Miller, if you really think I would be ranting at people who have no alternative, then you think a great deal less of me than even I could have imagined. Do I really strike you as that irrational? It would seem pretty clear to me that anyone who made an effort at logic would understand that I’m talking about people who’ve actually made the *choice *that I’m protesting, not the people without such a choice. But hey, at least we’ve succeeded, once again, in making this a personal discussion, about me, rather than about the actual issues I’ve raised. So there’s that.
I have to agree with Miller. If that was what you originally meant, lissener (and frankly, I’m a bit skeptical), then it was by no means obvious.
And I say this as someone who was not specifically involved in the discussion up until now.
Substitute the word “Wal-Mart” for “Netflix”, and “small local grocery/tailor/hardware store/pet store” for “neighborhood institution”, and…I believe we’ve heard this rant before. 
It’s the way the world is going, Lissener. Like it or lump it, capitalism and its market shakeout forces are impelling us towards Wal-Mart and Netflix, and away from Family Video and Ken’s Aquarium.
However, I notice that Ken’s Aquarium and Family Video are still in business, albeit not with “six employees for whom they provide benefits”.
There are still buggy whip manufacturers out there, too, albeit not with six employees, benefits etc.
What about people who have an alternative but rather choose not to support the little guy/independent movie store because they think it isn’t worth it?
This reminds me of that South Park episode with the underpants gnomes, where Mr. Tweeks is trying to compete with Starbucks by extolling the virtues of his Mom n Pop store. At the end, it turns out that Starbucks coffee is actually better, despite their being an eeeeeevil corporation.
You’re skeptical; I’m lying. Great. So it makes more sense for you to think of me as “batshit insane” than “pissy about a situation that affects me personally.” Good plan: always assume the person you’re discussing something with is insane, rather than simply unclear in their first draft. THAT will always lead to productive exchanges.
Again, that’s a choice you make. If your local store sucks, then by all means use Netflix. I would. Unfortunately, it’s just possible that your local store sucks because Netflix has made it impossible for them to be any better. It’s possible that’s not the case, of course; I’m just saying that our straitened situation makes it a major challenge for us to provide everything we’d like to for our customers, who we have to prioritize pretty severely.
Folks, please keep in mind that the discussions in Cafe Society are meant only for the topic at hand, not for comments about the other posters. This includes bits about “pretentious hippie rhetoric” (snowblindfrog) and “I knew there would be handful of people who would be too overwhelmed with their own cleverness” (lissener). It’s okay to have disagreements; it’s not okay to make the disagreements about each other.
Forget it. I’m sorry I said anything.
IME, brick-and-mortar video stores have improved since Netflix came onto the scene, particularly in their late return policies. Blockbuster eliminated late fees entirely (sort of), and the other chain stores I’ve used have stopped charging punitive late fees and now simply prorate the regular rental fees.
Yes. Our late fees used to be punitive; full 3-day rental every day. Now it’s simply pro-rated extended rental. And we have various pre-pay packages with various late-fee remedies. And we’ll almost always negotiate a deal if your late fees get out of hand. Still, the majority of people will give you a hard time about the late fees; occasionally a *very *hard time. But if we didn’t charge late fees at all, people would have no incentive to bring movies back.
You could offer a monthly subscription and let people rent as many movies as they want, as fast as they can return them.
To make the deal even sweeter, you could set up a website and let people pick their movies and you could mail them to them, and include a return mailer so people could easily and conveniently mail them back.
Oh, wait.
exactly. If we bought thousands of copies of every title, we could let people keep them as long as they want. But if we can’t get our copy back, we can’t rent it out again, so we *have *to charge for the extra time.
You’re defending a way of life, and one which is dear to you.
But that post was highly defective in several ways.
Even for you, I’m sure that going to the video store and talking to the clerks or owners about the latest great unknown flicks is only part of the inherently social act of appreciating cinema. Watching a movie together with friends is part of this social act. Talking to people about the film later–both immediately afterwards and much later–is part of this social act. Writing one’s thoughts, and reading others’, and otherwise engaging in dialogue and activity concerning film is another part of this social act. Discussing points of film criticism, and sharing information about new or new-to-you movies, even away from the rental store, is a crucial part of this social act.
It is wrong–and wrongheaded–to imply that there is something inherently lacking in the social existence of someone who orders movies online. I order my movies through netflix, and I find the viewing of cinema to be one of my most rewarding sources of material for active participation in my social environment and in my culture at large.
-FrL-
Of course. I’m talking about the general trend toward isolation-through-internet-“convenience,” away from real-life interactions. Insofar as such a trend reduces such choices for others–like, oh, say, me–it pisses me off.
I haven’t seen evidence for a trend I would describe that way.
Totally understandable.
-FrL-
As I was reading the first few posts of the thread I planned to reply with this, but I see Lou beat me to it. But it bears repeating.
Any decently sized county will have a decently sized library system. Through Interlibrary Loan (which most libraries offer for free, while some charge a nominal fee), you can have access to thousands of movies, TV shows, documentaries and how-to stuff. While it’s not quite Netflix (you’ll have to drive to the library after all), you can get almost the same experience for a fraction of the cost.
And at my library, you can have 7 DVDs out at once, that puts Netflix to shame. 
And like lissener, I do the buying, and I’m always willing to buy something somebody requests.
And back from the hijack. A feature that has not been mentioned so far, that Netflix has (I have no idea if BB has it) is the option of having separate queues for different members. Or in my case, for the multiple possible moods I can have. I currently have a queue for mainstream blockbusters, one for “long tail” movies, one for TV stuff. My wife has one for chick flicks and other boring stuff she makes me watch ;).
This feature is great, as it means there is always one movie of each type at home. If a month goes by without me ever being in the mood to watch a brainy movie, then it just sits there while I get my constant stream of car chases and TV shows. This, to me, is worth gold.
And Netflix’s customer service is just impecable. As no hassle as they come. They do mess up every once in a while, of course. It is just that everything has been thought of and done in a one step procedure.
The headquarters of Netflix is in Los Gatos, California. What do I win? Bring it on, peeps, my state can use all of the tax revenue it can get.
I may not have the most obscure tastes on Earth but Netflix has everything I could ever want including one title that I couldn’t find at my local chain stores or my local indie place. Netflix had it which is why I signed up and since then I have never looked back.
Oh yeah, check this tidbit out from the Wiki article on Netflix:
That beats the crap out of no benefits or bus pass. They’re no Walmart.
Hey, lissener, as someone who’s spent time as a cineaste, I feel your pain.
However, when I finally have time to watch a lot of movies again, I suspect I’ll be joining Netflix. Right now, when I do get DVDs, I’m either buying them (TV series, generally), or getting them from the library.
I could commute to Scarecrow (the epitome of what we’d all like an indie video store to be) or to another local alternative, but right now, given my neighborhood, the closest local stores are easily a half hour or more round trip. Probably more like 45 minutes to an hour. And these days, given the choice between spending an hour renting a movie or using that hour to watch a movie, I’ll pick watching the movie.
Do I want Scarecrow to go out of business? No. Do I want your video store to go out of business? No. Do I want that so much I’m willing to invest hours of my time over the course of a month bringing my business to those places? No.
It’s easy to denigrate “convenience,” as though there’s no value to convenience. But especially now that I have a kid and more ideas with what to do with my free time than time to do it, time is precious. Convenience has tangible value.
Of course I recognize it’s a trade-off. If my neighborhood had a local video store with a decent selection – Rain City Video, which I went to from Wallingford, for example – I’m sure I’d join once I wanted to invest my time in movie watching again. I patronize locally owned bookstores and grocery stores and music stores and other places when I can – but when the investment is too great, Amazon and Safeway it is.
(That said, I worked for Blockbuster once, long ago, and I’ll never give them my money. So when I break down and go corporate for my video rentals, I’m definitely going with Netflix.)
Local independent video store supporter type here. I tried Netflix for awhile, and the thing that turned me off was the turnaround time. I’d get a movie, watch it, and mail it off the next day. I then had a wait of 3 to 5 days to get the next movie in my queue.
The part that pissed me off was that the Netflix mailing facility was only 60 miles away.
So I now prefer the free popcorn, free drinks and the 7 movies for 7 bucks for 7 days special.