Their main competitive advantage was their physical delivery infrastructure, which is very hard to replicate. If the DVD business dies slowly (as Hastings said it will) and is replaced by streaming, they are left with no competitive advantage. There is a good many companies that have the infrastructure to stream a large amount of video content (Amazon, Google, Akamai, etc). All of these companies will lack any competitive advantage , and will be squeezed to the last cent by the content providers, leaving them with just enough cash to run their infrastructure. This doesn't sound like a great business model.
Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
111–120 of 190 posts
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
Bill collectors really aren't that bad if you know how to deal with them. I got sent to one once for a service I had canceled three times. The collector sent me a letter in the mail and then started calling every day at around 8 or 9 am. I sent all of the calls to voicemail and I sent a letter to the collector (via certified mail with delivery receipt) that said "RE: account number XYZ; this bill is erroneous, do not…
Mine was the opposite experience. It wasn't really the same situation as yours, so maybe this is totally irrelevant. But here's my story, just incase. My health insurance denied my coverage for a Dr's appointment ("pre existing condition") a month or two after the appointment. I had moved by then, and apparently the mail didn't get forwarded or something. The dr's eventually turned me over to some California collecti…
Ouch - I would contact each of the credit bureaus and ask them to remove the claim. It was purely a communications error because, as you said, you're willing and able to pay the bill.
(I'm not sure who the "they" is, hopefully not the credit bureau :(
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#113I feel bad for Netflix. They're between a rock and a hard place. The content providers want more money and eventually want to cut out the middleman. The users balk when the price is raised, even though unlimited streaming and DVDs for a month still cost less than a decent meal. And every decision they make (like Qwikster, which was likely done so they didn't have to pay content providers a fee for users who weren't s…
still cost less than a decent meal So many great things on the web cost less than a single cup of Starbucks. Yet, I myself am so hesitant to pay for them. On my landing pages I design at work, I'm increasingly trying to communicate this via comparisons("less than a morning Starbucks trip"). Another one is showing a dollar bill to communicate that for less than a dollar a day, they will get _____. For a service that w…
So let's say you get a Crunch bar. You unwrap it and take a bite. It fills your mouth, and you taste chocolatey goodness. You chew on a little. Crunch, crunch. Your mind drifts off a bit and you swallow a mouthful before going to take another bite. This is exactly the kind of direct, physiological pleasure $1 can get you, and it's something we've enjoyed for billions of years, and spent all that time evolving new strategies to achieve.
You know what doesn't have trouble selling online? Sex. Anything from escorts to live cam shows to porn. Why? Because that's another direct, physiological pleasure we've had for billions of years.
Now tell me, what kind of web services compete with eating and fucking in terms of what people really want?
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mine was the opposite experience. It wasn't really the same situation as yours, so maybe this is totally irrelevant. But here's my story, just incase. My health insurance denied my coverage for a Dr's appointment ("pre existing condition") a month or two after the appointment. I had moved by then, and apparently the mail didn't get forwarded or something. The dr's eventually turned me over to some California collecti…
Ouch - I would contact each of the credit bureaus and ask them to remove the claim. It was purely a communications error because, as you said, you're willing and able to pay the bill. (I'm not sure who the "they" is, hopefully not the credit bureau :(
It... doesn't work like that. I wish it did. They literally do not care that it was a communications error. Under law, they sent the letters they were supposed to, and called me at least once. That's as far as their mercy extends.
It seems unlikely that the credit bureaus would listen to me over Cal Coast Credit (the collectors).
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#115I feel bad for Netflix. They're between a rock and a hard place. The content providers want more money and eventually want to cut out the middleman. The users balk when the price is raised, even though unlimited streaming and DVDs for a month still cost less than a decent meal. And every decision they make (like Qwikster, which was likely done so they didn't have to pay content providers a fee for users who weren't s…
"I feel bad for Netflix. They're between a rock and a hard place. The content providers want more money and eventually want to cut out the middleman."
This is true, but the content providers are also between a rock and a hard place, but don't seem to realize it. A generation of kids are growing up knowing how to get content for free, but the low cost, convenience, and value add of netflix is worth it if you aren't poor.
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#116Honestly curious, where did those users go? Back to $40 shitcable? Torrenting?
We rent movies on-demand via either Amazon (streamed through my TiVo) or via AppleTV. It gives us access to stream new movies with a pay-as-you-go pricing structure which is more in-line with how many movies we watch (probably one a month, if that). For us, Netflix was never a replacement for cable because there's still enough live content on cable we wouldn't get via Netflix, or without having to jump through hoops to easily get onto a television.
Netflix made the catastrophic mistake of reminding their customers how much they were paying for their service at the exact time new content was back on television ... then did it again a couple weeks later. They couldn't have executed any worse IMO.
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have both Redbox and those Blockbuster kiosks on my way to and from work (during the part I walk) and so I can get a $1 DVD when I want rather than managing when something will arrive. I can get a lot from my library. While I don't get to always choose the timing for inter-library loans, I can get a season of television for two weeks at a time. With Netflix, I just get individual DVDs. Some of the things I want to…
+1. Why can't the figure out a pricing point? Shouldn't the marginal cost per user be going down as they scale? What's wrong with their infrastructure that it's going up? Or are they just trying to price it for demand? That doesn't make much sense to me if they're pricing away customers in the middle of the growth stage.
Netflix doesn't have fixed costs. As they become more popular, licensing becomes more and more expensive and it becomes easier and easier for content owners to jerk them around for their own benefit.
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#118I am always amazed to hear that Netflix customers are outraged (!) by having to pay a whopping $10 to receive unlimited access to online streaming on demand. Really, if you can't afford $10 to sit infront of the TV and watch movies all day long, maybe you should get out there and find a real job instead of sitting on the couch.
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's a great example of the excessive control given to rights holders, so excessive that a prominent company like Netflix ($300/share is certainly not something to shirk) and similar hypothetical businesses can be totally gutted at the pleasure of a handful of production companies and/or publishers. The diminution of Netflix is no small matter and will hopefully serve as a very visible demonstration of the cruel absu…
Yeah, I can't believe the nerve these software developers have, they don't accept a $0.99 for all their apps. Let's make them lose their copyright and make sure app stores can dictate pricing freely, without having to negotiate with developers.
I'm not arguing for the abolishment of copyright entirely. I just think 90 years+ is a term far too long. I'd like to see it reduced to something in the 20-30 yr range, and perhaps some broadening of fair use and derivative works allowed without license.
Re: Netflix loses 800,000 subscribers (stock drops 28%)
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ouch - I would contact each of the credit bureaus and ask them to remove the claim. It was purely a communications error because, as you said, you're willing and able to pay the bill. (I'm not sure who the "they" is, hopefully not the credit bureau :(
It... doesn't work like that. I wish it did. They literally do not care that it was a communications error. Under law, they sent the letters they were supposed to, and called me at least once. That's as far as their mercy extends. It seems unlikely that the credit bureaus would listen to me over Cal Coast Credit (the collectors).
If you write the letters, and keep sending them, eventually they will fall off of your credit report. Once you ask a credit reporting agency to remove something, they have to contact the original creditor who then has a set period of time to respond, or the listing is removed.