Dan Gould Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 Last night my wife and I went to the local Blockbuster and when I couldn't find the one movie I was looking for-"The Taking of Pelham One Two Three"-I suddenly remembered that I had read something about a website called Netflix. Basically, it works like this: $20 monthly fee but you can cancel anytime Make a list of the DVDs you want to rent, as many as you want (I think) They send the first three to you Keep them as long as you want, but when you return one, the next one is sent, so you are perpetually getting the films you want Postage is free both ways We pretty much jumped on board last night, but I'm wondering if anyone else has experience with these folks. I think I read that the company is still privately held and either making a profit or very close to one. What concerns me about the longevity of the service is that, in order to make money, your business plan has to assume that people *don't* over-use the service so that they rent a constant stream of DVDs, because at some point, those fixed costs of warehousing, processing, and mailing has to eat up all $20 people pay. But it seems great for me and my wife because her first husband was the kind of guy who refused to watch any film that didn't have explosions, gore and nudity so she's missed a great number of classic films and we've had plans to go to blockbuster and start to put a dent into that list, but we never go often enough or when we are there we limit ourselves to one or two, and maybe a new release takes precedence. So for use its actually kind of good that they just send the next movie on the list and take the choice out of our hands. One little minor potential difficulty though-you can go in and re-arrange your priorities whenever you want to, so apparently, couples have been known to serupticiously move "their" movie up on the list and knock their partners movie down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vibes Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 Dan, I've had Netflix for over a year and love it. My wife is constantly moving the movie queue around, which drives me crazy. I don't update it frequently enough, however, so a lot of the movie choices are her choices. Anyway, it's a great service and it generally only takes 1-2 days for me to get a new disc once they've received a disc I've sent back. I have experienced not getting discs or sending discs and Netflix not receiving them. You don't have to make any phone calls or anything when this happens, which is nice. Everything can be handled from your account. No extra charges when something is lost, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted September 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 Yeah, it seems like a really cool service. We've already put 25 DVDs in the que, and we have a lit of at least another 25 with a minimum of searching. I really like the idea of setting things up and knowing that flicks we want to see will automatically start arriving as we receive, watch and return. But I wonder if I need to change the password so I can maintain some control over what comes when ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WD45 Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 I was a member for a while, and one of my co-workers currently is a member. Great service, and amazing selection. They have a great number of titles that you will never find in a regular video store. My only word of caution would be when renting two disc sets. I ordered the one that said disc two, thinking I would get the two disc version, but I only got the second disc! May be this has changed. No complaints otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 I am not, but I know several people who like it a lot, including most of my family. They don't necessarily send you the "first three" on your list - they send you three that are available. You don't know what's necessarily coming. The brilliance of their plan is the "no deadline to return." The flaw is multiple disc sets, and postmen who try to cram the discs into too-small mailboxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted September 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 Well, Adam, I can say that when you click on a title to rent, they tell you if its available or not, and they have shipped the first three we selected. I assume from now on they will send the next available one as we return what we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted September 15, 2003 Report Share Posted September 15, 2003 I was a charter member and never had a complaint. When a disc got lost in the mail, Netflix said forgeddaboutit. I have temporarily put my subscription on hold, but only because I am working on two books and haven't the time to watch DVDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 16, 2003 Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 Well, Adam, I can say that when you click on a title to rent, they tell you if its available or not, and they have shipped the first three we selected. I assume from now on they will send the next available one as we return what we have. That's even better then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted September 16, 2003 Report Share Posted September 16, 2003 I have friends who are contented members. I read an article recently which stated that: 1) Netflix is so successful that Walmart has announced that it plans to start a service to compete against it. 2) The average Netflix customer rents 6 DVDs per month. Six per month seemed like a lot to me, but my friends tell me that it is not, because a family with two teenagers will easily watch that amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted September 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 (edited) Happy to report that netflix has a shipping office right here in Fort Lauderdale, so the turnaround on our requests should be extremely quick! Already got our first three selections ... Edited September 17, 2003 by Dan Gould Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 (edited) fwiw i have gotten to the point that i HATE to rent movies, especially from blockbuster. when i rent movies, i end up never watching it and keepin' them longer and still not watching the damn thing. what's up with their 12 o'clock check in time? with the prices getting lower and lower, dvds are cheaper just to buy them. it seems like a waste of $$$$ renting for $5 (or more), when most dvds are $10-20. ss1 Edited September 17, 2003 by Soulstation1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.:.impossible Posted September 17, 2003 Report Share Posted September 17, 2003 You're right ss1. You can buy a new dvd, or even better a used dvd for that matter, and sell it back when you're done and make out just about the same as if you were renting! Ludacris. Ludacris I tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted May 22, 2005 Report Share Posted May 22, 2005 I just started using this service. So far it's really good. There are quite a few music DVDs available and I have a lot lined up in my queue. Does anyone have any particularly outstanding MUSIC (jazz or otherwise) videos to recommend? FWIW, I currently have on hand Mingus at Montreux 1975 (w/Pullen, Adams, Richmond & Walrath). Should be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 Actually found the Mingus DVD a little lackluster. Don't get me wrong - it was great to see this group on stage (also the jams w/G Mulligan and B Bailey), but there seemed to be a lack of energy somehow. I gotta give props to Don Pullen, though. He was smokin' - particularly on "Sue's Changes". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Berger Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 I just started using this service. So far it's really good. There are quite a few music DVDs available and I have a lot lined up in my queue. Does anyone have any particularly outstanding MUSIC (jazz or otherwise) videos to recommend? FWIW, I currently have on hand Mingus at Montreux 1975 (w/Pullen, Adams, Richmond & Walrath). Should be great. ← I haven't seen it yet, but the recent Miles Davis Isle of Wight performance is in my queue. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 There are quite a few music DVDs available and I have a lot lined up in my queue. Does anyone have any particularly outstanding MUSIC (jazz or otherwise) videos to recommend? Off the top of my head I really enjoyed the Masada - Live at Tonic dvd. The Mingus was ok, but, I agree with you here, a certain spark was lacking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son-of-a-Weizen Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 1) Netflix is so successful that Walmart has announced that it plans to start a service to compete against it. Saw something in the paper a couple of days back where Wal-Mart's actually throwing in the towel 'cause they can't make a proper go of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 (edited) 1) Netflix is so successful that Walmart has announced that it plans to start a service to compete against it. Saw something in the paper a couple of days back where Wal-Mart's actually throwing in the towel 'cause they can't make a proper go of it. ← Yes, something to the effect that Walmart has agreed to pass their rental business to Netflix in return for purchase referrals. [uPDATE] - Today Netflix added a banner that says: "Walmart.com has Every Day Low Prices on new DVD releases!" Walmart.com -> Click here Edited May 23, 2005 by BFrank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 I actually bought the Miles IoW disk recently but it's a good one. Masada sounds interesting. Who's in the group? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted May 25, 2005 Report Share Posted May 25, 2005 Masada sounds interesting. Who's in the group? ← Masada: John Zorn (alto saxophone); Dave Douglas (trumpet); Greg Cohen (bass); Joey Baron (drums) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soulstation1 Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 . Finally joined Netflix last week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 You should enjoy it. We have a disc waiting to be watched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 It's the greatest thing since sliced bread. (Even if it is one of the factors sending film profits down the tubes.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellowT Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 . Finally joined Netflix last week Me too! I finally took the plunge 2 weeks ago. I'm on the $9 plan (one DVD in your possession). I'm very pleased. I just sent back my 4th rental. There are tons of T.V. shows that I'd rather not buy at $20 - $30 a pop. Now I can sample them ad nauseam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 . Finally joined Netflix last week Me too! I finally took the plunge 2 weeks ago. I'm on the $9 plan (one DVD in your possession). I'm very pleased. I just sent back my 4th rental. There are tons of T.V. shows that I'd rather not buy at $20 - $30 a pop. Now I can sample them ad nauseam. We are on the same plan. We watch one on Wed, mail it back and have another for the weekend. Next up is an indie called Goodbye Solo. We religiously watch Apple Trailers and add stuff to the queue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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