February 02, 2011

The Break Up

Dear Netflix;
It's not me, it's you. I know I should try to soften the blow, but why lie? It's time to part ways.
When I first heard about you, I was skeptical. Who can't find the time to return a movie to a rental store? Then along came quads and I barely had time to shower, let alone leave the house. The luxury of throwing my latest DVD rental in the mail was wonderful.
We had a good run. I often found myself watching the latest releases on the day they came out because I figured out your "system." You send out Tuesday's new releases on Monday. I rarely had to wait for things and rarely found myself with scratched DVDs.
But now I've moved on. To the library. Yes, the library. In the last month or so, I've made a shocking discovery. For whatever reason, you have been holding out on me. My local library receives many new releases weeks before you do! And they're free to rent! Sure, I can't build a "queue," but I can put up to ten items on hold. Unlike you, the library won't let me put DVDs on hold as soon as the movie hits the theater. I have to wait until said movie is "on order," but I don't mind checking the website often to see if I'm able to request a movie. (Right now I'm #2 in line to rent Tangled when it comes out, so clearly the persistence paid off).
I'll always remember you fondly and I'll continue to tell people what a great service you are. Who knows, maybe we'll rekindle our relationship someday. But for now, I'm going with the entity that doesn't take a dime from me!
Thanks for the memories,
Quadmama

11 comments:

Stephanie Barr said...

Ironic that there's a Netflix ad next to where I'm typing. I've been with Netflix for years, but I'm a movie-phile and I love the watch on line, especially for old favorites.

Cool your library does that, though.

Quadmama said...

I would have stayed with Netflix, but it was becoming harder to justify the cost when our library gets new releases faster.

Sadia said...

:) We kept Netflix and got rid of cable. However, we mostly do the streaming instant play stuff.

Quadmama said...

We get free cable through Hubby's job. Up until he got this job, we relied heavily on Netflix to watch our favorite shows.

MaryAnne said...

We JUST started streaming Netflix, in part because we got tired of our library DVDs being too scratched to actually watch. And we watch so little tv that there are plenty of shows even on streaming-only that we haven't seen! So for now I'm loving netflix, especially with all the snow I've had to shovel where I need something to entertain kids indoors...

Quadmama said...

We used it for 5+ years. We definitely got our money out of it... and if things turn sour with the library, we'll be back.

Renae said...

We are loving our Netflix subscription, but did recently downgrade our plan. We pretty much only get TV shows from them, and so many can now be streamed instantly that there's no real need to get the actual DVD. Still, we're not willing to part ways completely. Our library network does have a fantastic selection of DVDs, but you can't keep them indefinitely like with a Netflix DVD (for good reason, I know) and the late fine is $1 a day. And, unfortunately, I've experienced the late fine enough times to know that I'm not great about honoring their deadlines. Glad the library system is working out for you though. It does sound like another great way to cut back and save some cash.

Scurvy Sea Dawg said...

funny, i did the opposite. i used the library for DVDs for about 2 yrs. i finally got tired of having to drive through the ghetto (i don't live in the best of places) to get or return a DVD at a ghetto library. i was extremely skeptical of Netflix but I fell madly in love. I love instant play as well. plus, i'm not one to be first to see a movie or anything. so i can wait my turn for new releases a year from when they come out.

Maybe I should return to my ways of the free public library since i currently dont have a job. but i just cant be bothered with having to watch a DVD within 3 days and returning it to a physical building, with a chance of being shot.

i wish more people used the library. i pretty much use it for books and music now (that's how i get to know if i like an entire album and maybe keep a few songs *wink wink*)

Quadmama said...

Our library holds your "hold" for five days and once you check it out you have a week to return a DVD (three weeks for a book!) We JUST stopped Netflix so we'll see how it all works out.

Joy said...

Such a lovely Dear John Letter.

Cookie said...

Hmm... I need to take another look at my library.

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