I have been a huge Netflix fan ever since I became a customer 5 years ago. About 1.5 years ago, I figured out how to use my DVD player’s streaming options and have been enjoying free Netflix streaming ever since. This is why I’m not upset with Netflix:
- Netflix’s streaming service was in beta testing for awhile, and therefore, it was free. I was under the impression that it wouldn’t be free forever.
- Of course, I don’t like to pay $8 per month for streaming, but it’s not unreasonable to pay for a service that I receive. People often revolt when they are asked to pay for something that they previously received for free. Maybe my inner anarchist is tired, but asking me to pay for streaming seems reasonable. $8 seems like a good deal. (On a related note: I pay for other services I receive, like hair cuts. Except that I spend way more than $8 per hair cut).
- $8 per month to watch streaming versus $50 for cable. I pay for streaming. I don’t pay for cable. I feel like I’m saving $42 per month.
- Streaming is really cheaper than $8 per month, now that I cut down on the number of discs I rent with Netflix. The marginal cost per month is more like $4 per month.
- The quality of the Netflix service is fantastic. We have had minimal disruptions and buffering issues.
- The cost of the DVD player I purchased to enjoy streaming was $8 times the number of months I received free Netflix streaming. It’s like getting a free DVD player.
- Netflix costs less than $100 per year. It usually costs about $100 for a marathon entrance fee. There is one main difference: Netflix doesn’t torture me when I watch streaming. I’ve yet to hit “the wall” when it comes to Netflix’s streaming options (That’s the last pun in this post, I promise).
- I don’t understand why so many complain about having to pay $100 per year for Netflix while shelling out $1900 per year for cell phone service. But I don’t have a smart phone, so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.
- Netflix streaming has no commercials. Let me repeat that: no commercials. These days, we are forced to watch commercials even when we pay for something (e.g., movies in the theater and on some DVDs that don’t let you skip the ads). Double bonus: my kids can watch children’s programming without having to watch sugary cereal and toy commercials. So when my kids watch Sponge Bob, then don’t beg me for Barbies afterward. Sweet.
- Netflix’s streaming catalog is pretty good. I can watch all eight seasons of Monk whenever I want. How obsessively cool is that? Unlike cable, Netflix offers more than just Law & Order reruns and works around my busy schedule.
- Unlike cable and DVD service, Netflix saves my spot when I have to stop a video. I can’t even watch a 22 minute episode of 30 Rock without stopping. I have three kids; it’s inevitable. When I collapse at the end of a long day, I don’t have the energy to load a disc, figure out how to skip the annoying previews, and see if I can remember where I stopped my show or movie. I will, however, lift myself out of my mini coma to start Netflix streaming to catch the end of that 30 Rock episode I wanted to finish. And I think that’s worth $8 per month.
Have you cancelled your Netflix service?
Punk Rock Operations Research 
September 19th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
I totally agree, and especially appreciate the lack of commercials and great streaming quality (even on slow internet connections). I think the most legit complaint I hear is that their streaming content could be improved, and more new releases could be available.
September 19th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
I agree, party. Netflix is good. But instead of getting better, as most good services do, it seems to be getting worse. Some titles that were available streaming are no longer. Prices are going up (not slowly). Today’s development about separate streaming and DVD websites is silly and inconvenient.
September 19th, 2011 at 7:32 pm
I don’t feel betrayed. But I’m not a subscriber.
September 20th, 2011 at 7:50 am
Good points. I definitely focused on the positive when I wrote my blog posts.
I agree that the streaming service hadn’t improved after or immediately prior to the $8 price hike. Movies disappear from my queue without any warning (I still need to see the second half of the Big Lebowski!) Right before Netflix starting charging for streaming service, Starz announced that they will discontinue Netflix streaming at the end of the year. That decreases the streaming library by about 1000 movies. Granted, they are mostly bad movies, but still.
My biggest complaint is with the interface. I also complain about the lack of streaming control through the Netflix interface. My husband and I keep separate queues, which means I essentially have a “child lock” on my queue. I used to be able to see what was available for streaming and now I cannot. I have never been able to add movies to our streaming queue unless I’m logged in to my husband’s account. I’m a grown woman with a PhD, I’d like to be able to add movies to my streaming queue without my husband’s permission.
Our streaming queue only has one giant queue, and about 95% of the titles are for my husband and kids. My husband sorts it so that my stuff is all together and therefore easier to find, but it’s tough having to scroll through the menu.
I don’t what to do about the price hikes. It’s hard to slowly increase the rates. Food companies don’t increase the companies because too many consumers would revolt (at least here in the US). They get around this by slowly decreasing the amount that you get while keeping the price the same. A pound of coffee is now 11oz, a pound of Cheez-its is now 12.25 oz (my husband laments this weekly), a half gallon of ice cream is now 1.5 quarts, and 64 oz of orange juice is now 59 oz, etc. Consumers are more comfortable with this price-per-amount increase. The problem is, there really isn’t a Netflix equivalent.
Enough complaining for me. Time to get back to work!