Blockbuster raised rental prices by an average of 5 percent over the last year, from $4.17 per rental to $4.37, and that trend may continue, according to Blockbuster CFO Thomas Casey.
"It's reasonable and fair to understand that for what costs us more money, we should charge more," said Casey, according to VideoBusiness.com.
Price hikes wouldn't be such a bad idea if Blockbuster weren't competing with a) an ample supply of free movies online on sites such as Hulu, and b) if it weren't competing with Netflix, where subscribers can pretty much get all they can eat (or stream) for the monthly price of two Blockbuster rentals.
It also seems a little goofy to raise prices during an economic downturn when consumers are probably extremely price sensitive.
Photo: Flickr/Lucias Clay
See Also:
