Netflix Angry Customers: Gaining Revenge

Saying Netflix subscribers were upset by the company's price hike would be an understatement.

Netflix subscribers immediately took to social media to air complaints about the streaming movie company's decision to bump up prices by 60 percent two weeks ago, with many claiming they would cancel the service.

Earlier in July, Netflix decided to get rid of its $9.99 plan, which featured unlimited streaming and one DVD out at a time, in favor of offering each option individually for $7.99.

Wall Street initially reacted positive to Netflix's move, especially considering the measure could generate 60 percent more revenue. But the tide has begun to move away from Netflix.

Netflix's stock price has dropped close to $30 since the initial price hike announcement, which surely gives upset customers a fit of laughter.

Beyond quitting Netflix's service, the stock price decline is the only measure of revenge they could get.

But the stock price drop has more with Netflix's increasing competition that has entered the streaming video market than disgruntled users cancelling the service.

Sensing a Netflix weakness, Amazon and Walmart have both significantly bumped up their movie streaming options in the past two weeks.

Amazon recently struck a deal with Universal Pictures and CBS to significantly increase the offerings of its Amazon Prime library. The deal with Universal will add 1,000 movies to the library, including movies such as "Being John Malkovich." The CBS deal adds 2,000 episodes of various popular television shows, including "Numb3rs" and "Medium."

Wal-Mart didn't significantly bolster a streaming service with additional content, but did finally bring its Vudu streaming service under the big Wal-Mart online umbrella. Wal-Mart purchased Vudu company last year, but up until last week Vudu operated independently.

Wal-Mart's Vudu service won't offer a monthly subscription like Netflix, but will offer instead movies for anywhere from $1.00 to $5.99. The influence Walmart has on the market can never be underestimated, since the company is the world's largest retailer.

Netflix is seeing attacks from all angles, though the company still feels confident it has made the right move by pushing customers to its streaming option in expense of mail-in DVDs. It has spurned complaints by users in favor of making more money.

So while seeing Netflix's stock drop might make disgruntled customers happy, if they really want to knock Netflix out once and for all -- they'll move to a competitor.