Netflix customer service says that search results are unaffected by sponsorships. Still, that doesn’t explain what happened when Melissa Leff tried to add some movies to her Netflix queue: nearly every search she tried brought up the Andy Richter star vehicle Aliens in the Attic.
netflix
Deciphering Netflix Pricing Strategy
By 8.4.09
If you’ve found Netflix’s pricing pyramid a bit tough to unravel, you’re not alone. The cost of renting 3 DVDs is $17/month, whereas 6 DVDs is $36 (16.99 and 35.99, to be precise, but we don’t count pennies here). Similarly, 4 DVDs is $24/month, 8 is $48. By traditional economies of scale, this may not make much sense: Getting 6 DVDs costs MORE than getting two 3 DVD subscriptions. And getting 8 DVDs isn’t any cheaper than getting two 4 DVD plans.
Inside A Netflix Shipping Center
By 7.23.09
HackingNetflix was invited to tour a Netflix shipping center where 50 employees process as many as 90,000 discs a day. Pretty cool.
Are Blu-ray Netflix Customers Paying Extra Because The Discs Keep Cracking?
By 7.6.09
Do you rent Blu-ray discs from Netflix? Have you had any show up with a crack on the outer edge that makes the disc unplayable? Victor just wrote to us that he’s received several Blu-ray discs lately that are damaged, and he’s wondering if it’s just him or part of a wider problem.
Watch Out For Throttling If You're On A Blockbuster Rental Plan
By 6.4.09
Robert’s recent experience with his local Blockbuster just underscores how ill-equipped the rental chain is to compete against Netflix and new-star-on-the-block Redbox. Whether Robert has caught them deliberately throttling his account, or he’s just the victim of a poorly implemented system, it’s not the kind of customer experience you should have to settle for anymore.
Netflix Can't Decide Whether Puerto Rico Is In The USA
By 6.2.09
Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories are in sort of an awkward place. Are they part of America, or not? Sure, they can’t vote in presidential elections, but they are on the back of a quarter. This confusion has led to problems for Netflix users in Puerto Rico. Netflix will provide them with DVDs-by-mail service at the same price as service in the 48 contiguous United States, but considerably slower. However, they won’t let Puerto Rico customers stream movies over the Internet, which would be handy while they wait three or four days for their DVDs to show up.
By 5.15.09
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If we owned a Blockbuster franchise, we’d seriously think about just renting out the space to a bunch of Redbox kiosks. Blockbuster reported a 42% drop in revenue for the first quarter of 2009, which CEO Jim Keyes blamed on people going out to watch movies at theaters instead. Regarding the Redbox threat, Keyes said they hope to have 3,000 kiosks functioning by the end of the year. Redbox, on the other hand, has about 12,000. [Reuters]
Netflix Offers Not Only Unlimited Rentals, But Also Unlimited Vacation
By 5.13.09
In this age of decreasing perks, it’s semi-refreshing, semi-enraging to discover that Netflix salaried employees get unlimited vacation. Workers can fly the coop for more than a month at a time without checking in.
Take A Peek Inside A Netflix Mailing Facility
By 4.7.09
You might want to hum a little of the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood theme song music as you click over to Boston.com to view these photos of what goes down at a Netflix facility. We like how they all wear red tees—they’re like Netflix elves merrily providing DVDs to the nation. (Maybe they just did it for photo day, though.)
Netflix Raising Blu-Ray Rates By $1 Per Tier
By 3.30.09
Netflix is raising its rates for Blu-ray subscribers (again). The rate change is between $1-$9, increasing by $1 for each successive tier. The breakdown, via Engadget, and what Netflix emailed customers, inside.
How To Delete Your Online Accounts
By 3.10.09
PC Mag has assembled a list of instructions on how to wipe your account from a long list of websites, including Classmates.com (you’ll have to call), Windows Live ID (it’s complicated), and Friendster (ha ha ha). In many cases, canceling is as straightforward as clicking a link and authorizing the cancellation, but it’s nice to see all the phone numbers and tips collected in one spot.
Blockbuster's Stock Nosedives On News It Is Investigating Bankruptcy
By 3.3.09
Blockbuster’s stock just dropped 79% this afternoon after Bloomberg published a story that said the company hired the firm Kirkland & Ellis “to evaluate restructuring options, including a possible pre-packaged bankruptcy.” Blockbuster says they’ve only hired the firm for “refinancing and capital raising initiatives,” and that they do not intend to file for bankruptcy.
Blockbuster Reduces Total Access Benefits, Disguises Change As "No More Due Dates!"
By 2.25.09
Blockbuster’s Total Access subscription service—their bid for relevance in the Netflix era—used to ship the next movie in your queue as soon as you dropped it off at a Blockbuster store in exchange for a free rental. Now the next movie won’t ship until you return that free store rental—in other words, now it will count as the next movie in your queue. Of course, in Blockbuster marketing-speak, that’s considered a great new benefit.
Blockbuster To Add Video Games to TotalAccess Service, Netflix Yawns
By 2.11.09
HackingNetflix has sent word that Blockbuster will be testing video game rentals through their Netflix-variant “TotalAccess”.
By 1.26.09
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Hey, guess who isn’t broke? Netflix. [Bizjournals]
By 1.15.09
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Need to save money on textbooks? Textbook Media offsets the cost of its digital copies by inserting ads at chapter breaks. BookSwim rents textbooks. Also see these old suggestions, and today’s morning deal.
What's The Matter With GameFly?
By 12.28.08
Considering the price of buying or renting video games, GameFly, a Netflix-style program for video games, seems like a useful service. According to our inbox, not so much.
How To Cancel Cable/Satellite TV Without Being Miserable
By 12.19.08
CNet has an article about a couple who saw the writing on the wall, recession-wise, and canceled their satellite TV package. Surprisingly, they are, in fact, still alive and not at all depressed.
