Best Buy Dumping All Physical Media in 2024?

[TRainH2O]

I rarely go to my closest BB, mostly because they are a 45-minute drive from me. However, the once-a-year time that we do drop by (because we're in the area) there are more and more mobile phones, Ring doorbells and cameras, and high-end appliances. 

When they get rid of all physical media, there will be more room for the Roomba vacs.

[David Vaughn]

Went to a BB today in Portland, OR, and they had no media section at all. 

[AVSCraig]

Went to a BB today in Portland, OR, and they had no media section at all.

Maybe it got shoplifted already. It is Portland after all.

[AVSCraig]

Great article - 

A Digital Bits Editorial: Hollywood Can Reap the Rewards of Physical Media Again, But Only If… (thedigitalbits.com)

[SRW1000]

Sound & Vision published a humorous take on the current situation by Ken C. Pohlmann in its latest issue.

Here's a link to the version on their website:  Another Last Hurrah | Sound & Vision (soundandvision.com)

[SRW1000]

Looks like the end is here, at least for their online store.  I went to see if there were any clearance items listed today, and while you can still reach individual titles, the physical movie section has gone bye-bye:

Best Buy Dumping All Physical Media in 2024?

Clicking on the SteelBook Collector Hub takes you back to the home page.  I may check out our local store to see if they have anything left on the shelves or if it's all vanished.

[SRW1000]

I stopped by the closest Best Buy today to see if they had anything left.  All of the movies were gone.

Talked to a couple of the guys there and they told me that they packed everything up about two weeks ago and shipped them back.  There's a rumor that they're going to end up in the $5 bins at various Walmarts on 4/2, but that's unconfirmed.  I'll be checking out two different stores that day just to check.

The Best Buy guys also told me that they were told they'd still be getting movies over the Black Friday season, so there still may be opportunities for deals from them in the future.  

That's when I was buying most of them anyways, so this may not be as bad as I originally though.

[David Vaughn]

I stopped by the closest Best Buy today to see if they had anything left.  All of the movies were gone.

Talked to a couple of the guys there and they told me that they packed everything up about two weeks ago and shipped them back.  There's a rumor that they're going to end up in the $5 bins at various Walmarts on 4/2, but that's unconfirmed.  I'll be checking out two different stores that day just to check.

The Best Buy guys also told me that they were told they'd still be getting movies over the Black Friday season, so there still may be opportunities for deals from them in the future. 

That's when I was buying most of them anyways, so this may not be as bad as I originally though.

Over the past couple of months, Amazon has been a bear to find Blu-rays and UHDs when you use their search function. It always wants to push a movie available on "Prime." I've found that the best way to find a title on Amazon is to actually search for it on Google and then it will link to the proper Amazon page. Somehow I think Amazon is doing this intentionally. 

[SRW1000]

Over the past couple of months, Amazon has been a bear to find Blu-rays and UHDs when you use their search function. It always wants to push a movie available on "Prime." I've found that the best way to find a title on Amazon is to actually search for it on Google and then it will link to the proper Amazon page. Somehow I think Amazon is doing this intentionally.

Yes, I've noticed the same thing.  Really frustrating when you know what you want.

The same thing applies to other stuff, too.  I'll type in very specific terms of what I'm looking for or choose from the filters on the side, but it'll return a bunch of stuff that shouldn't be included.  Some of it is listed as sponsored, but not all of it.

I've resorted to the same web search solution.  It's an extra step and totally unnecessary.  I guess most people don't care that much and just pick from the first few results that Amazon shows.

[Paul Heroy]

When searching for 4K physical media I always include "UHD" in addition to 4K in the search term as that seems to bring up the disc fairly reliably.

In general, Amazon searches show a lot more "promoted" results at the top now then a few years ago. At least they still have that tag to alert you that it's a paid placement. (Of course there are other ways that the results are skewed, with tons of fake 5* reviews for some products. I've also bought a few things that came with an inducement to leave a 5* review in exchange for something, which is unethical and I do not do even if I end up liking the product. A couple of times I even left a review but with a * deducted for this practice.)

[bmoney]

Ours only has the new release packet in the front of the store. But no media section

[AVSCraig]

Over the past couple of months, Amazon has been a bear to find Blu-rays and UHDs when you use their search function. It always wants to push a movie available on "Prime." I've found that the best way to find a title on Amazon is to actually search for it on Google and then it will link to the proper Amazon page. Somehow I think Amazon is doing this intentionally.

I just keep scrolling past the Prime option. You can also use links from Digital Bits or bluray.com.

[SRW1000]

Over the past couple of months, Amazon has been a bear to find Blu-rays and UHDs when you use their search function. It always wants to push a movie available on "Prime." I've found that the best way to find a title on Amazon is to actually search for it on Google and then it will link to the proper Amazon page. Somehow I think Amazon is doing this intentionally.

We were just talking about this a week ago, and this pops up on my YouTube recommended list:



TLDNW:  No, they're not trying to kill off Blu-ray discs.  You might have better luck searching if you narrow down the category from All to Movies & TV.

[AVSCraig]

I don't seem to have any problem finding and buying discs at Amazon. Just got Ferrari, Trading Places on 4K, Contagion on 4K, The Roaring Twenties on 4K, and pre-ordered Dune 2 on 4K, The Departed on 4K,  and have 8 or 9 other movies in my " Movies " list awaiting a price drop. If anything, I'm too good at finding movies - I need to space them out purchase wise. 

[bmoney]

I don't seem to have any problem finding and buying discs at Amazon. Just got Ferrari, Trading Places on 4K, Contagion on 4K, The Roaring Twenties on 4K, and pre-ordered Dune 2 on 4K, The Departed on 4K,  and have 8 or 9 other movies in my " Movies " list awaiting a price drop. If anything, I'm too good at finding movies - I need to space them out purchase wise.

Blu-ray.com always lists the lowest prices on discs too. So thats a good place to check for best prices. If the Amazon tracker doesn’t always work