NetFlix, the second shooter?

One of the more intelligent people I know recently tried to persuade me that NetFlix flags its so-called “heavy users” and adjusts their shipment times to slow down the number of movies they can rent each month. The plan in question offers “Unlimited rentals - up to 8 movies out at a time for a flat monthly fee of $47.99.” The answer to this debate lies somewhere in the words “unlimited” and “up to.” Shouldn’t unlimited mean "having no limit?” How can you say unlimited and then set a limit? Semantics? Conspiracy?

As a full-fledged conspiracy theorist I still have a hard time believing that NetFlix somehow generates billions of dollars in revenue by “sticking it to” the handful of users who actually have the time to watch 100 movies a month. I am terrible at math, but out there in internet-land someone must have figured out the maximum number of movies one can rent in a 30-day period. This calls for complicated factoring and algorithms to account for pick-up and drop-off times with the Post Office, Sundays, holidays, and shipment times to and from the nearest NetFlix distribution center.

Then the number of hours required to actually watch all of these movies must be calculated. If you have 8 movies, around 2 hours per movie, that is 16 hours that you must devote to watching TV. That does even not factor in the bonus features that are included on most DVDs. Now, let’s get some math on:

There are 720 hours in 30 days, if you have 8 movies a day for 30 days that comes out to….carry the 3…480 hours (20 days) of TV.

That equates to about 67% of the month (actually .666666%, spooky)

If someone has 20 days free a month to do nothing but watch movies, then NetFlix should cut them off. They would be doing them a favor. Maybe go out for a walk, get some fresh air. Go to a movie.

Netflix has become a target because they are tremendously successful, widely used, and somewhat secretive about their company’s practices. (Full disclosure) I use NetFlix and find it very convenient. I can understand how people could think that NetFlix would manipulate shipping times to maximize profits. But the effort and man-power it would take to figure out which orders to hold back out of the millions of envelopes flying around would no doubt negate any savings in postage the company might see.

Later today I will be swinging by MIT to see if I can get someone to help me figure out if my gym membership is losing me money. I am pretty sure it is.

NOTE- Now that I am an blog-whore, I wonder if the ad above this post will now be for Netflix. If it is, click on it and Netflix will pay Google and Google will pay me, and you can get back at NetFlix for holding back the 4th disc for season 3 of "The West Wing" that you have been waiting on.

Shameless

I just signed up for some program that will pay me for posting ads on this blog. If I clean and store all of my cans and bottles to get the deposits back, why not try and make a buck online as well?

Uhell

The reason I am selling things is that I am getting ready to move. Moving sucks, there is no possible way to sugar coat it. Such is life. My company is also moving to a new office within the next couple of weeks and I had to over to UHaul with a coworker to get some boxes. I decided that no matter what, this time, I will hire professional movers.

UHaul is the worst run company that I have ever seen. I have been to many different locations and it is the same deal every time. They always crew up the reservation. You almost are surprised when they actually hand you a set of keys.

"Do you mean these actually are for a truck that is physically present? In this country?"

Most of the action goes down on Saturday mornings. Most people moving have a very limited window that they can actually move items from one location to another. You would think that Uhaul would know this, considering they have been in the moving business for quite some time. So Saturday morning, at 6:55am there is a line of people eager to get going.

Then the disgruntled employees show up, see the line and take their sweet time opening up and getting ready. They usually look the door behind them so you have like five dads and their college freshman kids peering in the window like a toy store at Christmas. Once they decide to open the door it is a scene reminiscent of the 1979 Who concert in Cincinnati.

Then there are the extras. You need some boxes, they cost extra. Packing tape, extra. A steering wheel for the truck, extra. I am not blaming them for trying to make a buck, but there are fees on top of fees. By the time you get your truck and your supplies you have no money left for electricity at your new place.

Although I have personally never rented a truck from Uhaul, I have been there several times while helping my friends move. It has to be one of the most depressing places on the planet. It's like a refugee camp. A bunch of homeless people dragging their possessions around from place to place. Soon thousands of students will begin the trek to Boston and they will all need vans and trucks. Uhaul will make piles of cash while their customers get grey hair and ulcers.

Auction Hero

Why does selling things on craigslist always seem so shady? When you sell items on ebay, you take the anonymity of it for granted. You send email back and forth, ebay plays moderator, telling you when and where to ship the item. Everyone polices themselves with feedback. Granted, the fees ebay charges can be a little much and the number of items for sale is astronomical, but overall it is a great system.

But you want to save a couple of bucks and you use craigslist. Craigslist works in theory because it is local. If you have larger items that would be impossible to mail, you can still find a buyer. The problem is that when you sell on craigslist, you usually have to actually meet people. This is where it gets weird.

These meetings usually take place in public places such as parks or near subway stations. I once sold an old printer to a guy and had to meet him in the parking lot of the Hilltop Steakhouse in Braintree. As I waited there in my car, I could not help but feel that I was doing something illegal. Now granted, this particular deal went down at 10am on a Sunday morning, but it still seemed wrong. The other thought that went through my head was if this was worth the effort for $50?

I think that from here on in I will stick with ebay, or just ship everything. So what if it hurts my bottom line? I am selling crap from my basement, not trying to start a company.

There is just something inherently wrong with a business transaction that requires either party to describe their appearance so as to find one another in a crowd.

"I will be wearing a blue coat... carrying a red backpack... and I have a wooden leg... "


*Oh yeah, and the guy who bought my printer paid me $50 in one dollar bills