Man stages Blockbuster megaphone protest to get PS4 refund

One disgruntled Blockbuster customer took matters into his own hands when told he could not receive a refund for his PS4 pre-order.

[sigfredod]

Bring the torchs and forks!!! lol

[stuff]

Blockbuster is still a thing?

[GarrusVakarian]

Im not surprised Blockbuster refused his refund, they need all the money that can get at the minute, lol.

My friend works at my local Blockbuster and he said they aren't getting next gen consoles in stock at that store, no BF4 or CoD either......hard times for BB, but surely BF4 and Cod would make them a ton of money......? Makes zero sense to me.

[minimur12]

it's still essentially theft of whatever that guy spent. £350 for the console, £50 for the game, £50 for an accessory

thats a hefty £450 blockbuster have taken away from him

At least he got it all back though lol

[whitefang1988]

How did it cost him £450? Its £350 for me with killzone and battlefield included

[BDSE]

Its not theft, he's a creditor and thats the legal position you find yourself when you pre-order and pay part or all of the cost.

[R31NDR]

my guess is they have no credit line to get the stock in, therefore no money to get the stock to sell, still I'm sure they'll offer top prices for them on trade in [/sarcasm]

[jay2]

Good man, I'd do the same!

[Excalibur]

Why would you be stoopid enough to buy your console from Blockbuster?

1. I'd be too afraid they would go out of business before the console came out and I'd be out of my money.

2. I'd be too afraid they would go out of business withing the first year of me owning my console and something broke then I'd have refund/repair issues because the store was no longer there.

[kneon]

I don't understand why anyone would pre-order from any store that wants money up front.

[SouthClaw]

Stores offer pre-order topping up so you could put say £75 on every month up until release makes it easier to pay for. I understand why online retailers don't because they have to pay for every transaction but it would be a good idea.

[Last_Boss]

Because big chain stores, are gonna be jam packed.

[NeoTribe]

Think about it, he's canceling his ps4 to put it twords an xbox1 somewhere else. That gives you a glimpse of his intelligence.

[rmatthe5]

Actually blockbuster is going into administration meaning they will not be selling ps4s to anyone.He is not cancelling his pre order but instead wanting his money back for something he will not receive.

"Blockbuster confirmed just hours after announcing its intention to re-enter administration that next-gen pre-orders would be refunded in full." Quote from the article.

[nope111]

Blockbuster is still around?

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

Blockbuster still exists?.

[LordDhampire]

2013

Still going to block buster....facepalm

[GarrusVakarian]

They SOMETIMES have some pretty decent "deal of the week" prices and i used to absolutely abuse the " 2 for £20" deal they had going. The prices for new games are WAY too high though....and they wonder why they are going under!

[SniperControl]

I think the advent of net streaming and the cheap price of hard copy media such as DVD & Blu-Ray has put an end to the traditional "Video Shop"(as we call them in the UK).

I had like many people thought BB had shut down long ago, last time i went was about fours years ago.

[BadlyPackedKeebab]

Absoluty Lovefilm put the traditional video shop to bed a long time ago.

BB did do a similar postal renting system for some time and I used it for a while. It was just as good as LF. I think once Amazon was in with LF though they just out advertised BB on the web/postal rental front.

note - Lovefilm is the big DVD/Blu-ray by post (and Netflix like streaming) service in the UK.

[nosferatuzodd]

wow that's a name Ive not heard in a 100 years block buster

[SouthClaw]

You guys are being really harsh. Remember thats peoples livelihoods your joking about. A lot of bricks and mortar stores have been hit hard due to the internet. The internet killed the high street. They under cut retailers and so yeah bad stuff happens. I hope the guys at BB sort something out we don't need more people out of work.

Blockbuster used to have some fantastic deals especially around Christmas and they worked closely with industry leaders to get them. Microsoft and Sony really done well by BB over the years. What many of you don't realize is how much you owe to BB. BB a few years ago was the largest purchaser of movies more than any other retailer outlet.

This was due to buying both retail and rental copies. It was due to them that the price point really got set up as what it is today. If you didn't have the likes of BB buying in such huge bulk then distrubutors would charge a lot more for movies.

[BadlyPackedKeebab]

To be fair jobs dont go they just change.

You try being a developer of online systems for shops/the web. You dont apply for jobs... jobs apply for you.

No joke.

Jobs are still there in the stack, they are just different jobs to those being taken away with the collapse of the physical shop.

[devwan]

@sc A lot of bricks-and-mortar stores refused to adapt or were reluctant to change and their downfall was their own doing. So yeah "bad stuff happens" but also plenty of good stuff with it. Blockbuster, HMV and other high street stores of the like are dinosaurs and not relevant anymore, they faded because they made the wrong choices or moved too slowly.

If you think their purchasing power was huge, what about Amazon, Play and the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury's? What about a service from ShopTo where you can order and receive a photo of your actual package via email in under 5 minutes as it's actually already in transit? Forget popping off into town to go buy something when you can have it day one or even earlier sat waiting for you at home.

All these retailers need actual real people to make them function, just because you're not seeing them face-to-face doesn't mean they don't exist. There may well be less of them and their job descriptions may be different, but that's beside the point... high streets are simply less relevant for certain types of goods these days.

[BadlyPackedKeebab]

There was a fantastic blog post doing the rounds about a year ago by a consultant that worked for HMV. He lobbied and lobbied them to get with it going right back and they laughed him out of the exec room. HMV were convinced mp3 would never take off.

found it - http://www.readability.com/...

[devwan]

@BPK thanks for the link, interesting stuff indeed.

[Excalibur]

@Southclaw
I understand your passion about people's livelihood and I agree with it BUT like many 20-25+ year old businesses they refused to change their business model and continue using antiquated business practices.

Did you Know the folks a Netflix approached Blockbuster back in the day and they were laughed out of the building?

Have a read.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-3...

[HarryB]

I bought so many used games from blockbuster for like 10 dollars literally like 8 games.

This guy can sell his ps4 for more than he paid for. Netflix really killed blockbuster. The idea that people don't have to go out anymore. When I was youg I looked forward to going to blockbuster.

[rmatthe5]

The problem is that he would have never received the ps4 because they cancelled all pre orders. So it is understandable to want a refund for something they don't deliver on.

[AD705]

I'm still surprised that blockbuster is still around. I also can't believe some people actually preordered their next gen consoles from a buisness that's been on life support and practically non existed for the last 8 years.

[cactusjack]

its in europe, thats why

[cactusjack]

only in europe do people go to blockbuster, this moron deserves to get screwed for 1. he got a preorder from blockbuster. 2. he wants to use the money for a xbone preorder, 3. he is doing this at the last minute which shows he is doing it for PUBLICITY, and the media is falling for it.

[SpinalRemains138]

Good for him!

Corporate thieves!

[Nodoze]

Good riddance to Blockbuster and their archaic business model. The one in which late fees were the primary revenue stream. FU Blockbuster.....karma is a bitch!

[JoSneak]

LOL all that comes to my mind is this:
http://media2.firstshowing....