dear netflix,
you and i have been together for a long time. since november 2004 actually. that’s longer than any relationship i’ve ever been in. and so far, you’ve never really let me down. sure, occasionally i’ve gotten a scratched disc, but you always dispatch a replacement within 24 hours. and yeah, sometimes you take an extra day or two to get my movies to me… but that could just as easily be the fault of the postal system. what i’m saying is that overall, it’s been good. really really good.
and then last year, we decided to take it to the next level. i purchased a roku, so that i could take advantage of your unlimited streaming. and i STREAMED. i streamed so hard. remember that time we watched all 7 seasons of buffy in a row? you’ve always known what i like.
2 dvds and unlimited streaming, all for a mere $15.74 a month. life was good.
but then, last month you announced that things were going to change. and at first, i felt hurt, betrayed… how could you do this to me after all of our good times together? 7 years of history, and you’re jacking up your rates?! $19.98 for my current plan to continue?
for a while, i stamped around like a spoiled brat.
but then, i realized something: netflix, you’ve been very good to me all these years. we’ve had 7 glorious years together, where i’ve taken all that you’ve had to give. and you only increased your prices once.
the reality is that our relationship has changed over the years. it takes me longer and longer to return my dvds (i’m pretty sure i had “logan’s run” for like 6 months), while i bask in your streamy goodness, every single day. maybe, it’s just time that we reconfigure the way that we do business.
so, i’ll make a deal with you. come september, i’m going to downgrade to streaming only. $7.99 for all the movies & crap tv that i can digest is a really really good deal. a great deal. a deal with a future. as for new releases and other various holes in your streaming library… (it’s hard for me to say this), i’m going back to videoport. it’s close to my house, and i’ve been feeling really guilty about not showing them more love over the last few years.
but i just wanted you to know how much i value our time together, and hope that we can continue seeing each other on these new terms for many years to come. i’ve paid a lot more for a lot less from other services, and it’s time i started giving you the credit and respect that you deserve. i took you for granted, and i will never let that happen again.
i love you netflix. i love you forever.
xo.
-a.
broke 207 
Do you utilize the library for movies? It obviously doesn’t have the selection but it also doesn’t have the cost of the other two.
i suck at going to the library, but i hear their selection isn’t bad. i should probably write a post some day about my fear of going into the new library. i like to own the books i read (90% of which i buy 2nd hand). i don’t think i’ve checked out a book in 10 years…
We stream only and rent from Jet Video. It’s perfect. I love supporting the local video store and saving sooo much money. A year ago I had cable and netflix 2 dvd plan. Almost $100 a month for tv. Since we rent movies less than once a month our new tv bill is $7.99. Man what the hell was wrong with me $100/month for tv. I should be flogged.
jet video cracks me up whenever i drive by. it has this great early 90s video store appeal that i am so glad still exists. many moons ago, i too paid $100+ for fancy cable with DVR and all that jazz. I remember it being cool, but not significantly more cool that netflix streaming. i get basic basic cable (like 15 channels) for about $15 packaged with my interwebs, and that’s more than enough for me. $7.99 a month + videoport, and i think i’ll be just fine.
at least there’s birch box…
totally worth the $10. although this month’s box was a little weak. i fear that their business model is not sustainable, and that the service will be yanked within a year. in the meantime however…
I am doing the same. I get enough entertainment out of our 2 Roku boxes. When it comes to stuff I can’t get, I’m hoping that Videoport will still let me visit.
roku is the best thing that ever happened ever. we have a roku in one room, and a PS3 in the other. although i find the PS3 interface to be a little clunky.
I had the same feelings when I got that email. Unlike you, however, i can’t find anything streaming that I like other than Buffy (and other Joss Whedon stuff) so I am totally bummed…
So I have turned to my DVR. Now I spend my free time watching Vampire Diaries and It’s Always Sunny…but that is only going to entertain me for so long!
i had a DVR for a very long time, and it was totally amazing. the good thing about me and netflix streaming is that i will literally watch anything. lifetime original movies? CHECK. ancient aliens? CHECK low budget horror movies starring charisma carpenter? DOUBLE CHECK. having no taste seems to work well for me with the netflix.
Oh yeah. I’ve been only streaming for at least a year. If I need to watch a new movie or even a new tv season I just go to Videoport.
I’ve been on the 1 DVD at a time and streaming for a few years and I too will be going to streaming-only in a few weeks. The DVDs end up sitting around for far too long and there is enough stuff on instant play to waste my free time. For new releases and random movies, I hope Videoport is always there for us.
so i finally sent back my 2 movies recently and picked out some new ones to watch, just to see how much i would miss having the dvd service… the 2 movies i picked were flaming crapfests, but i forced myself to watch them because i felt an obligation. with instant, if i can tell it sucks within the first 5 minutes, i can pick something else. videoport it is! i actually can’t believe it took me this long to figure that out.
the rate increase doubles if you’ve only been at 1 dvd a month – at least the 2 dvd per/mo only went up by $5. but I too am in the same boat. which is difficult, because I think I have over 100 items in my queue.
i considered going down to one… but then i looked at my queue and realized that there’s nothing in there that i can’t live without. also, videopuerto.
Longest relationship, so awesome. Broke 207, I love your brain!
For the streaming Buffy fans, I’d recommend “Dead Like Me.” It’s smart and funny and supernaturally 🙂
LOVE dead like me. except for the movie they released a few years ago. that was PAINFUL.
Oh, you…
I have to admit, when one Videoport clerk, sputtering with rage, showed me this post, I was tempted to sputter myself. (I sputter, I’m not ashamed to admit it.) I even went so far, in a wee-hours beery fit of high dudgeon, as to delete the Broke 207 link from the Videoport Jones home page. (Beer makes me dudgeon-y.) I even left it deleted for close to a week, because of dudgeon and sputtering and stuff.
But it niggled at me. (Stuff niggles at me.)
I reread your article, and decided to, well, not forgive you exactly (at least partly because there may be nothing to forgive,) but then I went back in and re-linked you. I know you were feeling incomplete without it.
Aw hell- we love you, and we’ve missed you. And while we may not agree that there’s room enough for both Videoport and the N-word (yeah, saying that word, or the other N-word at Videoport is offensive) in the world, we agree that having you back in our lives is worth agreeing to disagree.
i’m sorry to cause you or the rest of the videoport staff any unnecessary rage or niggling! but thank you for being willing to give me another chance. on one hand, you’re right. i should never have left videoport in the first place to go to netflix when i was getting dvds by mail. in general, i know i need to make a better effort to buy local and support businesses that i love. i took the existence of videoport for granted, and i suck for that. on the other hand, i do think their streaming content is pretty awesome, and isn’t the kind of thing that a small independent video store could ever offer. however, the streaming options are still very limited. i will need you both, and i think it’s a fair compromise. hopefully the videoports will see a similar influx of people jumping off the n-word boat in the coming weeks. i really would be sad if you weren’t there anymore.