Redbox Prices Are Increasing

Redbox prices are increasing starting in early December. Video game rentals will go up from $2 to $3 later on, on January 6, 2015. The announcement came from Outerwall, the owner of Redbox Automated Retail, LLC. Not only are Redbox prices increasing for video games but so are the costs for renting DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. However, the increase is most when it comes to video games, since DVDs are increasing by $0.30 and Blu-Rays by $0.50 compared to the full dollar increase for ames. The redbox prices for DVDs and Blu-Rays are changing earlier, starting on December 2, 2014.

While increasing Redbox prices is not great for consumers, at only $1.50 Redbox continues to be a great conduit to view recent releases for cheap. Since most consumers only watch a movie once or twice a year, renting is more frugal than outright purchasing the media. Another bonus is that since the rentals come via physical media, there is no reliance on a solid internet connection to stream the media, ensuring a smooth viewing experience. Physical retail has been in decline, as we saw with the closure of Blockbuster earlier this year.

Outerwall acknowledged that with increase price it will potentially lose some consumers, but due to the price increase and “network optimization initiatives” will balance out any loss. Redbox prices increasing is a first for the company when it comes to games and Blu-Ray, and only the second time it has raised DVD prices. They also noted that these price changes vary from location to location so it may not actually effect your local Redbox location. In May, Netflix announced that its streaming price would change from $7.99 to $8.99 but only affected new customers and not current subscribers. Likewise, Amazon Prime raised its price to $99.99 per year instead of the regular $79.99. With Amazon Prime you receive not only free 2 day shipping but also access to stream videos and TV shows.