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Analysis of Netflix's DVD Allocation System
dvd_rent_test writes "Netflix uses the number of movies you have previously rented to determine your priority in getting movies. The more movies you rented during your last billing cycle, the less chance you have of receiving a movie versus an individual who has rented fewer movies. This is why new users have great success getting their movies and older or heavy users have a difficult time getting some movies."
I was wondering about this. I have been a member for almost two years, and I am very efficient about sending the movies back quickly (thus maximizing the total number of movies I can see.) I have been wondering for a long time why I never seem to get any of the "Short Wait" movies, much less the "Long Wait" ones. Well anyway, I'm thinking about cancelling Netflix anyway. The post office has lost (or stolen) a number of movies I've sent back anyway. I'll probably just get a PVR instead.
I had to stop using NetFlix a couple months ago because my USPS carrier wouldn't consistently put them in my apartment's mailbox (leaving them outside risking theft--those big red & white envelopes just scream FREE DVD!).
When I went to kill my membership, they offered me the same membership for less money, what was 3 DVD's for $20 a month, was now two or three bucks less. And the savings could be had on all there other plans, if agreed to use their services for a year or so.
Seems like they've got some pretty "creative" ways of handling their customers. I'm content buying DVDs off of eBay.
Anybody else think they're a little "funny"?
Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety
I had a similar experience with Netflix. A bunch of current releases were listed as long wait or very long wait. I complained to Netflix and amazingly that day the status changed from long wait to short or available now. Coincidence? I thought so originally but this report sort of sheds new light on things.
You're partially right...but it has everything to do with the trial period...
During the trial period, you have an empty history. Therefore, you get every movie you want (almost) immediately. After you do this and start thinking the service is so awesome in terms of title availability, you continue and, as long as you are trying to use the service to get movies you want (as opposed to being a dormant subscriber who pays but never gets anything), you get screwed because you'll continue to get punished for wanting to take maximum advantage of the money you're spending.
Why do I h8 apple?
I don't know how well it's doing as a business, but there are many advantages to renting from Netflix rather than the big chain stores. They let you keep movies as long as you want. They have a far larger inventory than any brick and mortar store. Blockbuster is great if you're looking for domestic new releases, or you need to rent something in a hurry, but they blow half-digested-popcorn-chunks if you're looking for foreign or old (and by old I mean, older than a couple of years) movies.
Plus they actually have NC-17 stuff. Most Hollywood and Blockbusters won't rent those, or carry only censored versions. Personally, I prefer to be treated like an adult.
The only problem with this is if you wish to watch a series of DVDs. I tried to watch the entire 3 seasons of the Sopranos. I finished them a month ago, but never got Season 2, #1. It was first listed as 'short wait', three weeks later, it went to 'very long wait.' I'm still waiting, and its still 'very long'. The same seems to be true with '24'. Disc 1 has always been 'very long wait', but 2-6 are available 'now'. I wish they'd fix that.
They don't track it by that, it's by email. I have let my netflix account lapse twice now, and restarted twice. One time I started with a different email address and made a new login, and it didn't "know" about any of my old rentals. The other time I used my old email and login and it did know about them.
My wife and I used to rent 10+ movies a month on the standard 3-out plan. But then we got busier and started watching less and less. Lately we've been lucky to watch 2 or 3 movies in a month, and a few recent months have only seen one. We switched to the 2-out plan sometime last year to save money. I later realized that this plan is not normally offered - our account got flagged and we were offered the plan based on our rental history. Netflix kept a customer and we stayed happy by paying less.
My sister-in-law's story is even more phenomenal. Her financial situation dictated that she cancel completely, which she did. Netflix came begging to get her back, and ultimately agreed to keep her on for a mere $7/month! (I thought it was $7 for 6 months, but this sounds more likely) She's a damn good haggler, so I don't know if this would be common at all; I imagine if they did it too much, they would lose money.
I've always been impressed by the fact that we've been able to get just released movies very quickly. I suppose maybe that's one reason we haven't canceled despite not getting as much out of the service lately. When we do use it, it's always top notch, so Netflix still gets our money. I don't recall having major problems even when we were renting a lot more, but I suppose Netflix has grown considerably since then. I always assumed they kept the service good by expanding to meet customer demand. It'll be interesting to read more comments and see how other people's experiences relate to the study's results. I'd love to see the same thing conducted again with a larger sample size.
Say hello to zMac.
Just call up your credit card company and ask for a chargeback. Tell them you didn't authorize that amount of debit. Merchants hate that. It costs them money, and if it happens enough they can get investigated for fraud. If more people did it, Netflix would think twice before trying crap like that again.
This post expresses my opinion, not that of my employer. And yes, IAAL.