I’ve been a member of Netflix for almost 7 years. There is no doubt that their service is far and above those who have tried to take a piece of the market share like Blockbuster and Walmart. Brick and mortar stores are slowly fading away and even Blockbuster has been rumored to be on the brink of bankruptcy. But is Netflix the answer for the frugal movie buff?
My wife and I watch a lot of movies. It is one of our favorite things to do together on a cold night in the winter time. So we go through our fair share of action and comedy flicks. We’ve been averaging about 12 movies a month with 3 out at a time. So at nearly $1.50 a rental, the value has been there and that is a big reason we’ve continued the service. In my book, that is a win for movie buff frugality.
While I’ve been a member of Netflix for 7 years, I didn’t always have 3 out at time. I’ve switched plans from 1 to 2 and back to 3. I slowly incorporated getting movies from the library because it’s free and easily accessible with a web portal. I still think the library is a great resource and the next best alternative. However, the library does have drawbacks in regards to wait times and a limited selection, but free nonetheless.
I’m writing about Netflix today because I feel my value is being lost in the month of March. We have 27 movies in our queue right now and not one of them are available to ship. In fact, we haven’t had a new movie ship since Tuesday and the status continues to update daily that a new movie will ship the next day, but it doesn’t. In fact, we are well below our average for movies this month with only 4 as we pass the Ides of March.
It got me to thinking. We don’t take advantage of any of the content that is available online. We usually pass on the library because of the time it may take to get a newer movie and the selection is slim. Now Netflix is back in the same boat of movies taking a long time to send. So where is the value? Why are we still sticking with Netflix?
If you are reading this and not a Netflix member and thinking about joining, I still recommend the service. I’ve always heard newer members get a little better service in regards to the availability of movies. I still think it’s a great service even though I’ve hit a few speed bumps.
We’ll see how this week goes, otherwise I think it may be time to request movies from the library and change our monthly subscription back down to 1 at a time. Who knows, maybe Netflix will get the axe during ‘budget spring cleaning’.
What has your experience been with Netflix? Have you ever been at the breaking point?
Stupidly Yours,
Matt
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NetFlix is a great service, but I don’t watch enough movies for it to make sense, yet. When their streaming service gets to full steam I think it will be worth it for my house.
For now we use Redbox, $1 per movie per day, and you can find free coupons online a lot. They are even working on an iPhone app that will help you find the movie you’re looking for, so I’m sort of pumped about that.
I’ve never been at the breaking point personally, but I do have friends who constantly cancel and renew their Netflix subscriptions. One even switched from Netflix to Blockbuster during a free trial, and back to Netflix after the trial was up. Netflix is clearly the winner in terms of movies through mail.
I have a VUDU Box and pay per movie viewing. I don’t watch a ton of movies, so it works for me. The price is comparable to renting from a Blockbuster or any video store, at about $4 a rental. I usually only watch about 3 to 4 movies a month, which is about $12 to $16 a month. The upside is there is no waiting and the selection is great and most are in HD.
If VUDU switched to a subscription fee of say $12 a month, and unlimited rentals, I am sure I would watch more. But it works for me right now as is.
I think the ultimate deciding factor for Netflix is the fact of how convenient it is. You can choose movies at home, receive them at home and mail them from home at your leisure.
@the weakonomist - I’ve always wanted to try Redbox. There is one at the grocery store I go to, so it could be somewhat convenient. I just don’t know if I could be on the ball of returning them the next day so I don’t pay more than $1. Do yours have blu-ray yet?
@Jason - I have tried Blockbuster and Walmart services too. They don’t even compare to Netflix. I figured I would take them up on their offer of a free month. I’m a sucker for free I guess.
I’ll have to check out VUDU. On demand viewing is the wave of the future, but they could work a little better on the pricing models.
I’m about to cancel my Netflix. My local library has 90% of the movies Netflix has (or at least 90% of the movies I want that Netflix also has). Plus I can keep the movies for two weeks and I get five at a time. I also work for a library and with that library system, I get four at a time and I keep it for four weeks. Sure there are lines with the popular and new release movies but it’s free and I have plenty checked out already. I don’t mind waiting if it’s free.