Anyone getting rid of Netflix?

[Frugal]

Just got an email last night saying prices are going up about 60% to something like $16.00 PLUS tax each month for the same basic instant streaming and 1-DVD-at-a-time plan we have had for a year or more. I am getting rid of it September 1, when prices go up officially.

Is anyone else surprised/outraged how they are decreasing what they give you, and sending prices up dramatically Sep. 1, 2011?

We have had spotty/sporadic service throughout using Netflix despite having perfect internet connection and Blue-Ray Player, and yet each time I have called Netflix, they deny crediting me for days we can't watch anything due to THEIR network issues.

Also, the only real reason we kept Netflix this long now that everything decent is on DVD only was because they had Sat. Night Live episodes that were current. 2-4 months ago, they stopped adding the most recent episodes.

What do you think of Netflix now that prices are going up??? I want to hear!

[BuckyBadger]

My husband is grumbling, but I'm sure we'll pay the $16. Honestly, the $10 was absurdly low for what you got and Netflix is putting a few billion dollars into getting more streaming offerings. If they get better about offering new stuff on streaming we'll probably go to the streaming-only membership.

It may be a 60% increase, but it's still pretty cheap. Maybe if we were into the Red Box thing I would have a different answer, but we don't do Red Box, so we'll be sticking with Netflix.

We have had excellent streaming service, though, so no complaints there. We stream on our Android phones, too, which is worth a ton to us!

[fruitbowlk]

I just downgraded to just streaming on the computer. I haven't receive any emails.

[KTP]

It is actually a price decrease if you go with dvd only ($10 dropping to $8). We may do that and just stream stuff from elsewhere. Ton of companies are entering the streaming market over the next year.

[Coronet]

I dropped netflix a few months ago due to lack of online streaming content and long waits on DVDs. I might resume in the future as I don't think $16 is outrageous.

[wincrasher]

It depends on your plan - most will go up, but some are going down a bit.

I'm pretty disappointed in Netflix for this - just looks like a greedy money grab. So I'm on the fence as to what I'll do.

[feh]

We won't be paying $16/month. We'll need to decide if we want the streaming or DVD; we currently do both...

[creditcardfree]

I'm disappointed, but it is allowing me to reevaluate how we are really using the service. I might go from two dvd's out to just one. We really don't use it much in the summer and I have noticed that we have stopped at Redbox at least once a month. How much we stream seems to vary, too. Likely a change will result for us in some way.

[DKAS]

Had just canceled it last month anyways. Just don't have enough time in the month to watch enough movies to pay for the service. Blockbuster Express free codes are working fine for now

[Hector]

Hulu, espn3, other free online sources and local libraries have more than what I need. Why would I pay money to find more ways to sit in front to TV?

[nck4857]

I agree, we cancelled Netflix about 3 months ago. We have about 3 Redboxes within a mile from us and have Stars for some reason on Dish so just no need for it.

Sometimes I want to just throw the TV out the window all together with some of the crap my wife watches..!

[autoxer]

They do have much more and higher quality streaming content than any of their competitors, so their streaming plan still looks like a pretty good deal.

I don't understand being outraged at a company over pricing. If you don't think their product is a good value, then don't buy it. The bottom line is they are running a business. Although they may lose some customers over this, it doesn't seem like a terrible business decision, because it will give them some bargaining leverage with the studios.

I wouldn't say they are greedy, because their plans have been very cheap for a long time and their costs are going up, but I will be downgrading my plan when the rates go up, simply because I don't want to pay that much.

[adstalker]

isnt it cheaper just to use the redbox machine outside of 7 eleven? instant gratification instead of waiting for the movies to arrive in the mail.

Personally I think netflix streaming is worthless. Most of the good movies you want to watch can't be streamed

[autoxer]

Originally Posted by adstalker

isnt it cheaper just to use the redbox machine outside of 7 eleven? instant gratification instead of waiting for the movies to arrive in the mail.

If you get more than 5 movies in a month, then it's cheaper to have the subscription.

Originally Posted by adstalker

Personally I think netflix streaming is worthless. Most of the good movies you want to watch can't be streamed

It's true that they don't stream the new releases, but I've discovered a lot of interesting things available. Like all 70+ episodes of battlestar gallactica, or BBC's Top Gear.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

I already gave them the axe. Their online streaming sucks IMO, which is pretty much all I care about anyway. I'm not surprised they raised their rates though...they've been cheap for a long time.

[dawnwes]

We will be keeping it.

We are ditching our satellite service, so this is still by far the cheaper option.

As far as using RedBox vs. Netflix DVDs, we rarely get movies. We rent documentaries and TV series', which Redbox doesn't have.

Dawn

[Frugal]

I don't mind really waiting for movies to arrive because they come quickly from a city close to me. However, what I don't like is how greedy the owners of Netflix are getting. I thought I read in the WSJ that their profit margins had gone up something like 87% BEFORE they instituted the increase. Anyway, I will definitely dump Netflix over the next 1-2 months before the price hike takes effect Sep. 1 for current users (not new people signing up!).

[Slug]

The key is nothing changes until Sept. 1 so there's no point in changing anything now if you are satisfied with your plan.

After Sept 1st, we're downgrading from 3 movies to 2 with unlimited streaming.

[kalimaniac]

I will prob switch to the DVD only plan. Streaming selection is lousy at this time--mostly bad or obscure movies.

[Robert742]

When I received the Netflix e-mail regarding the price & service change, I downgraded to DVDs only 5 at a time. I never used the streaming service, and almost all my television habit is DVD watching -- movies, music, documentaries, & certain TV shows. I can't beat Netflix for the variety, and obscure films I seek out. The price is lower than the old 5 at a time rate, before their recent price increase, so I'm happy with the change.

I think Netflix provides a good value, but it depends on what you watch and how you want to watch it.

Netflix is finally getting some pricing power. A long time ago, I could call them, complain about the price, and get a lower rate. I tried to do it again a few months ago, when they increased the cost of my plan, but they would not budge on pricing, and were willing to lose my business.

The future, of course, will be streaming, and I'm glad it will be a competitive market. If you think Netflix is bad for price gouging,look at the gross margins in the cable industry.