A No Recommendation
Written: Jan 23 '02 (Updated Mar 06 '02)
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Initially I would have given them a mild recommendation but I'm now changing it to a no recommendation. At first I was infatuated by the outstanding business model of Netflix however the implementation of this model is awful. For a company that has banners all over the net and ads in the box of every DVD player you would expect Amazon.com type service unfortunately it doesn't come close. I am convinced that they use bait & switch tactics by making available new releases for new members but not so for older members hoping that the older members will just go into health club mode. You know pay the fee, but never use the service. If everybody else is having the same availablity problems as I, I can't see them being successful for long.
I think their situation is a simple case of being too successful. Any semi-popular movie will not be available for a long time. For example, I've had "Legally Blonde" on my queue list for six weeks and it has been a "long wait" the entire time, this is fairly common among popular new release mainstream movies and nearly guaranteed for good independent movie releases.
I've read articles that Netflix's goal is for 1 million customers and they have just reached 500,000. I question how they will able to service that many customers effectively.
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Since I have written this I finally gave up on Netflix and tried other services. First I tried DVD Avenue. I was not satisfied with them due to lack of selection and no 3 movie out rental plan, it was either 2 or 4 movies out. Next I tried DVDBarn.com, and so far I am very satisfied. Although their selection is not quite as extensive as Netflix's I've been able select most of the movies I wanted, plus availability seems to be much better. I've already have seen movies and have movies coming that were on eternal 'wait' with Netflix. Also, you can notify that you have sent a movie back and they will send the next one. My only hope is that DVDBarn is getting enough business to be profitable someday. I would hate to lose this service especially after my Netflix experience.
Recommended:
No
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About the Author
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