Netflix.com--How Many Flix Can You Watch A Month?
Written: Jun 16 '06
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I have been off work since the beginning of May recovering from surgery. After the initial two weeks post surgery I was starting to feel better and mosey around the house. I wasn't allowed to lift anything so there was very little housework I could do. I entertained myself by browsing the internet and reading and writing here at Epinions. I ran across an advertisement for Netflix one day and decided that I would surprise my husband and sign up. We had recently discussed this and had left the discussion without really making a choice. He loves to watch movies so I knew he would be in favor. And I would have something different to do other than watching boring daytime TV.
Netflix.com
Netflix.com is the largest online DVD service. They service over 4.9 million people and have over 60,000 titles in the database. They offer excellent service with 39 distribution centers across the United States. Shipping is free and DVD's are mailed to you in a mailer that has a flap to be torn off and then reused to mail the DVD back in a pre-paid mailer.
The website is very easy to navigate. First of all need to browse the site and make sure they have the kind of movies that you will enjoy. They do offer thousands of titles in all genres. The next step is to set up an account which only takes about 5 minutes. Netflix accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.
The layout on the homepage is nice and the menu is very easy to follow. You will see various movies featured on the homepage and the menu bar at the top. The menu includes the following tabs:
Home (self explanatory)
Genres (all the categories of movies by type)
New Releases (somewhat new, more on this below)
Netflix Top 100 (The top 100 movies rented from Netflix.com)
Critic's Picks (Remarks by the critics on current movies)
Award Winners (lists all the recent awards movies have under their belt)
Browse (lists movies you may enjoy from your member preferences, also genre menu on right for easy access)
Recommendations (movies Netflix select that may be of interest to you based on prior selections)
Queue (this is your official and personal wish list where you select movies to be sent to you)
Buy DVD's (lists DVD's available for purchase)
Search (enter title, actor/actress, directors, genre, etc. for quick search)
My Account (gives information on your account details, rental activity, plan and billing information)
Buy/Redeem Gift (you can buy gift certificates or redeem them here)
Help (I've never had to use this feature yet...knock on wood!)
Plans Available
There are several plans available to select from. You can select a plan to have one DVD out at a time each month or as many as 8 at a time with unlimited selections. You can also take a 2 at a time plan with maximum of 4 DVD's a month. Plans can be changed at the beginning of the billing cycles. Here are all the plans currently available:
1 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $9.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 1 movie out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $9.99.
2 at-a-time (4 a month) for $11.99
Up to 4 rentals a month - up to 2 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $11.99.
2 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $14.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 2 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $14.99.
3 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $17.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 3 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $17.99.
4 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $23.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 4 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $23.99.
5 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $29.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 5 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $29.99.
6 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $35.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 6 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $35.99.
7 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $41.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 7 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $41.99.
8 at-a-time (Unlimited) for $47.99
Unlimited rentals - up to 8 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $47.99.
My Thoughts On Netflix.com
I have enjoyed using Netflix.com so far. We have been members for about 3 weeks now and have been really pleased with the service. We chose the 2 at-a-time Unlimited Plan for $14.99 and have a movie to watch about 4 nights a week. With our work schedule, this works out pretty well. We are considering bumping up to 3 DVD's at a time to have a couple more movies for the weekend.
Delivery has been very good for us. We initially got our 2 selections in the mail in about 3 days time. I was expecting them to be delivered in 5-7 days so this was a nice surprise. Much to my amazement, the deliveries have been very punctual. I can return a movie on Wednesday, and get an email confirmation on Thursday that the movie has been received. Thursday afternoon, I will receive another email telling me that my next selection will be shipped and I should have it the following day.
Selections are pretty good at Netflix.com. We only came across 3-4 movies that had a short wait or a long wait listed. These movies will be in your Queue and you can monitor the availability of them at any time. You can move the movies around in your Queue and put the movie you want to see next in the #1 position in your Queue. This way Netflix will always know what movie to ship you next without having to constantly make selections.
What Impressed Me:
We lucked out with a distribution center in Baton Rouge, LA. If I mailed the DVD's back in Baton Rouge, they would receive them the following day and ship another one out same day. That makes for super service! However, if I mailed from my home (suburbs of Baton Rouge), it would take two days to get a return DVD in the mail.
The number of available selections also impressed me. We ended up with over 100 movies on our Queue, so having a wait on a few movies is not a problem.
What Didn't Impress Me:
This is minor actually but may not be to others. The movies on the New Releases page are not always brand new. I like to check this page to read the summaries of newly released movies to see if it is a movie I will enjoy watching. If I know a movie is being released that particular week, I expect to see it listed there and highlighted. NOT! You can, however, use the search feature and it will pull up your requested movie. This area could use some fine-tuning on their website to function better.
Recommendation
I highly recommend Netflix.com to anyone who enjoys watching movies. This saves time and the hassle of going to the rental store to only find that the movie you want is not available. We have enjoyed our experience with Netflix.com and will probably be bumping our plan up to 3 Unlimited Movies At A Time next month. I give Netflix.com 5 Stars!
© 2006 Birdfeather
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? movie rental plan
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