Remember that crazy ad push Blockbuster made in 2005. No more late fees! There were huge blue-and-yellow signs everywhere proclaiming the company’s latest attempt at competing with Netflix. Well, Blockbuster is rescinding that deal and bringing you back to late fee hell. Things are pretty ugly, too. A dollar a day ugly, up to a 10-day maximum. That’s pretty brutal, especially when rentals cost so much to begin with.Obviously the company needs money, but this seems more like a reminder to sign up for Netflix than a “let’s save Blockbuster” move. The reasoning behind the throwback to days of yore is that customers who keep movies longer keep them away from other customers, forcing Blockbuster to purchase more copies to keep up with customer demand. To be honest, you have to wonder just how much demand is out there. When Netflix is delivering movies to my doorstep and provides streaming service across a couple different platforms, paying to keep movies an extra day or two seems downright stupid.
