Has anyone used NetFlix?

[wmansir]

Please post your experiences, good or bad.

I'm just starting a 2 week trial and it looks like a promising service. I am interested in their turn around time. If I return the DVD's the day after I receive them how long does it take for them to send out the next batch?

Thanks for any info.

[Squeebo]

I have been using netflix for a little over a month now. I have the 5 out at a time deal and the turn around is usually 7 to 10 days that is from the day I send one back to the day I get my next one in. That may seem like a long time but I live in Florida and the company is in California so the turn around may be faster for you. With the 5 out at a time I just send one back every other day and I keep a pretty steady flow of them coming in. Hope this helps you out.

[Antonio S.]

I have been using Netflix almost for a year. Service is a little slow( 8 to 12 days to deliver). But I am vey happy with it. I was very dissapointed with Blockbuster, because they charge to much ($3.99 for 2 days and $3.00 for each additional day for late charges).

[ScooterMyth]

Been using them for about a year. A little slow sometimes. If you want a current movie make sure you preorder it when you see it show up in the theatres! Otherwise you will get the dreaded "long wait" status when it first appears for rent. I split the subscription with 2 friends. We average about 10 movies a month (could be more but we are interested in new releases only and sometimes we have to wait) which averages out to about $2 American per movie. Not great, but no running around either.

[Bubba]

I don't usually go for new releases, so my turn-around time is very quick, 2-3 days at most.

[wmansir]

Thanks again for the info.

Since I'm very east coast I expect my turn around time to be very long. I plan on ripping the disc to my HD and then returning them the same day, at least during the trial period. Unless I run into a problem I'm going to pay for 1 month, so I can really evaluate the system.

I was suprised to find every movie I wanted, hell every movie I looked at, was 'Available Now' when looking over the site, but after reading around on the web I see it's probably because I'm in my trial period. Needless to say I'm putting all my new release choices at the top of my list so I can get while the getting is good.

One policy I don't like is that each disc counts as a seperate DVD. I can see how this makes sense for TV series releases like X-Files or Sopranos, but if the second disk just contains movie bonus material it should be included with the movie selection. At least they make this very clear on the website, so your unlikely to get a movie and realize most of the goodies didn't come with it.

Speaking of the website, I really like the rating system. It's very easy to use, and doesn't slow you down when looking for movies, but I don't know how useful the 'Best Bets' results are. It kept putting Iron Giant at the top of my list. You would think I must love that movie, but I don't, I just think it's OK. Also, they should work on the way you re-order your Queue. It doesn't work very well, but gets the job done. Next to the 5-star movie rating implementation, it looks very bad.

So that's my mini-review so far.

[legman]

First off,
Just because you are on a waiting list for a movie, does not mean you will get the title before someone else that adds that title to theor queue after you. This part sucks.

You can say 2 movies are already returned and actually have 6 out at one time. This is good, but if they get mailed to you in one day, then you still have to wait 2-3 days before you can even claim you sent it back.

They frequently release titles before they are suppose to. Yes sir, you can actually get pre dvd from netflix. If you are a ripper, this place can be your best friend. I know of 8 titles that were pre that I got. I won't tell you if any earned credits. ;)

They are very very slow to turn around the movies. They blame the mail service, but I figured out it was them and quit.

I found it easier to scan for pubs and hit my boards for one night and then ..., well you know.

[mrbass]

I did netflix for a year and a half. Quit them about 6 months ago. Their service was great first year then it sucked beyond belief.

I just signed up with rentmydvd.com on October 9th and today is October 31. They have sent me 14 movies. I reckon I'll get about 18-20 movies a month. They rule way better than netflix hardcore. Turnaround is 2 days either way, sending or receiving.
When they receive they ship out a new one the SAME DAY unlike freakin netflix. Rentmydvd is great to see which movies you might wish to purchase.

[Kedirekin]

I've been using NetFlix for about a year and a half. I'm mostly satisfied (I have the 8 DVD membership, and I usually get between 12 and 16 DVDs per month), but a little nervous. After over a year without a single lost DVD, suddenly 5 have gone missing in a little over two months. I can see 1 or 2 getting lost in the mail as a result of the Sept 11 disaster, but not 5 (only one was in the mail around 9/11 - some were lost before 9/11).

I simply refuse to believe the US mail has suddenly started losing 25% of mail - much more likely NetFlix has an employee theft problem, or that they're implementing a new fly-by-night policy (their take on losses is 'we reserve the right to charge you retail price for lost DVDs if losses become excessive').

If you're a netflix member, have you noticed a sudden spike in losses? Maybe a poll would be justified here?

[Crucio]

netflix IS great
I have the 3 dvd rental program
thats the best because you can say u sent back 2 and then get you other titles within 48hours (it will ship in 48hours) ive been doing it since summer and they have had most of the movies ive wanted, with the exception of some anime. There is a title request e-mail you can send, i did 6 times and they never bought anything. maybe it was out of their budjet? i dont know

i think i will try that my dvd place, netflix is kinda slow and wont give me stuff i want, its great for my dvd group though.

$20 a month isnt bad at all
it usually is at my house in 3-4 days. im too lazy to immediatly rip and stuff, but i could get 12-15 dvds if you stay on top of them. I did in the summer.

[Crucio]

rentmydvd.com has over 11,000 dvds, netflix has less than 10,000. Anyone who has tried it, can you give me a little more info? Thanx. I found ALL the titles i wanted before but was denied by those bastards at netflix. Even though netflix is pretty cool though

[Crucio]

Ive had 0 losses even after september 11. 1 title did take 2 weeks to get there though. I called them, told them i sent it back and they let me rent dvds as normal, then it came and they gave me an e-mail that told me they had got it.

hehe if you want to be an ass, keeping the dvds is really easy. I would never take the dvd, not when i have a 701 megabyte nandub rip with ac3 :D

sorry for replying 3 times in a row, i had impulses!

[wmansir]

I looked over RentMyDVD.com, it looked like a lot of stuff was out, perhaps it is the same at netflix, but I just can't tell.

Since they have a north east mailing center I could probably get the $14 2-DVD plan and be able to get just as many DVD's per month as the $20 3-DVD Netflix plan. I'm not very concerned with new releases at the moment because I don't have much of a film library, so I don't mind getting 'classics'.

[mrbass]

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[Kedirekin]

Just to clarify a point - I don't return movies as quickly as possible. If I did, I think I could easily average between 3 and 4 turn-arounds per month (in other words, between 24 and 32 DVDs per month on my 8 DVD plan). Also, the 8 DVD plan is $34.95 ($37.22 with tax where I live) - a pretty good deal compared to the $19.95 3 DVD plan.

NetFlix does have a problem with their out-of-stock rate. I think this is a symptom of becoming too popular too quickly. I suspect the same will happen to any good on-line rental outlet until they have a chance to build up a truly huge warehouse of DVDs.

Does anyone have experience with the BlockBuster 30 DVDs in 30 days for $20 deal? I've heard you have to return DVDs the day after you rent them. It sounds like a good deal, but I don't want to stop at my local BlockBuster *every* *day*. (and why should they care if you 'rent' (i.e. keep) the same DVD for 3 or 4 days running).

[wmansir]

@kedirekin: I have heard of the blockbuster 30 for $20 deal. From what I have heard, you do have to return the movie the next day. But I don't think you are limited to renting 1 DVD at a time, so you don't have to go every day to get 30 DVDs a month. I can understand the next day policy, because the longer the DVD is off the shelf, the less money they can make renting it. Also, not all BBs run the deal. Unfortunately, I don't have a blockbuster within 40 miles.

@mrbass: Funny you would mention Star Wars. After I found out that people on trial get special treatment, I put this to the top of my list. It's now on it's way to me. But the real test will be if Shrek is in my next shipment. Not that I need anymore proof. I like being able to get the DVD's I want, but this doesn't make it much of a trial. How can I evaluate a service when I'm can't see what the real service is like? and thanks for the coupon. I have a feeling I will end up using it.

[mrbass]

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[wmansir]

Bumping this oldish thread because I'm still in my trial.

Things are going ok. ordered 3 movies late tuesday, Memento, Star Wars, and Enemy at the Gates. They were all mailed on Wed. and arrived Sat. I mailed them all back Monday morning, but used the 'already mailed back' option Tuesday.

It says you should only use this option if you have mailed the DVDs 4+ days ago, but if anyone asks I dropped them in the mailbox Sat. night (wink). They released 2 more DVDs to shipping, but I got an email saying the third was not declared delayed because my subscription plan only allowed me 2 delayed DVDs at a time.

Does anyone know how tough they are with the 'already mailed' function? Can I use it regularly or is there a limit?

[Kedirekin]

I don't think they're too strict, but they won't allow you to 'delay' a movie for a certain period after they mailed it - something like 6 or 7 days - it simply says something like 'you can't check this movie in yet'.

Or maybe things have changed - I haven't tried to check a movie back in early for many, many months (I play nice and wait till 4 or 5 days after I actually did mail it - and most movies make it back by then anyway).

They do limit how many movies you can check back in at a time as well. On my 8 DVD deal, I'm only allowed to check in a max of 4. I have to wait till one of those 4 gets back before I can check in another one.

FYI: I now have 5 lost DVDs in my return history (after over 1½ years of membership - 4 of the 5 have been lost in the last 2½ months). Last Saturday I received an e-mail that if I lost one more, they'd put my account on hold and contact me. The e-mail said my losses were unusual and that they can't stay in business if I loose so many DVDs. I don't know if that means they're going to make me pay for them or what. Bummer.

[joshcali]

1/2 year now, and I lkove it!
late fees used to kill me. no late fees ever!

[Antonio S.]

Delivery is extremely slow this days.(10 to 14 day to delivery!!!).
Antonio S.

[wmansir]

I haven't noticed a slow down on my service, but then again I'm still a new customer.

I was going to let this thread die, but since Antonio bumped it I'll post my results with Netflix.

I'm about 2 weeks into my first paid month. I haven't noticed a change in stock availability. About 1 week into my trial 2-3 of the 90 selections in my queue changed to 'short wait'. Since then I haven't seen much of a change, those selections became available 'now' and others have become 'short wait' but not very many, and mostly new releases. The only 'long wait' I've seen is for a charlton Heston double feature 'Omega Man' and somthing else, but it's now at 'short wait'. This may have to do with the number of older titles I have selected. Since I'm trying to build up my library right now I always lower the priority of delayed titles, because they wait 24 hours to see if it becomes available before mailing out your next selection.

Also, while I mentioned 'abusing' the 'already mailed back' function, they seemed to have increased the amount of time before I can use that feature. While before I know I used the feature 5-6 days after they mailed a selection, when I tried to use it earlier this week I was told I could not use it until 9 days after it was mailed by them. Since it generally has taken 3 (but sometimes 4) days for them to get to me, and most often I mail them back that same day, this means I have to wait 6 days after I mail it, but the page says you only have to wait 4. This is upsetting. Also they charge tax, so it's an extra buck a month.

Still, in my first month it looks like I will have rented 14 DVDs. That's $1.50 per rental, which is pretty good considering the selection, and easy of use. But not too great when you factor in that I kept most selections for 1 day or less.

[Kedirekin]

I agree, no slowdowns on my end either. And stocks (avaiable now, short wait, long wait) have gotten significantly better in the last month or so. I have no idea why.

I haven't noticed the 9 day thing, but then, I usually hold on to DVDs for a few days (3+3+4>9), so I wouldn't.

I'm still waiting for the hammer to fall when I loose one more DVD in the mail (I got an e-mail a few weeks back saying my account would be placed on hold if I lost one more).

[ScooterMyth]

My service has slowed some. The availability has gotten a little worse - I get mostly new releases. I haven't lost any so I haven't been threatened! :)

They have increased the time you can claim "Already mailed back". I was getting about 15 rentals a month, last month it fell to 10 due to me not watching the fact that some of my choices in the beginning of the queue went from "Now" to "Short wait" and in one instance (Tomb Raider) "Long wait". Now I tend to delete the "Long wait" and longer and rent them locally. If they ever get the availability squared away I would rate them 5 stars. As it stands right now - 3 stars.

[mrbass]

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[Kedirekin]

I can't claim turn-around in 2 days or less, and I certainly won't claim the NetFlix is better (or even as good) as rentmyDVD, but just to clarify. We're not talking about 9 days to get a DVD back. It usually takes 3 days from where I live.

The 9 days is from the time they mail it to us to the time we're allowed to check it back in. The feature is supposed to be used only when a DVD is delayed in the mail for whatever reason. Normal round-trip time (if you mail it the same day you receive it) is between 6 and 8 days.

[wmansir]

It appears the 'already mailed back' feature is now gone. Today, after the 9 days wait, I tried to use the feature, and it didn't go to the old already mailed back/Delayed in mail page, but went directly to the 'DVD lost' page. Since I didn't bother to read the page until after I clicked the button, I accidently reported the DVD lost. You would think they would email me about policy changes like that, but no, they email me about Pearl Harbor being released, and then again to let me know about the second disc of Pearl Harbor.

I was going to dump them next week, but they are upgrading my account to 4 out at a time for the holidays, so I'll probably stick with them one more month.

[Kedirekin]

I agree; their policy of not announcing changes to policy really stinks.

I just looked, and now you're not supposed to mark a movie mailed till *6* days after you mailed it. A couple of weeks ago it was 4. When I first joined, you were allowed (even encouraged) to check movies in as soon as you dropped them in the mailbox, and they'd ship the next while the first was on it's way back.

This constant slow degradation of service really gives me an unfavorable opinion of them. At this point, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

Incidentally, they didn't get a very good rating at resellerratings.com. It may be time to bail.

[Kedirekin]

Latest update: the NetFlix shipping status page now has a 'pay for it' link next to each DVD marked lost in the mail.

I sense yet another policy change in the air ('Oh, BTW, if any DVDs go missing, no matter who's at fault, you have to pay for it - and we charge $30').

[Taric25]

Crucio, mrbass,

Sorry, I'm a little unclear on this. You say you ripped DVDs you rented? Why would you rent DVDs you already own? Do the DVDs you own have scratches?

[Antonio S.]

Services is worst than ever. They send me "PLANETS OF THE APES" on Nov 26, 01 and it had not receive it yet. They also send me a nasty E-Mail telling me that if a report another lost DVD they will cancel my subcription. Also, as some of you may notice, if you tell them that you had mail back a DVD a few days ago, they asume that it is lost. There is also a "BUY IT" option...

[Kedirekin]

I wish I had some facts, but all I have is supposition.

Based on my experience, since August, DVD losses in the 'mail' have gone from zero to about one per month. Since I don't believe the postal service has suddenly lost it (even taking into account 9/11), the explanation for the losses must lie elsewhere. Either internal NetFlix tracking has lost it, or there is an employee theft problem (either in NetFlix or in the post office).

I personally believe NetFlix is seeing this increase across all customer accounts, and the changes thy're making are a result of this.

I also personally believe they'll end up driving away 3/4 of their customers (or more) by continuing these unannounced negative policy changes. I know I'm about to quit.

I think the right thing for them to do is admit there is a problem, announce a policy change (in advance, whatever the change), and let people cancel in good faith. And, again personally, I think the policy change should be to using some kind of tracked mail service, not expecting people to pay for DVDs.

Alas, this is all supposition, which makes it all the more frustrating.

[mrbass]

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[dragonlz]

I used netflix for about 4 months now. So far everything's good except for their lack of new titles. If you want to get anything that came out within the last 3 months, it would probably be "Short Wait"
If you are mainly looking for new titles, I guess a blockbuster DVD pass would work a lot better, they always have new titles in stock.

[ScooterMyth]

Well...my service has slowly degraded to the point now where of my 23 films in my queue 20 of them are either short or long wait and one is very long wait.

I'm on the verge of dropping my subscription. I haven't lost any, yet, but the return time in the mail as lengthened substantially. I believe the anthrax scare has slowed the mail down due to some internal changes at USPS. This is not Netflix's fault but the bottom line is that I am not "turning" my movies at the rate I used to.

Blockbuster may be the eventual winner here..

:mad: :confused: :mad:

[Taric25]

Originally posted by mrbass
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What language is this in?

[wmansir]

Man, this extra dvd for the holidays promo is killing availabilty. I checked my queue 2 days ago and had about 5 'wait' items, today I checked and 44 of 95 items were 'short wait'. The selections available now are not exactly first tier either.

I'm assuming it's the extra DVD deal that's doing this, and not because I just passed my 2 month anniversary and the honeymoon is over. At least I hope so, has anyone else noticed a change in the last day or two?

Edit: Actually, It's one month since I started paying, plus 2 week trial, not two months.

[ScooterMyth]

In the last month my queue has slowly degraded from about half of my selections being "short wait" to almost all of them being that or longer.

I'm hoping it's the holiday traffic and will give them through January to turn it around. If it doesn't improve I'll have to go back to renting locally and dropping Netflix altogether. Damn!
:mad:

[wmansir]

Guess who made the cover of FC (http://www.fuckedcompany.com/) today. Here (http://forum.fuckedcompany.com/phpcomments/index.php?newsid=17039343321&page=1&parentid=0&crapfilter=1) is a link to the discussion thread (warning: if haven't been to f***edcompany before it's a very vulger place, but you can sometimes get some inside info, even if it is most likely bull s***.) Havent read the thread yet, lets hope it's more than arab and gay jokes.

[mrbass]

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[mrbass]

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[wmansir]

mrbass, I have to agree with you on the Video-on-Demand front. Unless a new consumer electronics device becomes available to download and play the movies on a standard TV, VOD will not become widely available. Something like TIVO with a built in cable modem would be nice, of course it would need a new format, as TIVO's Mpeg2 steam is too large at the moment.

I got kind of worried when I read your last quote. I though that Scheirer was a netflix exec, and they were planning on entering VOD soon. That would require many millions in IT spending which would seriously put the current buisness in jeopardy, not a wise move at this time. I hate that 'we must grow or wither' mentality.

Also, FC doesn't just report buisnesses closing. It reports on both good and bad (although mostly bad) news, of vairying degree. Significant layoffs (either by number, or persons in upper management), change of buisness model, general buisness news, and just supid stuff/bad PR (like the CEO who responded to a critical email by telling the person he has a small d*** and should F'off, that was funny).

For those who didn't read the thread here is the most informative post so far:
"OK, now here's the REAL story from a Netflix insider: We are NOT in trouble, we are doing GREAT (400,000+ customers as of this past weekend)... and yes, we WILL be opening some east coast shipping facilities in 2002! "

Probably, partially, in responses to this post:
" called a couple of months ago and the rep said they are supposed to have an east coast facility (Boston, I believe) available in January 02."

I was very envious of the west coasters (at FC) talking about 2-3 day turn around, I'm not sure how much a Boston center would help people in florida, but it would probably cut my turnaround time in half.

A January opening of an east coast facility would keep me around for a little while. I'll have to ask about it when I call to cancel next month. I was going to cancel this month until they bumped me up to 4dvds out.

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."

[mrbass]

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[Kedirekin]

So that's what the extra DVD for the holidays meant. I thought it was an incentive thing to attract new customers.

I'm on the 8 DVD plan, and they haven't offer me any extra DVDs. If 3 gets you 4, shouldn't 8 get you 10 2/3?

Okay, I'll go read the link already...

[Antonio S.]

I still had not received any DVD's since two weeks ago!!! I am going to subscibe to DVD Avenue or DVD Rentals...:confused:

[wmansir]

I got this email on 12/5, I edited out the actual links because they contain user ID stuff, but you get the idea:


Dear ******,

During this holiday season, we want to give you a gift just for being a great Netflix customer! In the next week or so, we will automatically upgrade your account to 4 movies out at a time at no extra charge. Your free upgrade will last until January 7th.


We hope that having extra movies at home will make this holiday season with friends and family even more festive.

Accepting your gift is simple – HYPERLINK just make sure you have extra movies in your queue! We’ll take it from there.


HYPERLINK

Enjoy the holidays!
– Your Friends at Netflix

Note: After January 7th your account will automatically revert to 3 out
at a time.
It took them the entire 'next week or so' to start sending 4, so it's more like a 3 week upgrade. Also, I noticed a few days after this email that half the selections in my queue suddenly went from availble now to short wait. Like I said in a previous post, I'm not sure if it was because of the promo, or I just finished my first paying month.

The thing that worries me is that perks like this often spell bad news for a company. Just a few weeks before flooz went under it started offering $1000 Flooz for $800 cash, when you charge it to Amex. This isn't as red herring as that, but combined with the layoffs, it makes me wonder.

A good peice of news from the article is that major players are predicted to enter the market next year (Blockbuster was mentioned). Competition is cool, go capitalism.

[Kedirekin]

Somehow, I'm convinced that blockbuster and the other big players are going to emulate their brick-and-mortar approach: no unlimited usage (i.e. charge by DVD), late fess, charges for lost DVDs and all.

I like the idea of VOD, but I don't like it's bandwidth needs. I think the right idea is near real-time downloadable rentals. Something like RM for a set-top box. I think they could do it today with a DSS and a PVR. Someone needs to make a deal with DirecTV and UltimateTV. Of course, the pricing needs to be much more compelling than pay-per-view (god, I hate PPV).

[mrbass]

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[mrbass]

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[brown1978]

Any updates on netflix I plan on join them or rentmydvd.com. right now netfilix is offering $10 off the first month, does that mean you get 2 weeks free plus 1 month of netflix for $10.