Netflix to increase pricing tomorrow

[CZroe]

Was that a coupon or something? Mind sharing?

It was a $9.99 card in-store that had an offer code on the back but the people in the store made it clear that it was actually just a $9.99 gift card that could be spent in-store or online. I got it in Dec so I don't know if they still have any, but when I signed up with it a couple months ago there was no way to apply the card balance as payment (plus, there would still be about $1 left on the card). I called and they refunded the first $3 charge and never asked me for the card's account number, so I might have just gotten 3mo free and still have a $10 in-store GC.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'll probably just take it in the ass on this one unfortunately. My wife and I use the streaming quite a bit and I watch the occassional blu ray so Netflix is still the best option. I would normally cancel just for spite but I actually enjoy Netflix.

 

[pontifex]

Unlimited Streaming $7.99
1 DVD $7.99
2 DVD $11.99
Streaming + 1 DVD $15.98
Streaming + 2 DVD $19.98
Streaming + 3 DVD $23.98
Streaming + 4 DVD $29.98
1 DVD (Limited) $4.99

I'm confused...

"The price of your Unlimited Streaming + 3 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will change to $27.98 (including $4.00 for Blu-ray)() (plus any applicable tax) a month starting with your next billing period on or after Sep 01, 2011."

So I will be paying $31.98 +tax after the change? Or does that mean the bluray 4.00 is included in the $27.98? based on the posted info it seems like bluray is included in the $27.98 price.

With tax, that would $29.66. I'm already paying 25.43 for the 3 dvd + streaming.

 

[Jeraden]

Yeah, that 27.98 already has the $4 bluray charge included. It would be 23.98 without the bluray.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

They separate streaming and DVD now. Add 7.99 for streaming to whatever the cost of the DVD plan you choose.

 

[pontifex]

hmm...not sure what i'll do yet then. I'd say i watch more dvds/blurays then streaming and the dvd/bluray selection is better than streaming, however I can find most shows via other sites, like Hulu. I do watch the occasional movie on streaming.

Not sure if i'll drop streaming or just drop tomaybe 1 dvd at a time.

 

[olds]

LOL
My plan is going up 100%. I am canceling out out principle.
Unless you want to watch old movies, they have shit for selection.

Email to them:
"Since my plan will be going up 100%, which in and of itself is a significant increase, are you finally going to be getting newer movies? Or just the same old, lame movies that we can see on cable?"

 

[slayer202]

Netflix sucks, they don't have the new transformers available on streaming

 

[aldamon]

Netflix is out of its damn mind. Just over one month ago, Reed Hastings said this:

http://socialtimes.com/netflix-cant-afford-unlimited-content-and-all-inclusive-packages_b65018

“At $7.99 a month, we can’t provide unlimited content,” Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said at the All Things D conference in California, according to Mashable. “We compete for a very specific and small part of the pie. We don’t have everything, but we have a great bargain. That’s what we want the brand proposition to be … Apple and Amazon are very good at being comprehensive.”

So it turns out by September, that $7.99 won't even buy what Netflix is offering today. If what Hastings said in the quote above is accurate, Netflix's streaming library is basically going to keep getting worse in the near future as Netflix scrambles to maintain its "small part of the pie" (by screwing DVD customers) or Netflix will no longer be a bargain for anyone. Nice business model.

Also, unless Redbox is applying ridiculous pressure on them, Netflix is crazy to de-prioritize the physical disc business. Netflix always cries about the replacement and shipping costs with DVD, but they will seem paltry when Netflix is facing three- or four-times (maybe more in the future) that cost to acquire/keep streaming content. If given the choice between signing 9-figure deals (cumulatively 10-figures) for content that expires or buying the content on disc for a fraction of the cost, why on earth would they choose the streaming? It's madness. When all you do is stream someone else's stuff, and everyone's else's stuff ceases to be cheap, you are nothing but a cable provider and the price increases reflect that.

 

[CZroe]

I'm confused...

"The price of your Unlimited Streaming + 3 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will change to $27.98 (including $4.00 for Blu-ray)() (plus any applicable tax) a month starting with your next billing period on or after Sep 01, 2011."

So I will be paying $31.98 +tax after the change? Or does that mean the bluray 4.00 is included in the $27.98? based on the posted info it seems like bluray is included in the $27.98 price.

With tax, that would $29.66. I'm already paying 25.43 for the 3 dvd + streaming.

Looks like neither math nor English suit you.

That price includes $4 for the BD upgrade. You would not pay any more than that. If you look in the chart you quoted, that's the 3-disc with streaming plan + $4

 

[ultimatebob]

I love Netflix, but a 50% price increase is a bit obnoxious. Even companies with horrible customer service like Comcast wouldn't pull a stunt like that.

I hope that Blockbuster, Google, or Amazon offer lower priced alternative to Netflix's unlimited online streaming system in order to bring some competition to the space. I doubt that Apple would do it.

 

[Miramonti]

I think this is BULLSH!T.

After just getting the email, I'm glad to see others here have taken offense as well. $16/mo for mailed dvd's is cr@p. They don't stream most movies we watch so our dvd queue is always huge, and this new pricing is a good reaming.

It was nice to see Blockbuster die, but without having any legitimate competition in sight, Netflix is getting abusive imo. Careful what you wish for.

 

[slayer202]

I think this is BULLSH!T.

After just getting the email, I'm glad to see others here have taken offense as well. $16/mo for mailed dvd's is cr@p. They don't stream most movies we watch so our dvd queue is always huge, and this new pricing is a good reaming.

It was nice to see Blockbuster die, but without having any legitimate competition in sight, Netflix is getting abusive imo. Careful what you wish for.

If you don't want streaming, dvds will be 8 a month. Or 12 if you want two at a time. oh no...if you don't watch enough movies that it's worth it, which is not very many, then netflix isn't for you. people love to whine

 

[Miramonti]

If you don't want streaming, dvds will be 8 a month. Or 12 if you want two at a time. oh no...if you don't watch enough movies that it's worth it, which is not very many, then netflix isn't for you. people love to whine

Of course I still want streaming. Why wait for something in the mail when you can watch it streamed? It's just there are so many titles that they don't stream.

 

[Dravic]

well it completely screws me.

Wife an I would watch maybe 1-2 dvds a month. Kids would find a new series on streaming and watch that (orig avatar, inspector gadget, etc...) on the PC, ipad or 360 depending on what the adults were not using.

It was a good service that fit well. The streaming selection and interface have actually gotten worse, and now you want me to pay a %60 increase for it..

I'll only stick around if the streaming catalog gets better by LEAPS and BOUNDS before Sept 1.

I already do without cable.. your on the clock netflix..

 

[Anubis]

im glad i dont pay for netflix

 

[OlafSicky]

Will cancell:thumbsdown:

 

[Bryophyte]

Just cancelled. I was already hugely dissatisfied with their selection of titles, so there's no way I'm going to put up with them nearly doubling the cost of their service.

 

[Kev]

why are people canceling now? you still get 1.5 months at the current price?

 

[vi edit]

There's some people at what left over rubble that is Blockbuster HQ doing cartwheels over this. The BB retail stores near me have gone to a basic $.99 daily rate for movies to compete with Redbox and the like. This probably makes them salivate at the thought.

 

[sactoking]

Spoke with the wife last night and we're dropping streaming in favor of disk-only come September. I told her that Netflix was raising prices and her first reaction was "Screw that, Hulu+ is better." We'll be paying $16/mo for three disks, which is what we were paying for 3 disks and streaming several years ago when streaming was even more worthless than it is now.

So, I guess we just reverted back to 2005 pricing and service.

 

[slayer202]

There's some people at what left over rubble that is Blockbuster HQ doing cartwheels over this. The BB retail stores near me have gone to a basic $.99 daily rate for movies to compete with Redbox and the like. This probably makes them salivate at the thought.

I don't really see how a dollar a day plus having to go and pick up and drop off the movie appeals to people

 

[Bryophyte]

why are people canceling now? you still get 1.5 months at the current price?

Because it's my way of telling Netflix that they can go fuck themselves. They're not getting another dime from me.

 

[jlee]

Spoke with the wife last night and we're dropping streaming in favor of disk-only come September. I told her that Netflix was raising prices and her first reaction was "Screw that, Hulu+ is better." We'll be paying $16/mo for three disks, which is what we were paying for 3 disks and streaming several years ago when streaming was even more worthless than it is now.

So, I guess we just reverted back to 2005 pricing and service.

Doesn't Hulu+ come with ads? I won't pay for it based just on that..and no, I don't watch cable either.

 

[vi edit]

I don't really see how a dollar a day plus having to go and pick up and drop off the movie appeals to people

The movie rental business is all over the place and is constantly in an active/reactive cycle.

You used to only have the option to rent movies in a store for $3 or whatever.

Then comes mail based subscriptions from Netflix and Blockbuster. Everyone thought that was the cats pajamas and hopped on board. The pricing model wasn't sustainable for the carriers so they raised prices or gimped plans.

In store rentals went way way down...and Blockbuster and many other B&M rentals went tits up or in the process of.

The along the way on demand came in play in the form rentals from various stores (PSN, Amazon, Blockbuster, Apple market, ect) and on demand streaming Netflix and Amazon. But these prices were as expensive if not more than retail rentals.

And somewhere in there Redbox came along offering limited selections for cheap daily rate trying to etch in their own little niche in the game.

Now we have Netflix upping prices again on the mail subscription services.

Blockbuster is lowering prices on retail rentals to closer follow that of Redbox.

Maybe there's going to be a bit more of a return back to physical rentals. Or maybe it puts pressure on the on-demand streaming rentals to lower their prices to compete with the physical retailers.