End of an Era: Netflix shutting down DVD mail service
Wow, has it been 25 years since Netflix launched their DVD by mail service? To me, it seems longer. After putting Blockbuster, Family Video, and your local mom & pop DVD stores out of business, Netflix is taking an axe to what made the company successful in their early days: the DVD by mail business. Netflix got its start in 1997 as a DVD mail rental business. The concept was revolutionary because it meant you no longer had to drive to a video store and spend time walking up and down aisles looking for something to rent and then getting pissed off it wasn't available. The concept of renting DVDs by mail took a while for consumers to warm up to. Netflix had a tough go at it in the beginning - so much so they offered to sell themselves to Blockbuster. But Blockbuster execs said, "Nah- we don't need you loser - we're king of the rental business". This decision would later be regretted by Blockbuster and go down in the annals of business as one of the biggest m