More B-movies than you can shake your pointer at. NetFlix
Written: Apr 19 '02
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I should confess at the outset that I am the person NetFlix was really created for, and as a member of the target demographic I am probably a bit biased. I am cursed with an absolute inability to return movies when I'm supposed to. I'm not sure why that is, but it's there, and I've been struggling with it for years. Over the course of my life (that portion that coincides with the existence of video-rental stores), I have spent at least as much in late fees as I have for the actual rental of the movie. No matter how close the video store is to where I live, it just isn't close enough. Well now I only have to go ten feet outside my front door to return movies.
Here's how it works. You sign up at one of their levels.
NetFlix Lite- You get two movies at a time for $13.95 a month.
NetFlix Standard - You get three movies at a time for $19.95
NetFlix Bonus - You get four movies at a time for $24.95
NetFlix Plus - You get five movies at a time for $29.95
NetFlix Ultimate - You get eight movies at a time for $39.95
Once you've picked your level, you go through and add movies to your queue. You want to have several movies in your queue at a time, and put them in the order you want to get them. This is all very simple to use and change. They then get movies form your queue and send them to you. You want to have several movies, because some movies will have a wait before being available to you depending on how many other people want them, and who wanted them first, etc. If you've only got that one movie waiting, then you're just sitting there with nothing until it becomes available.
Your movies arrive standard mail, and in case you were wondering, you don't get the box and all that, just the disc. You also get the prepaid envelope to send it back to them. That's right, nothing extra for shipping either direction. So, you get your (let's say) three movies and all you pay is $19.95. How cost effective this situation is becomes up to you. The movies are never due back. If you want to just own those movies for $19.95 a month, that's up to you. How many rentals you really get out of the deal depends on how fast you set the machine back in motion toward getting more movies.
The NetFlix website also has a rating feature by which you rate movies they throw at you, and this supposedly will get you suggestions of movies you'll like. This doesn't exactly work that well, but it gives you some things you might not have sought out on your own. Somewhere along the way I rated something that gave them the idea that really cheap B-movies are my favorite thing in the world, but nothings perfect, and it's just a feature that's a bit of fun anyway.
Speaking of B-movies, as you've guessed by the title, NetFlix has more B-movies than you can imagine. None of which I am very interested so that cuts their selection down for me. Even so, they have all the new things, and a good selection of classics. Their selection of movies that are a bit older, but perhaps not classics, seems to go up just about every week, and their selection far surpasses anyplace else you are going to rent DVDs. They also have a very good selection of documentaries, and other things that are going to fall into the 'Other' category. Interactive instructional videos, 'tours' of various parts of the world, and things along those lines.
As far as my personal experience with NetFlix, everything has been positive. The possible exception might be that it seems, at times, that the turn around on their end could be a bit faster. This is usually not noticeable at all, and it has never been anything real significant. Even when a movie didn't show up at all (and I expected some sort of fight with them, being jaded by some online companies), they simply sent another and asked that if the movie ever does show up I send it back. (Seriously, Rush Hour 2 is not the movie I'm going to steal)
When I did need to talk to customer service, their email reply was quick and actually addressed the email I sent them.
If you have any trouble deciding on a movie, NetFlix has a host of methods to browse through their selection. By genre, of course, but they also have several 'collections'. Family Fare!, 70s Cinema, FX Showcase, and many more. They also have recommendations by several people. Leonard Maltin has his picks, as does Mr. DVD. You can even search by looking at which DVDs have the best special features or easter eggs.
It has been my experience that NetFlix is a great service overall, and has a very good website. It's easy to use, it's a good deal, and even when I had problems I never had any problems.
Their website also has a Flash tour of their service if you want to check out all the details before signing up, and they have a (I believe constant) 2-week free trial.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Vormancian
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Member: Marc Eastman
Location: Bangor,ME
Reviews written: 330
Trusted by: 352 members
About Me:
Evangeline Sylvan Betty Eastman. AKA "Cricket" 9/12/06
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