarrior]

 

All right, folks... we’ve got a little bit of a whopper for you today. And so as not to bury the lede, let’s get right to it...

 

The Digital Bits has learned from industry sources—and we’ve confirmed it with multiple sources now—that Best Buy plans to exit the physical media business for good next year, possibly as soon as the end of Q1 2024.

 

This includes not just their in-store Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD sales, which the retailer has been gradually phasing out for a couple of years now in their many store locations nationwide, but online sales as well. This means no more Best Buy-exclusive Steelbook titles, and no more titles from Best Buy period.

 

The fact that Best Buy is discontinuing physical media sales in their retail locations should come as no surprise; anyone who’s visited a Best Buy store location on a Tuesday recently will be all too aware that the retailer’s disc sections keep getting moved around and have gotten smaller and smaller. Our own experience here at The Bits is that some store locations don’t even bother to stock new-release titles on the sales floor anymore—even their exclusive ones. More than once, in their Southern California locations, I’ve had to ask for the titles and wait while a clerk checks the storeroom.

 

But the idea that Best Buy would discontinue online sales too comes as a bit of a surprise... though perhaps it shouldn’t. We’ve noted in recent months that Paramount has quietly shifted their Blu-ray and 4K Steelbook exclusive titles—titles that would normally have been released at Best Buy—to Amazon instead. And it seems very likely that other studios will follow Paramount’s lead in the months ahead. [

 

[ShadowWarrior]

@Veum 😊 😢 

[GuyIncognit0]

Oof...I have mixed feeling on this. On one hand, Best Buy has become so unreliable with getting steelbooks to my door in decent shape but, on the other, I'm worrying even more about the future of physical media.

[Veum]

33 minutes ago, ShadowWarrior said:

@Veum 😊 😢 

 

Yeah @ShadowWarrior I just posted this in my Steelbook Decisions and it is really a sad day hearing this… here’s hoping we can still get our steelbooks elsewhere when this happens! 😞 

[GuyIncognit0]

Amazon would be my vote. Only because they’re the only ones that will actually ship in a box.

[Gary K]

1 minute ago, GuyIncognit0 said:

Amazon would be my vote. Only because they’re the only ones that will actually ship in a box.

Amazon may ship in a box (sometimes) but when they do she steel is loose and free to bump around. 

[MikeH5856]

If Amazon still shipped product like they did back in the 90s/early 2000s, using bubble wrap or air bags and shrinkwrapping the item to a piece of cardboard glued down to the box, I'd be all for them picking up the steelbook game. As they are currently... it's not exactly a prospect I'm looking forward to. But given how much our hands are tied, I guess I'll be forced to go with them anyway.

 

I was already of a mind to stop getting Disney's Best Buy exclusives after some lackluster Marvel releases and the new Indiana Jones steel that's coming out. My plan was to just get the regular retail and hope for a Manta discless release (seems more likely with the Marvel fare these days). Seems like it may be a decision that's ultimately forced upon me. 

 

Hopefully the Lionsgate steels continue with either Amazon or Walmart, at least. This news is a bummer, but the writing has been on the wall for a while. 

[GuyIncognit0]

1 hour ago, Gary K said:

Amazon may ship in a box (sometimes) but when they do she steel is loose and free to bump around. 

I always shell out the extra $3.99 for the gift wrap option. So far, it has guaranteed a box and that the steel is in one of their gift bags.  It’s not perfect by any means but at least two steps above the usual form fitting bubble envelopes and paper-thin cardboard mailers I’ve received from Best Buy, Target, and Wal-mart.

 

I’d easily pay that additional amount to any retailer who would guarantee decent packaging. It’s just that Amazon is the only one that comes close. 
 

53 minutes ago, MikeH5856 said:

My plan was to just get the regular retail and hope for a Manta discless release (seems more likely with the Marvel fare these days). Seems like it may be a decision that's ultimately forced upon me. 

I may adopt this plan as well - depending on how things go in the next year. Either that or just buying opened copies on the secondary market.

[Gary K]

Oooh I like that gift idea 

[jwhitm3]

That's pretty much the only thing I buy from BB

[MikeH5856]

1 hour ago, Gary K said:

Oooh I like that gift idea 

I‘m giving it a try myself with a couple Amazon UK preorders after my Shawshank and Jaws Film Vaults got busted up in transit thanks to the flimsy cardboard mailer they decided to use for international transit, and my copy of Bloodsport was lost entirely.

[MikeH5856]

34 minutes ago, jwhitm3 said:

That's pretty much the only thing I buy from BB

Same. Bought my OLED from them over the summer, but I don’t expect to be in the market for a TV for quite a while now (hopefully!). By then, Best Buy might only be a memory… 

[GuyIncognit0]

11 minutes ago, MikeH5856 said:

I‘m giving it a try myself with a couple Amazon UK preorders after my Shawshank and Jaws Film Vaults got busted up in transit thanks to the flimsy cardboard mailer they decided to use for international transit, and my copy of Bloodsport was lost entirely.

I’ve heard mixed things about using it for international orders.

 

I only have personal experience with Amazon.it. They still used that flimsy mailer but the steel was in the gift bag. So I guess it was a little better.

 

I’m sorry to hear about Bloodsport. Grindhouse (albeit at a higher price) still had it last I checked.

[MikeH5856]

10 minutes ago, GuyIncognit0 said:

I’ve heard mixed things about using it for international orders.

 

I only have personal experience with Amazon.it. They still used that flimsy mailer but the steel was in the gift bag. So I guess it was a little better.

 

I’m sorry to hear about Bloodsport. Grindhouse (albeit at a higher price) still had it last I checked.

I was able to get a refund from Amazon and ordered it direct from Capelight. Thank you, though!

[hansreinhardt]

I miss browsing Best Buy for DVD's so much. Could spend hours walking those shelves. Seems odd to me they're ditching online sales too. Does it really make business sense to do so? I don't go to Best Buy for any other reason than to look at their now-fledgling, singular Blu-ray shelf. 

[Fortis93]

47 minutes ago, hansreinhardt said:

I miss browsing Best Buy for DVD's so much. Could spend hours walking those shelves. Seems odd to me they're ditching online sales too. Does it really make business sense to do so? I don't go to Best Buy for any other reason than to look at their now-fledgling, singular Blu-ray shelf. 

 

This whole "Steaming good, physical media bad" is such a knee-jerk, short-sighted business decision.

[sykobanana]

"...anyone who’s visited a Best Buy store location on a Tuesday recently will be all too aware..."

 

OK, I know Im from down under, but why could you can visit BB on Tuesday?

 

Is this some new American thing where only certain parts of a store open on a particular day of the week?

 

And does the rest of the world need to watch out for this new nefarious strategy to get us to buy things online?

[Fortis93]

6 minutes ago, sykobanana said:

"...anyone who’s visited a Best Buy store location on a Tuesday recently will be all too aware..."

 

OK, I know Im from down under, but why could you can visit BB on Tuesday?

 

Is this some new American thing where only certain parts of a store open on a particular day of the week?

 

And does the rest of the world need to watch out for this new nefarious strategy to get us to buy things online?

 

We better keep an eye out.

 

JB Hi-Fi might bow out next. 😬 

[GuyIncognit0]

17 minutes ago, sykobanana said:

"...anyone who’s visited a Best Buy store location on a Tuesday recently will be all too aware..."

 

OK, I know Im from down under, but why could you can visit BB on Tuesday?

 

Is this some new American thing where only certain parts of a store open on a particular day of the week?

 

And does the rest of the world need to watch out for this new nefarious strategy to get us to buy things online?

 

It seems odd for him to bring it up that way because you'll see the bare shelves any day of the week but Tuesday is when the new releases come out. 

[MikeH5856]

17 minutes ago, sykobanana said:

"...anyone who’s visited a Best Buy store location on a Tuesday recently will be all too aware..."

 

OK, I know Im from down under, but why could you can visit BB on Tuesday?

 

Is this some new American thing where only certain parts of a store open on a particular day of the week?

 

And does the rest of the world need to watch out for this new nefarious strategy to get us to buy things online?

 

Just in case this isn't completely facetious, but Tuesday is New Release Day in the States. Those of us who are day one shoppers and need their immediate fix on brand-new home media hit up the store. Of course, given the current state of affairs and the ever-shrinking store space for movies, Tuesday isn't nearly as exciting as it used to be. And it used to be a real big deal way back when. I remember working at Best Buy when Titanic released on VHS - we had a special midnight opening for shoppers to come and get their copies as soon as the clock struck 12:00 AM so they could be the first ones to own the film.

[Fortis93]

6 minutes ago, MikeH5856 said:

I remember working at Best Buy when Titanic released on VHS

 

Was that the classic two-tape set?

[GuyIncognit0]

4 minutes ago, MikeH5856 said:

 

Just in case this isn't completely facetious, but Tuesday is New Release Day in the States. Those of us who are day one shoppers and need their immediate fix on brand-new home media hit up the store. Of course, given the current state of affairs and the ever-shrinking store space for movies, Tuesday isn't nearly as exciting as it used to be. And it used to be a real big deal way back when. I remember working at Best Buy when Titanic released on VHS - we had a special midnight opening for shoppers to come and get their copies as soon as the clock struck 12:00 AM so they could be the first ones to own the film.

 

Those were better days 😢. It was nice being able to share that excitement in a community setting. 

[sykobanana]

30 minutes ago, Fortis93 said:

 

We better keep an eye out.

 

JB Hi-Fi might bow out next. 😬 

IKR, my one is shrinking a bit already, and being replaced with....board games! 🤯

Edited October 13, 2023 by sykobanana

[MikeH5856]

14 minutes ago, Fortis93 said:

 

Was that the classic two-tape set?

It was indeed! The kind we could only fit like two copies deep to a shelf! 🤣🤣🤣

[Fortis93]

6 minutes ago, sykobanana said:

IKR, my one is shrinking a bit already, and being replaced with....board games! 🤯

 

Yeah, same here.

 

I'm worried sh*t like this might start to set a precedent.

 

A lot of JB's physical media sales are already online now.

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Fortis93