NETFLIX Raises Fees - Gives Birth to QWIKSTER - REVERSES DECISION! — Page 2

"I love reading the fake outrage people are expressing on their facebook page. I'm pretty sure for every 300 people who say they're going to cancel or have already cancelled their service, maybe 1 or maybe even 2 will actually do it."

I bet the outrage is no more fake than your statistics.

Actually, I'm sure you're right that fewer will cancel than say they will, but I'm willing to bet that many will opt for a cheaper plan. Honestly, I did within seconds.

I wonder if an identical service will start up in the next couple of months.

I think this would be justified if many of the movies they have on DVD are available for streaming as well. But they just aren't.

Oh, I know, Jordan, and I was mostly teasing.

But I think the outrage is real, whatever the outcome.

Taz, that's an interesting point. But then they're going to have to have 100 percent of their inventory available for streaming. I imagine someone will eventually, if not them.

Jordan, I was thinking the same thing. Downgrades, sure, but I wonder about outright cancellation. Because honestly? Where else can you (legally) get a service like Netflix provides? Maybe if all you watch are the very latest blockbuster releases, you can stick with Redbox. Of the 153 DVDs in my queue, I can bet you the vast majority can't be found in my library system, or Redbox, and all video stores are long-gone from my area.

This is why I joined Netflix back in 2005- because I wasn't satisfied with 500 copies of the latest release and only a handful of the most popular classics were afforded what little shelf space was left. If Redbox satisfies your movie needs, fine, enjoy, but don't criticize Netflix for not being the new Blockbuster- some of us like it that way.

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Anger at people's anger seems an odd reaction to me.

But anyway, everyone's going to have to figure it out for themselves. My very first response was to change my plan from 2 disks to 1 (I similarly went from 3 to 2 at the last price hike) and keep the streaming.

But now that I've thought about it, I really do the streaming so seldom--mostly because I get quite a bit of rebuffering, but maybe I have crappy internet and this is only a problem for me. I don't know that I've ever watched an entire streamed movie; mostly TV shows. Which I can do on Hulu.

So now I'm thinking I'll drop the streaming and keep the 1 DVD plan, and use my terrific corner shop for backup.

My point in making you all read this is just to say that I think a lot of people (tho maybe only Jordan's 2 out of 300, but multiply that by Netflix's 23 million customers and it's still a lot) are going to actually do the cost/benefit analysis and make a change.

And if Netflix improves their streaming selection, folks may make a new decision.

Updated On: 7/13/11 at 02:27 PM

I think 2/300 is SEVERELY underrating how many will reduce their service. Some will cancel, but I agree not many will entirely. A LOT will reduce what they have. Netflix is a commodity and easy to chop from ever-increasingly more stringent budgets.

This is going to wake people up to say "hm, I wasn't using this that much anyway, guess I'll cut it."

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Currently I'm the only member of the household who uses the streaming and I that's mostly just for stuff that isn't available on DVD. Lately I've been thinking about upgrading my TV to a one that allows streaming in the hopes of avoiding the "I didn't like the movie you picked" complaints. If I do that I'll probably drop down to one disk

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Oooooh, I forgot INSIDIOUS came out this week! I need to buy that!

Skittles, I wasn't talking to anyone in particular. And maybe I haven't read enough of the outraged posts, but I didn't know it was just the mass consumers of the lowest-common-denominator movies who were bothered by the hike. I'm not the former, but I am the latter. (Of course, going by sheer numbers, I'm sure you're right that that's majority, because it's, well, the majority.)

Phyllis, yes, of course. I'm not taking a moral stance or anything. It was a price hike with no added value, and it just made me examine the cost and make a decision. That's really all I'm saying. But I imagine Netflix took decisions like mine into consideration.

We're not canceling simply because despite the hike, Netflix is still the best movie provider out there, and generally we've been very happy with the service.

We're cutting back which in the end still gets us movies, but it DOES hurt Netflix's bottom line.

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Have any of you tried Redbox? It's really great. Movies are $1 on DVD and $1.50 on BD. And it's all available the day of release. You can return your rentals to any of their kiosks around the country. It's all automated, like a Horn & Hardart's. :)

You can reserve online in advance, too, and pick it up from the designated location.

You should give it a try. There's no membership. You just need a credit card, and an email account.

I only rent sporadically, so it's ideal for me. No flat fees.

http://www.redbox.com/

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I should add that this is for new and relatively new releases, but I include "art films."

But if it's a few years old or older, they probably won't carry it. And it's not for box sets of TV shows, either.

But Jordan, if you want to rent Insidious, you could get it tonight for a buck. Then return it tomorrow by 9PM. If you don't, they charge you another buck for each day you have it.

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