Netflix Business Model Proved Superior?

Posted on September 30th, 2004

I have been a long time subscriber / supporter of Netflix.  I absolutely hate the movie feeding frenzy that takes place at video stores.  Endless walls of replica boxes that takes forever to sift through; people rummaging through return bins in hope that the movie they want is in there; not finding what you came to store in the first place to rent.  Then you wait in a long line only to get to the counter to find out you have yet another late fee on your account.  The moment I heard about Netflix I signed up and haven’t been to a blockbuster since!  The efficiency of having a “rental queue” of movies just waiting to be sent to your doorstep is hard to beat.  But with any Internet startup you wonder how viable their business model is and if they are able to be successful.
Well I just noticed today (who knows how long they have offered this) that blockbuster now offers an almost identical service as netflix!  To me this pretty much validates their business model and proves that Blockbuster is feeling some of the effects of a superior rental company/methodology.  The interesting thing about the blockbuster deal is that they offer you 2 free in-store rentals per month with your subscription.  I guess they are trying to balance the fact that this new model will hurt their stores even more (I wonder if local blockbusters are franchised? - ouch). 
I will most likely stick with netflix because they were the pioneers here and I want to continue to keep my money far away from blockbuster.
I wonder if you could rent video games in this same way?…..

Filed under Misc |

4 Responses to “Netflix Business Model Proved Superior?”

1. Ryan A. Rinaldi Says:
   September 30th, 2004 at 5:37 pm

   You bet you can rent video games the same way: http://www.gamefly.com/

   

2. Kevin Harris Says:
   November 28th, 2004 at 9:04 pm

   Blockbuster stores are locally owned and operated as franchises.

   My local Blockbuster’s subscription is $25/month and includes unlimited rentals. You can “rent” two movies at a time but are not limited in any way by how many you can get out every month. I’ve already taken out up to six a day. In my case a few of my choices were garbage so I just took them back.

3. Anonymous Says:
   December 11th, 2004 at 3:32 pm

   Netflix is a scam. People are so blind to realize that. I shipped 2 DVDs series at the same time; only 1 is registered as returned before Friday? They make it on purpose, so they can show BETTER PROFITS, by having AS LITTLE DVDS OUT AS POSSIBLE. People wake up!!!!!! They should be checked by FCC or something. Their malpractice can’t go unnoticed. Let’s unite and show them a civil class lawsuit; it’s the biggest motivation this company will ever get. People United.

4. bob doob Says:
   January 1st, 2005 at 9:00 pm

   I was a netflix user from the very beginning, back when they used to be a good service. That was when you pre-bought movies by 10, 20, etc. You would only be charged for each movie you actually rented.

   Now that they are on this flat monthly plan they SUCK!! That is designed to do nothing but rip people off! Plus when they made the switch from the old method to the new one the did not honor the individual movies rentals people had already paid for!! Netflix is one of the worst companies ever created. They have the worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with. I seriously want to smear shit on a DVD and mail it to them!!

   Anyone that would use netflix of gamefly is just a plain, dumb, idiot!
   

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