It was also getting harder and harder to find movies we wanted to watch.
Then Netflix said they were changing the subscription prices to $15.99 for the same thing, about a 60% increase...OR $7.99 for Streaming and $7.99 for DVD rentals. What's with the 99 cents thing anyway? Why not call it $16.00 or $8.00? Actually I did see some TV ads using the $8.00 pricing. It's all so silly.
Since we were taking trips and were otherwise too busy, we cancelled our subscription and thought we'd change to just the streaming once our lives calmed down. The problem with streaming is that there's not a lot of good movies.
All in all, I was rather irritated with Netflix thinking it was all just corporate greed. We hear so much about Corporate Greed. It seems only yesterday we were paying $5.99 a month for the DVD rental. The price went up slowly. However, a 60% increase sounded really greedy.
Then I got an e-mail from the Netflix CEO apologizing for disrespecting me by not explaining why the cost increase was necessary.
THEN I heard that the company became Netflix for the Instant Streaming and Qwikster for the DVD rental. OK.... Is that supposed to make it better? The price jump was still in place.
THEN I heard that the Netflix market share plummeted from $304.00 in July to $104.00 in October.
Now I hear that it's back to the whole thing being Netflix BUT the price increase is the same. My son-in-law was checking to see what the new pricing was and he was confused as to whether they were still offering the $7.99 price for just streaming or DVDs. He gave up and went with Blockbuster since they still have a store very, very close by.
So the bottom line is that we're back to the same place with the giant increase, and this is supposed to lure subscribers back?
The problem here is that the Fall line-up of regular TV shows (we don't have cable) is here and it feels like it's enough TV for me. I'm also discovering a lot of books I haven't read on my Kindle. Some people have already found a lot of alternatives to Netflix. There are also a bunch of projects I can work on now instead of being stuck in front of the TV. I'm thinking a lot of people are discovering the same sort of thing.
This has to be good, right?
If the price is so high and watching the movies becomes a chore, forget it, I'd say.
ReplyDeleteI was all excited to discover the free library of the American embassy recently and watched a bunch of DVDs.
But soon it became a time drain watching two movies a week and taking long bus rides into Jerusalem once a week to return them on time. So I'm taking a break from it now.
I canceled my Netflix for the same reason, I was spending too much time trying to find time to watch the movies. They keep trying to get me to come back, but Hulu fills the bill for me if I just have to watch something I can't get on cable.
ReplyDeleteIt all sounds dreadful, as well as dreadfully complicated. I'm glad I don't have to think about it. If Dick is watching TV and it's something I'd like, I'll join him, otherwise I'm just as happy reading or blogging.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately for me, Lindy has decided TV-watching is a dog-bonding experience and won't leave me alone until I watch at least an hour of something with her!
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel
Kay, When it comes to movies and TV, I'm on your side. I'll respect your judgment because I don't know what's going on. I spend a lot of time in my mushroom cave when it comes to certain things. :) Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteManzanita@Wannabuyaduck
David pays $20.89 per month for his Netflix movies, DVDs only. He also goes to the movie theater every Saturday. He looooves movies and watches quite a bit of television also.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't had Netflix for a little while, but with the coming of fall, I decided to sign up again for one DVD. Then I saw the amount they were charging me! It went from $7.98 to $17.98. I've cancelled again. Forget it! There are cheaper ways to be entertained! Guess a lot of us have had the same experience!!! Enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Kay, I am annoyed at Netflix too! I think it is awful the price increase!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you have it in Hawaii but we have Red Box here in the states and it is very reasonable and it is usually at your grocery store.
We like Netflix but all we have is two movies out at a time, we don't do the streaming thing, wouldn't know how to use it anyways! We are seriously considering dropping the cable to save about $70 plus a month. We don't need 100 plus channels to watch. We could be reading alot more and I could get lots of projects done!
ReplyDeleteWe never had the urge to try Netflix, but now I am thinking of trying it since streaming is a lot cheaper than Oceanic cable. Although my husband and I hardly watch TV or care to watch any movies, my dad watches a lot of TV (he's in his late 80s).
ReplyDeleteL.
oooops...actually I should have made the switch from cable to Netflix long ago (the price advantage was even better then)...duhh
ReplyDeleteL.
I'm with you, my hubby watches so much sports on tv, there's no time for movies any more and I have plenty of writing projects to keep me busy. We are thinking of cancelling netflix all together.
ReplyDeleteHello Kay,
ReplyDeleteIt is a good thing to find an alternative rather than give in to the greedy demands. The cost of everything is going up and looking for alternatives gives us an opportunity to explore and broaden our entertainment horizon.
Very informative post.
Have a nice day,
Joseph
there's always the library for movies too Kay. Yes, Netflix sounds greedy like them all. I've decided to stop buying Dove soap because I think they are using a formula that disappears faster! I didn't notice this with goat milk soap (yet)
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about Netflix, I try not to go to any of these programs. Thank you for coming by.
ReplyDeleteBy evening, I'm almost always too tired to watch a movie. We canceled the disc service and went to streaming, but, as you say, all too often you can't find the movie you want.
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteKay Guest here! Since we both commented on Nan's blog, I just thought I would stop by. I might have left a comment before but that was before I had my own blog. (My comments were just getting too darn long!)
I am www.georgiagirlwithanenglishheart.blogspot.com
Paul Simon also wrote "Red Rubber Ball" which I talk about on my blog under the Starfish post, and I also have him singing on YouTube from the Sept. 11th ceremony in NYC. Can't remember which post it is, but you can find it if you look.
See what I mean about my comments?
:-) Kay
classic movies available on TCM (basic cable)
ReplyDeleteAloha from Waikiki;
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >
I too bailed when they jacked the price and was a bit amused at the ardent wooing by the CEO.
ReplyDeleteI was getting disappointed at the quality of the movies anyway and you are right. The fall shows are more than I have time to watch.
Netflix shot itself in the foot.
That reminds me that I have to cancel my Netflix account...
ReplyDeleteWe have a similar sounding thing called Love Film here in the UK, although it only sent DVDs but is now streaming films direct if you have an internet television. We used to belong but stopped because like you we never seemed to find the time to watch the films. Christopher buys cheap DVDs in the charity shops which seem to be enough for us, along with the odd bits of television we like.
ReplyDeletePlease don't worry about not visiting my blog - not that there's much to visit at the moment as I'm so busy. I do hope that your family is on the mend.
It's good to keep an eye on prices and too easy to miss rises when they're gradual. Huge hikes result in fewer customers.
ReplyDeleteL.: Do you know we don't have cable? We use an antennae in the attic. :-)
ReplyDelete