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Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access - Page 2

post #31 of 90
3/31/09 at 7:37am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian^K
That analysis makes me think that Netflix is actually under-pricing their offering. If there is such a difference between what they're charging and how much it would cost folks to get the same experience through other means, then it is likely that the small increase that they're talking about does not fully capitalize on the value-proposition they're offering. We should expect another, similar, increase, within a year or so.

That was my initial thought too but if Sony, et. al does lower the licensing fees as they stated they would a couple weeks ago then it could bring media costs down such that another rate hike would not be necessary.
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post #32 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:12am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

There's one thing I haven't read in this thread and that's about people calling to complain. I just got off the phone with a customer service rep. I explained that a more than 20% overall price hike was too much, especially seeing how we watch a lot of older movies and TV shows that are not available on Blu-ray. I then explained that, one way or another, the price hike meant that NetFlix would be getting less of my money (I plan to either drop Blu-ray or go to a lower priced plan).

I highly recommend that any NetFlix members who are unhappy about this call to voice their opinion. If enough customers complain, they may rethink they’re plans.
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post #33 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:16am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Actually, if I think about it selfishly, the more of you that drop Blu-ray, the better my chances of getting BDs quicker.
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post #34 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:24am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian McHale
There's one thing I haven't read in this thread and that's about people calling to complain. I just got off the phone with a customer service rep. I explained that a more than 20% overall price hike was too much, especially seeing how we watch a lot of older movies and TV shows that are not available on Blu-ray. I then explained that, one way or another, the price hike meant that NetFlix would be getting less of my money (I plan to either drop Blu-ray or go to a lower priced plan).

I highly recommend that any NetFlix members who are unhappy about this call to voice their opinion. If enough customers complain, they may rethink they’re plans.

There is already a growing list of responses to the rate hike over on Netflix's blog site.

Now it's just a matter of who Netflix is going to please if they decide to go ahead with the increase. Thier stock price jumped on the rate announcement.
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post #35 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:30am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I have 4 out $17 plan and waa raised $5.
i cancelled the blu access.
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post #36 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:54am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
i cancelled the blu access.

I wish I could cancel the DVD access.
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post #37 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:56am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon Conway
Actually, if I think about it selfishly, the more of you that drop Blu-ray, the better my chances of getting BDs quicker.

Part of me wonders if Netflix really wants some members to drop BD access so that they really don't have to buy additional BD movies, yet they still get to increase BD prices on the consumers that stay and have sufficient supply for them. More of a conspiratorial thought, but who knows.
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post #38 of 90
3/31/09 at 10:22am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Netflix has had one of the best years financially - they are one company that is doing better in the rescession, so of course they'll raise their prices - from a business standpoint (greed) it's the way to go.

Again $3 isn't much right now, but there is no real competition to kept them competitive, so see what happens down the line
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post #39 of 90
3/31/09 at 10:57am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I'm surprised to see such an overwhelmingly negative reaction here. From where I'm sitting, 21 bucks a month for unlimited three-at-a-time Blu-ray rentals and streaming video is still a heck of a deal. I have no major qualms with the price hike.
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post #40 of 90
3/31/09 at 11:14am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I think the negative reaction (at least MY negative reaction) is not so much due to the increase (Netflix is still good value) but at the TIMING of the increase, just a few months after they levied the first BD surcharge.
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post #41 of 90
3/31/09 at 11:19am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by cafink
I'm surprised to see such an overwhelmingly negative reaction here. From where I'm sitting, 21 bucks a month for unlimited three-at-a-time Blu-ray rentals and streaming video is still a heck of a deal. I have no major qualms with the price hike.
I agree.

The main argument seems to be that this is some sort of bait-and-switch with no promise of improved service. But not only does Netflix mention that they're trying to improve service, they're giving people ample notice of both their policy change and pricing structure a month beforehand. Add to that the fact that, lost amongst the Internet rage-a-thon, was the news that Netflix reached their 2009 EOY BD subscriber target already, 9 months ahead of schedule. For a lot of people, that seems to have resulted in supply that can't meet demand (e.g. waiting for discs), which means Netflix has to spend that much more to not just exceed the previously inadequate supply, but also meet a demand significantly earlier and larger than what they expected.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob_L
I think the negative reaction (at least MY negative reaction) is not so much due to the increase (Netflix is still good value) but at the TIMING of the increase, just a few months after they levied the first BD surcharge.
See above regarding the news about reaching the subscriber target early for why IMO the announcement was timed when it was.
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post #42 of 90
3/31/09 at 11:41am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

an additional upside is that if Netflix doubles or triples the amount of their bluray purchases that makes a HUGE increase in volume of bluray for the studios. That increased demand is going to make more titles in bluray more likely.
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post #43 of 90
3/31/09 at 12:14pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Not a big deal for me. I'm only on a 2 at a time plan so it's an extra 3 bucks a month. Between all the great BR discs that keep getting released and the streaming option that I use frequently on my Xbox360, I still think my subscription fee is a good value.
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post #44 of 90
3/31/09 at 1:07pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Talk is cheap. If you really want to communicate something to Netflix that they'll be sure to care about, should enough people join you: cancel your subscription.
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post #45 of 90
3/31/09 at 1:21pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by cafink
I'm surprised to see such an overwhelmingly negative reaction here. From where I'm sitting, 21 bucks a month for unlimited three-at-a-time Blu-ray rentals and streaming video is still a heck of a deal. I have no major qualms with the price hike.
If your rent was $1000/month and it went up to $1200, would you complain? That's a 20% increase. In my case, the hike works out to be a 22.2% increase. It is not unreasonable to complain about a 22% increase that comes out of nowhere, especially when a lot of the movies we watch are not Blu-ray.

If they had raised the rate from $1 to $2, I wouldn't have had a problem with it. If they decided to put a per-disc surcharge on BDs (say $0.25 per disc), I wouldn't have a problem with it. To have my total bill jacked up 22%, I have a problem with that.

My first course of action was to call and voice my opinion. I feel it's important to let companies know how you feel about these things. It probably won't make any difference, but if enough people complain, it might. I told them I haven’t made up my mind yet which course of action I intend to take (I have until mid-May before my rates will go up). I let them know that the price increase was going end up with them getting less of my money.
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post #46 of 90
3/31/09 at 1:24pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian^K
Talk is cheap. If you really want to communicate something to Netflix that they'll be sure to care about, should enough people join you: cancel your subscription.

I think it makes a lot of sense to cancel if you’re already thinking about dropping the service. However, I think it makes more sense to at least call them first and let them know why you’re canceling.

If you’re just upset about the price hike, I would recommend calling their customer service and telling them what you think. Tell them you’re an unhappy customer who is reviewing their options. Tell them you’re thinking about changing plans or canceling altogether.

If you cancel without telling them why you canceled, you’re not making your point nearly as well as you could.
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post #47 of 90
3/31/09 at 1:35pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by cafink
I'm surprised to see such an overwhelmingly negative reaction here. From where I'm sitting, 21 bucks a month for unlimited three-at-a-time Blu-ray rentals and streaming video is still a heck of a deal. I have no major qualms with the price hike.

I agree. I can't stomach the thought of "returning movies" to a store again. Remember late fees? A 1-day late fee on a single movie could be $3.

I do agree however, that in order for BD to reach the levels of success that DVD has enjoyed, that the unit cost must be the same for both formats. If that happens, I would assume Netflix would have to return to one price for both rental plans.
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post #48 of 90
3/31/09 at 2:00pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

…
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post #49 of 90
3/31/09 at 2:02pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian McHale
If your rent was $1000/month and it went up to $1200, would you complain?

Not if I thought $1200 a month was still a great deal.
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post #50 of 90
3/31/09 at 2:04pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

As someone who has been with Netflix long enough to remember the basic 3-at-a-time plan being $21.95 (and I think maybe even $23.95 at one point), $20.95 is not exactly gonna get me to bring out the pitchfork.

EDIT: Some of you may be interested in http://feedflix.com/ . I just signed up myself.

My stats:

You have been a Netflix member since August 2000 and have returned 748 titles to date
You most recently returned a movie on 28/Mar/09 i.e. 3 days ago
You keep titles at home for an average of 10 days
You see 9.3 titles by DVD and 6.3 titles by Instant Watch each month
It looks like you are on the 3-at-a-time plan which costs $17.99/month (including the $1/mo Blu-ray fee)
Your cost/DVD rental is $1.93. Your cost/movie (including Instant Watch) is $1.15
You're in the 29th percentile. i.e., 29% of FeedFlixers pay less than you per movie
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post #51 of 90
3/31/09 at 5:16pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I'm on a friends NF plan with her and she just dropped them and joined BB.com because of the price hike, my account remains active, however.

I told her I need some time to think about switching, I had BB.com 2 years ago and they kept sending the wrong discs, particularly with their TV shows.

I told her that she'd be my guinea pig, if she tells me that they've improved their service after being with them a couple of months then i'll switch.

Besides I have almost 200 discs in my queue and I really dread having to start over finding them and building a whole new queue again.
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post #52 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:00pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I'm sticking with them for three reasons:

A) Both Netflix and Blockbuster have distribution centers in KC, MO, which is an hour and a half up the road. I get my movies from Netflix in 24 hours, and vice versa. During my Blockbuster trial, it took anywhere from 2-3 days, and i believe once even four.

B) So long as I have an empty slot waiting to be filled come Monday morning (which is when they ship new releases that street the next day) I ALWAYS get the new release shipped to me, and it is in my mailbox on street date.

C) Dropping down to the two at a time plan will have me paying the exact same fee a month as I am now at the 3 at a time plan. And really, I have no need for the three at a time plan except for the rare months that have more than two releases I REALLY want to see coming out in the same week.

And now that I think about it, I have a fourth reason:

D) Netflix streaming is quite handy on my Xbox 360. They SD feeds of movies in OAR that were released only in fullscreen on DVD, lot of great TV content (recently the remastered HD first season of Star Trek), and stuff you can't get anywhere else currently, like a new, beautiful HD print of The Last Temptation of Christ.
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post #53 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:08pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by Man-Fai Wong
Not really true in my experience. Blockbuster Online works fine for me -- and I seem to get my new release BD rentals way faster than most Netflix customers w/out the extra charge. I don't need any gimmicky Netflix movie profiling/recommendation software (and their "hip/cool" brand name) for my rentals though, so I've been fine w/ Blockbuster so far.

Same here. On top of that, for each mailer I return to the store I get a free in-store rental(and they have a TON of Blu-Rays for rent at my location) and no late fees. In my situation, BB Online is a much better deal than Netflix, but I realize that's not the case for everyone.
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post #54 of 90
3/31/09 at 8:31pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent M
In my situation, BB Online is a much better deal than Netflix, but I realize that's not the case for everyone.
I think it is now. BB has worked great for me.
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post #55 of 90
4/1/09 at 8:28am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I don't have an issue with the blu-ray surcharge itself. My issue is with the fact that over the last year, I have very rarely gotten a new release blu-ray in less that 2-4 months. And I have a separate queue set up that has nothing but new release blu-ray titles in it. Several times I have gone more than a week with 1 or 2 open shipping slots and never got a movie shipped.

I'm going to give Netflix a chance to prove that this surcharge is going to allow them to buy more copies so that my wait times for new releases come down. If that happens, I have no problem paying the higher fee - but if they continue to take months to ship them I may have to reevaluate my membership.
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post #56 of 90
4/1/09 at 10:51am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I just got Ice Age, Third Man and The Robe all bluray shipped yesterday. so one new release, one criterion, one popular catalog title, my top three in my queue. I've not had trouble with getting new releases on blu from netflix, but then I probably only go through about 8-10 'rentals' a month right now.
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post #57 of 90
4/1/09 at 2:58pm

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

One thing I forgot to add about my Blockbuster Online account is that for $19.99 a month and in addition to all the free in-store rentals when I return an online mailer, I also get one free video game rental coupon each month. Since I don't buy a lot of $60 PS3 games it comes in pretty handy being able to rent one free each month(especially since the 5-day rental fee is $7.99). So, basically for movies I'm paying $12 for 3-at-a-time through the mail with each return yielding a free in-store rental where there are a ton of Blu-Ray titles to choose from. It's a steal if you ask me.
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post #58 of 90
4/3/09 at 10:45am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I went through and put all my bluray titles in my top 100 of my queue, might as well get good use out of the bluray option if I'll be paying more for it. :-p
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post #59 of 90
4/7/09 at 2:21am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

In case anyone was wondering about how difficult it is to make enough money to justify being in business, renting DVDs: Blockbuster says it may not be able to continue - U.S. business- msnbc.com
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post #60 of 90
4/7/09 at 5:05am

Re: Netflix raising price for Blu-ray access

I know nothing about business so that article was all greek to me.

Sad that Blockbuster may be going down, though, which of course was the jist of the article.
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