Flexplay

A type of DVD that was sold in 2003 and again from 2008 to 2011. The idea behind them was that they cost the same as renting a dvd, but after 2 days, it would no longer work, and you'd simply throw it away. The idea was that by selling these, anybody could start renting movies. They failed for several reasons.
1: Opposition from environmentalist groups (Fair enough, that's lots of plastic)
2: If you wanted to recycle them, you'd have to take it back to where you bought it, defeating the whole point.
3: By the second time they tried selling them (they tested them in 2003 and it failed then), redbox was a thing, which was a much better idea (easy to return them because they were in front of stores and you could return it to any redbox, no wasted plastic).
and last but not least:
4: There was simply too much competition (Redbox as previously mentioned, Netflix, Blockbuster, etc.)

(Sometime in 2008)
Person 1: Yeah, so we're gonna rent a movie tonight.
Person 2: Alright, are we gonna go to blockbuster?
Person 1: No, we're gonna grab a flexplay disc from walmart.
Person 2: Here's a better idea. I just got a netflix account. We don't even have to go anywhere! So what do you want to watch?

by Bossboy28 July 6, 2025