Are You Changing Plans or Leaving Netflix Because of the Economy?

Debbie from Wesabe is breaking up with Netflix because of the economy:

It’s a crappy time to be a discretionary spend and I don’t mean to kick you while you’re down, but I need to start looking out for myself. And so 163 rentals and nearly a thousand dollars later, I’m calling it quits. This really is good-bye, so I hope you don’t cheapen what we had by sending me perky “one month free” emails or flyers.

Are you increasing your plan, decreasing your plan, or leaving Netflix because of the economy? Are you cutting cable TV or other entertainment spending?

Comments

[Throttled by Netflix]

I just got a great new job, so I actually increased my # of discs...

[scotty321]

Oh jesus, why doesn't that woman stop whining. Netflix is, BY FAR, the #1 BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK out of ANY of the hundreds of entertainment choices out there. There is absolutely NO BETTER VALUE for your money. Period. Anybody who cancels their Netflix membership is truly not a financial genius.

[Tom]

Wow, what a crazy woman. Entertaining at home is cheaper than going out, I really really don't expect her to stop watching movies and I'm thinking it's either going to be a drive out to the redbox machine or the theater at least once a month, nullifying a one at a time unlimited plan which comes with unlimited instant viewing online, a very valuable service. But with her 163 movies for $1000 (or $6.13 a movie), she is not really using it as much as she should be, and thus a lower movies/month would probably be a better option, just to see how well that works.

[Derek]

That's right -- if anything, I'd guess that Netflix member rolls INCREASE when there's a turn down in the economy simply because it's the cheapest way to entertain you and your family out there (besides the public library, but even then, you're using gas and waiting in queues for that).

[Ad Hustler]

Why is this retard paying over $6 a rental? If she wants to save money she can just go rent her movies at Blockbuster.

[prozac]

Like others have said..it's a bargain and am keeping my two out plan. I have never thought to stop my NF sub. I am a Satellite radio sub. and have canceled one of my two subs. but not Netflix.

[Gir]

Now there's an interesting point. NetFlix is an excellent entertainment value. Satellite radio (at about the same price) is a total rip off.

I'm canceling Satellite radio before it renews again. If anything, I'll up my NetFlix plan.

[Steve]

We switched from the 3-at-a-time plan to the 1-at-a-time plan.

I called DirecTV to cancel, and they gave me a $250 billing credit. I called XM to cancel, and they gave me 3 months free. Once the billing credit and the free 3 months are used up, I'll call DirecTV and XM again to cancel.

[schneid]

I bought their stock. I figure people having less money to spend on more expensive entertainment choices will make Netflix an attractive alternative.

[Corey]

My DirecTV contract expires in two months. We're going to cancel that, move our Netflix from 2 to 3 at a time, and use the crap out of our Roku box. Heck, two months without DTV would pay for another Roku, too.

[Taylor]

I work at a rental store, so I get some free rentals... but I also subscribe to NetFlix, too. The one-at-a-time, unlimited streaming is a fantastic option, especially now that I can stream movies to my XBox. Already watched at least five movies in two days on it -- that's less than $.50 per movie. It may decrease, but $9/mo is a small price to pay for such selection.

[Hunter McDaniel]

I think it is the cable/satellite companies that need to be worried.

Even before this latest downturn, I keep telling people that over-the-air DTV plus Netflix is the best bargain in town.

[David Grenier]

I agree with what others have said. Netflix is by far the best use of money. A hell of a lot better than cable TV where you'll spend $50 a month and still have nothing to watch but crappy reality programs. Better than renting at the store where in reality one trip almost always winds up costing me more than my entire netflix budget for the month (especially when you factor in the nearly inevitable late fees). The only difference with me is that I used to watch a lot more movies than I do now. I remember watching on average a disc a night, sometimes more. Now I tend to watch a disc a week, and the rest of my time is either spent working, reading, or playing video games.

[bryan]

They can pry my Netflix acct. away from my cold, dead hands.

I've saved tons of money on rentals since I started my Netflix acct, and seeing those little red envelopes in my mailbox is one of the only perks I have during the week.

Though I don't make much money, I still think it's fair to treat myself to some level of entertainment in times of hardship; I need a distraction. I'm not an AIG exec, so I won't be going to any million dollar retreats anytime soon, but Netflix has enough bang for my buck to keep me coming back.

[dAVe]

I would drop my Comcast TV in a New York minute if only I lived closer to the OTA DTV broadcast towers out of Denver. The only channel I would never be able to get without a subscription to something would be Altitude Sports & Entertainment, the home of Colorado Avalanche Hockey. I have both NF & BB rental accounts and together they are still less money per month than that damn cable TV bill. Getting rid of those would be my last choice, not my first.

[lynn]

i just changed my cable to the most basic service ($13 a month) to save money. i dont need all those extra channels since i have netflix 3 out and a roku box. the only concern i have is if at&t starts capping bandwidth and charging for overages.

[Quill]

Netflix would the last bit of discretionary spending I would cancel. Really, what else can you get for $9 (or $17) a month? Even if I were living in a van down by the river, I could still watch Netflix movies on my laptop!

[Del]

Hunter Wrote:

"I think it is the cable/satellite companies that need to be worried.

Even before this latest downturn, I keep telling people that over-the-air DTV plus Netflix is the best bargain in town."

Thats exaclty what I did over a year ago. Dishnetwork was over $70.00 a month for the few channels, besides local channels, I watched. I have a HDTV dual tuner Vista MCE box for a DVR and pickup all the locals, including sub-channels for free. Netflix watch it now over my Roku and XBox 360. My Netflix DVD's are costing me ~$2.00 each, 1/2 the price of local rentals. If I took my family to the movies it would cost ~$50.00 for one movie.

Netfix = Best bang for your buck!

[Andy]

Free books at library > Netflix (in terms of bang/buck). So, yeah.

(Not that I am canceling my netflix. But then the $15/month isn't really a big deal since I spend less than $500 on housing/utilities).

[Alex]

I moved down to the 1 out unlimited plan recently. It had nothing to do with the economy and was instead the result of nicer weather (live in TX) in addition to getting a little burned out on movies.

[MED]

I have tried cancelling Netflix to save money, but always end up resubscribing, because I really do love it.

This time, I have canceled my cable, and I don't miss it at all - almost any show I want is available online (yay hulu.com) and between that and Netflix, I can't keep up with all the entertainment I have available to me. Maybe I'll get cable again someday when the companies realize they need to be more competitive with their rates.

I believe the 30's Depression really boosted the movie business. I can see Netflix getting the same bennie from the current economic problems (recession, depression, deflation??) since $20 for a month of movies is a lot more palatable than $8 for one movie.

[David]

I think we all know that Netflix is a great deal, esp with unlimited plans, getting as many movies as you want delivered to your door plus unlimited online movie viewing for a fixed price. However, if it came to a debate of keeping my Netflix account, or keeping my heat on and my family fed, I would have to go with the latter. I know Netflix is a good deal and a great service, but sometimes it comes down to needs vs. wants.

[Jennifer]

No way, Netflix is good, cheap entertainment.

[Peter Townsend]

To the contrary, I have actually signed up for netflix, bought a Roku box and a through the air antenna to recieve local HD broadcasts and dumped cable to SAVE money. So far we love it. We will miss the live sports ( ESPN, Fox sports etc.), but is it worth $100 bucks a year diff? I don't think so!

[Peter Townsend]

Strike that, I meant $1000/year

NetFlix Needs to add more current New Releases to there instant list or I might leave also. I mean whats the point of having instant movies that already are on direct Tv. Duh! whoever is in charge of the instant movie department of netfilx needs to wake up!

NetFlix Needs to add more current New Releases to there instant list or I might leave also. I mean whats the point of having instant movies that already are on direct Tv. Duh! whoever is in charge of the instant movie department of netfilx needs to wake up!

[James]

I just bumped my account up BIG TIME. I had the 3 at a time plan for two months and I just bumped it up to the 8 at a time plan. This is going to help my family stay entertained and be much cheaper than nights on the town.

We like to make a night of our movies... cook a home meal and watch movies. With the food and movies it comes out to be about $20 per movie night for the whole family. A night on the town would be upwards of $150 with food and movie.

[Brian]

I read an article somewhere that people tend to spend more on movie rentals and such during economic downturns OR at least make movies the #1 choice.

IIRC, during the Depression, going to the Nickelodeon was a popular activity and one reason why there were so many good movies during the 1930s.

[Rodney]

Heck no, My Netflix account is the best way to see what I want to see hands down. I would cut out other things like satellite/cable/phoneline before Netflix. Entertainment at home is the best deal for anyone on a budget. Netflix has the best collection of movies to rent imho. I have cut out renting from video stores and going out on the town already. And i have saved money on renting at Netflix what i might have bought in the stores.

[dahveed]

When times get lean and I have to cut back, I just put a hold on my account for a bit. They can keep it in limbo for about 3 months and you don't lose anything from your queue.

[John]

Jesus, the three out plan is like $17/month, tax included. If you can't afford that, you might want to think about getting a better job.

[Edward R Murrow]

Of course people will leave Netflix and all other monthly subscription biz models due to the economy. Folks on the margin will soon be choosing between food, gas, rent and entertainment. Entertainment will be the first to go.

Additionally, internet connectivity is the backbone of the Netflix biz model so if customers cancel their internet connectivity to save money it goes without saying that the Netflix account gets canceled too. A huge reverse double play against Netflix.

[LostVyking]

Are you kidding? Staying at home watching movies is probably the cheapest way one can spend one's time...especially at the rates that Netflix is charging. I have the eight-at-a-time plan and I am not changing a thing. :)

[Becky]

No.

[Jennifer]

I scaled back to the one-out plan, but that's about all. Since I mainly use Netflix for watching old TV shows, I'm not in any rush to get them all at once. Once I get a little more money in my pocket and pay down my credit cards, I'll go back to the three-out plan. But cheap, unlimited entertainment for around $10/month? I pay more than that at any fast food place in one sitting.

i dropped mine from 5 to 3 a month but has to do with not watching as many movies and the streaming on xbox nothing to do with dissatisfaction with netflix i love my netflix and the fact i can now stream to my xbox without having to buy additional hardware solidifies my netflix addiction

[Jeff Paul Internet Millions]

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