goodbye netflix, hello library card

Six years.  It’s a long time for any relationship, let alone one with a company like Netflix.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Netflix.  Their overall business model, huge independent movie selection (including unrated and Nc-17 titles) and power to finally topple the evil empire of Blockbuster video (read my rant here) are good things indeed.  Still, after six years of being one of Netflix’s best customers, it’s time to move on.

How do you become one of Netflix’s ‘best customers’?  Easy.  Don’t watch movies.  When I first started using Netflix, I’d probably go through 15 movies a month.  Considering I was paying around $19.99 a month, this came out to less than $1.50 per.  A great deal, and certainly cheaper than any video store.  As time wore on though, my queue got bigger (currently around 180 movies I think) and my propensity to watch the videos I was being sent started to wane.  This meant I was sitting on movies for weeks, sometimes (gulp) months at a time. 

Netflix didn’t mind.  Why?  I was still paying the same monthly price, but basically not using the service.  Movies were costing me perhaps $5-$9 each at that point.  Not cheap.  The one benefit here was being put into some category of customer that insured every title I ordered (even new releases, ’short wait’ items, etc) would show up the day after they received a movie I returned.  I guess it was their way of saying ‘thank you’ for being an idiot.

(On the other hand, heavy Netflix users are subject to ‘throttling’ which decreases turnaround time on their movies and also effects how new releases are distributed.  Yep, you agreed to this procedure in the TOS)

The next two years are going to see some significant changes in my life (I’m calling it the ‘deconstruction of Cash’).  I’m going to focus on saving money while at the same time improving my overall experience.  One thing I plan to do is read a lot more.  Finally getting a library card at the (oft national award winning) Denver Public Library will be good in both these regards.  Cancelling Netflix will also save me $220 a year.

Looking back on 6 good years of red and white envelopes though, I’ve learned a thing or three about getting the most out of Netflix. 
NETFLIX TIPS

1)  Give yourself amnesty. 

Been sitting on that copy of Gigli you ordered in a drunken state thinking it would prove so bad it’s good?  Send it back.  I used to have the mindset that I had to watch every movie I got before sending it back.  Lunacy.  You can always order it again.  If you haven’t watched something within a week, return it.

2)  Stay on top of your queue. 

One thing that contributed to my problem with #1 above is that my moods are constantly shifting.  My queue contains everything from 60’s era exploitation films to arthouse classics and plenty in between.  Not monitoring my queue would often result in receiving 3 total-downer dramas when what I really wanted was some mindless juvenille fun.

3)  Be prepared for damaged discs. 

One downside to Netflix’s system is the lack of protection their envelopes offer the DVDs.  Considering the constant abuse they receive at the hands of postal machinery (and postal carriers for that matter) it’s no wonder a LOT of their inventory is scratched.  I usually find that some window cleaner sprayed on the disc, and then wiped in a straight line from center to edge would make them playable. 

I have a friend who actually bought a mechanical DVD cleaner and says it’s improved his Netflix experience tremendously.  One final thing here; consider buying a new DVD player. Error correction functionality has improved tremendously over the last few years, and some discs that would not play on my first dvd player (which cost $150 in 2001) are fine on the $49 Phillips I bought this year.

4)  Try out the Watch it Now system

The future of Netflix, and media in general of course, is web based streaming. Netflix is currently doing beta-esq testing on their own version of this.  The selections are limited, but it’s included free in your plan so why not?  I’ve found the quality really good and they do have “The Office” (US version).

5)  Take advantage of the “Friends” feature

There is nothing cooler than stalking your friends’ queues for any potential cinematic offenses (Donnie, do you REALLY need every Sex In The City disc?).  It’s also helpful for rounding out your queue with cool stuff your friends have rated highly.