Jump to content

Menu

Netflix has listen to its customers


Recommended Posts

That's great. That was a dumb idea. :p Though they seem like a company that really doesn't know what to do with itself, which shouldn't be the case given how overwhelmingly successful they are. Blockbusters are going out of business in my town right and left (I can't think of where one is open anymore) and it feels like almost everyone has a Netflix account.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems clear to me now that Amazon is mounting a credible threat to Netflix with their Amazon Prime Instant Videos. They have recently increased their offering to 10,000 videos from 5,000 and just recently added Fox to their list of providers.

 

While this is a far cry from what Netflix currently offers, the price is lower (free for those already paying for Prime) and may be "good enough" for some folks. I don't expect Amazon will stop here, either. They probably have a LOT more flexibility in pricing and business model than Netflix ever will.

 

OTOH, I personally feel that Netflix has better options for parental control in place than does Amazon.

 

In the end, I hope they can both be successful so that we have real, viable competition in this space.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good for us,......but their internal messiness spells doom for them.

 

Economy is too bad, people are too tight with their $$$, for Netflix to be falling down over and over with their bad business choices, and then thinking they can just do a flip-flop and people will smile again.

 

It's too bad too, they had a good thing going at one time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems clear to me now that Amazon is mounting a credible threat to Netflix with their Amazon Prime Instant Videos. They have recently increased their offering to 10,000 videos from 5,000 and just recently added Fox to their list of providers.

 

 

As much as I love Amazon, they need to increase their instant viewing selection a lot before they are a viable alternative. I agree that the competition would be good. :) I think Netflix is getting too cozy being on top and they're making sloppy decisions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... it's a little too little, a little too late for me. Hopefully this will be trend in the right direction though.

Yeah, that.

 

I'd been considering cancelling after the price increase, but the announcement to separate DVDs and streaming was the final straw. Their reversal doesn't change my plans. I'm sick of feeling jerked around by price increases (I was annoyed by the last one too), and I'm ready to take a nice long break from Netflix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good for us,......but their internal messiness spells doom for them.

 

Economy is too bad, people are too tight with their $$$, for Netflix to be falling down over and over with their bad business choices, and then thinking they can just do a flip-flop and people will smile again.

 

It's too bad too, they had a good thing going at one time.

 

 

Yes. This is the kind of thing that should have been shot down in the board room. It NEVER should have been announced to customers. Ugly.

 

I see Amazon quietly coming behind to clean up the mess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As much as I love Amazon, they need to increase their instant viewing selection a lot before they are a viable alternative. I agree that the competition would be good. :) I think Netflix is getting too cozy being on top and they're making sloppy decisions.

 

:iagree:

 

And I stick with Netflix and Hulu because they offer streaming through the x-box.

 

Amazon has a long way to go!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I already cancelled my DVD subscription b/c of the price increase, so it's a little too little, a little too late for me. Hopefully this will be trend in the right direction though.

 

:iagree: This. It's a good thing they are listening but they've already lost some of our business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good news but you would think we, the Netflix members, would be advised about this in an email. We received one when they were splitting companies.

 

I just got one:

Dear ,

It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs.

This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.

While the July price change was necessary, we are now done with price changes.

We're constantly improving our streaming selection. We've recently added hundreds of movies from Paramount, Sony, Universal, Fox, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, MGM and Miramax. Plus, in the last couple of weeks alone, we've added over 3,500 TV episodes from ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, USA, E!, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, ABC Family, Discovery Channel, TLC, SyFy, A&E, History, and PBS.

We value you as a member, and we are committed to making Netflix the best place to get your movies & TV shows.

Respectfully,

The Netflix Team

(bolding mine)

 

Really? You're done with price changes? Does that mean forever? What a silly statement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I don't really get why everyone was so mad. I feel like I get hit with price increases in things all the time. The cost of doing business is going up and up. I get a letter from my insurance carrier that my prices are increasing. Do I get to call and whine and complain and tell them how loyal I've been? They don't seem to care at. all. This is true with all kinds of other products and services.

 

Maybe I'm by myself here, but I feel that Netflix has provided a unique and very high quality service and product to me for many years. I left my local video store in the dust a long, long time ago. The only real competition I have seen is Redbox, and even that is a joke in the content department.

 

I like Netflix and I will keep my business with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing that I can see this helping with, is the negotiations with large studios. Studios like Starz that have been trying to get more money from Netflix for the same services they have already been providing. I do think that Netflix can show them that there is a financial cap on what people are willing to pay for Netflix services and people are willing to pull out if the price goes higher.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another poorly rolled out change.

 

I plan on killing my Netflix account at the end of the year. Two DVDs and streaming, for the previous price point, provided value to me as even if we weren't watching DVDs right away, having the streaming option made the subscription "worth it." Now it's simply an underutilized superfluous expense.

 

We'll use our fantastic library, no-fee Hulu, and Redbox. Using that model, we'll most likely come in $10 ahead each month.

 

I also have diminished respect for this company. I think the marketing team is out of touch and the CEO is not only not strategic but not particularly tactical either. (If he's not seeing the forest, or the trees, what is seeing?) If I was a stockholder I would have dumped awhile ago; they have no clue what they're doing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

by splitting it, it was as if they were saying that they no longer offer a unique service. It would be more tempting to go with a different service for DVD's or streaming, depending on what I like. They should stay all in one. They have been making some bad decisions.

 

:iagree: The reason I subscribe to Netflix is to receive DVDs *and* streaming. Redbox just doesn't have the selection that Netflix has. But, I agree that we might have gone to another streaming option if the companies had been split.

 

I find the email a little annoying. It would be harder for *all* of their customers to manage 2 websites that don't talk to each other versus one website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems clear to me now that Amazon is mounting a credible threat to Netflix with their Amazon Prime Instant Videos. They have recently increased their offering to 10,000 videos from 5,000 and just recently added Fox to their list of providers.

 

While this is a far cry from what Netflix currently offers, the price is lower (free for those already paying for Prime) and may be "good enough" for some folks. I don't expect Amazon will stop here, either. They probably have a LOT more flexibility in pricing and business model than Netflix ever will.

 

OTOH, I personally feel that Netflix has better options for parental control in place than does Amazon.

 

In the end, I hope they can both be successful so that we have real, viable competition in this space.

 

Has Amazon changed to making all their streaming free to Prime customers? When we tried it out earlier this year, we dropped it because the majority of the streaming we wanted to watch wasn't free, even with the Prime. The free options seemed to be primarily older material (sometimes decades older).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I already cancelled my DVD subscription b/c of the price increase, so it's a little too little, a little too late for me. Hopefully this will be a trend in the right direction though.

 

Same here. We decided to use our library for older dvd's and Redbox for current movies. Our library system has a great selection of tv shows that aren't available on streaming anywhere.

 

Blockbusters are going out of business in my town right and left (I can't think of where one is open anymore) and it feels like almost everyone has a Netflix account.

 

Blockbuster decided to close all of their stores and appears to be trying to compete with Redbox. Bright blue Blockbuster boxes are popping up all over my town.

 

It seems clear to me now that Amazon is mounting a credible threat to Netflix with their Amazon Prime Instant Videos.

 

I wish Amazon would create a queue system. Right now you have to start a new search every time you use Amazon Instant Video. I find if something is available on both Netflix and Amazon, I watch it on Netflix because it's easier.

 

Since we dropped Directv, we don't mind paying a fee for a show or two on Amazon. It's still cheaper than keeping cable or satellite for just a few shows.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has Amazon changed to making all their streaming free to Prime customers? When we tried it out earlier this year, we dropped it because the majority of the streaming we wanted to watch wasn't free, even with the Prime. The free options seemed to be primarily older material (sometimes decades older).
No, it is still as you say.

 

The point here is that this is AMAZON doing this. I expect there is method to their madness and that they are using the current offering as a way to ramp up the usage of their streaming so that they can collect feedback/learn/improve their quality before they make a much bigger introduction later. They now have much of the infrastructure in place to go much farther with this. I expect they will try to "go big" in the future. I'll guess we will hear something within a year from now. They have no reason to rush this, as they have the resources to take their time and do this right.

 

We'll see...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Has Amazon changed to making all their streaming free to Prime customers? When we tried it out earlier this year, we dropped it because the majority of the streaming we wanted to watch wasn't free, even with the Prime. The free options seemed to be primarily older material (sometimes decades older).

 

No, it is still as you say.

 

The point here is that this is AMAZON doing this. I expect there is method to their madness and that they are using the current offering as a way to ramp up the usage of their streaming so that they can collect feedback/learn/improve their quality before they make a much bigger introduction later. They now have much of the infrastructure in place to go much farther with this. I expect they will try to "go big" in the future. I'll guess we will hear something within a year from now. They have no reason to rush this, as they have the resources to take their time and do this right.

 

We'll see...

 

I think the Amazon service is more like iTunes than Netflix. They have limited free streaming for Prime members, but it seems most of their content is rent or own (digitally). I was movie shopping this week and had the option to buy the DVD, the digital copy, or rent the titles I wanted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good news but you would think we, the Netflix members, would be advised about this in an email. We received one when they were splitting companies.

 

Word. When I saw this thread my first thought was, "I didn't get that email!"

 

We use Netflix and Amazon. While there's a lot of overlap, I find some things for streaming on Amazon (Upstairs/Downstairs is the latest) that just aren't on Netflix.

 

(Now, I wonder if that stoner with the Twitter account threatened action for using his "name"... Lol)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the Amazon service is more like iTunes than Netflix.
Agreed. But what is to prevent them from doing both?

 

I suspect their pay-per-view service is not selling well and that the Prime Instant Videos is their toe-in-the-water acknowledgment that the Netflix approach is a superior marketing method. We'll see if they find the water too chilly or if they decide to "take the plunge".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed. But what is to prevent them from doing both?

 

I suspect their pay-per-view service is not selling well and that the Prime Instant Videos is their toe-in-the-water acknowledgment that the Netflix approach is a superior marketing method. We'll see if they find the water too chilly or if they decide to "take the plunge".

 

Oh, I agree. I was just framing it in terms of iTunes for the PP. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still think Netflix is blowing it. At least with me.

 

Streaming is fine, but it limits one to "popular" films at this point. If one wants more "obscure" fare one needs a separate DVD service. As an integrated offering it was an appealing model. But not now.

 

Bill

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I don't really get why everyone was so mad. I feel like I get hit with price increases in things all the time. The cost of doing business is going up and up. I get a letter from my insurance carrier that my prices are increasing. That is a whole glass of wine conversation, though. call and whine and complain and tell them how loyal I've been? They don't seem to care at. all. This is true with all kinds of other products and services.

 

Maybe I'm by myself here, but I feel that Netflix has provided a unique and very high quality service and product to me for many years. I left my local video store in the dust a long, long time ago. The only real competition I have seen is Redbox, and even that is a joke in the content department.

 

I like Netflix and I will keep my business with them.

 

Yes, you do. And if they are unresponsive to their customers, then their customers can take their business elsewhere. We've done that with Internet, cell phones, banks and, yes, insurance. When companies increase rates and decrease service, customers have the right to complain and/or leave.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems clear to me now that Amazon is mounting a credible threat to Netflix with their Amazon Prime Instant Videos. They have recently increased their offering to 10,000 videos from 5,000 and just recently added Fox to their list of providers.

 

While this is a far cry from what Netflix currently offers, the price is lower (free for those already paying for Prime) and may be "good enough" for some folks. I don't expect Amazon will stop here, either. They probably have a LOT more flexibility in pricing and business model than Netflix ever will.

 

OTOH, I personally feel that Netflix has better options for parental control in place than does Amazon.

 

In the end, I hope they can both be successful so that we have real, viable competition in this space.

 

We are folks who will probably stay with Netflix, no matter what it calls itself, just because for now it has so many more foreign and off-beat films than anywhere else. I went through a lot of 1950's Japanese cinema and silent films the past few months thanks to Netflix -hubby has been hitting Italian classics. Amazon just doesn't have the scope of Netflix...yet. We aren't all that interested in the more recent popular flicks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sometimes procrastination pays off. I don't recall receiving an email about streaming and mailed videos being put on different sites....I did notice the price went up to $17.95 and I've been trying to decide what to do about my cable/netflix/homephone issue...We pay way too much for those combined servies.

 

So now everything is back to the way it was except for the price increase stays increased?

 

Does anyone else have Netflix and no cable?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I don't really get why everyone was so mad.

 

Me neither. So they increased the price. Big deal. We currently pay $15.98 for unlimited streaming and one DVD out at a time. Considering cable would cost us a minimum of $60, this a big, huge, hairy, screaming, stomping, full-on-tantrum-throwing steal of a deal. And with cable/satellite, we'd be limited to whatever was on at a certain time. Really, what do people possibly want? I mean, I know people are throwing a fit because they doubled their prices or something, but consider what you get for the price. Where else could you possibly find that good of a deal? A friend told me, "It's the principle of the thing [doubling the price]." So if it used to cost 50 cents and now it cost a dollar, people would be this het up? Imo, Netflix is the best value for my money that I've ever come across.

 

Tara

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If one wants more "obscure" fare one needs a separate DVD service. As an integrated offering it was an appealing model.

 

We pay a single fee for unlimited streaming and DVDs. When they killed the Qwikster idea they killed the separate payments thing, too. Having the streaming plus the DVDs has always cost more than just the DVDs.

 

Tara

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone else have Netflix and no cable?

We haven't had cable for years. My kids refer to cable TV as "hotel TV." :D

 

For a while we had Blockbuster by mail, and liked being able to exchange our mailed DVDs for rentals in the store. But then the Blockbuster store near us closed, and we switched to Netflix.

 

We're back to being Amazon Prime members now, and we don't watch much TV anyway, so we're dropping Netflix. We'll stick with our libraries (which have tons of DVDs), Amazon, free Hulu, the grocery store that rents DVDs, and maybe we'll even try Redbox or Blockbuster Express kiosks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We haven't had cable for years. My kids refer to cable TV as "hotel TV." :D

 

For a while we had Blockbuster by mail, and liked being able to exchange our mailed DVDs for rentals in the store. But then the Blockbuster store near us closed, and we switched to Netflix.

 

We're back to being Amazon Prime members now, and we don't watch much TV anyway, so we're dropping Netflix. We'll stick with our libraries (which have tons of DVDs), Amazon, free Hulu, the grocery store that rents DVDs, and maybe we'll even try Redbox or Blockbuster Express kiosks.

 

We really need to drop home phone and cable. I believe it would save us $100 a month. I am afraid I will really miss HGTV and Headline News....but can't have everything I guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We pay a single fee for unlimited streaming and DVDs. When they killed the Qwikster idea they killed the separate payments thing, too. Having the streaming plus the DVDs has always cost more than just the DVDs.

 

Tara

 

No, it has not always cost more. Until July, streaming was free. At least it was for our 2 DVDs out a time plan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good news but you would think we, the Netflix members, would be advised about this in an email. We received one when they were splitting companies.

 

:lol: too funny

 

I just read this post, looked up and noticed I had an email in my inbox.

 

Flipped over to the inbox and... there it is, the email from Netflix saying dvd's will be staying. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, it is still as you say.

 

The point here is that this is AMAZON doing this. I expect there is method to their madness and that they are using the current offering as a way to ramp up the usage of their streaming so that they can collect feedback/learn/improve their quality before they make a much bigger introduction later. They now have much of the infrastructure in place to go much farther with this. I expect they will try to "go big" in the future. I'll guess we will hear something within a year from now. They have no reason to rush this, as they have the resources to take their time and do this right.

 

We'll see...

 

Thanks, I wanted to make sure they hadn't changed their policy. If they had done so, I was ready to re-evaluate our decision not to go with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone else have Netflix and no cable?

 

That's been us for the last 6 years---no cable or satellite and very limited local reception if we bother to use the converter (which we almost never do). We use Netflix for watching tv shows (once they come out on dvd) and movies for entertainment, and Discovery Streaming for school purposes (just subscribed this year and love it). I was not thrilled with Netflix for educational videos. Not enough were streaming and I found it awkward to find what I needed using their search engine. We've gotten a few things from the library, but the best selection is in the next county over. We have a library card there and my husband can pick them up after work, but the required turnaround is so short that we were frequently late getting them back and video late fees are steep there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're right, my bad. I was thinking of when we upped the number of DVDs we got out.

 

Still, I think $15.98 is a steal.

 

Tara

 

Probably, if you use the service a lot. We don't and we're blessed to have an AWESOME library system. Only occassionally do they not have the items we want to view in which case I can almost always find a free Redbox rental coupon. I have no doubt that this is great for some. Just $20 a month (2 DVDs + streaming) that seems mostly wasted in our family. When it was $15 we justified it. We're probably not in their target market.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Netflix. I don't care that they raised their prices. We watch so much together as a family most evenings, that the price increase still puts it in a wonderful category of value for family together stuff. Also, I'm still spending less than I would have during the Blockbuster days. Rentals were so expensive. If they went to $30 a month for streaming and 3 DVD's I'd still pay it. A dollar a day for the fun we have is a bargain. We are currently going through all the Frasier seasons and I'm SO happy to erase them from my DVR since Netflix just added him to their streaming.

 

We love Netflix :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love Netflix. I don't care that they raised their prices. We watch so much together as a family most evenings, that the price increase still puts it in a wonderful category of value for family together stuff. Also, I'm still spending less than I would have during the Blockbuster days. Rentals were so expensive. If they went to $30 a month for streaming and 3 DVD's I'd still pay it. A dollar a day for the fun we have is a bargain. We are currently going through all the Frasier seasons and I'm SO happy to erase them from my DVR since Netflix just added him to their streaming.

 

We love Netflix :)

 

:iagree:We more than get our money's worth, even with the price increase. If it weren't for football, I could give up cable with what I can find on Netflix. Dh won't give up cable as he HAS to have his pro-football. Thankfully, he really doesn't need to do that...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...