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Out of curiosity, how would a good unsubscription flow earn Netflix a bunch of customers? It doesn't seem like people would recommend Netflix to others because

Out of curiosity, how would a good unsubscription flow earn Netflix a bunch of customers? It doesn't seem like people would recommend Netflix to others because it was easy for them to unsubscribe frequently enough for that to have any substantial effect or come back just because it was so easy to unsubscribe.

aszantu 5y ago
I stay away from services I liked when it was hard to unsubscribe and won't come back even if I have the money now.
tonyedgecombe 5y ago
I know it’s anecdotal but I refuse to subscribe to services that I think are going to be difficult to cancel. The Economist is an immediate example.
theshrike79 5y ago
If you make me jump through hoops (and have interactive human contact) to unsubscribe, I'm never subscribing again. On the other hand if I can just go "click" on website and the site goes "ok, your subscription ends at the end of this month". I'll most likely come back if there is some content I want to get to.
yarcob 5y ago
1. Because people who unsubscribe might come back again. If it's a hassle to unsubscribe, I'm never going to subscribe again. There are a few of companies that I had poor experience with, and I am never going to buy anything from again. While I currently don't have time for Netflix anymore doesn't mean I'm not going to subscribe again in a year or two. 2. I subscribed to Netflix because they had a reputation of being easy to subscribe / unsubscribe. I'm not going to subscribe to the New York Times because I've heard how hard they are to cancel. I have a subscription to a local newspaper, they even had ads mentioning how easy it is to start / stop their subscription.
andreareina 5y ago
Just signed up for a month of some service because it was non-recurring. There are services I haven't signed up for specifically because even though I'm ok to pay every month, the (hypothetical, but likely according to my priors) trouble to unsubscribe puts me off. Beyond that, if someone's choosing between one of e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+, I imagine that it could make a difference.
2muchcoffeeman 5y ago
I put my Netflix on hold all the time. If it was hard, I’d cancel forever. Not sure what the OP is talking about with the Apple system. There is a Subscriptions section in your Apple ID. But I like going through Apple because it’s all in one place and the content provider has no chance to try and dark patterns on me. Even if the Apple subscriptions is a slightly worse experience, if I can get all my subscriptions in one place and have the ability to cancel at will I’m going to chose that. I can’t imagine what kind of minor benefit I’d get from using multiple cards and different subscriptions that would make it worth more than easy management.
- yarcob 5y ago
  > I can’t imagine what kind of minor benefit I’d get from using multiple cards and different subscriptions that would make it worth more than easy management. I have a personal bank account, a business bank account for all business expenses, and a bank account shared with my significant other for household expenses. I want to pay our shared Netflix and Spotify accounts from the family account, apps that I buy for business use on my business account, and things I buy for myself on my personal account. I can't be the only person who has multiple bank accounts?
  - viro 5y ago
    Family Sharing
    - yarcob 5y ago
      That puts everyones purchases on a single card and is even worse.
reallydontask 5y ago
If it's a pain to unsubscribe you'd think about it before subscribing again. There is also people that might be put off if the process is notorious for being unfriendly or cumbersome How much this affects subscriber numbers is a different story altogether.
dougmwne 5y ago
I absolutely remember the manipulative Amazon Prime workflow and it gives me pause every time I am offered a free trial because I know it's going to be a confusing pain to make sure I unsubscribe properly.
whywhywhywhy 5y ago
Think you'll be surprised how far the ideology of "the customer comes first" can take a company. If it was easy for me to unsubscribe, I'm not going to worry much about re-subscribing later. If you put me through an hour of faffing about in the hopes I give up then why would I ever come back.
Macha 5y ago
I don't subscribe to the NYT primarily because of the details I've heard of their unsubscribe flow (they've even built a better one to comply with california regulations, but geoblocked it outside of california)
- janandonly 5y ago
  I was fortunate to take a subscript with a throw away credit card. When it was empty my subscription ended.

aszantu 5y ago

I stay away from services I liked when it was hard to unsubscribe and won't come back even if I have the money now.

tonyedgecombe 5y ago

I know it’s anecdotal but I refuse to subscribe to services that I think are going to be difficult to cancel. The Economist is an immediate example.

theshrike79 5y ago

If you make me jump through hoops (and have interactive human contact) to unsubscribe, I'm never subscribing again. On the other hand if I can just go "click" on website and the site goes "ok, your subscription ends at the end of this month". I'll most likely come back if there is some content I want to get to.

yarcob 5y ago

1. Because people who unsubscribe might come back again. If it's a hassle to unsubscribe, I'm never going to subscribe again. There are a few of companies that I had poor experience with, and I am never going to buy anything from again. While I currently don't have time for Netflix anymore doesn't mean I'm not going to subscribe again in a year or two. 2. I subscribed to Netflix because they had a reputation of being easy to subscribe / unsubscribe. I'm not going to subscribe to the New York Times because I've heard how hard they are to cancel. I have a subscription to a local newspaper, they even had ads mentioning how easy it is to start / stop their subscription.

andreareina 5y ago

Just signed up for a month of some service because it was non-recurring. There are services I haven't signed up for specifically because even though I'm ok to pay every month, the (hypothetical, but likely according to my priors) trouble to unsubscribe puts me off. Beyond that, if someone's choosing between one of e.g. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+, I imagine that it could make a difference.

2muchcoffeeman 5y ago

I put my Netflix on hold all the time. If it was hard, I’d cancel forever. Not sure what the OP is talking about with the Apple system. There is a Subscriptions section in your Apple ID. But I like going through Apple because it’s all in one place and the content provider has no chance to try and dark patterns on me. Even if the Apple subscriptions is a slightly worse experience, if I can get all my subscriptions in one place and have the ability to cancel at will I’m going to chose that. I can’t imagine what kind of minor benefit I’d get from using multiple cards and different subscriptions that would make it worth more than easy management.

yarcob 5y ago
> I can’t imagine what kind of minor benefit I’d get from using multiple cards and different subscriptions that would make it worth more than easy management. I have a personal bank account, a business bank account for all business expenses, and a bank account shared with my significant other for household expenses. I want to pay our shared Netflix and Spotify accounts from the family account, apps that I buy for business use on my business account, and things I buy for myself on my personal account. I can't be the only person who has multiple bank accounts?
- viro 5y ago
  Family Sharing
  - yarcob 5y ago
    That puts everyones purchases on a single card and is even worse.

reallydontask 5y ago

If it's a pain to unsubscribe you'd think about it before subscribing again. There is also people that might be put off if the process is notorious for being unfriendly or cumbersome How much this affects subscriber numbers is a different story altogether.

dougmwne 5y ago

I absolutely remember the manipulative Amazon Prime workflow and it gives me pause every time I am offered a free trial because I know it's going to be a confusing pain to make sure I unsubscribe properly.

whywhywhywhy 5y ago

Think you'll be surprised how far the ideology of "the customer comes first" can take a company. If it was easy for me to unsubscribe, I'm not going to worry much about re-subscribing later. If you put me through an hour of faffing about in the hopes I give up then why would I ever come back.

Macha 5y ago

I don't subscribe to the NYT primarily because of the details I've heard of their unsubscribe flow (they've even built a better one to comply with california regulations, but geoblocked it outside of california)

janandonly 5y ago
I was fortunate to take a subscript with a throw away credit card. When it was empty my subscription ended.