Nicheflix

[therainsong]

They need 40 because the title is so expensive? Or does this go for any request?

They said something about each rental being worth $1 to them, so in order to pay off a DVD that costs $45, or so, that they would need 40 requests. But I'm pretty sure that most rentals are worth more than that, even with shipping and precautions taken to protect the DVDs. But I could always be wrong. Though many members aren't registered in the forums, thus the film won't get as many requests as it would rents.

[Donald Trampoline]

I think the DVD being on the expensive side is the problem.And, no, they don't need 40 requests for every title. There's usually only about 10 people at the most seconding any request on the forum. So I think it is the expense on this DVD. (Anyone see it cheaper somewhere?)

I'm sure they take into account that there are people who are members who don't use the forum or don't know about it. (I certainly didn't for a long time.) Definitely many titles have appeared on the service with far less requests. (Powell and Pressburger's Ill Met By Moonlight and Small Back Room, for instance.)

Niche Flix has added some hot other-region stuff lately:

Godard's Weekend (Artificial Eye)
Rivette's Histoires de Marie et Julien (Artificial Eye)
Fellini's Casanova
Riefenstahl's Olympia (German discs)

They just added the bunch of westerns DVD Beaver recently reviewed:
Western Union (Fritz Lang)
Broken Lance
Warlock
Garden of Evil
Broken Arrow (1950)
and also John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln (which Beaver rated positively.)

They're just really cooking it seems to me, and I am a very happy customer! They have the version of Salo (BFI) that DVD Beaver says has an extra scene that Criterion's old disc does not. A sampling of fab stuff (some I've seen, some I haven't yet) I've found on the site:

Kon Ichikawa's Actor's Revenge (BFI)
Le Doulos from BFI DVD was an exquisite treat I rented recently
Leon Morin Pretre (BFI)
Woman in the Dunes (DVD Beaver-endorsed version)
Welles' Chimes at Midnight (and also restored Macbeth)
Tulse Luper Suitcases: The Moab Story
The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf)
Jour de Fete (restored color version, BFI DVD)
Black Cat, White Cat
Andy Warhol short films and Chelsea Girls (Raro Video)
Peter Greenaway's short films
Derek Jarman's Super 8s
Mouchette
Au Hasard Balthazar

Some Bela Tarr, some King Hu, lots of Powell and Pressburger, a heap of Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and enough Asian stuff from all eras to make your head explode. (Practically the entire Celestial Shaw Brothers releases.)

There's tons of crazy British and Asian TV series that I don't even know what the hell they are. And, heck, they also just added Neighbors (1981) (?!?) for kicks! They don't have everything (yet), but my queue is already heading northwards of 200.

[BrightEyes23]

Nicheflix a la Carte: I got an email tonight from Nicheflix announcing the unveiling of their new "ala carte" service...you can basically rent a movie from between $3 and $8. What upsets me however is that nearly half or more of the movies in my queue that are "currently unavailable" or recently went "out of stock" are offered in this ala carte service...it looks like Nicheflix is basically taking the most requested titles and pulling them from the normal rental queue and if you want to rent these titles you gotta poney up extra money on top of what you're already spending. Does anyone else find this a little upsetting? How long before we're paying normal rental fees for all the rare movies to rent, and the monthly charge you have to pay is merely to have access to rent these movies? This is a scary precedent I think...

[unclehulot]

If you (or anyone) can actually figure out what makes the Nicheflix stock behave with ANY sort of logic, then hats off to you. After waiting 4 months for a copy of "Asphalt", which was # 1 in my queue, I was told ONE person had it for that whole time.......well, duh, order a new one! Maybe even think about having....gasp!.... 2 copies of a disc! This basic business sense (or courtesy to PAYING customers) seems to elude these folks.

Having said that, I'm a bit like the moth to the flame, and periodically sign up for another month or two.

I'd like to hear more about this new program, and what it ends up costing per rental. When you say these titles previously out of stock are offered, does that actually translate into them being shipped in this program? I kind of doubt it. Aren't they just dangling the titles out there to be browsed within the system? I found that true with the normal rental program......once one ponied up the cash, THAT'S when you see the crappy ONE available title to 25 unavailable ratio!!

OK, I just looked at the site, and see what you're talking about......these prices are over and above one's membership fees??? Or can one get these a la carte titles without paying the regular monthly fees?? WTF!! .....I quit them becuase the vast majority of the various titles supposedly available to me were never showing up... even though my membership SHOULD have given me access to them!! Perusing the list it seems it's business as usual.....95% of the titles are out of stock!

[Donald Trampoline]

Nicheflix a la Carte:

I've tried the A La Carte service and like it. It's separate. You can cancel your regular Niche Flix and do A La Carte only, or you can do both. I sprung for $14 (including shipping I believe) for four discs, which results in $3.50 a disc, which is not bad. Some things cost more though, but overall I think it may be a good deal. Your total price will definitely vary and number of discs in the title also matter. (Read the FAQ.) The only drawback for me is there is a rental period of only seven days. I really like the unlimited queue systems because sometimes I just don't have time to watch films and they need to languish for a while. Sending things back unwatched or paying late fees just sucks.

The good thing undeniably about A La Carte is you can get things that were going "unavailable" or that they had seemed to refuse to add. Instantly some Masters of Cinema DVDs appeared as well as several other hotly desired titles, such as some Raro Video ones (Andy Warhol:Vinyl/Velvet Underground, Burroughs Cut-Up Films), Pabst's The Threepenny Opera, People on Sunday, Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow, Tristana). I was very pleased that Dreyer's Der Var Engang, which had been "currently unavailable" for a long time, was suddenly available A La Carte and I could rent it instantly. ("Currently Unavailable" was usually the worst comment in your queue and was the least likely to be restocked. "Out of Stock"s are usually intended to be restocked when they can.)

Oh, but one drawback on that. Of course they don't have unlimited copies, so now as I'm browsing A La Carte I find some things "out of stock." So the same problem with demand may occur.

Niche Flix Mark has not said it is for the hotly desired titles. In fact, it seems those will be MORE likely to stay on the regular Niche Flix side of things. What he has stated is it is for DVDs that are way too expensive, such as those from Japan and those that break too easily (A La Carte comes in protected packaging), as well as what he calls "slow renters." Also multi-disc sets that are too tricky to get to renters in a timely sequential order on the regular queue side of the site. So, here you can rent all four discs of "Until the End of the World" at once. (I had this problem when I rented the silent Dr. Mabuse the Gambler though the queue system. I rented disc one and watched and returned it and then had to wait eons for disc two, the second half of the movie! Dr. Mabuse is now available A La Carte so people won't have this problem.)

So I think there are some positives. Also some things are available on both sides of the service.

[kevyip1]

When I was on Nicheflix, my trick was to remove all the "available" titles in the queue, and leave only the "available shortly" or "available soon" (or even "out of stock) titles in it. That was the only way I was able to get the unavailable titles. If the ENTIRE queue is unavailable, the titles would be sent out ANYWAY, it seems. Once you put in "available" titles in the queue, they would be sent first, and the unavailable ones would be forever treated as 2nd priority and never sent to you.

[unclehulot]

When I was on Nicheflix, my trick was to remove all the "available" titles in the queue, and leave only the "available shortly" or "available soon" (or even "out of stock) titles in it. That was the only way I was able to get the unavailable titles. If the ENTIRE queue is unavailable, the titles would be sent out ANYWAY, it seems. Once you put in "available" titles in the queue, they would be sent first, and the unavailable ones would be forever treated as 2nd priority and never sent to you.

I thought of that once, left about 25 unavailable titles in there. Four days later NOTHING had shipped, so I gave up. Obviously, one's mileage may vary.

Actually, after finding out about the A la carte thing NOT being tied to subscribing to the other services, I think it may be the thing for me. At least I know a title is available when I put it in to the cart. Now, I guess I would like to be able to rent ANY of their titles this way. In the mean time, I'm able to get a few titles that never shipped even as #1 in my queue.

[denti alligator]

I'm an unhappy subscriber to the regular plan (2 out at a time, which currently means I have 0 out) and haven't received notification of this new program. Don't see anything at the site, either. How to sign up?

[unclehulot]

Here's a link

http://store.nicheflix.com/store/cart.php

Even though I had been a customer, I had to enter new account information again. Don't know how that works for current customers.

[denti alligator]

Oh, but one drawback on that. Of course they don't have unlimited copies, so now as I'm browsing A La Carte I find some things "out of stock." So the same problem with demand may occur.

Almost every title I wanted was "out of stock." Does this mean that some other customer has the DVD and I need to wait? Or does it mean that they doesn't even have the movie yet (which is what "out of stock" means in the regular NetFlix rental program: movie lost and needs to be replaced).

[unclehulot]

I rented several titles that were not available one day, and then were the next, so I don't think it's a waiting on stock situation. However, I've been waiting all week for the first shipment, so I believe that their shiping dates, as usual, are a complete fabrication. At least, with delivery confirmation, I'll still get my week with them....if they ever arrive.

[denti alligator]

How long do you get to keep the discs for?

[unclehulot]

you can keep them for a week, although I'm not sure how they police this, considering the huge differences in USPS delivery times. I guess there's a delivery confirmation so that they know when you receive the discs.

[denti alligator]

Shipping is another $3.00. Is it cheaper if I rent more than one title at a time, or will I be charged $3.00 extra for each disc?

[Donald Trampoline]

Shipping is another $3.00. Is it cheaper if I rent more than one title at a time, or will I be charged $3.00 extra for each disc?

You want to rent 4 discs at once (keeping in mind to include each of the 2 discs in 2-disc sets in that tally) and then the $3.00 is spread across optimally. It's just a flat $3.00 total, which is pretty reasonable.

8 discs at once has higher shipping, but it may be an even better deal since I think it's only marginally more for shipping, but I can't watch 8 discs in a week!

But, yes, definitely rent more than 1 at a time, and I say 4 discs is the way to go.

[nick]

All the shipping rate info is here:

http://store.nicheflix.com/store/faq.html

[Donald Trampoline]

I rented several titles that were not available one day, and then were the next, so I don't think it's a waiting on stock situation. However, I've been waiting all week for the first shipment, so I believe that their shiping dates, as usual, are a complete fabrication. At least, with delivery confirmation, I'll still get my week with them....if they ever arrive.

Same deal for me. Very disappointed one day that everything I want is out of stock, then some are back in stock a couple of days later. My first shipment took some insanely long time to show up, and the next one showed up incredibly quickly. So it's unpredictable and needs to be ironed out.

[denti alligator]

Thanks. There are only 5 dvds I want to rent, but that any 4 of them is available at the same time is slim. Right now only 1 is available. I'd rent if 3 were. Cross my fingers and check every day I guess.

[Dylan]

Does anybody know why half of Nicheflix's DVDs are now out of stock?

[Dylan]

Also no longer available:

Salo
All of the Tartan Bergmans
And at leat 3/4 of what I want to see from them.

Did they run out of money or something and had to sell a bunch off?

[BrightEyes23]

i know they are ending their monthly rental service and going with a strictly A La Carte, a lot of the titles have been moved to that, and or sold off due to low rental volumes...they've been adding new titles now and then but not nearly as many as they did 6 months ago (you could expect at least 3 titles or so a week...not it seems like 3 a month).

[davebert]

That's sad; back in the day when I reviewed things, I had a nice agreement set up with them to get an account set up for multiregion content reviews. Lots of great Shaw Bros. stuff, as well as the critical BFI television releases and An Actor's Revenge, etc. etc. Shipping was fast and the atmosphere was lively. Now it seems it's just about dead. But the idea itself, I think, was extremely solid. There's no way I can afford anywhere near all the multiregion things I want, so a rental system would really be the most efficient way for myself and numerous others... I guess it just needs to have a more profitable structure.

[Dylan]

Well, they still have things I want to see, so last week I set up the 6 week account with them, but that's all I'm keeping it for because very likely I'll have seen everything I want to see from Niche in that time frame. But reading about what they were stocking a year ago is disappointing.

[BrightEyes23]

have you guys checked the a la carte site for these titles?

i emailed the guy who ran it a couple of times because i was waiting for them to get the Nakagawa's back in, (this was last summer) and he told me that one of the problems was that people were having discs out for weeks at a time, which meant that the rental turnover was very low, and combining that with broken discs, and stolen discs, that it wasn't working out very well...in fact he had to re-order some of the Nakagawa's because someone stole them, now with the A La Carte, I'll spend maybe $25 on a handful of rentals, but they come in nice hard cases, etc. I'll usually order once a month or so, depending on whats in stock. Its more like having a rental place in town that carries things you want now.

[Dylan]

I had no idea about "A la carte." I'll have to try it out, when my 6 weeks at Nicheflix expires.