What about Peerflix?
Matt Heinz
There’s been a lot of buzz this month about Netflix and Blockbuster Total Access, especially with Blockbuster’s New Year Blitz of ads for their new-and-improved online service. I’ve been a loyal Netflix subscriber for years, and started using Blockbuster’s Total Access a few weeks ago.
But the service it seems nobody is talking about anymore is Peerflix. I started using Peerflix last summer as an alternative means of watching more movies. Instead of a rental model, Peerflix is a peer-to-peer movie trading service.
It was a great service until December, when they rolled out a brand new Web site with lots of great new features, a better customer interface, etc.
I’m still a big fan of the Peerflix model, but it apparently no longer works. Despite having 142 movies on my “want” list, and plenty of “trade cash” in my reserve, I haven’t received a single DVD since December.
I’ve long wondered if Peerflix’s days are numbered. A peer-to-peer model sounds great, but inventory is its Achilles’ Heel. It requires each user to stay active, and continue passing discs back and forth.
But if somehow the Web site and/or the back-end software no longer facilitates customer requests efficiently, it brings the whole thing to a screeching halt.
With services like Netflix and Blockbuster working so seamlessly now, is this the beginning of the end for Peerflix? And why isn’t anybody talking about it?
