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- - The Netflix Conspiracy (https://thetfp.com/tfp/tilted-entertainment/2135-netflix-conspiracy.html)

The Netflix Conspiracy

wow, this guy sure is thorough.

You can say that again.

I can see why NetFlix would do that though. You want your new customers to stick around so you toss the movies at them as fast as possible.

I always thought those movie rental thingies were fishy. In some ways it seemed too good to be true.

so what if it's using an algorithm to help aggregate data... it's the same thing that amazon does to present stuff to you. I have over 300 movies in my queue and I rarely have to wait for any of my movies in my queue once they are returned.

as far as I'm concerned it's still the best deal out there. for 20 bux I can send and receive about 6-8 movies in a month and not have to do anything but go to my mailbox and drop it off at a post office box. (sending it from work tends to get discs that mysteriously never make it to the warehouse)

I agree with Cyntheiq, so what? The deal is in the fact that you can get unlimited rentals and you never have to leave the house. With the new distribution points, movies are usually delivered to me in 2-3 days. (They actually get back quicker than they get here.)

So, why do you have so many movies, 160+ in your queue? I mean if you want to see them all, how important is it to get number 3 before you get number 4?

I read a bunch of that story I liked the charts that broke down the price per rental per account. One was 14 per DVD at the rate he was recieveing them.

I was this > < close to signing up until I read that.

I dunno. I've been using NetFlix for 1.5 years now and I have nothing but wonderful things to say about them. The CEO has given interviews that say they lose money on people who rent more than X number of movies a month on the standard plan. So maybe you point makes sense, but...I've never waited for any rental that wasn't HOT and I don't think I ever waited for more than 2 return cycles.

I love it because I return movies when I want and I don't get letters from Blockbuster lawyers because I owe them $9 (why didn't they just charge it to my CURRENT card on file, I'll never know.)

I have to say, are you really this upset that you want to switch mailing addresses all the time? Or give you money to Blockbuster, a company that stole a good idea and is trying to cheapen it with their deep pockets and poor customer service? If we were actually waiting for movies I'd say you and I have a problem, but having used Blockbuster for many years prior to NetFlix, I must say I waited for DVDs of ANY kind, especially if they were new releases.

You are pretty far away from any legal definition of fraud as well as drawing some large conclusions from a small set of data.

Netflix scores big for me in one major category: it is possible to rent anime from them that I could not get without going into the city and finding a small and specialized renter. It is worth the price to get that.

My boyfriend has been happy with Netflix over the last year or so....we've had no problems getting the movies we want.

Thanks for sharing, though.. it was an interesting read.

Quote:

Originally posted by rekinom
If Amazon behaved like this, the more you purchased from Amazon, the more often you would find items you wanted to purchase on back order, while new customers would be able to purchase those same items and they would apparently be in stock.

There is a big difference between misrepresenting inventory and using agregate data to provide recommendations.

This is what the deal is....

* As a trial member, you have no prior history and therefore recieve movies that you would have to wait for if you were a longstanding customer. NetFlix is not selling a product. They are selling a service, so the quality of the service during the trial should reflect the quality of service that would exist while you are a paying customer. Instead, they are pulling a bait and switch, which if I recall, is fraud.

*When, as a trial member I noticed this trend and confronted them about it, I recieved the email posted above that insisted that it was a "first come first serve" basis that had no bearing on me being a trial member at the time. This is obviously not reflected in the data. Either the customer service department is lying to the customers or the company is lying to the customer service department.

Is this is going to stop me from subscribing to the service?
It might... if I find a competitor that I like better...

Blockbuster is runing a simliar service called www.FilmCaddy.com that is doing 4 movies at a time at 20$ as opposed to NetFlix which is 3 movies/20$.

If I do stay with NetFlix, I may just simply cancel my account every month and alternate mailing addresses and names so that I never a prior billing history to screw me over. =)

Screw you over???? I still don't see how they are screwing you over. I 've had netflix for over 2 years and I know people who were early adopters renting from them before they had AYCE. My plan that I'm on is 4 for US$19.95. I have no interest in Blockbuster (even though they are a sister company to MTV Networks) because I don't like the cost, service, nor the stores. I like walking to my mailbox and getting something BESIDES a bill or junk mail.

For one, it's not fraud. It's simply attending to new customers, to see what the selection is and how convenient it is. You wouldn't be able to do that if you had to wait X more days because something was held for a longtime member first. If you didn't get some sort of priority as a new member then you'd discount the service as shoddy and not want to become members.

As far as Amazon, I wasn't referring to it being an EXACT algorithm, but one similar. It's similari in the fact that it's NEW and trying to do something that has never been attempted before.

Vote with your wallet. According to the studies most Netflix customers are not interested in Blockbuster.

Quote:

Originally posted by rekinom
The "screw me over" comment was made tongue in cheek, hence the smiley. I definately feel that I've got my money's worth all along. I just feel that the practices regarding the trial membership are a bit unscrupulous.

Exactly. A new "trial" member is more likely to cancel his service before his credit card is charged, then someone who has been a long standing member.

<a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fraud">Fraud is:</a> An intentional perversion of truth for the purpose of obtaining some valuable thing or promise from another.

Ok, so how is prioritizing the accounts of trial members not a intentional perversion of truth, when the whole point of a trial is to test the service as if you were a member? When you ask customer service directly about this, and they respond that the system is "first come, first serve", when it is not, how is this not a intentional perversion of truth?

It may or may not legally be fraud... I really don't care one way or the other... but their behavior as it relates to the trial membership has been unethical in the least.

The only connection between FilmCaddy and Blockbuster I've seen was <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2003/04/21/cx_pp_0421bbi.html">this article in Forbes</a>.

The nearest Blockbuster is 45 minutes away, so I obviously haven't dealt with them much.

Yes, I am voting with my wallet... I cancelled Netflix where I was paying 26$ for four movies at a time and have subscribed to FilmCaddy where I will pay 20$ for four movies at a time.

Actually, the FilmCaddy films were delivered to me just as quickly as NetFlix... and in much better mailing envelopes (with foam even!). So... I'm paying less money for the same service, plus as a trial member it appears that I'm treated the same as everyone else (ie., unlike my Netflix trial, I didn't get my number 1 selection with FilmCaddy.)

Netflix did have foam mailers for a time, but there was some problems with them since they returned to the original ones which I've had no problems with them at all.

As far as fraud, I cannot see this in any shape or form legally. As for unethical? I still don't see it since it's not the MAJORITY of people who are going to experience this same thing. i think that you are making a mountain out of a molehill. Most people are trying their service to determine if it's feasible and works for them. Even I have tested the Netflix system and put in new DVDs on so that I can get them on their release date. Time waited? Zero.... recieved. Other people, had long waits on their list.

What I'm paying for at netflix is the ability to have a managed list that comes one right after the other with little involvement from me. Going to blockbuster or other local vid stores where I have to remember what movies I wanted to watch, remember later that night that I actually wanted to see a different movie... It's already compiled for me and on my list.