GatorDeb

I just joined for my free two-week trial. I've always subsribed to the view that you might as well just buy it, but I've been collecting a list of movies I want to watch but don't want to pay $15 for them. So I figured $480 will get me a whole year of 8-movies-out-at-a-time, which would be the equivalent of 32 movies at $15. I finally figured what the heck, I'm going to miss owning 32 movies' worth, but I get to see that many more, so maybe it works out in the long run.

In my queue so far:
White Oleander
Sweet Home Alabama
The Good Girl
Band of Outsiders
Collateral Damage
The Beatles Anthology Disc 1
The Beatles Anthology Disc 2
The Beatles Anthology Disc 3
The Beatles Anthology Disc 4
The Abominable Dr. Phibes
Beach Blanket Bingo
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Stars
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies

How do the rest of you with Netflix justify paying the equivalent of 1-3 movies a month for the service? I.e. renting instead of buying?

MurraySiskind

I think part of it depends on how quickly you can turn them around. Meaning if you can cycle through the dvds pretty quickly and the delivery time is short then it can certainly be worth it. When i first started the delivery time was somewhat slow but i think they've added a distribution center nearby so I receive new dvds about three days after i mail off the old ones. Not too bad. Lately I've mainly been using Netflix to watch Criterions b/c I can't afford to pay $30 a pop for them. And most Criterions aren't available at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video.

The Antipodean

I definitely justify Netflix because I buy 1 DVD a month, tops, but there's a lot out there I'd like to see but not own. Netflix is great because they'll have things your typical rental store will NEVER have (Criterions, TV shows, etc.) I usually get between 10-14 movies a month out of them, which works out to less than $2 each on my rental plan. I've really been pretty happy with them the last two years -- especially now that they've opened a center a few hours away from me, I'll sometimes mail a movie out Monday morning and by Tuesday afternoon they've shipped the next -- It's all a question of priorities, I guess, for me I don't have a big priority on owning a DVD unless it's something I know I'll want to watch again and again (Beatles Anthology, for instance).

mrbisco

I probably go thru 10 or more netflix titles a month...for 20 dollars, that's a pretty good deal, especially because of the selection compared to a normal video store.

DeadLamb

I went with netflix being I was buying too many dvd's over all and to be honest I'm too cheap to walk in and rent them at $4 a pop.. but $20 a month comes out to under $2 per a disk being I have a distribution center located down town (Sacramento) and for many films I can mail a dvd back on Monday and have a another dvd by Wed.

plus even better is that blockbuster and so on really only carry the newest films (maybe just in pan and scan version) and a few older ones, but do not get in older films that are just now being put on on DVD.. Like say Swamp Thing II.. heh Sure it's not a great film but I wanted to see it again!

Errrr only down side is some of the new release films can take forever, like well over a month and they will still be listed as "Long Wait". (for example, The Ring) Ah but over all I really like netflix and while I still buy dvd here and there for films I'm sure I want to own, I don't buy anymore blind. heh

joelgee

I recently reactivated my Netflix and I have to say that it's working better than it used to, maybe because they're not the only one on the block anymore.
Besides the reasons everyone else has listed, I can rent new movies and not be tethered by having to return them the next day. I rented both Ring (US version) and something else that was new (a really memorable film). No long wait. I t think the trick is to put them in you "Waiting" list before they're actually released. Also, I like it that I can decide I want to see something I'd never seen before or haven't seen in awhile and it shows up in a couple days if I move it to the head of my queue.
Kudos to Netflix for their improved service.
J

philo

I'm definitely in the same boat as GatorDeb though I haven't taken the plunge. I probably will though in the next month or so.

There's lots of films and TV series I'd like to check out and I'm not one for blind purchases. There's no way I can afford to buy them all and I doubt I'd end up wanting to own most anyway.

The video stores in my area have a lousy selection so this would be a great oppurtunity to see movies I've been curious about. Hopefully I can get a quick turn around. To see 8-10 movies a months for the price of keeping 1 or 2 would be worth it to me. I think it'll be fun.

moviezzz

GatorDeb, you may want to rethink that 8 at a time plan. Unless you aren't going to do anything but watch movies daily, it probably isn't worth it.

I'm at the three at a time level (at $20 a month) and that works fine. Half the price as that 8 at a time. There is also a 5 at a time that I was at for a while, but cut back.

They do have fairly quick turnaround, depending on your location.

GatorDeb

I can get through 2 movies a day, that's why I think the 8-plan will work out - I will always have movies coming in as they go out.

John Sinnott

I guess I'll be the sole dissenting opinion. I'd rather have the DVDs. For $480 I can buy 56 DVDs at Columbia House, or about 25 Criterions (the $29.95 retails) at DVDPlanet. (My average is way less than $15/disc, including tax ans shipping. It's slightly more than half that.)

The advantages, to me, is that I can watch them whenever I want, and I can grow my collection. If I decide that I don't want the movie after I've viewed it, I can always trade it for something I'm at least marginally interested in seeing.

I also like listening to commentaries while I excersise, but not immediately after I've seen the movie. I might wait a month or two, and then pop it in while I attempt to burn a few calories. I wouldn't want to do that the day after I saw the movie. But that's just me.

I also like watching movies with friends. If I see something I know someone will enjoy I'll call them up and plan to watch it with them in a week or two.

Lastly, I have very ecclectic tastes, but I go through moods. I'll want to watch Hollywood blockbusters for a while, then really get into Japanese cinema, then go through a Werner Hertzog phase. If I own the discs, I don't have to worry about wanting to watch "Pearl Harbor" but only having "Agire, Wrath of God" and "Rashamon" avalible.

This isn't a slam against Netflix, or people who use it, it's just not for me.

Videophile

mikewendt

I do the $20 a month/3 out at a time deal. It works fine for me and is well worth it. My queue is over 100 deep but I usually only have the discs for a 1-3 days at the most.

malkmuz

I use Netflix to watch a lot of movies that I would have never seen, since no place around here has them to rent and I don't like blind buys. But I've turned into a huge Takashi Miike fan due to Netflix, and like MurraySiskind said, they have Criterions that the local Movie Gallery doesn't.

gutwrencher

I never rent.

moviezzz

But you will also have 6 movies sitting around, that you are paying for, when you really don't need them.

You might want to look at the 5 DVD at a time plan. You can watch the two a day, mail them back the next day, watch the next two the next day and then the following day you'd get two more in the mail.

If money isn't an object, go for the $40 a month plan, why not? But I think you will find that it is a bit much. Netflix turnaround is pretty quick.

As for the poster who said they would rather buy rather than rent, I was the same way until I joined Netflix. Boy am I glad I joined. I would have bought A LOT of titles I wish I never did.

Even if it saves you from buying one title a month, you made your money back. I get at least 5 DVDs a month from them that I am glad that I didn't end up buying.

shrike

I use Netflix to rent older movies that I have always wanted to see; new movies that I missed at the theater, and movies that are hard to find in a rental store (such as Criterions). I also use Netflix to check out movies that I may want to purchase because I never blind buy. The turnaround is very fast where I am located and I always have someting new to watch with Netflix. Luckily I was an early subscriber and was grandfathered in at 4 for $20 when they changed their pricing schedule.

darkflounder

I use Netflix religiously. I'm on the 5 movies at a time for $30. Several movies I've gotten through Netflix I ended up purchasing anyway (Amelie, Life Is Beautiful, Sunset Blvd, Some Like It Hot). It's great for trying out movies you missed in the theatre, checking out movies that are recommended by others, etc. And there are just some movies that are recommended by everybody, but end up sucking (Koyaanisqatsi for one). I've had a few problems with movies getting lost in the mail (still waiting for the Master of The Flying Guilotine). Plus, Netflix does actually have alot of OOP movies, so it gives you the chance to see them (Double Indemnity and Fargo are two I just recently got).

And it's not like I rip the DVDs to my hard drive and compress them with DivX, burn them to CD, and watch them later. Nope, not me.

Movie_Man

I use Netflix as an opportunity to see all sorts of things that I wouldn't waste $4 for at the local Hollywood Video, much less actually purchase. It has also allowed me to watch Sex & the City and Band of Brothers without paying for boxed sets.
For the most part, I return them fairly quickly, but there are those periodic times when the discs will just sit for a couple weeks because I've just been busy. Either way it's great that I'm not obligated to return them by any particular date. I think I had The Bourne Identity for a full month before I got around to watching it.

GatorDeb

Everytime I see this thread I think "All your Netxflix are belong to us." Typos. Sigh

grozier

I've been a member of Netflix for three years and have been very happy. Especially since they opened distribution centers on the east coast. I started on the 4 for $19.95 plan but bumped it up to 8 for $34.95 one summer so I could get my queue under control. I've been on the 2 for $13.95 for quite some time, and it's just right for new releases. Fortunately I'm grandfathered so I don't have the 4 max limit they currently have on the $13.95 plan.

I've cut my purchasing in recent months. I only buy super special editions (like LOTR:EE) and box sets (Babylon 5, Buffy, etc). I generally leave all of the single disc releases to Netflix.

jough

All of my Netflix!

Many happy Netflix joy!

-- Jough

blade35

Due to the fact that I can't own every DVD that I want, even though my wife things I have too many (almost 800). Netflix is great for the DVDs on the bubble.

I'm on the 3 out plan and can go through almost 10-20 in a month. If I mail a DVD back on Mon., I normally have a new one by Wed.

My only complaint with them are those Red envelopes because I've had problems with lost shipments to/fro. Those Red envelopes stick out like a sore thumb and more and more people realize what's inside those envelopes. Netflix would threaten to cancel my account and I would tell them where to stick it and they would come back and apologize(sp?) and give me a discount.

Overall, I'm very satisfied because most of the movies I've rented I wouldn't have kept.

AJ

GatorDeb

Well, three DVDs shipped Monday and I got two today, Sweet Home Alabama and The Good Girl. Am I glad I have Netflix. I will do either the 3 or 5 out plan - I have my own DVDs to watch while the rentals are on the way.

I feel like I just saved $30. I was right about those two movies - good for rentals but nothing I would see again. I'm on the fence about The Beatles Anthology so I'll rent it first and then see if I still want to shell out $50. I'll still buy but it's nice to be able to see everything you want without the risk of wasting money. I wish Blue Crush and Dawson's Creek had been rentals.

Chew

I belonged to Netflix several years ago and stopped my membership because I was sick of getting only the titles I was "sorta" interested in.

I signed up again last month and am much happier with the results. I have 34 movies in my queue right now and only one isn't available "Now".

They've certainly improved over the years.

nemein

I've been using Netflix since back when they used to sell DVDs not just rent them, before they had the "marquee" program when you had to buy rental packs. I just checked and I'm avg. 10.5 movies a month since I started (I bounce around though between the 3 out and 8 out depending upon what's coming out). I currently have 126 in my queue and a little over 2300 rated. I think you can safely say I like them In fact their stock has been one of the better performing ones I have now as well

indycohiba

So, how many people actually save money, versus visiting to your local video store.