Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 13 years and 7 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

Like millions of other Netflix subscribers last week, I received CEO Reed Hastings’ strange “apology” for the recent price increase, along with the announcement that the business is splitting into two companies: Netflix for streaming, and Qwikster for the DVDs-by-mail service. The end result is two web sites, two accounts, two queues, two payments … and two headaches for customers.

Wha-huh?

I was already considering cancelling my Netflix service (after the original price increase was announced a few months ago) when my gift subscription expired, but this latest change sealed the deal: I’m dropping Netflix. I enjoyed my gift subscription and really loved using the service. Over the past year I’ve gotten to watch five seasons of Dexter, the first three seasons of Mad Men, and a bunch of other movies and TV shows on DVD and over streaming.

Time will tell if I’ll miss the streaming service but to “replace” the DVD rentals, I’ll be giving Redbox a try. It won’t be as convenient as DVDs direct to my home but in the long run it will be cheaper than keeping Netflix/Qwikster and there will be less pressure to watch more stuff just because I’m paying a monthly fee for it (I already have plenty to watch on my TiVos, especially with the new fall TV season starting up again).

Thus ends my second stint as a Netflix customer (I first subscribed to the service from 1999 until 2002). I’ll watch the new companies’ progress with interest to see if this is the end of the DVDs-by-mail model, and if there’s any more subscriber fallout/backlash from these changes. And who knows … maybe at some point I’ll come back to Netflix a third time.