Greedier Than Netflix (for Now)

In, the movie, Wall Street, Michael Douglas (as Gordon Gekko) uttered his most famous line: "The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit."

Wow, that's great screenwriting, and it has some raw truth to it.  The quote also sounds like something one would expect to hear at a Netflix shareholder meeting.

On the topic of greed, many people feel Netflix is getting greedy by taking advantage of their huge market share and hiking fees on many subscribers by up to 60%. Netflix may, in fact, be a greedy company; however, in Netflix's defense, there are actually some greedier entities. Here is a partial list of those that may still be just a little greedier than Netflix.

• professional gamblers
• casino owners
• used car salesmen
• car dealership service advisors
• automotive finance specialists
• credit card companies
• two-year-old children
• drug dealers
• politicians
• bank robbers
• mortgage brokers
• Hollywood executives
• record companies
• pimps
• dirty cops
• third-world dictators

So maybe Netflix is not so bad. If Netflix wants to compete in the big leagues of greed, however, they will need to take things up a notch with at least one more big fee increase to gouge the subscribers. That just might put them over the top. Hmm, do you think Netflix will be able to hold off on that next fee increase until next year, or will they, in the spirit of competition, just go for it?

Netflix Pride Flag

Introducing the Netflix Pride Flag. With millions of subscribers welcoming all kinds of abuse and paying for it, Netflix's customer base has become the largest organized fetish group in North America. A group this large, dedicated, and submissive deserves a symbol.

If you are one of the millions who pay Netflix for continued abuses like throttling, artificial new release delays, mysterious billing errors, dismissive customer service, unjustified fee increases, etc., please display this flag with pride, and let everyone know about your tougher-than-leather, undying love for Netflix. Because, sometimes, love hurts.

Just Say No to Netflix’s Blu-Ray Fee Increase

On April 27, 2009, those of you who have Blu-ray rental privileges enabled on your Netflix account will be treated to a subscription fee increase. You must remove the Blu-ray rental option from your account before that day to avoid the fee hike. The fee hikes vary from plan to plan. The more you pay per month, the greater your fee increase will be. Now would be a good time to swear off Blu-ray forever.

Blu-ray is a ridiculous format anyway, and you should not be wasting your money on it. When viewed on an excellent HD entertainment system, Blu-rays do offer better quality than DVDs, but the difference is just not enough to justify all of the expenses and costs associated with Blu-ray technology. Besides, the world is moving to fully digital downloadable content. Blu-ray and all other video discs will be nearly obsolete in the not-so-distant future. You can read more about why Blu-ray is a doomed format on Video Underground, an Underground Syndicate site, in “Just Say No to Blu-Ray.”

Once you realize the future of Blu-ray is bleak, make sure to cancel the Blu-ray access on your Netflix account. The Netflix Blu-ray fee increase is only weeks away. There is no reason to be wasting money on a format that has so little going for it. Save your money. Enjoy your DVDs, and wait for the era of digital downloads to come of age. It will be here before you know it.