MoviePass morals
Investor takes bath. Who’s at fault?
Dear John: I liked your story about MoviePass.
Your article reminded me where I blew it on my MoviePass investment.
I was always taught the Golden Rule and believed that most people were good and also lived by a similar doctrine.
In the case of MoviePass, I have lost a good deal of my faith in humanity and have come to the realization that there is a much higher percentage of the population who now subscribe to the “always take as much as you can get” philosophy of life.
I am afraid that today’s consumers are a reflection of a society brutalized by capitalism, angry at their position in life and all too happy to stick it to the man!
Corporations, to this group of people, are faceless entities out to get them.
And they will be damned if they don’t get their ounce of blood in any deal that they make with that corporate beast. BV
Dear BV: I like it. Blame the failings of the whole human race for the screw-ups of MoviePass. And that’s why you lost money on your investment. Now I get it! The fact that this company has a very flawed business plan isn’t the reason your investment has gone to near zero.
In case my other readers don’t know about MoviePass, it’s a startup company that allows people to see all the movies they want in theaters for a fixed price that’s too low for MoviePass to make a profit. I took advantage and have already seen 54 movies for a fee of less than $90, which is why BV is preaching from the mount.
To BV’s way of thinking, it’s society’s fault, and mine, since I’m part of this flawed society, that the company may not make it.
“Do unto consumers as you would have them do unto you.” How does that even make sense? Companies stay in business by taking money from consumers. Consumers pay for goods at an inflated price — that’s the profit margin.
Sure, companies shouldn’t purposely cheat customers. But companies try to cut the best deal that they can for themselves. And consumers cut the best deal that they can when dealing with companies.
That’s the way capitalism has always worked. And that’s what is going on with MoviePass.
By BV’s logic, I should turn down any buy-one-get-one-free offer because it would be unfair (in a biblical way) to the company that is making the offer, which was only being kind in do- ing so.
And I should only fill my plate once at an “all you can eat” buffet because the restaurant (if it lives by the Golden Rule) probably gives money back to customers who don’t eat enough.
Let me tell you what my article did do. By showing the flaws in MoviePass’ offer I was able to get an unlimited number of movies at a set price of either $10 a month or an up-front price of $89.95.
By doing so, one, I told other consumers to get in on this unbelievablly good deal before it ends. And two, I explained to investors and lenders why MoviePass wasn’t such a great deal from their point of view.
Don’t you wish you had read my column before you invested!
Dear John: I read about that niece’s problem getting a death record from the city.
If the person [arranged] the funeral, she should be able to ask the funeral home for a Form 721, which is what they mail to the Social Security office to give notice of death.
If they filled it out correctly, it would have the niece’s name and relationship right on it. But since seven or eight years have passed, the funeral home might not be overeager to look up the record.
And by itself this might not be enough to cash a bond that the niece has. It’s just a useful fact for the estate.
The niece should contact the bank before showing up, since most banks get edgy about people coming in to ask for, on the spot, amounts of $10,000 or more. MH
Dear MH: Thanks for the suggestion.
Money-laundering laws are making banks skittish about a lot of things.