Netflix Is No Alternative to Blockbuster

If you are a displaced Blockbuster customer and you are looking for a new home, it is unclear what the answer is, but the answer is probably not Netflix.  If you are considering singing up with Netflix, make sure to do plenty of research before you give them your credit card or bank information.  If you browse through the years of articles on  Netflix Underground  (Blockbuster Underground's sister site), you will find Netflix has a sketchy reputation built around more than a decade of sleazy corporate behavior.  Make a list of everything you hated about Blockbuster Online and multiply that by three. 

Yes, Blockbuster was a profoundly lousy company with many sleazy tactics, but many of their tricky tactics in the DVD-by-mail business were pioneered by Netflix long before Blockbuster Online even mailed their first DVD.  If you are a Blockbuster refugee and you are considering giving Netflix a try, do yourself a favor and first browse this site or do some Internet searches with the following terms.

Netflix throttling
Netflix lawsuit
Netflix credit card charges
Netflix missing DVD charge
Netflix cancellation problem
Netflix delay
Netflix tactics
Netflix staging media event
Netflix price increase
Netflix shipping

What you will find will not be pretty, but at least you will be armed with some knowledge before making a decision that could lead to a lot unnecessary aggravation.

The End of Blockbuster As We Know It

Well, we all knew this day was coming.  The only surprise is that it took so long. 

Dish is closing all remaining Blockbuster retail stores and shutting down the DVD-by-mail service.  Dish will continue to use the Blockbuster brand and offer streaming service, but the DVD-by-mail service will end around the middle of December 2013.  The last stores will be permanently closed in January 2014. 

It's here.  This is the end of Blockbuster as we know it.