I used to be all about Blockbuster. I said "Screw Netflix" because of the convenience of exchanging online rentals at the local store, which was often convenient. Now with a Redbox less than 5 minutes from my house, I see little or no use for brick mortar rental stores at all. I have not been to one in at least a year, and I rent movies about weekly.

Redbox is a DVD rental vending machine located in other business locations (Walgreen's is typical around here). Rentals are a buck a day. That's seriously cheap. What does Blockbuster charge these days, $4? Besides, if I'm in a total pinch to get a movie and don't want to get off my couch, I've got OnDemand through Charter Cable. What's even cooler, is that I can reserve a flick online and pick it up on the way home.

So why am I pimping out Redbox? Easy; 1)I promote shit I feel good about, 2)I'm not really. Keep reading.

I wanted to invest in Redbox, because I just can't see how it can fail from here. With the proliferation of online and on-demand entertainment, traditional DVD rental will struggle to keep its place, but with the obviously pending demise of places like Blockbuster, how can Redbox not pick up the slack. It has potential to be highly profitable with a small footprint and little staffing requirements. No expensive rent or fancy displays and overpaid teenagers who sit around and do nothing. Despite 12,000 locations already, there's room, plenty of room, for more. Especially when you think internationally. So I looked into it, and yes, it trades on the market, as MCD. Weird ticker symbol, right? Not really, Redbox is owned by McDonald's. Shit, I don't want to buy McDonald's stock. Haven't they capped out yet, reached their potential, been slandered, etc.? Perhaps so, but there are over 31,000 locations worldwide. Each of which could potentially include a Redbox. Hmmm. Dig deeper. Redbox is also partially owned by Coinstar, who makes machines that convert loose change into paper cash, a service I have never used. Not sure where to find one, which tells me upon first impression, that it's not a fully utilized service. Put one where I find it convenient and I just might. I'm not sure about the future of coin currency though. Digging any deeper on that gets just too many levels deep. I find Redbox to have an extremely bright future. Gotta scrounge up some cash.

Update: Since I first started working on this post, Coinstar has paid $176million to buyout Redbox from McDonald's and its other investors. It has filed for an IPO, but no date is set. It looks like they're waiting. Good move, I think they could be cash-heavy by the end of this recession.

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