Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Is Netflix Worth It?

Abso-freakin-lutely!

I have had Netflix for the last six months, and decided to do a little cost comparison to see how much I've saved by joining. Normally, I would have bought two different TV seasons on DVD in the last six months. But, I resisted and just enjoyed them with my one at a time rental. I also calculated that I would have rented one movie per month from my local video store (which is probably low, but I wanted to be fair). In total I would have spent approximately $80.98. My Netflix subscription has cost me a grand total of $59.22. I haven't rented any other movies in that time, so I've saved $21.76.

That doesn't seem like a ton, but I've also managed to watch tons of things that I've been meaning to get to for years. Freaks and Geeks, which is crazy expensive to buy. I discovered my love of The West Wing. I also rented United States of Tara, as well as several movies and documentaries. And don't get me started on streaming through my Wii. Luckily, because I am the only one who makes my queue, the one disc at a time has been great for me, keeping it very cheap.

So, even though the actual financial savings look like they'll only be about $50 per year, I find the service totally worth it. I'm not sure why I resisted it for so long, actually.

5 comments:

  1. Oooh I love Netflix too. I used to have when I was in grad school since we didn't have a TV in the apartment. I stopped when I got a TV and satellite, but just started back now. It's really really awesome, especially when I can stream via the Wii. We do one disc at a time, but most of the time we watch things on the instant streaming

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  2. Love Netflix. I feel like I save money by having it also because I rarely go to the theater anymore. I just add things to my queue and then they magically appear at my house.

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  3. If you want to transact with Netflix through your mailbox, then it's probably worth it. They have a good selection and their turn-around time on receiving and returning movies is quite good.

    If you want to use the Watch Instantly feature, however, it's not worth it. The system stops and starts so often that it usually takes me 45-60 minutes to watch a 20-30 minute TV show.

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  4. I haven't had any problem with the streaming through my Wii...bummer that it doesn't work well for you. :(

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  5. Having had Netflix for just 3 days, I can already observe that the selection of New Releases is sparse. There are tons of old movies and televsion shows, unfortunately most you never heard of, or would want to watch. If you want a New Release you must get the DVD option, which I won't since too many people steal mail, and I just find mailing inconvenient especially when there is a Redbox around the corner with my New Release.

    I checked out Blockbuster on demand and their
    per movie streaming (they charge per movie) is about a dollar less than what my on demand charges thru my cable provider Cox. I will likely cancel my Netflix and just stay with Redbox. Can't beat a buck per movie.

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