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Make a Statement to Netflix - Cancel Your Subscription

southerndoc

southerndoc

Contributor
Original poster
May 15, 2006
1,889
547
USA
Netflix is hiking their premiums for Blu-ray titles.

Instead of $1/month extra, users will be paying a lot more. For 4 DVD's at a time, it's $4/month extra (total $5). For 6 DVD's at a time, it's $6/month extra ($7).

I've already canceled my account. I encourage everyone to do the same so we can stand up for this ridiculous price increase. With a bad economy and approaching summer months (where people spend time outdoors), it's a bad move for Netflix to up its premium. Especially considering Blockbuster doesn't charge extra for their Blu-ray titles via its online service.

I'm going to sign up with Blockbuster later tonight.
 
southerndoc said:
Netflix is hiking their premiums for Blu-ray titles.

Instead of $1/month extra, users will be paying a lot more. For 4 DVD's at a time, it's $4/month extra (total $5). For 6 DVD's at a time, it's $6/month extra ($7).

I've already canceled my account. I encourage everyone to do the same so we can stand up for this ridiculous price increase. With a bad economy and approaching summer months (where people spend time outdoors), it's a bad move for Netflix to up its premium. Especially considering Blockbuster doesn't charge extra for their Blu-ray titles via its online service.

I'm going to sign up with Blockbuster later tonight.
Click to expand...


Protip: link to a source to make your claims believable.
 
petermcphee said:
Protip: link to a source to make your claims believable.
Click to expand...

For the Google search impaired,

http://blog.netflix.com/

"To avoid any confusion, here are the charges for each of the plans.

1 DVD out at-a-time (2 DVDs a month)
Monthly plan cost: $4.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $1
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $5.99

1 DVD out at-a-time (Unlimited)
Monthly plan cost: $8.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $2
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $10.99

2 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited)
Monthly plan cost: $13.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $3
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $16.99

3 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited)
Monthly plan cost: $16.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $4
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $20.99

4 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited)
Monthly plan cost: $23.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $5
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $28.99

5 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited)
Monthly plan cost: $29.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $6
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $35.99

6 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited)
Monthly plan cost: $35.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $7
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $42.99

7 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited)
Monthly plan cost: $41.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $8
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $49.99

8 DVDs out at-a-time (Unlimited)
Monthly plan cost: $47.99
Additional monthly charge for Blu-ray access on this plan: $9
Monthly plan cost with Blu-ray access: $56.99

If you don’t want to pay the additional charge for monthly access to Blu-ray, simply remove Blu-ray access on your account before April 27, 2009. Thanks.
Jessie"

-----------------------------------

For the most part, Blu-ray discs have become relatively on par with DVD releases in terms of pricing. Sometimes they even cost less (Eagle Eye Blu-ray at Amazon is $16.99, Eagle Eye DVD at Amazon is $18.99) at major discounters. Netflix is using an invented Blu-ray premium to justify a price hike. Additionally, Blu-ray discs stand up to wear and tear better than normal DVDs due to their protective coating (this has to be a godsend for rental companies). In the long run, they should actually save money on Blu-ray discs.

I promptly canceled my account today. In the past, Netflix has been fairly responsive to consumer outrage. I suggest everyone who gets Blu-ray rentals from Netflix do the same.
 
jaw04005 said:
For the most part, Blu-ray discs have become relatively on par with DVD releases in terms of pricing. Sometimes they even cost less (Eagle Eye Blu-ray at Amazon is $16.99, Eagle Eye DVD at Amazon is $18.99) at major discounters. Netflix is using an invented Blu-ray premium to justify a price hike. Additionally, Blu-ray discs stand up to wear and tear better than normal DVDs due to their protective coating (this has to be a godsend for rental companies). In the long run, they should actually save money on Blu-ray discs.
Click to expand...

The increase in price has nothing to do with the price Blu-ray discs, it has to do with the cost of maintaining a library of a format that a fraction of the population uses. Pretty much everyone has a DVD player (and certainly all Netflix subscribers do), so it's more cost effective to maintain an all-DVD library. When someone asks for a copy of Eagle Eye on DVD, they have a ton and can ship it out from anywhere. If someone asks for Eagle Eye on Blu-ray, they have to find one of the few copies they have and then send it out. Also, if they buy copies of a bad movie on DVD, the higher number of people with DVD players will ensure that at least a few people will rent them. Not so for Blu-ray. A copy of a movie on Blu-ray could just sit in their warehouses forever, never being rented.

Imagine them carrying VHS. Even if it's cheaper to buy a movie on VHS, the tiny market wouldn't make it worth it to carry them.
 
If I had the money to afford a decent Blu-Ray set up, then I don't think a minor price increase would affect me in any way. Just my 2 cents.
 
Macaddicttt said:
The increase in price has nothing to do with the price Blu-ray discs, it has to do with the cost of maintaining a library of a format that a fraction of the population uses. Pretty much everyone has a DVD player (and certainly all Netflix subscribers do), so it's more cost effective to maintain an all-DVD library.
Click to expand...

Your argument would have made sense if this was 2006, and Netflix was just beginning to offer Blu-ray discs. However, if you read their blog post (and subsequent PR follow ups) they are increasing the price due to the increasing demand of Blu-ray discs from Netflix customers.

They specifically cite disc pricing as a concern.

"Blu-ray adoption among our members has also grown – it’s now close to 10%. As we buy more, you are able to choose from a rapidly expanding selection of Blu-ray titles. And as you’ve probably heard, Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs – often as much as 30% more."

I was pointing out that this is not true, at least in the consumer market. Now, Netflix doesn't get to purchase discs at retail. They have to purchase special "rental" versions of the discs from studio-approved providers. It is possible that such rental discs are more expensive that their DVD counterparts, however that's their problem.

This is the second Blu-ray price hike in less than 6 months. The previous hike was just a $1. Now, it's that $1 premium + $1 per disc in your plan, whether the disc you actually rented was a Blu-ray or not.

By the way, Blockbuster online does not charge a premium on Blu-ray titles and neither does my local video stores.
 
southerndoc said:
Netflix is hiking their premiums for Blu-ray titles.

Instead of $1/month extra, users will be paying a lot more. For 4 DVD's at a time, it's $4/month extra (total $5). For 6 DVD's at a time, it's $6/month extra ($7).

I've already canceled my account. I encourage everyone to do the same so we can stand up for this ridiculous price increase. With a bad economy and approaching summer months (where people spend time outdoors), it's a bad move for Netflix to up its premium. Especially considering Blockbuster doesn't charge extra for their Blu-ray titles via its online service.

I'm going to sign up with Blockbuster later tonight.
Click to expand...

Blockbuster has done the same, they increased the price on all BR rentals.
.
 
srl7741 said:
Blockbuster has done the same, they increased the price on all BR rentals.
.
Click to expand...

Bwa-ha-ha-ha! I don't know which is funnier -- the OUTRAGE over a business upping its prices or the contention here that Netflix buys its DVDs and Blu-Ray discs on a retail basis instead of through a licensing agreement with the distributors.
 
NathanMuir said:
If I had the money to afford a decent Blu-Ray set up, then I don't think a minor price increase would affect me in any way. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

+1.

What's the big deal with Netflix charging for a premium form of media? You pay the same premium for Blu-Ray players themselves and also for the TVs that show the difference.

Therefore, I suggest all owners of Blu-Ray equipment return their Blu-Ray items in protest against premium prices for Blu-Ray equipment.

Stop griping about it... :rolleyes:
 
Melrose said:
Therefore, I suggest all owners of Blu-Ray equipment return their Blu-Ray items in protest against premium prices for Blu-Ray equipment.
Click to expand...

If the price of bluray players went up, but they follow the tech trend and get cheaper as they get older.
 
So you're complaining about at most an additional $9 a month? Give me a break, what did you pay for that BluRay Player $300 or so? You're cancelling because of, at most if you have the highest plan, an additional $108 a year, that makes tons of sense.
 
Yes, tell Netflix why you left.

Otherwise, punching yourself in the nuts won't send any message if you never let the other party know why you are doing it.
 
Oh man, those rates are outrageous!

Actually, netflix seems pretty damn cheap for the great service that you get and the sheer number of movies you can get.
 
raggedjimmi said:
If the price of bluray players went up, but they follow the tech trend and get cheaper as they get older.
Click to expand...

DVDs were the same way, yeah. New technology you always pay for (Hello 1985: $4,500 for a laptop w a 9" screen?). Once Blu Ray enters ubiquity the prices'll come down. My point was that the OP is complaining about a price premium that always occurs with new technology. He wouldn't have whined about it if the prices were already mellowed out.

Blu Ray prices will drop as they become more popular or start becoming more of a norm, just as with DVDs.
 
rhsgolfer33 said:
So you're complaining about at most an additional $9 a month? Give me a break, what did you pay for that BluRay Player $300 or so? You're cancelling because of, at most if you have the highest plan, an additional $108 a year, that makes tons of sense.
Click to expand...

It's not the inability to afford the increase. It's the fact that the increase was so much. I wouldn't mind paying $1 extra per month, but in 5 years, everyone should be using Blu-ray. It's not like we're subsdizing a dying media.

I'll just rent at a physical store.
 
I'm keeping Netflix for now. I've got the $8.99 plan so I pay $2.00 more per month for Blu-ray. No big deal for me. BR discs cost a lot more to buy than regular DVD's so I'm still saving lots of money renting this way. Still beats Blockbuster.
 
Melrose said:
+1.

What's the big deal with Netflix charging for a premium form of media? You pay the same premium for Blu-Ray players themselves and also for the TVs that show the difference.

Therefore, I suggest all owners of Blu-Ray equipment return their Blu-Ray items in protest against premium prices for Blu-Ray equipment.

Stop griping about it... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Spare me your "outrage" at having to pay at most 9 extra dollars a month. You spent far more on your precious Blu-Ray player and all of the other equipment necessary to watch the movies.

I'll be keeping my Netflix account, and I'm going to continue recommending it to people I know. I didn't throw a fit when rates were raised before (on the normal plans), and you all look absurd for complaining about a $1 increase on a voluntary addition to your accounts.
 
southerndoc said:
It's not the inability to afford the increase. It's the fact that the increase was so much. I wouldn't mind paying $1 extra per month, but in 5 years, everyone should be using Blu-ray. It's not like we're subsdizing a dying media.

I'll just rent at a physical store.
Click to expand...

I am sorry but your attitude and expectations are way out of line with reality.

Blu-ray media is more expensive. If you've found a brick and mortar store that rents blu-ray versions for the same price as the DVD versions, please share. Every where I have found charges almost twice as much for Blu-Ray as they do for the DVD.

Netflix is still a steal consider the price you pay per month is still very low, considering the service you get. No where I have found offers a comparable service for the price, even at the new rates. If you find it unreasonable that Netflix is charging more for a product which costs them more to offer, well I guess you're out of luck.

Maybe you should return your Mac's while you're at it.
 
So the prices went up, oh well. Blu-ray is worth it. I have been using Netflix since 2001 and I don't plan on canceling ever. This is the third time they've raised prices on me, and yet they also lowered prices once too. They may end up lowering the price in the future again. If you want to cancel go ahead no one is going to care.
 
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