Discovered Netflix - I think I'm pretty much done buying DVDs (1 Viewer)

[Jon_Are]

...and I surprised myself as to how comfortable I am with this decision.

Netflix is working flawlessly (so far), and it prompts me to watch movies sooner rather than later. Because I rarely re-visit a DVD, it's crystal clear to me how pointless it is for me to be spending so many dollars on so many purchases.

Yeah, there will be the occasional exception, such as the odd film I must own (Goodfellas, Star Wars) or television series (Curb Your Enthusiasm, All in the Family, M*A*S*H), but on the whole, I've gotten over my compulsion to own. Cripes, I even passed up purchasing Kill Bill Vol. 2.

Anyone else have similar thoughts?

Jon

 

[JasonF]

I use Walmart.com and feel the same way you do. I've been using them for about three months now and am very happy with them. Wal-mart is a little cheaper too.

 

[Scott Tucker]

I agree. I'm so over buying dvd's that i went to buy Kill Bill 2 and when i got to the store i decided not to buy it. My wife couldn't believe i could resist. I too use Netflix and have had good luck, but i may start using Blockbusters new service for less $$$. I'm saving a fortune not buying em anymore.
Scott

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Blockbuster moviepass for me. Of course I'll buy some essential films , and HT demo material that never gets old (LOTR, Matrix Trilogy, Dracula, Tales From The Darkside).

I've even been trading-in my DVD's at the local FYE for store credit towards some new CD's (Just got around to audiophilism). I don't want to be caught with a stash of 400 worthless disks when HD-DVD comes out. I'm down to 200 now and could lose another 50 or so without suffering too much from movie withdrawl.

 

[Scott L]

Yea I've always wondered about people saying they have hundred of DVDs. That's nice but you can have access to over 25,000 for MUCH less.

I only have about 70-80 titles of movies I love, and will hopefully be replaced when an HD format comes out.

Plus just a heads up for those looking to join up again, they've been extremely good lately. I got Kill Bill 2 relatively close to release and my queue's been pretty active lately. I usually mail em off Monday afternoon and get new discs Wedneday.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I'm a huge Netflix devotee. Because I live with my folks for now, I have the 5 DVDs/month plan so that they can order things they want to see once in a while.

A friend suggested I quit and then they'll send me an offer to stay with them for half the price. I'm thinking about it. But I'm so happy with the service that I don't mind paying at all.

I don't really see the point of a thread about swearing off buying DVDs in a forum about home theater, but I'll bite: not only do I no longer buy DVDs, but I'm selling the vast majority of them. I had a couple hundred. By the time I'm done selling, I'll have only the following left:

- Family Guy. I can always put on any ep and laugh my butt off. I still watch them every so often.

- Looney Tunes. Having the ability to watch these shorts at whim has been a childhood dream of mine.

- Babylon 5. I'm a fanboy, so besides the 6 box sets, have three comics and 10 novels. It's the only "collector" thing outside of music I have.

- Concert DVDs. A handful of concert DVDs by King Crimson, Marillion, Led Zeppelin, Rush, The Flower Kings, Gentle Giant, Bill Bruford's Earthworks, Queensryche, Jethro Tull, and historic music films like The Last Waltz and Straight No Chaser. I only make sure to have the best DVDs out there, with either really rare and historic footage (like the Zeppelin and Giant DVDs), amazing performances or awesome sound. To me they're just live albums with some video.

With a different DVD or two coming to my home every day, when or why would I want to go back to stuff I've seen before, even if I do love them? Obviously this is just my personal thing and I totally dig DVD collections. I just have too many other films I want to watch.

 

[Joe Szott]

Jon-

Totally with you on this one, we did the exact same thing about 3 months ago. We must spend $100/mo less on DVDs now that we rent most all of them, only buying the titles I know I'll replay constantly (Old School, Goodfellas, etc.) or ones that we really enjoyed and want for reference or just to have (Open Range, Last Samurai.)

The huge benefit for us though are the series rentals. Wife and I enjoy anime but buying all 100+ episodes of Inuyasha at $300 is a little too much. 2 months rental on Netflix (with other movies sprinkled in) = $44. Pretty darn sweet.

Plus in Denver turnaround for most movies is one day each way. Really is cool to just get DVDs in the mail all the time, like mini-xmas all year round.

 

[Moe Maishlish]

Is Netflix available to us Canadians, or are we getting shafted out of another great deal?

Moe.

 

[Jon_Are]

Well...it's called the "Home Theater Forum", not the "Buy and Own DVDs Forum".

The funny thing is, I don't know when I'm going to find the time now to watch all the movies I own that I haven't yet seen; maybe I'll have to enter these titles into my Netfilx queue.

Jon

 

[Mike Broadman]

Yes, the TV series with Netflix is awesome. I've watched Bullshit, Band of Brothers, From the Earth To the Moon, and Farscape through Netflix.

 

[Citizen87645]

I was with Netflix early on (wish I had bought stock then too), stopped some time ago but have been considering going back . I think I will always buy/collect DVDs or whatever replaces them. That said, Netflix is a good way to ferret out the films one really wants to own. I think my enthusiasm for collecting has already diminished a little and I'm being a little pickier about what I buy. I imagine much of this has to do with already owning titles I want. The same thing happened when I began buying CDs. With music I really just buy releases from artists I already like; much less experimentation these days.

 

[BrianW]

Netflix is great for you guys who have time to enjoy your HT a few times a month. But I'm lucky if I get to watch a single movie at home once a month. So buying is still cheaper for me.

Alas.

 

[Mick Tees]

Question about Netflix?

How many times have you been denied a request because they didn't have it in stock or because it was already rented out?

For example if I wanted to rent Kill Bill Vol. 2 this weekend what are the chances it will be in?

Is the $21.99 monthly fee due every month even if you don't rent for awhile or is it only when you rent DVD's?

My wife and I have been thinking about this for awhile, but I don't know if we rent enough movies to make it worthwhile. It's very convenient though. I like the free shipping policy.

Thanks!

 

[Peter Kim]

Try it and learn as you go. Especially now that Netflix has a promotion going on now until 8/27. Enter in FRIENDSFREE25 in the 'Enter Code' field in the upper right hand corner of the home page and get 1 month for free.

Or try Blockbuster.com. Enter in cooper and get 1 month for free. Also, with each month, you'll get 2 free rental coupons to be used only at their B&Ms.

 

[Scott L]

If you're a new user there is a 100% you'll get it. They prioritize their customers higher if they are either:

A) New
B) Barely have any rental activity at all

Meaning if you constantly have have your Queue active over the course of a month or more you are moved down the list and new releases will probably be Short Wait or Medium Wait.

I am a pretty active user and KB2 was a short wait. Checking now for new releases "Girl Next Door" is a short wait while "Taking Lives" and "Hildago" are available now.

As I said in my previous post though they are getting better. I have yet to see another Long Wait like I did with "Lost in Translation" which took forever for me to receive. :

 

[Jon_Are]

Every month. Try the free trial period, Michael; you've nothing to lose.

Jon

 

[Scott L]

I picked this up through a link found on AVS. It was a whole page, pretty detailed, definitely not something I made up or assumed myself. When I first joined I put 3 new releases in my queue and they were all available.

 

[Drew Bethel]

I think Scott is correct. We have a 3 month old baby so our movie watching took a plunge. But anytime I want a new release these days I always get it. Last year when we were watching three movies a week I had to time my returns almost perfectly to hit the Tuesday new releases.

The good thing is that now there is competition with Walmart and now BB joining the movie-by-mail niche (though I tried Walmart and it sucked ass!).

 

[BrianB]

Here's one guy's detailed experiences (with pictures!)

An email reply from Netflix admitting it

 

[Kevin Royal]

Moe,

http://www.zip.ca

Thank Me Later.

- Kevin