The Netflix Revolution

You can now get a basic Netflix plan for $5.99 a month, or less than the price of two rentals at Blockbuster. This is why I am amazed that Blockbuster still exists and why people continue to use the now archaic system of leaving their house to rent movies (or at least people who own a computer which is at least 90% of everyone). Netflix has been around for a while now, and it’s proven to be no joke. However, I did a little research and found that the new $5.99 plan comes with a bit of a catch. You can only rent two movies a month. Still, not a bad deal if you don’t rent a lot of movies though.

The classic Netflix plan, $9.99 a month for unlimited rentals (available at Netflix.com) is still the best and easiest way to view movies. For the true, hardcore fans of film there is no other way to do it. The Netflix library is astounding, much larger and more diverse than any singular video store.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past couple of years, you already know how Netflix works, but for my totally ignorant and/or cave-dwelling readers out there, I’ll give you a quick explanation of how Netflix runs.

First, you make a list of the movies you want to watch (don’t worry, this isn’t a cut and dry list- you can change it whenever you want). Within two days, Netflix mails your initial DVD with a pre-paid return envelope. Simply, watch the movie at your leisure, pop it in the envelope they provide and wait for your next movie. Each subsequent DVD will take no more than two business days to get to your house.

If you watch a lot of films, it’s completely plausible that you could be watching a dozen or so each month- and for just ten bucks! For the same movies (if you can even find them), in the same time frame, you’d be paying three times as much at Blockbuster. Plus, as their slogan goes, there are no late fees.

Blockbuster made a big stink about how they supposedly dropped late fees, but they didn’t really drop late fees. They did a very tricky thing, those snakes at Blockbuster. They eliminated late fees but instituted a no return-you pay for it policy.

But this isn’t about how horrible Blockbuster is; it’s about how great Netflix is. Like I said, even casual movie renters can benefit from the new $5.99 plan. If you have a computer, you have to get Netflix. It’s that simple.