Who's keeping Netflix now? (price increased to $13.99)

[Da5id]

Its a violation of the Netflix terms of service that specify one account per household (You know that wall of words that nobody ever reads, but is legally binding if you click it and use the product) True you are not going to get taken to court or anything but they can definitely terminate your account if they catch you.

Usually the mods on this board are pretty strict about promoting things like that.....

As I said above, wasn't aware of fine print. It is *extraordinarily* widespread. I'm dubious that Netflix would terminate accounts without warning, but agree it generally is against forum rules to advocate for things that violate TOS. Still think the word "illegal" is kinda silly in this context.

[rich126]

I'm likely to cancel it. I need to check what my billing period is but there isn't anything I'm actively watching right now. Also I can get a discount for a few months of HBO Max. Most of my watching is on Amazon Prime, Acorn/Britbox with a touch of Disney. Although Amazon is starting to change some stuff so I will how that goes. I'm just not a fan of a lot of Netflix's own content. Some things are really good (I think Queen's Gambit was from them) but most are not.

[TomatoTomahto]

PlutoTV is free and has better content.

I took a quick peek at their web site. It’s difficult to figure out what they really offer without signing up (albeit free, but you know ...).

[Unhandled]

Disney announced one week ago, increasing price of Disney+ $1 (to $7.99) in March 2021.

[cutterinnj]

Netflix is worth every penny. No cable (which some pay hundreds for???)
For $14, we can watch anywhere we are. Absolute bargain.

[Da5id]

Disney announced one week ago, increasing price of Disney+ $1 (to $7.99) in March 2021.

I suspect demand (plus increasing pricing/competition for content) will cause higher than inflation increases for a while. Also for people cutting cable these services still seem so cheap. The best value, IMO, is to rotate among them. Watch what you want on Netflix for a while, then switch to Disney+. Then Hulu. Then HBO. Repeat as needed, you have no commitments beyond a month, though some of them do have longer term sign up deals.

[Kagord]

Another downgrader to the Standard plan for these reasons:

1. Close to data cap every month
2. Usually only one person watching at a time, and rarely at that, there's just too many media options
3. The price increase, not that I'm very sensitive to a measly $24 a year , it's just we are hardly using it

Gads, I tell my kids we had 7 or 8 channels growing up, and you heard the national anthem around 11 or 12am on all of them. The plethora of media, I bet the cost is all going, the way of stock commissions, to 0 over the next 5 years, and we will all be the product and not the consumer (there's so much product placement in almost all media already).

[IrishPotofGold63]

PlutoTV is free and has better content.

I took a quick peek at their web site. It’s difficult to figure out what they really offer without signing up (albeit free, but you know ...).

Interesting, I have not had to sign-up and happy with service

[LiterallyIronic]

It's not the monthly price, it's the fact that they charge monthly. I hate recurring bills and avoid them when possible. We had Netflix, the 1 screen SD version, for $8.54/month after taxes, and it was awesome. I loved having it. I hated seeing them charge my account every month. So I dropped them. When Disney+ offered their "pay for three years upfront" deal for $140 or something like that, I jumped on it. I would gladly pay $500 upfront for a lifetime membership to Netflix ($1,000 upfront would make me think about it first), but I don't want to pay every month for the service.

[TomatoTomahto]

PlutoTV is free and has better content.

I took a quick peek at their web site. It’s difficult to figure out what they really offer without signing up (albeit free, but you know ...).

Interesting, I have not had to sign-up and happy with service

So, I guess I went back via a different route, and didn’t have to sign up. Weird. Thanks.

[Kagord]

It's not the monthly price, it's the fact that they charge monthly. I hate recurring bills and avoid them when possible. We had Netflix, the 1 screen SD version, for $8.54/month after taxes, and it was awesome. I loved having it. I hated seeing them charge my account every month. So I dropped them. When Disney+ offered their "pay for three years upfront" deal for $140 or something like that, I jumped on it. I would gladly pay $500 upfront for a lifetime membership to Netflix ($1,000 upfront would make me think about it first), but I don't want to pay every month for the service.

Same thing with monthly airfare. I was thinking a good promotion airlines could do to help with the current times is to offer unlimited first class tickets for life, oh, let's see, pricing, OK, $250,000 sounds about right, I'm in.

[Matahari]

I haven't gone thru all the posts but those who seek an alternative to the commercial streaming services should check with their libraries to see if they offer free streaming. Typically the service is metered (X views per month) but if both spouses have library cards, you can double your monthly views. I've found some "obscure" material that I was happy to watch, such as arts and documentary content not found elsewhere.

Kanopy.com and Hoopla.com are two services offered through library membership. Kanopy also has a great kids' content which is not metered, the last time I checked (on behalf of a friend with a young child). Hoopla offers audio books, e-books and music content.

[Marylander1]

I canceled my Netflix DVD service, which I've had since early 1999. We've repurposed our streaming budget to CuriosityStream ($12/year) and PBS Passport ($6/month).

Marylander1

[whodidntante]

I'm paying well over $200 a month for cable...$14 (or $30 even) a month for Netflix isn't going to move the needle.

If you negotiate your bill, it will probably be the most profitable half-hour you'll this year. Here's how it starts:

Catbert: Thank you for calling evil Catbert cable conglomerate. How may I hurt you?
Dilbert: I would like to cancel my service.
Catbert: Oh, I'm so sorry that a sucker customer of 20 years would make the mistake of canceling! May I ask why you are not thinking clearly today?
Dilbert: I suppose. It's because your prices are too high.

I guess you can take it from there. If they don't budge, actually cancel. Your negotiating power is strongest when you are committed to spend nothing at all unless the deal is mutually beneficial. Then have someone else in your household sign up as a new customer for non-abusive prices.

[Da5id]

I guess you can take it from there. If they don't budge, actually cancel. Your negotiating power is strongest when you are committed to spend nothing at all unless the deal is mutually beneficial. Then have someone else in your household sign up as a new customer for non-abusive prices.

Works best in places where you have multiple acceptable providers. I rotate between RCN, Comcast, and Verizon FiOS, all of which serve my address. New sign up deals seem better than whatever discount you may wangle out of the rep.

[whodidntante]

I guess you can take it from there. If they don't budge, actually cancel. Your negotiating power is strongest when you are committed to spend nothing at all unless the deal is mutually beneficial. Then have someone else in your household sign up as a new customer for non-abusive prices.

Works best in places where you have multiple acceptable providers. I rotate between RCN, Comcast, and Verizon FiOS, all of which serve my address. New sign up deals seem better than whatever discount you may wangle out of the rep.

For me, my post negotiation deals are comparable to new customer deals. New customer deals often require services that I don't want (like a VOIP phone or the Opera channel or whatever they junk they are pushing this year). I guess that's fine if it doesn't involve extra taxes or automatically enrolling me into the Opera channel package after n months.

[Da5id]

For me, my post negotiation deals are comparable to new customer deals. New customer deals often require services that I don't want (like a VOIP phone or the Opera channel or whatever they junk they are pushing this year). I guess that's fine if it doesn't involve extra taxes or automatically enrolling me into the Opera channel package after n months.

I get the base internet deal. No extras, no phone, no TV. I own my own modem (haven't done for FiOS yet, but will if I go back to them). Been getting internet for $29 or $39, which is OK by me.

[Good Listener]

Being retired, I have probably watched over 150 hours of content a month on Netflix. Are you kidding me? Id pa 50 a month.

[mak1277]

I'm paying well over $200 a month for cable...$14 (or $30 even) a month for Netflix isn't going to move the needle.

If you negotiate your bill, it will probably be the most profitable half-hour you'll this year. Here's how it starts:

Catbert: Thank you for calling evil Catbert cable conglomerate. How may I hurt you?
Dilbert: I would like to cancel my service.
Catbert: Oh, I'm so sorry that a sucker customer of 20 years would make the mistake of canceling! May I ask why you are not thinking clearly today?
Dilbert: I suppose. It's because your prices are too high.

I guess you can take it from there. If they don't budge, actually cancel. Your negotiating power is strongest when you are committed to spend nothing at all unless the deal is mutually beneficial. Then have someone else in your household sign up as a new customer for non-abusive prices.

Honestly, the 30 minutes I'd spend doing that isn't worth $100 a month to me.

[Da5id]

I'm paying well over $200 a month for cable...$14 (or $30 even) a month for Netflix isn't going to move the needle.

If you negotiate your bill, it will probably be the most profitable half-hour you'll this year. Here's how it starts:

Catbert: Thank you for calling evil Catbert cable conglomerate. How may I hurt you?
Dilbert: I would like to cancel my service.
Catbert: Oh, I'm so sorry that a sucker customer of 20 years would make the mistake of canceling! May I ask why you are not thinking clearly today?
Dilbert: I suppose. It's because your prices are too high.

I guess you can take it from there. If they don't budge, actually cancel. Your negotiating power is strongest when you are committed to spend nothing at all unless the deal is mutually beneficial. Then have someone else in your household sign up as a new customer for non-abusive prices.

Honestly, the 30 minutes I'd spend doing that isn't worth $100 a month to me.

Each to their own, but a rate of $2400/hr isn't bad...

[mak1277]

I'm paying well over $200 a month for cable...$14 (or $30 even) a month for Netflix isn't going to move the needle.

If you negotiate your bill, it will probably be the most profitable half-hour you'll this year. Here's how it starts:

Catbert: Thank you for calling evil Catbert cable conglomerate. How may I hurt you?
Dilbert: I would like to cancel my service.
Catbert: Oh, I'm so sorry that a sucker customer of 20 years would make the mistake of canceling! May I ask why you are not thinking clearly today?
Dilbert: I suppose. It's because your prices are too high.

I guess you can take it from there. If they don't budge, actually cancel. Your negotiating power is strongest when you are committed to spend nothing at all unless the deal is mutually beneficial. Then have someone else in your household sign up as a new customer for non-abusive prices.

Honestly, the 30 minutes I'd spend doing that isn't worth $100 a month to me.

Each to their own, but a rate of $2400/hr isn't bad...

Sure. But I'm past chasing pennies at this point in my life TBH.

[Da5id]

Each to their own, but a rate of $2400/hr isn't bad...

Sure. But I'm past chasing pennies at this point in my life TBH.

Huh. I'm also past chasing pennies. Very comfortably retired in my 50s, and $1200 (or rather more than that) would make no material difference in my lifestyle whatsoever. The non-wasteful habits that got me here die hard, I'd make the call for $1200. Obviously each to their own, but most on bogleheads probably wouldn't call $1200/yr "pennies".

[mak1277]

Each to their own, but a rate of $2400/hr isn't bad...

Sure. But I'm past chasing pennies at this point in my life TBH.

Huh. I'm also past chasing pennies. Very comfortably retired in my 50s, and $1200 (or rather more than that) would make no material difference in my lifestyle whatsoever. The non-wasteful habits that got me here die hard, I'd make the call for $1200. Obviously each to their own, but most on bogleheads probably wouldn't call $1200/yr "pennies".

I don't disagree with any of this. I never have been one of those people who had "non-wasteful habits", though, so I'm just doing what I've always done. At this point, anything less than 0.5% - 1% of my net worth is "pennies" and I have no interest in spending even a single second of my life chasing that.

[Toons]

Non-entity-Insignificant

[Ralph Furley]

How times change... not long ago, many of us happily drove to Blockbuster, picked from a few hundred titles, paid five bucks, then drove home to watch the movie. Then, drove back to return the movie and hoped that someone remembered to rewind the tape, lest we get another buck or two added to the bill. Oh, and hopefully we returned it on time. Now we aren't sure it's worth it to stream virtually anything, on demand, with no limits, from the comfort of our homes, for $13.99.

[EnjoyIt]

I'm paying well over $200 a month for cable...$14 (or $30 even) a month for Netflix isn't going to move the needle.

If you negotiate your bill, it will probably be the most profitable half-hour you'll this year. Here's how it starts:

Catbert: Thank you for calling evil Catbert cable conglomerate. How may I hurt you?
Dilbert: I would like to cancel my service.
Catbert: Oh, I'm so sorry that a sucker customer of 20 years would make the mistake of canceling! May I ask why you are not thinking clearly today?
Dilbert: I suppose. It's because your prices are too high.

I guess you can take it from there. If they don't budge, actually cancel. Your negotiating power is strongest when you are committed to spend nothing at all unless the deal is mutually beneficial. Then have someone else in your household sign up as a new customer for non-abusive prices.

It is so frustrating. I go through this every year with my interest provider. Sometimes I have to cancel and my wife signs up. The 30 minutes of my time tends to save me $20-$40/month. I think that is worth a few minutes while driving somewhere in my car.

[hoops777]

How times change... not long ago, many of us happily drove to Blockbuster, picked from a few hundred titles, paid five bucks, then drove home to watch the movie. Then, drove back to return the movie and hoped that someone remembered to rewind the tape, lest we get another buck or two added to the bill. Oh, and hopefully we returned it on time. Now we aren't sure it's worth it to stream virtually anything, on demand, with no limits, from the comfort of our homes, for $13.99.

Well said. I remember it well.
If someone does not watch much tv then why even comment
I just do not understand how anyone can reasonably complain about the price of Netflix,Disney, Amazon or Hulu considering the content and ease of use.

[chipperd]

Each to their own, but a rate of $2400/hr isn't bad...

Sure. But I'm past chasing pennies at this point in my life TBH.

Huh. I'm also past chasing pennies. Very comfortably retired in my 50s, and $1200 (or rather more than that) would make no material difference in my lifestyle whatsoever. The non-wasteful habits that got me here die hard, I'd make the call for $1200. Obviously each to their own, but most on bogleheads probably wouldn't call $1200/yr "pennies".

I don't disagree with any of this. I never have been one of those people who had "non-wasteful habits", though, so I'm just doing what I've always done. At this point, anything less than 0.5% - 1% of my net worth is "pennies" and I have no interest in spending even a single second of my life chasing that.

Let me be the first member of the worldwide economy to say "thanks" to you both!

[midareff]

We are retired and in this day and age of Covid only go out for groceries and medical appointments. I don't care much about a buck or two a month which probably is about a penny or two an hour these days.

[Jack44]

We are retired and in this day and age of Covid only go out for groceries and medical appointments. I don't care much about a buck or two a month which probably is about a penny or two an hour these days.

Agree wholeheartedly with midareff. We have Netflix (both streaming and dvd) and Prime. They are helping to keep us relatively sane during our Covid-19 self-quarantine.

[jaqenhghar]

How times change... not long ago, many of us happily drove to Blockbuster, picked from a few hundred titles, paid five bucks, then drove home to watch the movie. Then, drove back to return the movie and hoped that someone remembered to rewind the tape, lest we get another buck or two added to the bill. Oh, and hopefully we returned it on time. Now we aren't sure it's worth it to stream virtually anything, on demand, with no limits, from the comfort of our homes, for $13.99.

Ha! So true.

[MDfan]

Being retired, I have probably watched over 150 hours of content a month on Netflix. Are you kidding me? Id pa 50 a month.

Me too. We pay for Netflix, Hulu, Prime (although we get the student rate), Apple+ and YTTV (w/ Showtime and HBOMax). Still feel like it's worth it.

[TomatoTomahto]

How times change... not long ago, many of us happily drove to Blockbuster, picked from a few hundred titles, paid five bucks, then drove home to watch the movie. Then, drove back to return the movie and hoped that someone remembered to rewind the tape, lest we get another buck or two added to the bill. Oh, and hopefully we returned it on time. Now we aren't sure it's worth it to stream virtually anything, on demand, with no limits, from the comfort of our homes, for $13.99.

At the time, I was sufficiently frugal that if I remembered that I hadn’t returned a video, I would get out of bed, put clothes on, and return it to our local video store.

I am no longer as frugal, and Netflix is a bargain, albeit not as big a bargain as Amazon. Be careful Netflix

[FandangoDave5010]

Unlimited high speed satellite broadband suitable for streaming in rural Nevada is about $175/month. Even $17/month for Netflix would be fair, which is what I pay for a digital NY Times subscription.

What I am amazed by is how little Netflix pays for foreign titles. The excellent 2020 Russian 8 episode series TO THE LAKE (transliteration of the Russian word EPIDEMIC) sold its US streaming rights for 1.5 million dollars. As such, where does the money go when Netflix pushes the price up one buck?

You can never tell, however. about the Nordic/Slavic genre on TV. Much of it is more of the same old, same old with lots of serious talk, gender conflict and needless drama and blood. I liked WALLANDER. But now there is YOUNG WALLANDER. Like BOSCH, where will it end.

Pay the buck and be happy.

[hoops777]

Just to drive a lot of people crazy.

TV, especially this past year, has been our entertainment.
I have always watched a lot of tv and will gladly take all the scorn.
I have Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Peacock, CBC All Access, HBO Max and Showtime.
There is always something good to watch and always new stuff.
For this I pay about 67 bucks a month.
I am not going to worry about saving a few bucks by constantly switching in and out of services. My one “luxury “ in life.

What does 67 bucks buy you in the entertainment world for 2 people? A Broadway play or pro sporting event? Not even close. Decent seats at any type of popular venue? Admission to any major theme parks ? Dinner at a medium quality restaurant,yes, depending...

In the soon to be year 2021, 67 bucks does not get you much for 2 people especially when you add in parking, transportation, tips in restaurants, etc.
Change that total to 13.99 or 25 bucks, and the pickings get realllllly slim.

So pick whatever streamer you like and enjoy it. It is a very good deal.

[SimonJester]

The bigger issue for me is the amount of content they are dropping at the end of December. They are pumping more money into their original series and less into retaining other content.

[tRacer4201]

I am trying to figure out how to get rid of DISH and that $145 per month. My wife might leave me if she does not have Game Show channel.

Perhaps it’s time for a new wife.

[MDfan]

I am trying to figure out how to get rid of DISH and that $145 per month. My wife might leave me if she does not have Game Show channel.

Perhaps it’s time for a new wife.

Harsh. But accurate.

[MDfan]

Just to drive a lot of people crazy.

TV, especially this past year, has been our entertainment.
I have always watched a lot of tv and will gladly take all the scorn.
I have Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Peacock, CBC All Access, HBO Max and Showtime.
There is always something good to watch and always new stuff.
For this I pay about 67 bucks a month.
I am not going to worry about saving a few bucks by constantly switching in and out of services. My one “luxury “ in life.

What does 67 bucks buy you in the entertainment world for 2 people? A Broadway play or pro sporting event? Not even close. Decent seats at any type of popular venue? Admission to any major theme parks ? Dinner at a medium quality restaurant,yes, depending...

In the soon to be year 2021, 67 bucks does not get you much for 2 people especially when you add in parking, transportation, tips in restaurants, etc.
Change that total to 13.99 or 25 bucks, and the pickings get realllllly slim.

So pick whatever streamer you like and enjoy it. It is a very good deal.

Yeah, I have no problem spending money on things we use a lot. We watch shows on all of our streaming channels and pay about $130/month. Can't see that changing.

[Bronco Billy]

So pay the $145 a month or give her 1 million in divorce settlement. I am not very smart but try not to be STUPID.

I am trying to figure out how to get rid of DISH and that $145 per month. My wife might leave me if she does not have Game Show channel.

Perhaps it’s time for a new wife.

Harsh. But accurate.

[inspector00]

It's not the monthly price, it's the fact that they charge monthly. I hate recurring bills and avoid them when possible. We had Netflix, the 1 screen SD version, for $8.54/month after taxes, and it was awesome. I loved having it. I hated seeing them charge my account every month. So I dropped them. When Disney+ offered their "pay for three years upfront" deal for $140 or something like that, I jumped on it. I would gladly pay $500 upfront for a lifetime membership to Netflix ($1,000 upfront would make me think about it first), but I don't want to pay every month for the service.

Same thing with monthly airfare. I was thinking a good promotion airlines could do to help with the current times is to offer unlimited first class tickets for life, oh, let's see, pricing, OK, $250,000 sounds about right, I'm in.

It's funny you mention this, American Airlines did offer this back in the 1980s.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehustle. ... icket/amp/

[tRacer4201]

So pay the $145 a month or give her 1 million in divorce settlement. I am not very smart but try not to be STUPID.

I am trying to figure out how to get rid of DISH and that $145 per month. My wife might leave me if she does not have Game Show channel.

Perhaps it’s time for a new wife.

Harsh. But accurate.

If you were honestly trying not to be stupid you’d sign an agreement beforehand that you keep your assets in case of a divorce.

I’m kidding!

My initial post was meant to be a joke. No offense meant my friend.

[mancich]

We're keeping it. Still a pretty good deal.

[SmileyFace]

I rarely watch movies, so it was never a good deal for me, and now, with the price increase, it is even less so. I'm going to stay the course with no Netflix.

I rarely watch movies as well but staying the course with keeping Netflix. A lot of great documentaries, tv series, and miniseries.

[Nowizard]

Do you enjoy it? Seems overly concerned and similar to the old saw of not eating a McDonald's hamburger after calculating estimated return on investing the amount over a lifetime. Balance, balance, balance in life and finances.

Tim

[GCD]

I don't know if this was mentioned upthread, but Comcast provides Netflix for free in whatever package we have. Otherwise I wouldn't get it because, IMO, 98%+ of Netflix content sucks. We'd pass, but Comcast seems intent on offering it for free. To be fair, a lot of cable content is really terrible. But maybe I'm just an old grumpy reader.

[sid hartha]

I'm keeping it. It's a great value. Think about how much content you have access to for just $14 a month, it's astonishing. Not too long ago that was maybe 3 video rentals from Blockbuster!

[UpperNwGuy]

I rarely watch movies, so it was never a good deal for me, and now, with the price increase, it is even less so. I'm going to stay the course with no Netflix.

I rarely watch movies as well but staying the course with keeping Netflix. A lot of great documentaries, tv series, and miniseries.

The truth is I rarely watch anything on TV. I only turn it on once a day from 6pm to 7:30pm for the local and national news broadcasts.

I will confess, however, that I watched the news for ten hours on January 6 and for four hours on January 13. Those were unusual and history-making days.

[TomatoTomahto]

I don't know if this was mentioned upthread, but Comcast provides Netflix for free in whatever package we have. Otherwise I wouldn't get it because, IMO, 98%+ of Netflix content sucks. We'd pass, but Comcast seems intent on offering it for free. To be fair, a lot of cable content is really terrible. But maybe I'm just an old grumpy reader.

98% might be accurate, I don’t know, but given the amount of content, 2% is more than enough to fill many hours.

[SmileyFace]

I rarely watch movies, so it was never a good deal for me, and now, with the price increase, it is even less so. I'm going to stay the course with no Netflix.

I rarely watch movies as well but staying the course with keeping Netflix. A lot of great documentaries, tv series, and miniseries.

The truth is I rarely watch anything on TV. I only turn it on once a day from 6pm to 7:30pm for the local and national news broadcasts.

I will confess, however, that I watched the news for ten hours on January 6 and for four hours on January 13. Those were unusual and history-making days.

Okay - so yes - if you don't watch TV you shouldn't pay for a TV streaming service
Just wanted to make sure you were aware NetFlix wasn't just there for Movies.