What’s Wrong with Netflix

by Supergenius

Our membership at the local video store has just run out, and so we’re faced with a choice: renew the membership, or go to some kind of online video store.  I feel caught in the Netflix vortex, but I’m resisting it.  Here’s why.

There’s no question of Netflix’s content.  According to the site, they have over 25,000 different titles — not too shabby!  The selection runs the gamut from new releases to classic films, and their foreign section is actually pretty good.  I’ve tested out how well they stock the AFI top 100, for example, and they’ve got all of them that are on DVD.  My local video store can’t match that, although they do have a pretty eclectic selection, including lots of foreign films, documentaries, manga, etc.  Advantage: Netflix.

Nor is there question of Netflix as a deal.  Keep movies as long as you want — 3 at a time, for $17.99 a month.  No commitment, cancel anytime.  Videos come in the mail, with free delivery/return.  My local video store is slightly more expensive — you prepay for a certain number of video rentals, which works out to be about the same as Netflix, based on my current number of rentals (though that number would increase once the power of Netflix is unleashed).  My store also delivers and picks up films (hooray, NYC!), but you have to tip the delivery guy.  And then there’s late fees, too.  Advantage: Netflix.

But here’s what I would miss: going to the video store.  I like to look at the shelves, see titles I’m not specifically searching for, and see the staff’s quirky picks.  I like to look at their board of new releases and their bargain rack.  I like to ask them what’s good and what’s not.  I like how they have the Videohound book and Leonard Maltin’s guide and other books there to consult.  In other words, I like to shop around.  Netflix tries a bit with this: it has recommendations, and categories, and new releases, and the internet is full of movie review sites.  But ultimately, it can’t compete — scanning web pages just doesn’t work the same way as looking at titles on the shelf.  If you’re curious about movies, and discovering new titles to watch, I’m not sure that an online service can work.  Advantage: Movie Place.

So the verdict?  I don’t know yet.  What’s your advice?

35 Comments

  1. I am my own Netflix. Advice? Netflix sounds good. Scanning web pages is very similar to scanning shelves — in some ways, easier. And all the information you need is right at your fingertips.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — December 22, 2004 @ 12:05 pm

  2. I like that Netflix will recommend movies based on what you’ve already got in your queue. I’ve rented a lot of movies I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise.

    But you know what? Netflix has basically ruined movie-watching for me. Well, movies themselves did that for me to begin with, Netflix just put the nail in the coffin. Mainly because I put something in the queue, and by the time it arrives, I don’t feel like watching it. But I can’t hold onto it until I do because my husband and kids have movies waiting to come that they want to see.

    Plus I’m horrible about sending movies back, which is why we signed up for it in the first place–I regularly paid $20-$30 in late fees renting from a videostore.

    But that’s just me. Do you have Blockbuster Video where you live? Because they have some deal similar to Netflix.

    Comment by Susan Malmrose — December 22, 2004 @ 12:11 pm

  3. I hate blockbuster. i would never use their service. long story. But they suck.

    Comment by Steve Evans — December 22, 2004 @ 12:14 pm

  4. Netflix has always been good to me. Go for it.

    Comment by Susan Malmrose — December 22, 2004 @ 12:22 pm

  5. If you live in Manhattan, why would you use Netflix? You’ve got the world at your fingertips. Heck, even in Durham, I’ve got a quality independent movie rental place less than a mile away with great selection and good availability.

    If you lived in a small-town in some fly-over state, I could see it, but come on, man!

    Comment by Bryce I — December 22, 2004 @ 12:33 pm

  6. If your local library is any good, it should have a good selection too. I don’t know how that pans out for the New York Public Library. I get most of my foreign selections from the library for the low, low price of $1.00 for a whole week. I am also notorious for failing to return items to stores, so this works out perfectly since it’s only a dollar extra for another week.

    Comment by Dallin I — December 22, 2004 @ 12:36 pm

  7. It doesn’t seem like a big problem you’ve got. Use Netflix on a normal basis, but for a spontaneous outing, go to your local store. The one by me, Kim’s, is fantastic, well-stocked, and never particularly crowded or busy. And for classic Hollywood fare, just borrow from me — I’ve got everything you could possibly want, and more.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — December 22, 2004 @ 12:44 pm

  8. Bryce, there are plenty of good video stores in Manhattan. But few are within convenient walking distance, and there’s no way I’m schlepping on the subway to rent a movie. You see, unlike in Durham, people in NYC don’t use cars to go everywhere…

    /end condescending remark

    Comment by Steve Evans — December 22, 2004 @ 12:44 pm

  9. Kim’s really is good, D., but it’s a hike.

    As for relying on the D Video Store, well, its selection is fantastic. But its hours are sporadic and rumor has it that it might shut down someday soon…

    Comment by Steve Evans — December 22, 2004 @ 12:45 pm

  10. The hours are not sporadic. I’m here every day without fail. It is a bit of a hike from your place, admittedly.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — December 22, 2004 @ 12:47 pm

  11. Our local library is the only goverment service worth a dime. One of the local art houses had a video rental store that shut down; the library bought their collection of 10,000+ videos, and lends out a good selection of the most interesting ones. Sure, it’s VHS, but it’s free, and the selection really is good.

    Comment by Bryce I — December 22, 2004 @ 12:53 pm

  12. Does anybody else feel the disconnect between online store browsing and real-world browsing? The difference to me is enormous.

    Comment by Steve Evans — December 22, 2004 @ 1:03 pm

  13. I’m with you, Steve. I like to go to the bookstore to shop for books, even if I’m planning on purchasing online.

    Comment by Bryce I — December 22, 2004 @ 1:13 pm

  14. I never liked browsing at all, myself. In the days when I would be the elected person at a party to go and choose a movie, it was a nearly impossible task, and whatever I would choose, somebody would refuse to watch it.

    When I started buying DVDs, I made up my mind that I would only buy ones I knew I loved, others be damned. But it turned out that my vision and love for these movies is transferred to others who put their faith in me. They tell me what they like, and I refer them to an old movie, which most of the time they haven’t already seen. I haven’t been told of a bad experience yet.

    So I buy the classics, and for new movies, I watch them on HBO or pay-per-view (perhaps in high definition) in order to decide whether I want to own them, or not. The majority of my collection consists of movies from 1980 or earlier. I do have some recent ones (Lord of the RIngs, duh) but these are chosen more on the basis of my social commitments than on whether I myself love them.

    Return of the King, or Spartacus? If I’m on my own, there is no debate as to which one to watch.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — December 22, 2004 @ 1:13 pm

  15. Steve, it does seem like you like to browse, and you like to get out of the house to do it — picking a movie is an outing. So don’t fret about how far away it is. If you go to a Broadway show, another kind of outing, you’re gonna have to go down to Times Square. Kim’s is a great video store, and make an outing about going there.

    I buy most of my DVDs at Tower Records, by the Church, not close to me. I also buy them at DVD Palace on 46th and 8th, since they get them early. It’s a trek, but a trek I like to make. Of course, since I buy them, I don’t have to return them at a predetermined time.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — December 22, 2004 @ 1:17 pm

  16. D.:

    Spartacus over ROTK? You’re clearly behind the times — Spartacus is sooooo last century in the violent-homoerotic-war-epic category.

    Comment by Kaimi — December 22, 2004 @ 2:34 pm

  17. LOL, Kaimi, although as long as we’re going there, Spartacus displays more…flesh, both male and female.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — December 22, 2004 @ 2:38 pm

  18. There’s no “singer of songs” in LOTR, that’s for sure, although Legolas comes close.

    Comment by Steve Evans — December 22, 2004 @ 2:47 pm

  19. It’s the Hobbits that seem quite… well, let’s just say they play well together.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — December 22, 2004 @ 2:54 pm

  20. Right — there’s no “oysters and clams” discussion, but there are those long, drawn-out moments when Frodo and Sam gaze at each other, plus they have that whole melodramatic break-up.

    Mardell and I tend to laugh at those parts and add our own lines to the dialogue — the hammier, the better.

    Comment by Kaimi — December 22, 2004 @ 6:53 pm

  21. I’d like to support what Steve had to say about Blockbuster. I hate Blockbuster. It’s not really a long story. They simply overcharge on late fees. Instead of renewing the 3-day rental or however they were charging me for a new rental every day that it was late. The personnel in the store were pretty curt with me about this as well. Obviously they had already heard many complaints about their ridiculous policy and had built up an attitude about it.

    I ended up sending an email to some Blockbuster address and let them know that I hate Blockbuster and enjoy telling others how much I hate Blockbuster whenever the opportunity arises.

    They sent back an apologetic response and offered some kind of video discount but I wasn’t interested. Their policies haven’t really changed much either. I read an article stating that Blockbuster is reluctant to change their late-fee policy because it makes them billions every year.

    I prefer Hollywood Video. They are fair in their costs, they greet you every time you walk in the store … my experience there has been very positive.

    I know nothing about Netflix.

    Comment by danithew — December 23, 2004 @ 10:24 am

  22. Dan–

    I heard from someone that Blockbuster is getting rid of late fees entirely. I’m not exactly sure how it works — something about they charge your account the cost of a used dvd if the disc is late.

    Most national chain rental places stink. Go local if possible.

    Comment by Bryce I — December 23, 2004 @ 10:31 am

  23. Agreed that no matter what, I avoid national chains. So either it’s the local video place (which is pretty good) or online.

    Blockbuster represents all that is wrong with the DVD industry, I think. They excel at providing mediocre products and poor service.

    Comment by Steve Evans — December 23, 2004 @ 10:40 am

  24. DVDs were always positioned to be bought and sold, not rented. They don’t really work as rental items because they aren’t as stable a medium (they scratch). Blockbuster and Hollywood based their business models on the old VHS rental market, which was quite different.

    DVDs are pretty cheap, and I say, buy the ones you want to watch a lot, and watch the other stuff on cable.

    Comment by D. Fletcher — December 23, 2004 @ 11:00 am

  25. From what I heard (yesterday) Blockbuster is removing late fees. There will be a week-long grace period after which Blockbuster will charge the borrower for the entire price of the DVD. So maybe it’s a rent-with-an-option-to-buy type concept.

    My feeling is video rental ought to be a fairly straightforward deal without any odd gimmicks or overcharges.

    Comment by danithew — December 23, 2004 @ 12:57 pm

  26. But do you get to keep the dvd?

    I rented movies from a mom-and-pop store once. When I went to return them (and I was actually on time) they had gone out of business. It was odd. The store was completely empty and shut down.

    Comment by Susan Malmrose — December 23, 2004 @ 1:12 pm

  27. Susan –

    Have you checked the dvd for secret coded messages from aliens?

    Comment by Bryce I — December 23, 2004 @ 2:10 pm

  28. I’ve been a Netflix subscriber on and off for over two years (I cancel when I’ve gone through most of my queue, and when I’ve built up a reservoir of oldies and new releases I want to see, I sign up again). It has better selection than most video shops I’ve been in, and it is just too easy to pop into the site a couple of times a week and pick out the next dozen movies you want to see. (Not to mention the no-fee policy, dropping them in the nearest mailbox, etc.)

    Blockbuster is a joke. To compete with Netflix, they announce they are getting rid of late fees. Great. But the catch is you have to buy the whole damn thing?? Who is running that place, the RIAA?

    D’s right that Blockbuster and co. were built around videocassettes and that DVD’s are priced to sell. My problem is that I will very rarely watch a movie more than two or three times, so it just ends up taking up shelf space. So Netflix is perfect for me. I can keep a “difficult” movie for a month and watch it a couple of times, or get it now and a year later when the urge strikes again. There are really no regrets in movie-choosing, either, since the marginal cost of each DVD rented is zilch. All you need is Ebert, Reed, Sarris, Denby, Kael or whoever to point you in the right directions.

    Comment by Greg — December 23, 2004 @ 2:13 pm

  29. What about releases on multiple DVDs? Say I want to watch disc 16 of 24 of some extended version, how well do the online services provide those?

    Comment by Steve Evans — December 23, 2004 @ 2:17 pm

  30. Are you talking about television series? They only send one disc at a time, I think, so you end up with 20 discs in your rental queue, or whatever. My sister-in-law used it to catch up on previous seasons of Alias and loved it.

    Blockbuster is also offering a service like Netflix, through their website, except it includes two free rentals a month from an actual store location as well. Not sure how long the store rentals are included, it may be a promotional thing.

    Comment by Susan Malmrose — December 23, 2004 @ 2:54 pm

  31. I browse with Netflix. I can get a lot more info about a dvd from Netflix than I can looking at the box. Box art, critic’s reviews, member reviews, and especially ‘Recommendations’ and ‘people who liked this movie also liked…’ are much more useful. Plus since I’m absent minded I like being able to put a movie in my queue when I hear about it instead of trying to remember what it was when I’m at the store.

    Comment by markshelbyperry — December 27, 2004 @ 10:19 pm

  32. So, I remembered seeing this last month and decided it was an appropriate venue to vent. I have been a happy Netflix subscriber for the past 6 months. The movies I wanted were always available and we got an excellent value and service (overnight delivery). Then, at the end of December, everything changed and the next 6 movies in my queue were all long and very long waits (4 to 8 weeks). So I did some digging and found this.

    I guess the longer and more you use it, the worse your service becomes.

    Comment by J. Stapley — January 8, 2005 @ 5:39 pm

  33. Well, soon enough there may be another option for you: Jeff Bozos has hinted that soon, Amazon may offer a similar service… in an interview with Wired he said:

    What about videos? Netflix says it believes you’re going to enter their rental-by-mail business.

    Our policy is not to preannounce what we might do. But that is a business we know something about. One of the big costs here is that an extremely large fraction of those monthly subscription fees are used to acquire new customers. Amazon is well positioned to offer a low-priced service of high quality, and we wouldn’t have to pay heavy marketing fees.

    Comment by Steve Evans — January 9, 2005 @ 5:00 pm

  34. James Dalphonse and Shayne Frederick now live in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Address is: 306C Ivy Street Truth or Consequences, New Mexico 87901

    Comment by James Dalphonse — October 3, 2005 @ 11:20 am

  35. well, I am back and have many things to say. Shayne and I can be reached at:

    JAMES DALPHONSE
    SHAYNE FREDERICK
    2167 COUNTY ROAD #16
    PLYMOUTH, NEW YORK 13832

    Comment by James Dalphonse — May 15, 2006 @ 9:41 am