9malls.com review of NetFlix.com
Rating: ***** 4 out of 5 stars
Web site: http://www.NetFlix.com
Review:
History of NetFlix.com:
If you would like to know more about NetFlix.com the company visit Wikipedia.org and type in NetFlix.com. NetFlix.com is the Internet's top online DVD rental service with 5 million subscribers and 65,000 titles. To give you an idea of how big NetFlix.com is… BlockBuster.com or BBI stock in quarter 2 2006 reported net income of $68.4 million. Revenues for second quarter 2006 were $1.32 billion. For NetFlix.com net income was $16.8 million and revenues for 2nd quarter were $239.4 million. The $239.4 million net revenue represented a 46% year-over-year growth. NetFlix.com isn't as big as Blockbuster judging by the numbers, but with a 46% growth increase they are coming on fast. NetFlix.com began operations in 1998.
Summary:
About 2 months ago I signed up for NetFlix.com through the web site SlickDeals.net. I noticed that they had (still have this offer) a sale going on where you could get a 14 day trial for free. OK, it wasn't 30 days which would make more sense, but 14 days of free movies is 14 days of free movies so I can't complain. I was amazed how fast the DVDs were shipped out to me. They arrived the very next day after ordering them. The fast shipping is due to NetFlix.com building a shipping center near the Seattle area. The DVDs stay local so there isn't any need to ship across country. You probably have an advantage, shipping speed wise, if you live in a large metropolitan area. I was planning on subscribing to NetFlix.com only for the free trial period, but I was surprised how much I liked it.
Positives:
It's way better than cable, close to being better than TIVO, better than HBO, Showtime, and traditional movie stores. It also beats cable because most of what's on cable TV may pass time, but really sucks. I'm thinking of shows like the Simple Life and Laguna Beach to name a few. NetFlix.com is almost better than TIVO, but not quite because TIVO can record current TV shows commercial free as opposed to old seasons. It's better than HBO and Showtime because if you're into movies these networks are expensive and seem to play a small set of movies weeks at a time. There isn't enough variety on most premium cable movie channels. It's better than a video store because there is way more variety and it's easier to search NetFlix.com for what you want to rent.
Negatives:
So now I'll get into the downside of NetFlix.com. I am currently singed up for the 3 DVD at a time plan for $17.99. Video stores charge around $4.00 per rental, that's about 5 DVDs a month for the same price as your NetFlix.com subscription. If you shop at a grocery store for your videos you can sometimes get DVDs for $2.00 per rental. That's 10 rentals per month for the same price as NetFlix.com. $20 doesn't sound like much for "unlimited rentals" but if you do the math that subscription is actually pretty expensive for your average 1-2 movies a week motion picture watcher. I'm one of those average people, I am simply too busy to watch more movies than that. The only reason I still subscribe to NetFlix.com is the selection. I can find TV shows, rare documentaries, and old movies that are rated and reviewed.
Conclusion:
The content and selection is why I stay a member of NetFlix.com. If you live for movies NetFlix.com is definitely for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment