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Netflix Games The System

By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Technology

Yes, I use the service, but I don’t rent nearly as many as this guy.

Check this out:

SAN FRANCISCO – Manuel Villanueva realizes he has been getting a pretty good deal since he signed up for Netflix Inc.’s online DVD rental service 2 1/2 years ago, but he still feels shortchanged. That’s because the $17.99 monthly fee that he pays to rent up to three DVDs at a time would amount to an even bigger bargain if the company didn’t penalize him for returning his movies so quickly.

Netflix typically sends about 13 movies per month to Villanueva’s home in Warren, Mich. â€â€? down from the 18 to 22 DVDs he once received before the company’s automated system identified him as a heavy renter and began delaying his shipments to protect its profits.

The same Netflix formula also shoves Villanueva to the back of the line for the most-wanted DVDs, so the service can send those popular flicks to new subscribers and infrequent renters.

The little-known practice, called “throttling” by critics, means Netflix customers who pay the same price for the same service are often treated differently, depending on their rental patterns.

Savages!!!


This entry was posted on Sunday, February 12th, 2006 and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Netflix Games The System”

  1. Hunter McDaniel Says:
    February 12th, 2006 at 11:24 am

    I’m really saddened by the fact that the MSM have decided to become accomplices in Manuel’s jihad against Netflix. What Netflix does is what ANY business does – give their best service to their most profitable customers. Just by using his term “throttling” the news stories have implicitly taken his side in this debate.

    I’m only a subscriber to Netflix, not a stockholder. But as I see it Manuel is already getting his discs cheaper than me, and I don’t care to see my subscription fee so he can get them even cheaper.

  2. Jim Says:
    February 13th, 2006 at 2:11 pm

    I agree. What a crybaby. He is not only getting the same service as the other cutomers at the same price, but more – and he still thinks he si entitled to even more than that. Dip his pacifier in ant poison.

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