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Netflix Pioneers Industry To Get Left in the Dust?

Posted by Zonk on from the brave-little-tailor dept.

prostoalex writes "The New York Times profiles Netflix, the company that pioneered subscription-based DVD plans where a disc is sent via postal service and no late fee is charged. It describes the company from May 1998, when it originally launched the Web site as a DVD-by-mail rental service (with late fees). Interesting factoids: Netflix operates 30 centers around the country and 11% of San Francisco residents subscribe to the service. Turns out, the company is not really afraid of Blockbuster, Wal-mart and Amazon moving into their markets, but they do consider on-demand Internet-download services to be a threat to their business model."

7 of 374 comments (clear)

  1. Canadians! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Zip.ca is basically a Canadian version of Netflix. I'm really enjoying my subscription.

  2. Netflix vs Blockbuster and Walmart by crazyprogrammer · · Score: 5, Informative

    I work as a mail carrier and I see a lot more netflix dvds than blockbuster or walmart dvd rentals. In fact I didn't even know walmart had dvd rentals until I delivered some to a house.

    Something I've noticed about netflix is that they always send dvds in groups of 3, where blockbuster and walmart might send one.

    --
    "the fax machine is nothing but a waffle iron with a phone attached to it." - Grandpa Simpson
  3. Re:Netflix is a Dishonest Company by buddahfool · · Score: 5, Informative

    Wierd, I have been a long time subscriber and they have never done this to me. As a matter of fact they just opened a new distro center close to me and I can easily get 3 sets of movies in two weeks if I return them the same day direct to the Post Office... I have tried Blockbuster, walmart and Netflix and Netflix had the best selection and turn around time.

  4. A good Netflix alternative... by Avoid_F8 · · Score: 5, Informative

    is GreenCine. It has an enormous selection and actual customer support. It's not one of the huge corporations like Blockbuster or Amazon, but rather like your friendly local rental shop.

    I've found that Netflix "throttles" my rentals after a period when I rent too many movies for them to make a profit. They will delay shipments and change the wait status on your queue to absurd amounts of time. I'm led to believe that this practice will become even more common with the new price drop. This is, of course, against their terms of service, but it's extremely difficult to prove - the USPS bears much of the blame. Couple this with the nonexistant customer service, and the frequent movie renter is definitely at a disadvantage.

    Of course, if you only rent two or three movies a month, then Netflix is fine. But for those who really like film, I'd highly recommend supporting GreenCine.

  5. Re:Netflix is a Dishonest Company by Norny · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have to rebut to defend Netflix. I happen to live by the post office that serves the PO Box for the Orlando Netflix warehouse. I consistently get very good turnaround unless I get to a popular movie on my list like when Kill Bill came out, in which case they just send the next movie on my list. If I mail on Monday, they get it on Tuesday, I get the movie back on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on when my individual USPS delivery guy gets it sorted into his route.

  6. Netflix Discriminates Against Regular Users by meehawl · · Score: 5, Informative

    Of course, no /. discussion of Netflix could be complete without revisiting how Netflix discriminates against regular users by retarding delivery of their discs in favour of immediate availability for new members...

    --

    Da Blog
  7. Really? by roshi · · Score: 5, Informative
    From the site you link to, and in turn from Netflix Customer support on the issue at hand:
    "In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service. As a result, those members who receive the most movies may experience next-day shipping and receive movies lower in their Queue more often than our other members. By prioritizing in this way, we help assure a balanced experience for all our members. Those that rent a lot of movies get a great value and those with lighter viewing habits are able to count on our service to meet their limited needs."
    As a netflix customer who gets a lot of DVDs, and whose DVDs have sometimes been slow in coming, this seems extremely reasonable.

    Just my $0.02.