Hacking NetFlix

Two Companies Want to be the Netflix of Ties and Audiobooks

Two companies caught my eye recently, and they both want to be the "Netflix" of renting ties and audiobooks. AL.com reports that TieTry.com is offering a subscription service for neckties. 

Tindle and his partner, David Powers, recently launched Tie Try LLC, a company that marries the Netflix business model with the necktie.

In less than three weeks, the company already has a few dozen subscribers paying between $12 and $30 a month, and Tindle said the business is on its way to beating first-month projections.

Macworld reviewed the new Audiobooks.com, launched by Simply Audiobooks, a subscription service that gives you unlimited access to a library of audiobooks for $25 per month.

The real test for a service like this is, of course, the selection. Audibooks.com claims to have “more than 10,000 best sellers, top new releases and classic favorites,” and if you browse through the selection, you can see certain genres are fairly well-stocked, while others are a bit light. When I checked, there were 957 books in the Mystery, Thriller genre, 314 in Romance, and 714 in Science Fiction & Fantasy, which are all fairly low numbers compared to, say, Audible.com. Horror contains only 83 books, but Business has 772. Drilling down, there are only 11 books in European History, eight literary biographies (which oddly includes Einstein, and Hemingway’s novel A Moveable Feast), and six Shakespeare plays. In other words, if you’re a big consumer of audiobooks, you may not find much to listen to in Audiobooks.com’s current selection.

Over the years we've seen a number of companies trying to be the "Netflix" of toys, books, and other things. What service would you like to see as a subscription that we haven't seen before?

Toygaroo Wants to be the Netflix of Toys

Toygaroo wants to be the Netflix of toys (they even mention Netflix in the video on the site), and offers several different plans for renting 4 - 8 toys every other month, starting at $24.99. The toys are sanitized carefully and shipped to your house. 

It's not the first company to do this -- BabyPlays has been renting toys since 2008.

via CNet.

Moviepass Launching Theater-based Subscription Service

Update: That didn't take long. Deadline reports that Moviepass is on "temporary hiatus," as some of the partner theaters have decided not to participate.

Wired reports that Moviepass is launching an theater-based movie subscription model:

MoviePass will launch with an “unlimited pass” service allowing subscribers to go to as many films as they can stand for $50 a month. If they want to see a 3-D or Imax film, they will pay a $3 surcharge. A “limited pass” offering four movies a month for $30 is in the works.

“MoviePass makes spur-of-the-moment movie-going as simple as choosing a film on the phone and checking in at the theater,” Spikes said in a press release. “No more waiting in line.”

Would you be interested in Moviepass?

Thanks to Al for sending this in.

Plum Wants to be the Netflix of Baby Clothes

Plum wants to be the Netflix of baby clothes, charging $16 per month for 2 outfits, and up to $49 per month for 7 outfits. They ship one set of outfits per month for free, and if you stain the clothes they donate them to foster care.

Sites Looking to Become the Netflix for Art & Underwear

It's interesting to see what types of companies are using the Netflix business model, and two companies recently caught my eye.

TurningArt, a Netflix-like service for fine art, raised $750k:

Launched in August 2010, TurningArt allows customers to rotate prints of contemporary artists in their home or office for as little as $9.99 per month. Similar to the way you pick movies on your Netflix account, customers can build a queue of artwork they’d like ‘rent’, and TurningArt will then ship that artwork at their preferred frequency.

Manpacks is a subscription service for socks and underwear, and they created the company to "...give men (and the people who love them) more time to build empires, climb mountains, slay dragons... to achieve the goals they aspire to." Be sure to check out 5 things to do with old underwear.

Artsicle is the Netflix of Art Rental

I love hearing about businesses that use the Netflix business model, and Artsicle charges $50 per month to rent original artwork.

Would you rent artwork?

via Mashable.

TurningArt: Netflix for Art with Subscriptions Starting at $9.99/month

TurningArt is one of the more interesting variations on the Netflix business model I've seen, and with subscriptions starting at $9.99 per month it could change the way people acquire artwork. 

 

For $9.99 per month TurningArt customers get a new piece of artwork every 3 months (free shipping both ways). In an interesting twist the subscription fee counts towards a purchase, but I'm wondering what percentage of people will ultimately purchase a work, and what percentage of the rental fee goes to the artist.

via Tristan and Business Insider.

Netflix CFO McCarthy Joins Chegg Board of Directors

Netflix CFO Barry McCarthy has joined the board of directors at Chegg, the online texbook rental company.

"As a key player in the online textbook rental market, Chegg has a tremendous opportunity to expand and lead the category," said McCarthy. "I look forward to working with the members of Chegg's Board to help execute the strategic plan for growth." 

SmartyRents: Netflix for Kid's Educational Software

SmartyRents uses the Netflix business model to rent video games for kids 9 months old to 10 years of age, with plans starting at $9.99 per month for 1 game at-a-time. 

 

I have two kids and it's really hard to find good educational software -- the titles can be expensive and if they stink they're not refundable, so renting is a great idea.

via Springwise.

Grow Up With Books: Netflix for Children's Books

WCNC Charlotte has the story of an out-of-work father that started a Netflix-like book rental service for kids: Grow Up With Books.

"I was laid off in April from being a consultant," said Phil Dauksys. After 12 years in project management, he was a husband and father looking for his next opportunity. It came from a back and forth with his five year old. "He said Mommy read that one last night. And I said what about this one? And he said she read that one two nights ago," he said.

Dauksys thought, wouldn't it be nice if his family had an endless supply of new releases and old classics delivered to their door without having to spend so much buying them. "So, we came up with the concept of Netflix for children's books," he added. The result is the newly launched, Charlotte based book rental website, www.growupwithbooks.com.

 

 Grow Up with Book plans start at $13 per month for 3 books at a time.