Netflix raising rates on the sly.

heiney9

engtaz wrote: »

Mine is 1 DVD and unlimited streaming. 9.99 plus tax. They don't describe that in the pricing. It was 8.99 plus tax before the 1.00 increase in January.

After 9/1/2011 for the same plan you have currently it will be $15.98. A 63% increase in fee's.

Ridiculous

H9

exalted512

engtaz wrote: »

Mine is 1 DVD and unlimited streaming. 9.99 plus tax. They don't describe that in the pricing. It was 8.99 plus tax before the 1.00 increase in January.

It's going to be $7.99 for 1 DVD and $7.99 for streaming. So to keep what you have now, its going to be $15.98.
-Cody

EDIT: Heiney beat me to it

steveinaz

heiney9 wrote: »

I have no problem paying an appropriate fee, but 63% increase screams rape to me.

H9

You have a choice. QUIT paying them.

That's the way these type of companys operate; offer your product crazy cheap, get everyone on board and digging the convenience, JACK the price.

BTW, everyone does realize that facebook will come with a price eventually too, right? Same principle, same agenda. Profit.

AsSiMiLaTeD

heiney9 wrote: »

Except I use both and I have no issue with streaming quality, but they don't have the newest most popular movies or TV series. For me it's a lose-lose, because I use both the DVD plan and streaming plan and now I am either forced to choose one or the other, or pay a 63% increase for the exact same content I received 30 days prior to the restructuring.

I don;t understand why they don't have a bundle discount? Well actually I do, because I would bet a majority of their customers use both right now and this will maximize revenue even if say, 25% of the current customers drop.

This is what you get when you nurture along a new business since day 1 and help them become successful, they 'eff you without the courtesy of vaseline.

H9

The 63% number, while accurate, really overstates the scenario doncha think??? We're talking a few extra bucks a month here.

Take a breath and think about it for a second, really. For $16 a month you can get roughly 8 movies delivered TO YOUR DOOR. Yes that's more expensive than RedBox but a) you don't have to get out and b) Netflix has an excellent selection whereas RedBox has a few dozen movies at best.

PLUS, on top of that you get unlimited streaming of movies online, and if you don't like the online selection you don't have to pay for it.

I'm getting all that, for roughly the price of a meal at a mediocre restaurant, for a whole month's worth of entertainment.

How's that not a good deal?

steveinaz

I pay for Starz on DirecTV, $9.99 a month. It fills the void. We might rent 1 movie a month...maybe. For my $9.99, last month I watched 6 movies I have not seen before, and last night I finally saw "The Social Network" in all of HD's glory. Pretty good deal I'd say. No ordering, no mailing crap back----

Demiurge

I never use the streaming service. I just switched my plan from (3) Blu-Rays out at a time + Unlimited Streaming to (2) Blu-Rays out at a time only.

Paying for a service I don't use is pointless and if I did that with everything it would amount to a small fortune.

The new plan would have been a complete waste of money.

heiney9

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

The 63% number, while accurate, really overstates the scenario doncha think??? We're talking a few extra bucks a month here.

How so? $9.99 is what I pay now and after Sept 1 I have to pay $15.98 for the exact same thing. Do the rudimentary math it's a 63% increase in fee's for the same thing.

So please tell me how I'm overstating it? It has nothing to do with, well it's still a good deal or it's only a couple more bucks a month. It has to do with Netflix not explaining at all why they need to increase their fee's 63% to me.

The BS about DVD delivery is just that BS. They see an opportunity to soak people now that they are starting to grow.

H9

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

I pay for Starz on DirecTV, $9.99 a month. It fills the void. We might rent 1 movie a month...maybe. For my $9.99, last month I watched 6 movies I have not seen before, and last night I finally saw "The Social Network" in all of HD's glory. Pretty good deal I'd say. No ordering, no mailing crap back----

That's my point Steve, I wrote on the Netflix blog they are starting to price themselves right out of the market. There are lots of alternatives out there in the new pricing structure. Before Netflix offered a good value, not anymore. I will look at all available services and choose the one that best fts me, since Netflix probably will no longer fulfill my needs.

H9

AsSiMiLaTeD

Hey some people like Netflix, some prefer the premium movie channels, different strokes...

For the record I'm not arguing that Netflix is the be all end all of entertainment. Hell, alot of people don't like it because they have complaints with, say, the selection of instant streaming movies. I've got no beef with that.

What I don't get are all the people who are so upset at paying an extra couple bucks a month for service that they otherwise like

gdpeck

It's a really big price increase if you want DVDs and streaming. I cancelled my Netflix membership a few months ago, as we were getting DVDs and letting them sit for up to two months before watching them. I've been considering renewing the streaming only portion. Probably won't re-up for physical disks as I can get most everything I want to watch on blu-ray from redbox.

AsSiMiLaTeD

heiney9 wrote: »

How so? $9.99 is what I pay now and after Sept 1 I have to pay $15.98 for the exact same thing. Do the rudimentary math it's a 63% increase in fee's for the same thing.

So please tell me how I'm overstating it? It has nothing to do with, well it's still a good deal or it's only a couple more bucks a month. It has to do with Netflix not explaining at all why they need to increase their fee's 63% to me.

The BS about DVD delivery is just that BS. They see an opportunity to soak people now that they are starting to grow.

H9

Read my post again, I granted that the math was accurate. I guess what I'm saying is that since the amount is so small and insignificant to begin with, 63% SOUNDS alot worse than it really, financially, is.

My point is that people love to have something to **** about, but if you take a step back and really think about it, it's only a couple bucks and the new price still seems like a very reasonable price for what you're getting.

shack

I like the "it's only $6 argument"...as it totally obscures the fact that it is over a 60% increase. What other product or service would anyone so readily accept that large of an increase at one time?

heiney9

So can I expect you to send me the difference each month to pay on my Netflix account if 63% is so small an insignificant?

Hell, how about if everything you purchase in a month goes up 63%, I mean it's pretty insignificant.

Christ, we all **** and moan when gas goes up $0.10c but this is no big deal. I have no problem affording it, it's the principle behind the increase that has me burning. So it's time to evaluate the market and see if I can make a better choice.

H9

heiney9

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

it's only a couple bucks and the new price still seems like a very reasonable price for what you're getting.

It was reasonable at $7.99 and then it was reasonable at $8.99 then it was even reasonable at $9.99 at $15.98 it's no longer reasonable nor is the explanation they gave for the increase.

Hell, even the uber greedy cable companies give you bundled discounts.

H9

squeeb

Glad I already switched after the last price hike. Went to DVDs by Mail (suggested by someone on here a while ago). "Saved" about $10 per month because they currently don't charge extra for Blu-Ray and went from 3 to 2 because I can also exchange at Blockbusters. Was never really into streaming.

kuntasensei

I get that it's only a few extra bucks a month... but that's missing the point. It's the timing of it that is curious. Netflix is making money hand over fist. Internet providers are pushing hard for the ability to charge people out the **** for internet because of the increased bandwidth taken up by streaming services (whereas I think internet service should be content-agnostic). With the economy as it is, more and more people are going to be cutting luxuries such as this from their budget. It's a very odd business move at this time, and for those of us who were getting streaming and DVDs/Blu-rays, it is a pretty steep increase in price.

Now, I understand it's not a lot of money... but it's the value proposition that's the thing. For me, I only had Netflix because for like $13 a month, streaming just kinda' came with it (for the odd time that I wanted to watch crappy movies in party view on my 360) and I could get Blu-rays of stuff I didn't necessarily want to buy. When you get up to $18 for the same offering... let's face it, I'll just spend that buying a Blu-ray that I want and actually have something physical to show for it. And that's the danger here - Netflix is riding the bleeding edge of where most consumers would rather spend the money on something more tangible. And if that Netflix charge soon comes with a $1/gb usage overage fee like the major ISPs are pushing for, it could become an even more expensive proposition. And if you think that's unlikely, ask yourself... How much have you contacted your representatives to push for net neutrality lately? Because AT&T and Comcast are damn sure pushing against it.

gdb

I might switch to Blockbuster just to support the "little guy". Netflix is getting like AAA with their hikes, after five years, AAA is still mailing us "we want you back" letters.:biggrin:

https://www.blockbuster.com/signup/howItWorks

heiney9

AsSiMiLaTeD, the difference between you and I is you still see value at the new increased cost, I'm not sure I do. They (Netflix) haven't given me enough of a reason why they need to increase prices so much to deliver the same content. The explanation is weak and hollow, IMO.

I have no problem affording the new fee's, I just don;t enjoy getting hosed for no reason other than gross profits, and so far Netflix hasn't given a reason that leads me to believe that's not what is going on.

gdb

$6.00 = 6 beers.

shawn474

If you think about it Netflix is still cheap. On my FIOS On Demand feature, the movies are routinely 4-5 dollars for standard definition and about 7 dollars for High Def. You might not agree with the way they are going about rate increases, but its still the best deal out there. Before Blockbuster closed, I was getting charged close to $7 a night. Netflix has unlimited streaming for thousands of titles and charges a fee once a month. Keep one movie for 30 days if you want = you still pay the same. The way I see it, if you average 1 movie a week, you WOULD have paid close to 25 bucks. You still save about 10 bucks a month.

I don't know, maybe I am naive. But a rate increase for something that still SAVES money over the alternative is fine by me. They are a business, need to make money and if they still offer a great service (which they do) I am fine with it.

BlueFox

heiney9 wrote: »

It has to do with Netflix not explaining at all why they need to increase their fee's 63% to me.

The problem is that when they introduced streaming they basically included it for free. Yes, they did raise the rates a little at that time, which irritated me since I did not want streaming. Now that they have people hooked they are going to start charging extra for streaming. Which is fine for me since all I want are DVDs.

shawn474

heiney9 wrote: »

I have no problem affording the new fee's, I just don;t enjoy getting hosed for no reason other than gross profits, and so far Netflix hasn't given a reason that leads me to believe that's not what is going on.

Welcome to capitalism. I have much less of an issue with Netflix raising their fees than I do with the airlines charging for every checked bag!!!! That's what we really should be talking about - checked baggage fees!!!!

I see your point and appreciate the principle, but its kind of like cutting your nose off to spite your face. What's the alternative? Paying more for an inferior product? The only thing that competes with Netflix right now is Blockbuster (more expensive without streaming) and Redbox in terms of rental value, but nobody else has the live streaming content or capability that Netflix has.

BlueFox

gdb wrote: »

$6.00 = 6 beers.

6 cheap beers.

steveinaz

gdb wrote: »

$6.00 = 6 beers.

...and there it is...it DOES matter. :biggrin: Finally, someone applies some logic to this debate.

heiney9

shawn474 wrote: »

If you think about it Netflix is still cheap.

Yep, and gas is still cheaper in the USA than anywhere else so as long as it's not $7/gal like in Europe then it's ok for them to charge, say, $6.25/gal because it's still cheaper than anywhere else. :rolleyes:

H9

shawn474

heiney9 wrote: »

Yep, and gas is still cheaper in the USA than anywhere else so as long as it's not $7/gal like in Europe then it's ok for them to charge, say, $6.25/gal because it's still cheaper than anywhere else. :rolleyes:

H9

Trust me, I am not HAPPY with the price increase. But I understand their position as well. They still offer a better product. If their quality or service drops, then I can guaran-damn-tee you they will lose customers and drop their rates or somehow make it more attractive to regain customers. Right now, its a one horse race and they a far and away winning. People will still pay because lets face it, it is still a value for what you get.

heiney9

For me I'll evaluate all the competition as well as my usage habits and decide by Sept 1 what I'm going to do. I may still pay the increase, but I'm still burning about it at the moment. Value or no value, it just seems very steep to me.

H9

RuSsMaN

Tequila. Oh and hey pick up agave nectar in the syrup isle at the local megamart. Use it on your hand instead of salt. Tasty treat Mark turned me on to.

Burning over NF? C'mon man. A little perturbed, ok. Burning?

AsSiMiLaTeD

shack wrote: »

I like the "it's only $6 argument"...as it totally obscures the fact that it is over a 60% increase. What other product or service would anyone so readily accept that large of an increase at one time?

Any other product that was so absurdly cheap to begin with that, even with the price increase, is still going to be a cheaper option than anything else out there that offers the same functionality.

greyford1979

My biggest problem with them isn't even the price increase. Netflix is starting to really piss me off because I never get the new releases at the top of my list in my queue. They always send me the ones at the bottom and I end up waiting for over a month to finally get the new releases:mad: