Netflix raising rates on the sly.

gdb

Since netflix' streaming choices are crap compared to Comcast's on demand choices, and I never used netflix' streaming services anyway, I dropped them and went to unlimited DVDs-two at a time for $11.99/mo. Works for me !

Demiurge

Keiko wrote: »

I think these numbers reflect more than an overreaction, Demi. I wouldn't be surprised if it were actually a lot more. netflix got greedy and dropped the ball on their consumers. Screw 'em.

In July, the company said it expected that it would end the third quarter with 22 million subscribers to the streaming service, 12 million of whom would also opt for the DVD-by-mail service. It expected back then that 3 million would opt only for the DVD service.

Now, it's expecting that just 2.2 million will opt only for DVDs, a drop of 800,000.

Netflix also anticipates a slight drop in streaming subscribers, to 21.8 million, a difference of 200,000 from the earlier estimate. It still expects 12 million of those streaming subscribers to also pay for DVD-by-mail, helping it to generate more revenue overall.

What will matter is if people don't come back. It's one thing to cancel in protest, it's another to stay away.

Clearly I think they made a mistake, which is why I adjusted my plan to fit my needs.

exalted512

I'm glad too. I hope this hurts them in the long run. I will not come back until I get offered the pricing and service I was at before.

Way to take care of your customers that brought you to where you are (or were).

They could've easily grandfathered people in that were already subscribers. But 2 rates hikes in that amount of time, especially this last one at 50%...they can kiss my business good bye. No service I pay for on anything is worth that.
-Cody

evhudsons

They've been hiking little by little and I didn't mind. This was more than a bit high though, but I think they kept the price a bit low in order to take out blockbuster which for the most part they did. I had horrible experiences with blockbuster, so even at this elevated price I'm sticking with Netflix, streaming and all. The quality is pretty good, much better than when they began. I'm assuming the infrastructure upgrades cost money, which is passed on to us, that is free market. I do think they should have given more incremental raises with longer warning periods in order to not tick off longtime customers such as my self who helped get them into this position.

codyc1ark

I'm not sure $17.98 is worth it to me for as much as I use the service. I get streaming and one BD at a time.

I guess as a life question right now I need to add up the costs of some services that I'm paying for that I don't use that much, heck, just Netflix and the cell phone that I never use would save me $840.00/year.

Crap like this always brings me back to one question, where the hell is my cost of living increase employer?!? The last one I received was almost five years ago!! I need to be able to afford my Netflix!!

gdb

codyc1ark wrote: »

I'm not sure $17.98 is worth it to me for as much as I use the service. I get streaming and one BD at a time.

I guess as a life question right now I need to add up the costs of some services that I'm paying for that I don't use that much, heck, just Netflix and the cell phone that I never use would save me $840.00/year.

Crap like this always brings me back to one question, where the hell is my cost of living increase employer?!? The last one I received was almost five years ago!! I need to be able to afford my Netflix!!

Forget the COLA, be gald you're not "downsized".

evhudsons

or outsourced

codyc1ark

gdb wrote: »

Forget the COLA, be gald you're not "downsized".

Ah, correct you are sir! I shouldn't be so greedy when so many people that I know are without work, and can't even afford Netflix. :frown:

AsSiMiLaTeD

I just don't get it....

BlueFox

For me, my monthly rate decreased. Since streaming sucks and I never used it, I went with 3 DVDs only, and that rate is less than it was before when I had 3 DVDs and streaming that I never used. I might drop back to 2 DVDs for even less. I must have around 10 new Blurays that I have not watched yet, and Star Wars and Bridesmaids are on order.

bobman1235

It's insane how many people throw around "greedy."

kuntasensei

Keiko wrote: »

I'm fickled! I'm one of the angry customers that cancelled. F netflix! And kiss my okole if ya don't like it.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Price-Hike-Sends-Netflixs-nytimes-985924951.html?x=0&.v=1

I cancelled too, not out of protest but out of a rational decision to spend that money buying a Blu-ray instead of paying Netflix every month. Was glad to see their stock drop over this, but it ultimately won't matter. They'll go on doing what they're doing (which is losing studio support), and then they'll have to raise rates again to obtain content worth watching.

Evrythngmatters

I cancelled today as well. I hardly ever used it as their selection was horrible. Imo 60 out of the 75 choices in each category were crap, filler. I'd rather pay the $5.99 charge per hdx movie on vudu. Much better picture and audio quality. If I do like the movie after I watch it then I purchase it. No need for a monthly fee for mostly crap movies.

shack

Plain and simple they ****** up! They thought since they were kicking the crap out of BB they were in a position to initiate a huge price increase...and tell their customers how happy they should be about it. Many of their customers (now former customers) have indicated exactly how they feel. Another classic example of corporate America (which I am a part of) not getting it.

gdb

One thing is certain, my Netflix bill is a Heck of a lot less than my Xfinity bill!:frown:

bobman1235

Evrythngmatters wrote: »

I cancelled today as well. I hardly ever used it as their selection was horrible. Imo 60 out of the 75 choices in each category were crap, filler. I'd rather pay the $5.99 charge per hdx movie on vudu. Much better picture and audio quality. If I do like the movie after I watch it then I purchase it. No need for a monthly fee for mostly crap movies.

Wait, look, I understand people canceling (although the ridiculous amount of anger over it is INSANE, either it's worth it to you or it isn't, no need ot get your panties in a bunch; canceling takes 9 seconds of your time) if they don't think the price is worth it, but your post is absolutely ludicrous. I don't think I've ever looked for a movie that exists on DVD that Netflix didn't have. Ever. Just because they ALSO have a lot of movies you don't like doesn't mean their selection sucks, it means the opposite.

bobman1235

Keiko wrote: »

You don't think a 60% increase isn't being greedy?

I think it's insane to think that a corporation as big as Netflix is making some kind of rash decision based on greed without any thought given to the consequences (ie all the overreacting people making 8 dollars seem like the GDP of France).

exalted512

I disagree.

I think Netflix was thinking with Blockbuster pretty much out of the question, people were just going to pay whatever they told them to...and they were wrong.

My opinion of course:)
-Cody

Ron-P

I quite a month ago. No more netflix for me, I just wasn't using it much now that RedBox has Blu and coupled with their new plans it was a waste of money for me.

AsSiMiLaTeD

The INSANE reaction people are having is unbelievable. People are literally reacting more negatively toward this than the fact that gas prices are so high. THAT's insane!

Demiurge

bobman1235 wrote: »

Wait, look, I understand people canceling (although the ridiculous amount of anger over it is INSANE, either it's worth it to you or it isn't, no need ot get your panties in a bunch; canceling takes 9 seconds of your time) if they don't think the price is worth it, but your post is absolutely ludicrous. I don't think I've ever looked for a movie that exists on DVD that Netflix didn't have. Ever. Just because they ALSO have a lot of movies you don't like doesn't mean their selection sucks, it means the opposite.

I think he was talking about the streaming selection, which does suck.

I also don't think this is greed. Companies don't raise prices on a whim, and there's more than one person making a decision where they all know it can result in losing customers. I'm sure they didn't think it would be this bad.


I agree the seeming rage is insane.

Outfitter03

Stock is getting smashed. Over 30% loss this last month.

http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=NFLX

AsSiMiLaTeD

I don't have a problem with their streaming selection at all, don't get why people think it sucks. It's relative of course, but I like their online selection. I've recently been able to go back and catch all the star trek episodes I missed without having the shell out $300 for each series. I have literally watched over $700 in Start Trek episodes alone, that works out to something like 87 months of service at $8 a month for the streaming option.

That's absurdly cheap.

Here's a snapshot of my instant streaming queue, and this is only a small portion of what's out there. I try to keep my queue at around 100 titles, need to do some cleaning out. Not all these are winners, but there is LOTS of good content here.

Movie Title
24
Airplane II: The Sequel
Airplane!
America: The Story of Us
Arctic Blast
Assault on Precinct 13
Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica: Complete Epic Series
Blade Runner: Theatrical Cut
Blue Planet: Seasonal Seas / Coral Seas
Building Alaska
Cheers
Daniel Tosh: Completely Serious
David Attenborough: Wildlife Specials
Day Break: The Complete Series
Daybreakers
Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia: IMAX
Dirty Jobs
Doc Hollywood
Dumb and Dumber: Unrated
Encounters at the End of the World
Flatliners
From Dusk Till Dawn
Gamer
Gangs of New York
Good Will Hunting
Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
How the Earth Was Made
Ice Road Truckers
Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads
In the Mouth of Madness
Ip Man
Ip Man 2
Ken Burns: Jazz
Ken Burns: The Civil War
Ken Burns: The War
Ken Burns' America: Brooklyn Bridge
Ken Burns' America: The Congress
Ken Burns' America: The Statue of Liberty
Last Action Hero
Life After People
Lost
Mad Men
Man on Wire
Man vs. Wild
Maverick
Misery
My Name Is Bruce
National Geographic: Denali National Park
Navy Seals
NewsRadio
Oceans
Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
Ong Bak 3
Pulp Fiction
Red Cliff: Theatrical Version
Red Dragon
Romeo Must Die
S. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale
Saints and Soldiers
Secrets Beneath the Ice: Nova
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
Short Circuit
Shutter Island
Skyline
SNL: Sports Extra '09
SNL: The Best of Adam Sandler
SNL: The Best of Chris Farley
SNL: The Best of Chris Rock
SNL: The Best of Dan Aykroyd
SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell: Vol. 1
SNL: The Best of Will Ferrell: Vol. 2
Space Cowboys
Spaceballs
Star Trek
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Voyager
Stargate SG-1
Striking Distance
Survivorman
The Blue Planet: Ocean World/Frozen Seas
The Blue Planet: Open Oceans/The Deep
The Blue Planet: Tidal Seas/Coasts
The Boondock Saints
The Crow
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Edge
The Evil Dead
The Guardian
The Hunt for Red October
The Italian Job
The Langoliers
The Last Days of World War II
The League
The Life of Mammals
The Man Who Knew Too Little
The National Parks: America's Best Idea
The Office (U.S.)
The People Under the Stairs
The Planets
The Revolution
The Right Stuff
The Terminator
The Universe
The Usual Suspects
The X-Files
Top Gear (U.K.)
Touching the Void
Walking with Dinosaurs
WWII in HD
Yellowstone: Battle for Life

AsSiMiLaTeD

I should qualify my "streaming doesn't suck" statement. If you're looking for something specific then yeah it's not that great, but if you're like me and find with just browsing around and adding things to your queue to watch when you're in the mood then I think it's fine.

BlueFox

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

The INSANE reaction people are having is unbelievable. People are literally reacting more negatively toward this than the fact that gas prices are so high. THAT's insane!

Especially with Netflix you can stay home, and not waste gas to watch a movie. Great deal, at least for DVDs.

Evrythngmatters

bobman1235 wrote: »

your post is absolutely ludicrous. I don't think I've ever looked for a movie that exists on DVD that Netflix didn't have. Ever. Just because they ALSO have a lot of movies you don't like doesn't mean their selection sucks, it means the opposite.

If you have used NetFlix streaming more than one time my man, this may make sense if you re-read my post......'Imo 60 out of the 75 choices in each category were crap, filler'. If you still rent dvd I think an upgrade to the modern BluRay player is in order. No wonder your post seems so hostile, you're still stuck with dvd. I may just start a thread for you asking for prayers.

mystik610

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

The INSANE reaction people are having is unbelievable. People are literally reacting more negatively toward this than the fact that gas prices are so high. THAT's insane!

The demand for gas is very much inelastic. High gas prices such, but we don't have a choice but to pay them, and its almost pointless to complain about it, as there are very few reasonable alternatives to paying them.

Unfortunately for Netflix and their shareholders, the demand for their services has proven itself to be very elastic. Netflix is not a necessity, and there are plenty of alternatives to utilizing netflix (redbox, video on demand, Hulu, blockbuster, etc etc).

The price increase does not affect their customers signficantly, however, the economics of what's happened to their subscription base post 'price-hike' shows that they are not offering a compelling enough level of service/product to justify the increase in price, or a reduction in the services provided at the same price (losing streaming or mail delivery to stay at the same price point).

bobman1235

Evrythngmatters wrote: »

If you have used NetFlix streaming more than one time my man, this may make sense if you re-read my post......'Imo 60 out of the 75 choices in each category were crap, filler'. If you still rent dvd I think an upgrade to the modern BluRay player is in order. No wonder your post seems so hostile, you're still stuck with dvd. I may just start a thread for you asking for prayers.

I'm not hostile, people are just too sensitive.

Your post never mentioned streaming, you just talked about Netflix's selection. If you don't like streaming, then the new changes are great for you, because you can choose to opt out of streaming and pay less than you ever did for DVDs.

I do have a modern BluRay player. I use it to play BluRays and DVDs as well as stream from Netflix. I repeat, as calmly as your fragile ego can handle, that I have never encountered a title that Netflix could not provide to me in one of those mediums, and I challenge you to name a single one.

evhudsons

Netflix is the front runner in all streaming formats right now. If they raise prices, so will the others. They may have felt pressure to raise them from the competition. As strange as that sounds, it happens. For my little niche here, I constantly have my competition asking me to raise my rates so they can raise theirs too. Our company rules the roost, and whatever we do others do the same, even if they undercut us slightly. It's almost like price fixing, but not quite. I really wouldn't be surprised to see the others not raise their rates. I would be shocked if they don't.

Evrythngmatters

bobman1235 wrote: »

I repeat, as calmly as your fragile ego can handle

I'm all good there sport. Not another hit to my ego, HELL NO!! I don't think I can handle it. I just may have to quit audio and take up knitting now. Or, I may have to dye my hair black,get shorter,become fat,and have no life. Then I may be happy with Netflix.:rolleyes:

And just think, all this over NetFlix. What a day it is!! I love it.