Netflix throttling? |
Loading ...Lots of talk about Netflix throttling (thanks Dave). We are still pretty new at the Netflix game, but we haven’t experienced any throttling. We send the movies back on Monday, they receive Tuesday, and we receive Wednesday.
All seems pretty reasonable to me so far, however, several people in that thread point out that it’s always good in the beginning and it gets much worse over time. Any readers experience any Netflix throttling issues?
I have used Netflix for about a year. I live approximately half an hour from one of their distribution centers. For about the first six months, I got the type of excellent service you describe in your post. If I got movies on Monday, watched them, and mailed them back, Netflix got them on Tuesday, sent me new movies the same day, and I would get them on Wednesday.
Within days of when they reduced their price back to $17.99, I noticed that if I get movies on Monday, watch them, and mail them back, all I get on Tuesday from Netflix is the email notifying me that they received the movies. In fact, I often get those emails before 8:30AM. Then nothing happens until on Wednesday (almost always in the afternoon) I get an email notifying me that they have shipped the next items in my queue.
While I have never contacted them about this, I feel rather confident that this delay is not some coincidence but rather a deliberate attempt to increase their bottom line by throttling their customer service. If it isn’t then I think that by now their analysis of their own statistics would show that the local distribution center is performing at about 50% of its previous performance level and would have replaced those responsible for that alarming drop in productivity.
I am also of the opinion that the reason your comments section isn’t flooded with stories similar to mine is the same reason that I haven’t chased down Netflix on this issue. Who wants to go to all the trouble just to hear some call-center person ramble their way through ingenuous scripts.
Since I am considered an influencer in my circle of friends, when they ask me about Netflix I tell them that while I still subscribe, if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t have and would have saved myself a whole bunch of aggravation. I suggest they forego the aggravation from the start. At this point, I believe that I am the only subscriber within my circle of influence. And that might not last much longer.
So if your readers are thinking about subscribing my advice is that they decide beforehand if they want to put up with such frustrations.
Now that I have written and posted this, I’ll send a copy to Netflix so at least they can’t say they never got the message.
Comment by Robert Banghart — June 26, 2005 @ 7:09 pm PST
I’ve used Netflix for about 2.5 years. Steady, quick turnaround has been the norm. My experience is pretty much what you outlined. The real bottleneck is not so much Netflix, but rather my ability to quickly watch the movies and have them out the door the next day.
Comment by Maurice — June 28, 2005 @ 1:48 am PST
After experiencing obvious “throttling” (who coined that term?) I called up Netflix and laid on some controlled anger. They offered to take 50% off the next month’s bill to prevent me from quitting. Whether or not the service will get better is unknown. After switching to an “unlimited” plan (the cheapest one they offer) I was seeing up to 5-day delays between the supposed ship date and arrival. And this was from a hub just 100 miles away, per the phone rep. It should take 2 days max. Before the big delays I was certain they were shipping from a hub only 30 miles away and I’d get my movies a day _before_ the email promised. It was clear the phone rep. knew what I meant but was only allowed to give generic apologies. Everything’s about the bottom line in business, isn’t it? No room for simple honesty.
Comment by Nick — July 2, 2005 @ 2:02 pm PST
Just came across this thread after reading this http://dvd-rent-test.dreamhost.com/ Actualy, i did not read it all, just glanced throught it. It is kind of technical but interesting. Sure things are ultimately about bottom line but at the same time with such a large subscriber base they need some sort of automated system to divy out the popular rentals to balance demand vs. cost.
Comment by DVD — July 4, 2005 @ 11:20 pm PST
I live in Los Angeles and the Netflix hub is in Santa Ana. Mail always arrives the next day both ways. If I send in movies consistently, my movies will be throttled. If I send it on Monday, they should have received it on Tuesday, but I often get nothing. On Wednesday, I get an email saying that they have received them, but they will not ship until Thursday. Even if they say they ship on Thursday, I will only receive maybe half the movies on Friday. They definitely throttle.
If I have a lull and do not send movies back in like 2 weeks or more, then magically, the service level returns to Ship on Monday, receive on Tuesday, then I receive again on Wednesday. Of course, there seems to be some number that they have determined to be the level they wish to provide service. I have not done a thorough statistical analysis, but it seems to be ~$2/rental is their target, but it probably is higher. If I get movies to ~$2/rental, it is about the norm. Theoretically, by their unlimited rental plan, I should be able to get my rentals to less than $1/rental, but have never come close due to their undisclosed throttling.
I have heard that Blockbuster does not throttle, but that may change. Also, I have heard that Netflix’s rental library is larger, but somehow that doesn’t make sense.
Comment by Jeffery — July 7, 2005 @ 3:50 am PST
Yes, I too experience throttling. Generally I return movies the following day to a center that’s 45 miles from my house. They get them two days later, and then immediately postpone shipping, sometimes for up to three days. A typical scenario: Monday morning, they get back all 4 movies. They send me an email, and I go to the website, which lists immediately, “Shipping Tuesday.” I wait tuesday, when it gets bumped to “Shipping Wednesday.” I get the movies Friday. It’s like that pretty consistently; they really try to avoid me getting more than my “batch” of movies (4) per week.
Comment by Jon — July 11, 2005 @ 9:49 am PST
Personally, I feel the “throttling” term should be dumped, and they need to just not advertise “Unlimited Rentals”, since they obviously do not provide that. If they’re maxing people at 9 rentals a month ($2 a movie), they need to be forced to advertise that instead. Just my opinion.
On a side note. Many have confirmed on other threads that Netflix does have a larger movie pool, 40k titles against 30k. But, you’ll find movies in both that are missing in the other, so don’t think that you’ll find every movie from Blockbuster on Netflix or vice versa.
I don’t watch anything too obscure, so Blockbuster’s in-store plan works for me. The online plans are pretty evenly matched. Blockbuster takes an extra day, but they also give you 2 in-store vouchers/mo which are convenient.
Comment by Bob — July 15, 2005 @ 12:06 pm PST
I am a blockbuster member for the past two months. After excellent service for the first month, it has also resorted to “throttling” that you guys are experiencing with Netflix. I happen to be a heavy user that is certainly not profitable to Blockbuster. I think I will end up only with 10 movies this month as against 20 that I got last month. In my queue of 30 movies and about half plus are either short wait or long wait. If this pattern continues, I plan to drop the service.
Comment by Mahendra — July 23, 2005 @ 4:02 pm PST
Yep. Live practically enxt door to drop off site. Service was fast & great for the free trial & rapidly nose dived once I started paying. ( On trial I could send in a movie & have a new one 2 days later at latest- after a while their turn around became about 1 a week). After several email complaints I let them know I was quitting after the next overlong delay & lo & behold got the same quick turn around for a month. I switched to a 2 movie unlimited deal ( from a 1 at a time) to pick up any “movie slack” & we’ll see how long that works. BTW has anyone noticed the total runaround you get when trying to find a contact email & phone #? Bleh. Still hoping the service performs as expected tho- eternal optimist!
Comment by stacey — July 23, 2005 @ 9:33 pm PST
Im a member of Lovefilm in the UK and they have started doing the same over the past few months. Their terms and conditions state:
“We will do our best to get the discs you have requested to you as quickly as possible. However, we do operate a fair use policy that aims to ensure a balanced experience for all our members. This means that we give priority to members who don’t rent high numbers of discs from us. Therefore, members who rent the most discs from us might experience lower mailing priority. By allocating discs in this way we ensure a fair system for all LOVEFiLM members.”
I understand why they do this but I don’t understand their attitude towards the higher tarrif members who are all of a sudden missing out on films and questioning this. We should have been informed in someway that the service was changing! Anyone had any luck joining twice with 2 lower tarrifs? Seriously, this could be a solution for those of us who wish to rent 3 or more films a week!??!
Comment by Zaferina — August 1, 2005 @ 12:58 pm PST
I just recently had it out with Netflix about their “throttling” methods. Ever since Jan. 2004 my DVDs have been shipped 2 days later than they had been. My returned dvd’s would be posted as returned in the morning , but the next set of dvds would not be shipped until the next day. They also took two days to show that my movies had been returned when I live down the street from the local post office branch. I also pointed out, that their advertisment shaped like a movie ticket, promised one day delivery. one of their customer service reps said if I faxed proof of that into them they would give out a bounus disc. well when i called them to get fax number ,one of the customer service reps blocked me from speaking to the person that made the deal and on top of that said she didn’t make that offer. They now have me restricted to speaking to one of the managers if there is a problem. I’m looking for people to help in changing their screwy buisnees tactics. please contact if interested. nice to know that I’m not the only one. Oh thet also threatened to cut off membership if i speak to anyone other than manager.
Comment by Vee Lyons — August 16, 2005 @ 5:14 pm PST
netflix is not a good company, if you watch about 11 dvds a month then you have to no problem. But for me watching about 20 and up/month. They holds my dvds for 2 to 3 days before ship when ship they choose the fartest shipping center. and for return the center is just 10 minute from my house and still took more than a day for them to receive my dvds.
For blockbusteronline, shipping is slow but they allow you to report if the third day the dvds still not arrive. so i can watch 6dvds/week total is 24 max a month, due to the slow shipping.
the same number as netflix, but netflix will delay shipping your dvds after a month. Don’t believe me? for those new customers try the free trial and return the dvd the next day then pay for a month and see the difference.( you must sign up for a month, since netflix calculate base on a month) They even said it in the term of use ( average most of their customers watch about 3-11 dvds a month) so if you watch more than that. Find other serivces, and don’t think having the more expensive plans like 8 out at a time. nah won’t help a bit.
anyway,for me blockbuster is the best. for those with series dvds just ask them to ship them in order for you, since they don’t wait for dvds to be available like netflix, also they ship dvds that will get to you around 2 days so that’s why they pick it out of order. But for me i’m fine with that, since i don’t have any series dvds in my queue. But if you do talk to the customer service and they will fix it for you.
there are a few things about blockbuster that are good, like recently t hey want to increase their price staring Aug. 19, so they give me a Free movie coupon($7.99 value), along with my 2 monthly free game or movie pass. Also just recently, they have some problem with the system and my dvds are delay for 2 days. I send an email and two days later they apologize for the inconvinience and also present me with another free game or movie pass.
the one thing that i like best about Blockbusteronline much better than netflix is the customer service. I don’t know how netflix got rated #1 in customer service, but there is no way to contact them online!! Not even those FAQ by customers, all they have are the question that are universal and they post it up there like accounts info, billings. But not customers questions.
lastly, i’m not going to pay 17.99 plus tax so it’s around 19.26 nah who cares just said 20. I’m not going to pay 20 to watch only 11 movies a month. the least is 24 a month due to shipping, even with netflix fast shipping 24 is the maximum you can get, don’t believe me try it and let see. Since they don’t work saturday.
well i’m having blockbusteronline now along with other services that i’m trying out, but now blockbuster is #1 on my list and netflix is #4, netflix might be bad but there are badder service, not because they are bad just they are new at these type of business so there are still room for improvements.
but you know netflix isthe the first one who started this online rentals, but not for long they will be the last if this is how they do business
Comment by john — August 16, 2005 @ 9:38 pm PST
A much more fundamental fraudulent practice by Netflix executives has been exposes.
See: http://securities.stanford.edu/1031/NFLX04-02/2005812_r10c_042978.pdf
–
Comment by W. Berg — August 17, 2005 @ 11:25 am PST
I have had netflix for about 4 months. For the first 2 months the service was great. Next day shippng and recieving. Then shortly after, it took 2 days to recieve the movies. Now it takes 2 days to ship (and they wait 1 day from recieving to ship the dvds) and 2 days to recieve. I live in Garden Grove, Ca which is about 11 miles from Santa Ana (nearest nextflix center). I wonder if I could just drop off and pick up the movies myself??
Comment by jason — October 5, 2005 @ 1:41 pm PST
Used to be a member between Nov 2004 and ~May 2005. Did not notice that much throttling on my account back then. Just restarted my Netflix subscription. I haven’t been a member more than 3 weeks but I have already seen two apparant “throttlings”.
I send back my movies from my post office on Saturday. Netflix receives all three movies on Monday and sends them back directly. Get my new movies on Tuesday. I send them back. Now the intersting thing happens. Netflix only receives 2 of 3 movies. Sent the two movies directly - but my third movie, which was sent the same time as the other 2 was not recieved by Netflix. I waited 3 days, then reported it “missing”. next day they “recieved” the “missing” DVD and sent me the next one. OK, it happened once. Didn’t think too much about, although I thought it was strange. Now, the EXACT same thing happened to me the following week. Isn’t that a co-incidence. Don’t think so. Unlimited rentals - yeah - right!
Comment by Matt — October 6, 2005 @ 10:03 pm PST
> turn around time was fast at first,then it slowed down dramatically
also
> i agreed to a 1 month free,after sign up it changed to 2 weeks
> Creepshow and Death Race 2000 were droped in the post office at the
same
> time
> Creepshow was receved the next day but Death Race 2000 still has not
been
> 2 days later(this movie also took 1 week for me to recieve it)time is
of
> the essence
> 24 hour turn around time is your sale pitch right?
there reply…..
Thank you for contacting Netflix.com customer support!
We apologize for the difficulties you have experienced.
Our records indicate you redeemed a 14 day free trial offer on 10/1/05.
As stated in the terms and conditions of your promotional offer, which
were agreed to upon sign up, your first 14 days would be free and you
would automatically be billed for each period thereafter if your account
remained opened. Therefore, your first billing date was 10/15/05.
You may view the current terms of your account via the following link:
http://www.netflix.com/YourAccount
Please be assured that Netflix delivery delays are very uncommon. If
you’re experiencing repeated delays with returning DVDs, we would suggest
mailing them from a different location such as the post office.
Movies sent back on the same day can sometimes get separated during
shipment. Therefore, it is possible that movies may be received by us one
or more days apart. We process 100% of returns the same day we receive
them. When we check-in a return, an email is automatically and promptly
sent to you to let you know that we have received your DVD.
If you mailed back your movie more than 6 days ago and you have not
received an email confirmation that your movie was returned, please click
on “Report Problem” on the Rental Activity section. After you have
clicked “Report Problem”, simply follow the instructions on the next
page(s) to report the title as “Returned but Netflix has not received it”.
This action will place a notation beneath the title stating “DVD
reported as missing” under the “Movies You’ve Rented” section of the Rental
Activity Page. Once it is received by our warehouse this notation will
be removed. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
You may reach your Rental Activity by clicking the link below:
http://www.netflix.com/YourAccount
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to
contact us.
Comment by FromTheKing — October 16, 2005 @ 1:02 am PST
I realize that this thread has probably died, but had to chime in anyway…
I’m a relatively new convert to BBO - I used to hoof it to the store, but recently decided I would give this a whirl.
…did a lot of research… read about the blatant throttling at Netflix, liked the 2 coupons/mo with BBO and finally settled on them.
The first 2-3 weeks were great. One day turnarounds. It reached a point where I could predict whether or not a dvd would be waiting for me, etc. I watch a fair amount of movies (I’m a PI; I sit in my car all day and watch… stuff. And movies).
The last week or so however, with no alteration in habit on my end, dvds are coming slower and slower. They’re shipped (by me) and not immediately acknowledged, as they had been… dvds shipped by BBO on a Friday have still not arrived by Tuesday. Not a huge deal, to judge by some other postings, but hugely out of the realm of my recent experiences.
I’m assuming that I’m being throttled. Is BBO throttling and is this now a known and acknowledged state of affairs?
Welcome to the new paradigm I guess.
best, bezoris
Comment by bezoris2 — November 21, 2005 @ 8:44 pm PST
[…] 2nd: GameFly.com Rental Service Published by pr0 September 30th, 2005 Netflix has begun ‘throttling’ me again, just a month after resuming use of their service. Throttling happens when you rent enough movies to fall below Netflix’s zone of profitability. Generally I watch movies the day they arrive so they’re on their way back the next day. Wednesday I shipped two movies back to Netflix and they only register one as having arrived now two days later. One new DVD has already arrived and they’re not even registering that they’ve received the other. Suspicious? So are a lot of regular users of the service who’ve been experiencing this off and on since Netflix became widely popular. Someone new to the service who adds a movie to their queue gets priority over customers who’ve used the service for a while. I first encountered the problem when I upgraded from 3 movies at a time to 5 and found that I was still receiving the same number of DVD’s on average per month! Someone that keeps a movie out for two weeks is a Netflix priority customer. If you’re not a profitable customer, they’d rather throttle you and lose your business than lose money. It’s as simple as that. This could get Netflix into hot water down the road because it breaches their “unlimited rentals” slogan and the fact that they continually put the problem on USPS, who have probably received their fair share of complaints from angry NF customers. […]
Pingback by 2nd: GameFly.com Rental Service at Media Hussy — December 14, 2005 @ 9:52 pm PST
[…] That leaves Comcast cable on the chopping block. Also puts Netflix in the crosshairs as we re-evaluated usage there. All my non-usage fears with that service have been realized and they have nothing to do with throttling, it is our own laziness in watching, er, not watching movies. It was great for the first month or two and then after that we just stopped returning the DVDs regularly. […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » We’re thinking about nuking cable and Netflix — December 15, 2005 @ 8:54 pm PST
Why don’t you guys have the nuts to just admit it: you want Netflix to send you a new movie every day so you can burn a couple copies and share them with your friends, then return it. Repeat this cycle endlessly every day. You’re obviously pissed that Netflix -knows- you’re doing this and are intentionally making that difficult. When you burn and share copies, Netflix loses subscribers. Why would anyone go “Hmmmm…” about something so obvious.
Comment by ProfessorKill — December 31, 2005 @ 12:16 pm PST
*shakes a fist*
Anyone else use Netflix and send movies back last Tuesday or Wednesday that didn’t get “received” by them until today? Looks like they’re using the postal holidays as a good ruse to disguise the throttling they’re laying down on you….
Trackback by Blown Fuse — January 9, 2006 @ 5:24 pm PST
I now have proof positive of some of the suspicions reported here. I reported a particular DVD damaged on the netflix website on a Friday and put it in the mail on Saturday. On the following Tuesday, I received the EXACT SAME DAMAGED DVD back in my mailbox. I know it was the very same DVD because it had a very distinctive hairline crack that I’d never seen before. This fact was confirmed by a Netflix agent after a search online to finally find a phone number for customer service (it is not listed on the netflix website). Furthermore, the initially reported damaged DVD was not reported as being received by Netflix until Wednesday, a full day after I had actually received it in my mailbox. Four other DVDs which were mailed back on the same Saturday, were not reported as being received until Wednesday.
The Netflix agent I spoke with has given me a 50% discount for the next 3 months as well as a “bonus” disc for my trouble, but I feel this would be pretty good evidence in any lawsuits against the company.
Comment by gd finkelstein — January 11, 2006 @ 10:56 am PST
I signed up with netflix on the recommendation of a co-worker who has never experienced any problems with them. we both live in the western burbs of st. louis, about 25 miles from downtown where the hub is. i chose the $17.99 3-movies-at-a-time deal. right off the bat, i only received one of my promised 3 movies. i returned the one & reported the other 2 missing on the website & requested the next 3 movies in my queue. come the end of the week when i was promised my movies, the same thing happened. i have only received 7 of 14 movies and my account is now placed on hold. netflix sucks.
Comment by Jeron — January 19, 2006 @ 4:09 pm PST
We try to rent 3 movies per week, which seems reasonable - watch them on the weekend and send them back on Monday. However, the throttling has gotten insane lately. They “lose” DVDs and never check all 3 in on the same day, even though they are sent at the same time. Used to could count on Netflix like clockwork - in the early days.
Comment by John — January 26, 2006 @ 3:28 pm PST
Service from Netflix has been terrible lately. Every major movie is Long Wait or Very Long Wait. I’m beginning to think just buying the ones I want is a better way to go. Perhaps an online neighborhood swap program would work. Must think about this one.
Comment by Dave — February 6, 2006 @ 10:33 am PST
I joined Netflix a couple of months ago and like the others have said the service was great during the trial period and until they decided I was receiving more than their acceptable limit of DVD’s. Now I have been waiting for Cinderella Man, March of the Penguins, and Forty year old Virgin since they came out last month and they won’t even ship them to me. I am getting DVD’s that are 10+ in the order of my queue. When I went to quit recently I noticed they had just charged me for the next month that very day so I will have to wait until the end of this month to quit.
Comment by Bill — February 9, 2006 @ 10:15 pm PST
I haven’t experienced too many problems. I do about 4 DVDs a week. I haven’t experienced any throttling that I’m aware of, but I will keep my eyes open. Luckily I don’t have to wait to long for DVDs. I don’t watch a lot of new releases though. I watch a lot of older stuff, or stuff that’s off the beaten path.
Comment by Dusi — February 10, 2006 @ 4:14 pm PST
I just cancelled my account with Netflix for the same reasons that have been mentioned before. I was a subscriber for over a year and was renting 7-9 movies per week. I’m going back to Blockbuster.
Comment by Pedro — February 10, 2006 @ 4:41 pm PST
Netflix capital investors and corporate management KNEW and DESIGNED from day 1 the exact strategy, marketing, logistics for shipping, and softwre management of throtteling that took 3 years to even make the ‘fair’ press news stories.
It has been a proven sham to begin with, clearly documented within the secret meetings and memos within Netflix “management”, even before Neflix spent its first cent or marketing and advertising.
Netflix knew that its higher volume paying customers and consumer base was and is that of individuals who illegally copy and burn their rented DVD movies, and that under the guise of unpredictable USPO mailing reliability, they could implement throttling without any attention. Until now.
Netflix has been, and is, a sucker magnet for movie buffs, and street burning pirates from design, fully projected and incorporated by capital investors and management within the company itself. Netflix knew that, and knows that today. Only by intentional design can Netflix increase thier markets and profit margin by new consumers and customers only, putting regular, long-term paying consumers and customers illegally on the back burner.
The outcome of the new lawsuit ‘renignotiated’ more by Netflix than by the initiating party. on behalf of all Netflix customers, will prove a sectretive and no-fault non-disclosure re-settlement, screwing the paying consumers even more, and creating a no-win system by those who newly and continually feed the Netflix monster to keep Netflix in business.
Those that would still to use Netflix’s services are as much of the problem as the shady company itself.
Comment by TruthHero — February 10, 2006 @ 4:58 pm PST
i cancelled my netflix account this morning. why pay any amount of $$$ for unreliable service? i’m going back to blockbuster & hollywood video. at least i’ll get what i want, when i want.
Comment by Jeron — February 10, 2006 @ 5:26 pm PST
I just cancelled my Netflix subscription of almost 2 years because like everybody else here I got less and less movies per week. There’s nothing as frustrating as being given a certain amount of movies per week and then have that number diminish for no apparent reason. I tried writing to them and all I got was apologies and long computer generated letters. I think it’s a very bad practice to offer full turnaround amount of DVDs to trial customers and lower that number once they start paying and watching movies too fast. It makes people angry. Why pretend it’s such a manna in trial only to discover it’s just a regular service once you enroll. Maybe they should have different prices for different viewing speeds and then STICK to the numbers they promise to deliver.
Comment by Encodedname — February 10, 2006 @ 5:57 pm PST
I am disappointed that Netflix receives my movies in 1 day but takes 2-3 days to show them as checked in. However; I have read many posts in this thread griping about the $$$ sent to Netflix. One writer says they only get 11 movies a month for their $17.99 (+ tax) & that is a ripoff. Hmmmm do the math. At my local Blockbuster, movies are $3.99 each (+ tax) so those 11 movies would run $43.80 (+ tax) so by using Netflix at their slow ship rate you still save $25.81 a month which I consider to be quite a bargain.
I am not happy with Netflix Throttling me but I cannot argue that the service is quite a bargain.
Comment by Teresa — February 10, 2006 @ 6:03 pm PST
I have been a Netflix customer for 2 or 3 years now. I have noticed for quite some time now that they have been deliberately constricting the number of DVDs they send me each month, but today marked the first time I saw an article in the mainstream press identifying the practice. Netflix representatives stress that they have outstanding customer satisfaction ratings: that could be because customers like myself had no idea where to vent our unhappiness. They advertise “unlimited” DVD rentals. I currently subscribe to their 6 titles out at a time program. I’m deliberately trying to maximize my membership dollar, and there is nothing criminal about that. I have the ability to watch a lot of movies, so I do. It takes a lot of work, though. If every subscriber were like me, Netflix would probably go out of business, because its revenue stream wouldn’t be enough to pay for its operating costs. But, NOT EVERY RENTER IS LIKE ME. Most renters have families and lives and responsibilities and obligations that keep them away from their DVD players. Yes, I am a liability to Netflix, but that is the price they have to pay for my $40 a month. They could, if they were fair and honorable and shipped new movies out to me as soon as I returned some, (like they PROMISED they would do by offering an “unlimited” membership), lose money from my membership on occasion. But, they make damn sure that THAT never happens. I CAN receive 30-35 titles a month…AS LONG AS I RETURN EVERY TITLE ALMOST AS QUICKLY AS I RECEIVE IT. Which I sometimes I don’t. Because sometimes it takes a long time to get through a Terry Gilliam movie. There are probably some renters out there who, due to the fact that they are very busy and don’t have time to watch movies all the time, pay $20 a month for only 3 or 4 movies. Does Netflix bother to reimburse THEM because the price per rental was so inappropriate? Of course they don’t. They gobble up membership fees, pray to God that very few people return the movies quickly and then slow down the titles their high users receive. What do “All You Can Eat” places do when they see the Homer Simpsons of the world coming through the door? Do they hide all the food? Do they stop cooking? Or do they grit their teeth and realize that the patronage of gluttons is the price they have to pay if they are going to continue to do business AS ADVERTISED?
Comment by Laurie — February 10, 2006 @ 6:33 pm PST
not to stick up for netflix but….
doing the math @ my local vid store it may cost about $20 to rent 4 movies….how many do ya get from netfix in 1 month 4 $18…trust me when i say im not sticking up for them…this month alone ive seen 5 brokin/sctached/kinda look like some 1 used it as a glass coster(water damage)+had the same brokin disk sent back to me on a replacement also had a mislabled disk in the wrong envalope
but netflix did try 2 compinsate 4 my troubles….2 months @ a redused fee and this month is free…..so all in all…..ill keep using netflix vs spending a ton @ the nearest vid store
Comment by FromThe King — February 10, 2006 @ 6:43 pm PST
The real company this should be talking about is Blockbuster Online! They are 100 times worse than Netflix!!! Blockbuster Online during the first 2 months was absolutely AWFUL. Every time I sent back a movie, it would be 2-3 days before they would ship another one. They would send me the movies listed 18 or 23 down on my list every time. I called them about these problems and nothing ever got better. I was pissed because I really wanted the top 1-10 movies listed in my queue so I decided to take out all the other movies and guess what? They did not send a movie for 5 SOLID DAYS even though I had ZERO MOVIES out! I checked the site several times each day and at lest 75-80% of the movies I was requesting on my short list said avail. THEY SUCK! I only started getting movies again because I finally decided to put some more movies in my queue since they did NOT want to send me any on the other movies on my list. Shipping and receiving was terrible at BBO. The store sucks too, since they sell the one copy of a movie off the shelf and then never replace it. They leave the cover there and you keep checking for the movie and finally get a clue after a month that they sold it.
Comment by Jennifer — February 10, 2006 @ 6:43 pm PST
I cancelled netflix over one year ago. NETFLIX SUCKS., I suspsected throttling and they gave me bullshit excuses. They can fuck themselves. Have not had any problems with BLOCKBUSTER. People - switch.
Comment by Bill Me — February 10, 2006 @ 9:35 pm PST
While in Israel I met a person who told me that there is a ring of people worldwide who are working through the Netflix catalog and burning copies. He claims that they had burned 80 percent of the catalog in 6 months. These are then duplicated (China I think) and resold on the black market…
Comment by manuel labor — February 10, 2006 @ 10:03 pm PST
I joined Netflix 3 weeks ago and immediately noticed a “delay” pattern. They received my DVD back from me in 24 hours BUT I do not receive my new one from Netflix for at least 2 days and if the weekend intervenes, 4 days. Which means I can only see ONE new DVD a week (as I subscribed to the $9.99 deal). I had hoped to view 2 a week as I love movies.
I have tried to contact Netflix, but they do NOT have real direct access to the Executive Offices. I have sent emails requesting faster service, but there is no indication if anyone is reading them as I get no replies.
I am very disappointed. It’s still a reasonably inexpensive service but I feel they are being deceptive.
Comment by Anna — February 11, 2006 @ 6:05 am PST
NetFlix service has deteriorated significantly for me the last three months. My distribution center is in the same zip code where I drop off to and from where they ship to me. Like others here I am experiencing what everyone is calling throttling.
If I turned in my dvds on Sunday or Monday I used to get emails very early Tuesday morning notifying of receipt and by late morning another email indicating new dvd’s have been shipped and I would receive them on Wednesday.
My address has not changed and now it routinely takes 5 to 7 days AFTER indicated ship date for me to actually receive newly shipped dvd’s.
I sent NetFlix an email about this and of course they blame it on the post office and tell me that shipping delays are rare.
I have to question whether or not NetFlix is actually holding dvd’s after indicating shipment to reduce total monthly rentals or deliberately shipping from Uruguay to slow down my rental allotment.
Comment by no mo netflix — February 11, 2006 @ 3:14 pm PST
I’ve been a member for almost 3 years and I’m cancelling my membership today! I finally realized why I all of a sudden can’t get the movies I want after heavy usage for the past 2 or 3 months. Long wait and very long wait.That’s not the way to treat good customers. There have been many months where we were very low usage customers and we still paid. I expect to be treated honerably and Netflix is NOT about that. The way they do business is deceitful and wrong!! I am not going to tolerate it.What a sucker I was.
Comment by Jan — February 11, 2006 @ 3:35 pm PST
I have been a Netflix subscriber for over 2 years, but have seen a rapid deterioration in service in the past few months. The top 6 movies in my queue have a “short wait” or a “long wait” or a “very long wait” — this was especially noticeable to me when I had the 40-Year-Old Virgin at the top of my queue for weeks, but they would never send it.
Netflix wants to keep two groups of customers happy: new customers, and the customers that don’t rent that often (because they make money off of them). People like me who rent 2-3 movies per week (on a 3-at-a-time plan) are undesirable to them because we cost them more in shipping, etc.
I really hope that enough people complain and that more publicity is made about their throttling practices so that they’ll revise their policies. If they don’t, customers like me — and many others — will find an alternative source for our movie renting.
Comment by Sassy — February 11, 2006 @ 7:47 pm PST
I’ve been a member for about 5 months and, like many of you, have been subjected to Netflix’s throttling practice. I often wait 3-4 weeks for new releases (and counting - still haven’t recieved most of them).
But rather than complain or cancel my service, I have a solution that works for us(the consumer) AND will significantly reduce Netflix’s revenues (which is the ONLY way to get corporate America’s attention).
We should all change our Netflix service to 2 CD’s at a time, then also join another competitive service such as Blockbuster for the same level of service. By rotating which company we get our movies from, we’ll have the same amount od available DVD’s and we should be avoid being labeled a frequent user. Best of all, our out-of-pocket is approx the same, but Netflix loses 30-60% of their revenue.
I’m doing this today and I HIGHLY advise anyone who wants to fix things rather than complain about things to do the same. It’s a supply and demand world… if we reduce the demand, Netflix will be stuck with the supply and be forced to correct the situation or go out of business (either option is fine with me).
Comment by Randy — February 12, 2006 @ 11:15 am PST
Wow - the first I heard of Netflix “throttling” was yesterday. I’ve been a customer for more than 2 years and have only recently begun noticing that the movies don’t arrived on time anymore. My kids were disappointed that SKY HIGH did not arrive on Saturday. I’m a moderate Netflix renter but have been frustrated with so many “very long wait” rentals in my cue. If it is true that delaying the mail of DVD’s and denying long term / active users new titles first is perceived as a way to impact the bottom line then they are dead wrong. I referred my boss and co-worker to Netflix. I do like the convenience of Netflix but this really sours the positive impression I have of their company. Because I think Blockbuster is a rip-off, I may stick with Netflix but I won’t refer anyone else to them. I better get DOOM in the next week or two or I will be REALLY mad.
Comment by Kon — February 12, 2006 @ 1:31 pm PST
I have a distribution center a few miles from the house. When I reached my “quota”, they would receive back a movie & the next in the queue would show “shipping” for a day & the next day would show “shipping today” befor it went out. The returns now, instead of going back to the center a few miles away (orlando, fl) are going back to california or utah.
Customer service for them feely admit proudly that is what they are doing.
Comment by Bob — February 12, 2006 @ 5:02 pm PST
After venting my frustration about Netflix on this site a couple of days ago, I actually left a customer service comment for them on their website where I essentially voiced the same complaints to them. This is the reply I got:
Dear Laurie,
Thanks for your message.
We appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback and comments
regarding our shipping process. By prioritizing in this way, we help assure a
balanced experience for all our members. Those that rent a lot of movies (such
as yourself) get a great value by paying less per disc and those with lighter
viewing habits are able to count on our service to meet their limited needs.
If you have a better suggestion for determining priority, which it is obvious we
have to do when multiple people request the same DVD, we are more than open to
hearing it.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Thanks,
Brandon,
Netflix Customer Service .
I cannot believe how obtuse they are. I was frustrated with their practice of throttling, and they write back explaining why I don’t get new releases immediately. Either the particular customer service rep that responded to my complaints doesn’t know how to read or the company as a whole is just sending out vapid, semi-automatic responses in an effort to control the blaze. I can only hope that they are being inundated by complaints. It bothers me that my “unlimited” DVD rentals AREN’T, that my access to new releases is deliberately curtailed specifically because I am a frequent customer, and that Netflix thinks that simply because I receive a good deal, price-wise, per disc, that I should just shut up and take it. It requires a lot of patience to rent movies through the mail, (no more immediately choosing a movie and watching it that night; dealing with broken, cracked discs that arrive in the mail; dealing with having my account put on hold because DVDs get lost in the mail so I’M immediately suspected of wrongdoing, etc.), and I am sure it’s a LOT cheaper to have a handful of warehouses scattered throughout the country than it is to maintain thousands of stores, so I’m getting very tired of them telling me that I’m getting my money’s worth. (What gets me most angry is that Netflix is DELIBERATELY punishing me, violating the terms of our “unlimited, 6 out at a time” rental agreement. If I had KNOW FROM THE GIT-GO that I was joining a “Rent Movies For As Little As $1.50 EACH!” Club, I would not be upset. Of course, if I knew that those were the terms, what with the risks and turnaround times associated with mail delivery, I don’t know if I would sign up. “$1.50 Each!” doesn’t sound nearly as enticing as “Unlimited!”)
Comment by Laurie — February 12, 2006 @ 5:56 pm PST
Recently, in my newspaper there was an article about Netflix and how if U are more then a regular user then u are lower on there priority list. Therefore u do not get ur movies faster. I, being a Netflix user for a few months just got my first dose of this last weekend. When normally if i ship my movies on monday, they then didnt even post that they got my movies on tuesday. On wednesday they said they sent them and on thursday I only received one of the my two movies. Finally on friday I got my other film. In my first month I usually got two shipments of films a week and now I am down to one. A little disapointing but ehh w/e.
Comment by Robbie — February 12, 2006 @ 9:39 pm PST
I can understand if any of you are frustrated with the issue of throttling, but PLEASE reconsider some of your base assumptions.
-You see what appears to be a good deal: movie rentals for less than $3 each, from the convenience of your home. For the typical person this means LESS time spent acquiring the movie and NO automobile related expenses. These are REAL cost savings, like it or not.
- If you LOVE movies and watch far more than the typical person and rent ~20 movies a month you KNOW the company is losing money on you as a customer. This also applies to people who game the system by renting movies for their friends and neighbors, or by renting so they can rip and burn the movie.
- A good deal is not a good deal when one side loses money. As a thinking adult with a (presumed) conscience you KNOW this.
- A serious company has to place reasonable limits on anything, even “unlimited” services. You know this. An “all-u-can-eat” buffet cannot survive if an 800 lb. guy comes in every day and eats continuously for four hours. You know this, too.
Try this: think of the companies you do business with as a group of people, all of whom need to make a living, just like you and your friends and family. If the company LOSES money on a regular basis, the “good” deal will go away very soon. You know this. Look to make purchases at a FAIR price that sustains BOTH parties in the transaction. It may change the way you spend a lot of your money.
It is natural to want a “good” deal. It is part of being a thinking, responsible, GOOD person to understand what a good deal really is.
Comment by Hamilton Burger — February 13, 2006 @ 11:07 am PST
I had the same problem. I get 6 out at a time and have been a subscriber for over 2 years. I sent them off an email today linking to the cnn article detailing this scam.
If they don’t respond adequately I will cancel my service.
If they are going to throttle high demand titles, fine but send me things lower in my queue. I have 196 titles they can choose from any would be better than this scam.
Comment by Perrin — February 13, 2006 @ 11:16 am PST
FWIW, I don’t use NetFlix, or Blockbusters. If I want to see a movie, I buy it. Then I either keep it in the library, give it to a friend or trade it in at on of the local used record store.
Comment by Hamilton Burger — February 13, 2006 @ 11:22 am PST
[…] The value of legitimate, relevant comments I see every reader who takes time to make legitimate, related comments as being helpful to this site and to me and enjoy reciprocation. It’s part of the reason I don’t like using rel=’nofollow’ on comments and speak out against others who treat commenting like it’s some sort of leprosy. Readers can be and usually are a valuable part of the conversation and nobody else will tell me differently. Look at a post like this one RE: Netflix throttling and tell me that the comments are not more valuable than the post itself? […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » Begging vs. earning links vs. white male tech gatekeeper snobs — February 13, 2006 @ 12:01 pm PST
70% of my que of 13 is on a “wait” basis. Two flicks shipped same day arrive 2 days apart. Have 17.99 plan. My solution is to downsize my plan and be more selective in what I rent.
Hey, seeing more good first run movies in the theater may be another option for some. At least it gets you away from interruptions.
Comment by Bill — February 13, 2006 @ 12:02 pm PST
[…] The scenario normally is easy to sleuth. If you get slashdotted or digged or another site links you then a line in the referrer stats shows up with a big number next to it. Once we had a German newspaper prominently link a story here and the stats ballooned for the period the link was displayed. This traffic, unfortunately, tends to be very transitory. They come for the story they were interested and they rarely stay. This recent traffic surge, however, has been going on for a few days now and is holding longer than normal and is generating comments on this blog entry from June 26, 2005: Netflix Throttling? […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » Time for Netflix to axe ‘unlimited’ from vocabulary — February 13, 2006 @ 1:47 pm PST
I just came across this site due to a CNN.com article about Netflix. I had recently noticed some delay times on my rentals. I’ve paid for 3 months so far for 2-at-a-time. I’ve rented 23 DVDs so far so I’ve come out to $2.13/DVD so far. But my last two rentals had a return address to California. I live in Tennessee. Up until the last 2 rentals, my return address would be to a local PO box in town. I’m just now reading about the “throttling” issue and I can’t say I’m too excited about how long my relationship with Netflix is going to last.
So beyond the Receive to Ship time, what’s the possibility that what I just saw on my last 2 returns was Netflix causing extra “delay” time by having me send my DVD cross-country as to delay receive time? So they can say their turn around time was same or next day but they added a couple extra days in postal time?
Comment by Bruce — February 13, 2006 @ 2:09 pm PST
I called about three weeks ago to complain about my service (1-888-638-3549 for those who want the number). I saw an immediate improvement in the turnaround on movies. However, the top ten movies in my queue have been in some form of “wait” for up to two months. I talked to them today and told them that it needed to be addressed or I would go elsewhere. We’ll see if there is an improvement. Blockbuster now gives four in-store rentals a month. If you can rent 8 other movies in a month, you can reach the threshold of acceptance that I consider appropriate. Looks like I may be switching.
Comment by Ken — February 13, 2006 @ 2:10 pm PST
Thanks to CNN and all of the subsequent comments I have seen on this site and elsewhere, I now understand the nature of the misleading if not pure dishonesty of Netflix. When that type of crap goes on, the consumer owes nothing to Netflix. The best two solutions I have seen are: (1) Open up separate smaller accounts with Blockbuster and with Netflix, and alternate returning movies. The cost is the same, but likely you will not incur throttling. (2) The other “system” is to eliminate most of the movies in your queue, leaving only your top choices. That seems to work, other than the nuisance of having to add to your queue on a regular basis.
In closing, shame on Netflix.
John
Comment by John — February 13, 2006 @ 7:48 pm PST
re comment no 47 (Hamilton Barger). Nice lecture on free enterprise, but that is not the issue - which is ‘what seems to be promised’ vs ‘what is delivered’. They used to call that “bait and switch”. It would be very easy Netflix to restructure their advertising, and subscription policies to avoid that appearance. Maybe Hamilton Barger would volunteer to help them.
Comment by Bill — February 13, 2006 @ 8:23 pm PST
It’s interesting that poster Hamilton Burger used the analogy of an All U Can Eat buffet dealing with an 800 lb customer, because that is exactly the same analogy I used in my complaint e-mail to Netflix. (Except in my scenario, the gluttonous character was not 800 pounds–just Homer Simpson.) Perhaps without even knowing it, Mr. Burger has essentially solidified my complaint. Because, while yes, if the All U Can Eat restaurant had no other patrons but 800 pound gourmands who did nothing but eat their shrimp and prime rib for four hours, it would quickly go out of business. But, luckily for the restaurant, (and, analogously, Netflix), the gluttons are a mere percentage of their business, not the entire pie. (Mmmmm. Pie.) BUT!, and this is the critical part: If the All U Can Eat restaurant, in an effort to preserve its profit margin, suddenly and without warning BARRED the 800 lb. diner from eating his fill, that restaurant would be slapped with a lawsuit faster than you can say “pass the gravy.” And the restaurant would lose. Because if you advertised an “unlimited” service and the customers abide by the terms of the agreement in good faith, (i.e., they didn’t burn eight hours of DVDs in 30 minutes; they didn’t consistently and suspiciously receive and return six or eight movies every single day they arrived in the mail, or they didn’t, say, stuff roast beef and chicken wings down their pants while at the restaurant in order to eat them later from the comfort of their undoubtedly very large couch), I don’t think you have the right to be able to say, without notification or warning to the customer, “We didn’t really mean it.”
And something else needs to be kept in mind, too. These “customer friendly” scenarios, (1)Receive 3 DVDs in the mail on Monday. 2)Watch all 3 movies Monday night. 3)Drop movies in the mail on Tuesday. 4)Netflix receives all 3 movies on Wednesday. 5)Netflix should, (but they don’t), ship 3 new movies out on Wednesday.), are always assuming that the customer watches the movie the same day he or she gets it. That is not always the case. Not only that, but any time the customer receives a movie Thursday thru Saturday, the weekend itself factors into the delivery/turnaround time.
I guess I’ve belabored my point a bit. I just get so frustrated when people say “try to understand it from the corporation’s perspective.” Or, worse yet, people accuse me of being a DVD pirater simply because I try to maximize my Netflix membership.
But, I sincerely hope that more and more frustrated customers find their voice. And I hope that Netflix listens.
Comment by Laurie — February 13, 2006 @ 8:52 pm PST
Let me apologize for my earlier post. I was less than clear on a few things. If NetFlix advertises rapid turnaround and does not provide it, that is very poor business practice on their part. If they divert your movies to Californis to slow you down, that is wasteful and stupid, and it doesn’t fool anyone. If Netflix were to provide its customers with a clear explanation/disclosure of their priority system, then the throttling in some form might be OK.
In my earlier post I said “you” when I really meant “I”. I am learning to THINK about what is advertised and what I am really buying. Do I really think the multi level marketing thing is legit? Do I really think the $30 television at WalMart is anything but a pile of junk? Or that the Eddie Bauer Edition widget is any better that the standard widget? With whom do I want to invest (spend) my money? When it comes down to it, I don’t want to get the $30 TV or the $90 vacuum or the $.75 hamburger, because I find that I am buying, and encouraging CRAP. I am learning to buy better and buy less. And a side effect of that is that I don’t want to get a “great” deal if it means that a good company is losing money. I want the good company to make money.
I think NetFlix advertising is guilty of appealing to the inner looter in all of us. They know that they have to control output to stay in business, and we know it too.
Comment by Hamilton Burger — February 13, 2006 @ 9:51 pm PST
Note to all dissatisfied Netflix users (like me)
Blockbuster has the same prices, no throttling, four free in-store DVD coupons per month, and Saturday receiving and shipping. $ extra shipping days a month all else being equal. I’m done with Netflix.
Comment by swassociates — February 13, 2006 @ 10:40 pm PST
To my comment above. Make that
4 extra shipping days a month.
Comment by swassociates — February 13, 2006 @ 10:46 pm PST
I am also a heavy renter. I quit my day job that I would work 60 hours per week for a home business. I now have a lot more time on my hands allowing me to watch a Netflix movie every single day.
What I’ve been doing now is that when I send 3 Netflix movies back, I try to help them save on postage. Instead of mailing 3 movies in 3 envelopes, I try to fit 2 movies into 1 envelope and mail the 3rd movie into the 1 envelope as normal.
I think if all of us heavy renters did this, Netflix could save money and then have one less reason to throttle.
I live way out in the boonies. It costs me almost $4 or $5 in gas just to drive to a Blockbuster from here. Netflix is still a bargain as many people have said. Even if they put some of the new movies in a “long wait” status, so be it. I have 100 movies in my queue and at least they send the next available movie.
All of you should try it… when you mail 3 movies back in 1 day, stuff 2 of them into one envelope to cut their postage down. Tell everyone you know to do this. Instead of Netflix paying $.78 cents 3x, they would only have to pay $.78 cents 2x.
If everyone did this, they could change their algorithms. It would take all of us as a whole to make a huge impact. So everyone, TRY THIS! Be thankful that this wonderful service is even available! Don’t abuse it!
If Netflix won’t work out for me, screw it. I’m going to get a satellite dish and just go to Pay-Per-View movies.
Comment by Robert — February 14, 2006 @ 12:34 am PST
I’ve been a Netflix user for a couple of years now and have had many headaches with their delay tactics. I am on the 5 at a time and can usually watch them in 2 days. So let’s say I get 5 movies on Monday… watch them… send back Wednesday. They get all 5 on Thursday. If I am lucky they will send one or two of them on Friday, then the other 3 won’t ship until Monday since they don’t do any business on Saturday (gee I wonder why). I can understand that each DVD costs them $.78 to send and receive, but the fact that they covered up this practice for years is not surprising since this company is owned by Best Buy. Hell I would be willing to pay the return postage if they would stop playing games with me. They are desperate not to lose to Blockbuster and are going to some pretty extensive lengths to do this. One thing I am ready for is to be able to return movies to a Blockbuster store instead of mailing. Perhaps this will finally put the nail in Netflix’s coffin and save Blockbuster some money so they are more willing to send my movies!
Comment by WM — February 14, 2006 @ 1:08 am PST
I hear all the complaining about long turn around times and have to agree, but just a bit. If anyone is getting three movies at a time and returning them the next day then we ALL know they are ripping those movies. You would have to be an invalid or a two time loser to have enough time to watch three movies in one afternoon repeatedly. I can’t believe so many people that are obviously disshonest are complaining about Netflix being disshonest.
Comment by Bruiser — February 14, 2006 @ 1:21 pm PST
If the average movie is an hour and a half, then you could easily watch three movies in 5 or 6 hours. I get home from work at 5:30pm. I can easily have 3 movies watched by midnight. I’m not dishonest. I don’t pirate the movies. (Although the jury is still out as to whether or not I’m a “two time loser”.) And, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I am insulted by the implication that I MUST be doing something dishonest or illegal simply because I can watch 3 movies in a night.
Comment by Laurie — February 14, 2006 @ 1:39 pm PST
Also, please don’t assume that Netflix has to pay standard postage, or $0.78 to send and receive discs to us. There are bulk rates for businesses, and I would be shocked if Netflix wasn’t receiving that business rate.
Comment by Laurie — February 14, 2006 @ 1:43 pm PST
Hi all, 1 year member of netflix, heavy user who has been throttled. I have a question regarding those emails that we get periodically that ask us when we received our movie in the mail- you know, the ones in which you choose a dae to “improve their service.”
Do you suppose they use those to throttle you? Perhaps tweaking the time it takes you to get a movie by using more distance shipping centers? So then, maybe when we get those emails we should answer them with the date that is last on the list (longest time interval)?
Any thoughts?
Comment by Scott — February 16, 2006 @ 9:02 am PST
As far as us invalid two-time losers ripping the DVD’s i say SO WHAT? i can either watch all 3 whenever and have nothing to watch the next 2 days (or 4 if it’s a weekend) while my returns are in the mail (sucky solution) or i can TiVO & return them and watch at my leisure while the USPS is doing it’s thing (good solution). that way i can watch a movie EVERY night and never have to wait for my next shipment to arrive.
Comment by Kevin — February 16, 2006 @ 4:54 pm PST
Hell yes! My family lived in New Orleans (I now live in L.A.) and the week Katrina hit I deperately needed movies to help distract myself from the news, and Netflix’s turnaround from the L.A. center was insanely slow (this was after the introductory month had just ended — during THAT period service was prompt and quick); it took 3 days before they would acknowledge receipt of the returned DVD, and another day before they would send it, leaving me caged up at home. I hated them for the way the service dropped off practically THE MOMENT my “intoductory month” ended. I hope they go out of business or make their practices more ethical. I don’t recall paying for restrictions imposed by their desire to boost profits with unfair practices.
Comment by Jolhn Pluigman — February 17, 2006 @ 11:42 am PST
Hi all! I found this discussion and wanted to add my comments.
I joined Netflix in early December of 2005 and received excellent service…in the beginning. Basically, my queue list is movies that have been out 6+ months, television shows from the past couple of years that I have missed (and some really old ones), and hard-to-find videos. I have very few “new” releases. I am on the 2 DVD’s at a time for 14.99 plan. In December, I received 9 DVD’s; in February, I received 10. Prior to the most recent shipment, my DVD’s were being sent from the distribution location 30 miles from my home.
This week, I received one of my two not-new-release videos. Netflix is claiming that I received the second disc on February 18–I did not. I also noticed that my discs are now being sent from Omaha, NE, which is almost 100 miles from my home. I also noticed that several of my movies have gone to a “long wait” and “very long wait.” Now I ask you…how many people out there REALLY want to see the first disc of Middlemarch?????
I used to think that this was a great deal compared to my local rental place but now I am really questioning if I want to stay with them. Unlimited should mean just that…as many as you can watch at a time not how many we randomly decide that you should watch. If they are going to throttle us, maybe we should all change to the 9.99 deal where we can only have four a month and really screw up their profits!!!!!
Comment by Lynette — February 19, 2006 @ 4:26 pm PST
I started out on the 2 at a time unlimited and loved it so much went up to 3 at a time unlimited. Not to long after moving up to the 3 plan I noticed delays. These delays were obvious. Discs sent the same day arrived on different days (I’m within a 40 minute drive on Los Angeles freeways to the Santa Ana facility}, discs not sent out immediately..etc. So I’m being throttled also. I’m throwing a new possible Netflix trick into the fray. In the last 6 weeks or so I’m receiving broken unplayable discs at the rate of 1 per week, thats 18 to 20 percent. This seems to high to be a coincidence. So I’m delayed getting through my queue by having to send the broken disc back. Wonder if anyone else is experiencing more broken discs or I’m just oversuspicious. Overall netflix functions well but the should treat their customers with more a lot more respect and provide the service they advertise without fine print caveats. The upshot for netflix is once I’m through my queue I’ll quit the service because of the throttling whereas before I’d have reduced my plan but remained a customer.
Comment by Scott — February 19, 2006 @ 6:04 pm PST
I too have had these problems in the past year.one of the ways I started fighting it was to send the 3 movies I usually have out at once back in one envelope.This way they can’t say all 3 movies did not get there at the same time.I also save the extra return envelopes so that when they send me movies from a distribution center that is further away I return it to the one that is closer to me.the service has steadily degraded to the point I have to consider other alternatives.
Comment by Matt — February 19, 2006 @ 8:20 pm PST
I became a Netflix customer in November of 2005. I’ve noticed several quirks with their deliveries. A couple of times, I had rentals shipped to me from Arizona and California; I live near Pittsburgh. One of these titles was from a PBS program series (Mystery!) where every other DVD I rented shipped from Pittsburgh.
I am now at the three at-a-time unlimited level, and I watch my three movies on the weekend because of my weekly work schedule. For three weeks in a row, I’ve watched my number one pick (the same title) placed on a “long wait” list on a Monday; and then see it become available by Friday afternoon, AFTER I’ve returned and received other DVDs further down my list!
Comment by Chuck — February 20, 2006 @ 11:40 pm PST
True, good in the beginning and gets worse over time. My wife and I started our membership last year but really didn’t get into watching the movies regularly. Therefore, we kept the movies for several days before returning them . Everything was fine then, as a matter of fact right after the release of the blockbuster movie “Revenge of the Sith”, I requested for it and it was sent to me immediately.
Then our movie watching habit changed, we got more and more interested in watching movies and, therefore, returned the DVDs right away after watching them so we can get new ones. That’s when the problem began. Now, we don’t get the movies we requested. For example, I placed the latest Jodie Foster movie “Flightplan” in my rental queue weeks before it was release, up until this writing we haven’t received the movie yet. Is this what they called “throttling”?
Comment by Bob Lee — February 22, 2006 @ 8:54 am PST
I’ve been a Netflix subscriber for more than 2 years. I have the three-at-a-time plan. I rent mostly documentaries and foreign films - almost nothing recent. My queue hovers around just over 200 movies at any given time.
I haven’t had much trouble with Netflix for the past 2 years - I generally return a movie and get a replacement two days later.
But last week I returned a movie on Friday, expecting that I would get a replacement on Tuesday. It’s now Thursday and they’ve just sent me the email that I can expect it on Saturday (which usually means I’ll get it Friday).
I’m not a high-volume user. I tend to keep most movies for three days. But for them to keep a movie out of my circulation for a week means that it’s not a three-at-a-time plan. I’m not getting what I’m paying for.
Comment by Margie — March 2, 2006 @ 1:46 pm PST
I’ve been a Netflix customer since Nov. 2004, and have noticed that lately, movies returned on the same day, “arrive” at Netflix on different days. I am going to start returning my movies in the same envelope now. More irritating, is the fact that a lot of the movies at the top of my queue are perpetually “very long wait.” I do watch a lot of new releases, and will add movies to the top of my queue before the release date. But some of these movies have been unavailable to me since their release, months ago. When I complained to Netflix, all I got was their standard bullshit excuse. It’s too bad that the class action suit settlement does not force Netflix to change their policy of penalizing heavy renters which strikes me as outrageously unfair.
Comment by Liz — March 2, 2006 @ 10:28 pm PST
Wow, Netflix is really getting bad. I joined Netflix in the very beginning, around June 2000. The service was PHENOMENAL, and I became a real movie junkie. (For the record, I have never “ripped” or “burned” a single DVD; never.) I soon signed up for the max plan of 8 at a time, and I must’ve been going thru 30-40 a month. The only time it slowed down was for a 2 week period around the 9/11 crisis. And they even issued a formal apology on their website for any delays experienced! Anyway, in the next few years as the site grew in popularity I watched the service (for me) steadily decline. I kept stepping down my subscription, hoping to stop the throttling, until finally in October of 2005 when my ENTIRE QUEUE was “Very long wait” or “Long Wait”, and I quit.
Cut to 4 months later, I just restarted my membership (with the basic 3 at a time plan) and the movies at “Long Wait” in my queue months ago are STILL at long wait. I added a documentary to the list to get SOMETHING, that was last Wednesday, I finally got it today. I live in Pittsburgh, this came from California. (We have a service hub here, it’s been here for years.) And the other 2 slots in my queue…still open. I have 51 movies in my queue and 2 open slots for a week now. Very big mistake, rejoining. I could kick myself. As soon as this month is up, I’m quitting for good and not looking back. This is no longer the convenience they claim to be. And the “inexpensive price” isn’t worth all the frustration and MONTHS & MONTHS of waiting for a “new release”. Just awful.
Comment by DougM — March 13, 2006 @ 8:26 pm PST
I see this thread is still running strong after 9 months. I really dont know what to think. Overall the service is still great if you had started from scratch today with no previous history of what it was like a year ago. You still save lots of money over renting from a store. The question is how far will they let it degrade before it really starts to hurt them as more and more customers leave. Perhaps they grew too big too fast. Sure helped their stock price but that kind of growth can’t be sustained.
Comment by Movie — March 17, 2006 @ 4:33 am PST
Has anyone else recently gotten a postcard from Netflix offering a free trial? I swear it was for one month. I signed up and after 2 weeks I was billed and told, just like a similar post in this thread, that I had redeemed a 2 week offer blah blah terms of agreement… I threw away the postcard and want to know if I hallucinated the one month or is Netflix ripping people off again?
Comment by Michael — March 20, 2006 @ 2:37 pm PST
I do believe my account is being throttled. But I’d like to share some observations:
Netflix is in fact open about their policy of prioritizing the avaialability of more popular movies and new releases for lower-volume renters. I don’t technically think of this as “throttling”. I watch 20-25 movies a month on the 5-at-a-time plan, so if they want to send “Capote” to some granny in Spokane who only watches two movies a month instead of sending it to me, I think that’s fine. I’ll just wait for it and watch one of the other 260 movies currently on my queue. In the case of “Learning Advanced Blues Guitar” being a “very long wait” for the last 3 months, I figure they only ever had one copy of it, somebody lost it, and they don’t plan to replace it, which is fine too, but they should remove it from their catalog.
Sometimes the discs will take more than 1 day to make through the mail in either direction. I have often received the “shipping” email in the middle of the night and still received the movies next day. I sometimes get the “received” email late in the day, or a day later than I think it should be, but even if they wanted to, there is no way Netflix could tell my envelopes from any of the other returned movies they receive each day. If it takes some extra time for them to log my movies as received, I chalk it up to their being busy in general. I don’t believe Netflix has any special arrangement with the Post Office to delay a specific postal customer’s mail. I also don’t believe that sending movies from different distribution centers has anything to do with throttling, but mostly to do with availaibility of certain discs, particularly less popular discs which they are likely to have fewer copies of.
However, in the last few months, I have noticed that there is increasingly a one- or two-day delay between the “received” email and the “shipping” email. Now this also might just be due to unusually heavy activity at the distribution center, however, new customers do not seem to experience these delays, so some sort of system to determine whose shipments get delayed must be in use.
The thing that really gets my goat is that I called Netflix Customer service not long ago to complain about being throttled. I asked the rep on the phone “Is there a policy that prioritizes customers’ shipments based on rental volume?” and he FLAT OUT LIED and told me “there is definitely no policy like that”. Then the very next week they revised their terms of use in response to the lawsuit filed by Frank Chavez.
I watch a LOT of netflix movies. I have no cable, satellite, or broadcast TV reception - Netflix is it for me. Also, I am a video editor and design and author DVDs for documentaries and feature films, so I have a professional interest in looking at as many DVDs as I can get my hands on. I will get movies from netflix just to check out the menus and navigation, and will sometimes just send them right back. I can appreciate that I am definitely geting my money’s worth from their service. However the fact that their customer service reps had been instructed to LIE about their policy until they were forced to update their terms of use leaves me with no qualms about giving them as hard a time as I can about this issue.
Comment by el-lobito — March 22, 2006 @ 7:36 pm PST
I guess I’m the only person here satisfied with Netflix’s service. my boyfriend and I are on the 3 CDs at a time plan, but we are very slow viewers. Sometimes we can keep a DVD as long as a month. We just don’t see a need to watch movies every night. Yes I’ve noticed that sometimes they would be a little delayed in sending us a new DVD, but it never bothered us. We don’t care if our videos arrive a day or two late. And while we don’t tend to rent latest releases, we did get March of the Penguins immediately.
Comment by Toni — April 3, 2006 @ 3:35 pm PST
I have never had problems with Netflix until recently. I switched to the 5 out/unlimited briefly, then changed back down to the 4 out/unlimited, since I downgraded, I had an open spot for a dvd to send, they didn’t send me my #1, but sent me my #2 on the list, and theres no way my #1, Children of Dune: Disc 1 is out of stock, I know its not that popular. So I sent one back and they received it. It finally said Dune was moved up to “shipping today” but it wasn’t shipped that day and not the next either, it was finally shipped today. I usually get movies from Houston (90 miles) or from Austin (300 miles) in 1 day, I have NEVER waited more than 2 days for a movie, EVER!!! My queue now says estimated arrival date is 4/7. Hopefully this will be my only experience with “throttling”
Comment by Joseph — April 4, 2006 @ 9:36 pm PST
Twice a member of Netflix, Stay away they just plainly suck. Who needs the aggravation.
Comment by JEB — April 8, 2006 @ 11:26 pm PST
My experience with Netflix coincides with others who suspect throttling. But, the few folks who recommend BlockBuster as an alternative have all said that shipping there is slower as a rule with some suspecting the same techniques as employed by Netflix. No one has mentioned anything about Intelliflix. They have a yearly plan that reduces costs considerably for the three-at-a-time rentals and also advertise as an “unlimited plan.” Has anyone had any experience with Intelliflix?
For those that defend Netflix and are critical of heavy users who view in one day and send back the next, I think the solution is simple. Netflix should simply not advertise their plans as “unlimited.” To do so, and yet assure otherwise, is fraudulent. Give the consumer an honest and forthright expectations of the level of service they can expect to receive, and if that proposed level of service is not profitable, change the policy or increase the cost. It doesn’t matter if you would have to pay more from a local video store even with throttling - that is completely besides the point. They’ve used fraud to collect your money and given you less than what you were lead to believe you would get.
Comment by RFS — April 14, 2006 @ 3:44 pm PST
They have periodically throttled me every since I was a member way back in June of 2002. I never really thought about it as throttling until last year. But I always noticed that there would suddenly be a lag in time on turnover. Up to 3-4 days. Sometimes more. So I would just get fed up and wait as close to my next billing date and then cancel for two or three months. Without fail, every time I restarted, I would have excellent service for up to 3-5 months and then throttling would start again. I finally figured out they must categorize customers who cancel and restart the same as new customers because I do get excellent service the first few months. Sometimes longer. It depends on how quickly I’m returning them. Throttling seems to start as soon as a month after I really push to get 6 per week. When I was more lax about it (aiming for around 4 movies per week), there was no throttling. I was just on the fence between cancelling and downgrading with them. I decided to downgrade and see if they still throttle me. If they do, then I’ll cancel.
They really need to not advertise unlimited rentals because clearly it is a lie.
Comment by Adrienne — April 29, 2006 @ 1:34 pm PST
Yes Virginia, they throttle movies. I started noticing it about one & a half years ago. Our movies would sit on the kitchen counter during the week & then on the weekends we would finally sit down & watch a few. We would then drop off two at the post office on Monday. The problem was, Netflix never seemed to receive the two movies on the same day. There was always a one day lag in between their receiving them. I wondered how this could consistently happen since both movies were mailed on the same day. I even tried experimenting by mailing both movies back in the SAME envelope. That should have worked, right? Nope. There was still a one day lag between their receiving the two movies. I’m glad they finally got nailed.
Comment by JJ — May 2, 2006 @ 1:48 pm PST
I keep getting videos shipped from other distribution centers, with return envelopes for far away return centers. I simply take a white out pencil, and replace my local return center’s address with the other one. I also return two in a single envelope so I have some spare local envelopes. Since the post office charges them the same rate for shipping, no matter the distance, Netflix has an interest in making sure your return centers are as far away as possible. I am sure they will think up an answer to this, but they haven’t yet.
Comment by charles — June 2, 2006 @ 3:16 pm PST
I’ve been with Blockbuster now for a few weeks. No complaints, and have even found a feature that I believe to be a nod to disgruntled NF users: reporting of a movie that isn’t yet marked as “returned.”
I tried that out today and reported two that were, indeed, posted. One of which was only mailed earlier today. No problem, my next two titles were marked queued for sending. Nice. Seems that BlockBuster is willing to trust ya … clearly, if this is abused by an individual, and discs remain unaccounted for, they’ll flag the account.
The free in-store rentals are sweet. Surprisingly, the store manager at our nearby BB loves the new service. Yep, he understands that the on-line gig will cannibalize their own customer base, but their survival depends on it and according to him it’ll probably be Hollywood Video’s ticket to ruin. He was nice enough to show me how to get an additional 2 free rentals as well. Oh ya, and he told me how to use the “report’m as sent” thing.
I signed up for Netflix today. Why? To get the 2 weeks and then cancel.
Lastly, to whoever said that anyone able to watch/return 3 movies in a day is either a “pirate or two-time loser,” I submit, “You’re an idiot, and an assumptive one.” Never mind, that it’s within the TOS to return the movies the SAME DAY they’re received, much less the next day. Which turnip truck did you fall off of? Personally, I often watch 30 minutes or less of a movie, and decide it was a bad choice then move on. This service makes that a viable option. Often I watch every minute of every movie I rent, watch the add-ons, notice the sun coming up in the window, and am miserable the following day due to lack of sleep. While that isn’t YOUR cup of tea, I’ll refrain from calling you a “loser.” I suspect others may rent for their kids, with a choice or two for the adults. Imagine that, 2 DVD players in the same family. For whatever reason, a brisk turnaround suits many. What’s more, NF promises it’s viability.
Comment by J Oldland — June 3, 2006 @ 1:01 am PST
I’ve signed up with Netflix a month ago, and I’ve been on a two-month vacation, so there’s lots of time to see movies. For the first few weeks, movies came in every day to every other day. I was pretty pleased and I had a movie to watch almost every night. Well, I’ve noticed a dramatic slow down. I still get acknowleging emails the day after I send the movie back, but the next movies don’t arrive for two or three days. Even worse, i get an e-mail on time, telling me when to expect a movie, and the movie arrives two or three days later. This could be the vagaries of the mail, but I live in Durham NC, and the distribution center is in Raleigh. Mail between the two cities is one day at most.
Comment by Al — June 3, 2006 @ 3:04 pm PST
I too experienced extremely quick turnarounds when I first signed up, almost always 2 weekdays from posting to receiving the next disc. Lately that has become at least 3 and quite often 4 weekdays. Often I’ll post discs a day apart and yet they’ll get processed at the same time. This is CLEARLY deliberate. I don’t actually have a huge problem with them slowing down the shipping for heavy users, but I feel very strongly they should be up front about it. It’s now got to the stage that shipping is so slow I’m considering moving up to the next tier (4 a month) but am I just going to find the delays go from typically 3 weekdays to typically 4 so I end up getting no extra service?
Comment by stewart — June 5, 2006 @ 3:29 pm PST
I switched from Netflix to Blockbuster soon after the whole *throttling* issue came to light. I have the same deal w/Blockbuster that I had with Netflix: unlimited movies, 3-at-a-time. Blockbuster consistently delivers the right movies to my door not only on-time, but often 1 day prior to the promised delivery date. The next movies in my queue are shipped out the same day as when my old movies are received by Blockbuster. Their customer service has been FANTASTIC!!! > yay for that!!!
Comment by Jeron — June 5, 2006 @ 4:10 pm PST
For those who mail 2 discs in the same envelope, do you put them in the same movie sleeve? Or do you mail them both in their own sleeves? How can I guarantee that the post office won’t say it weighs too much? Where would it be sent if it does? It doesn’t have my return address in the corner. I’m afraid they’ll just stay at the post office and be counted as lost discs.
I’ve always wanted to put them in the same envelope to save their shipping costs (and to keep an envelope that has the closest distribution center for me on it, just in case), but I just want to make sure it’ll actually get to them.
Comment by Lizzy — June 11, 2006 @ 3:48 am PST
Lizzy,
It is postage paid by adressee, so no matter how much it weighs, Netflix pays the tab. Two movies and their sleeves fit very easy in the envelope, and Netflix even tells you to do this if you lose an envelope. By doing this, I have a couple of extra envelopes for my closest center.
Comment by charles — June 11, 2006 @ 11:42 am PST
Well, I just returned two movies in one envelope. The replacements got shipped out on different days, despite the fact they’re not in any kind of demand! This for me is conclusive proof of throttling.
Comment by stewart — June 16, 2006 @ 6:35 pm PST
Burn the movies, if they give you any crap tell them that you are canceling your account and you will most likely get a discount on your next bull. I piss them off by not putting the DVDs in the sleeves and just sending the DVD in the envelopes
Comment by ShatfacedPanda — June 18, 2006 @ 10:54 pm PST
Been with Netflix over a year now, never had a problem other than the occasional damaged disk. I consistently put them back in the mail, they receive the following day, new one arrives the day after that.
Comment by William — June 20, 2006 @ 2:17 pm PST
Netflix says that you can put 2 DVD’s in the same envelope for the return. No problem with the extra weight. However, doing this really showed me how much I was being throttled.
I had already experienced plenty of delays from them, but when I returned 2 DVD’s in the same envelope, I got an e-mail 2 days later showing only ONE DVD returned. The other took 2 more days to show up returned in their system. That was it for me. I quit at the end of my billing cycle, and don’t plan on going back.
Comment by RobA — July 3, 2006 @ 1:31 am PST
[…] Another post that continues to receive comments is Netflix Throttling, weighing in at 95 comments. My post there is a joke not very good quality but many of the long and often spirited comments are golden. The value in this thread comes from the comments. […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » First comment thread at Hmm reaches 100+ comments and gets derailed [site news] — July 11, 2006 @ 3:23 pm PST
After joining Netflix on their 30 day try for free program. I am already having 2nd thoughts, and I haven’t even started paying for the program. I live in Seattle, WA, and their distribution center is about 30 miles South of here. Today, I got the following email:
“Your movie was not available at your local shipping center. We sent it from Honolulu, HI and expect it to arrive on Tuesday, Sep 26, 2006.”
At this rate, they’ll be shipping from Sydney, Australia pretty soon.
I think the obvious answer is to go down my lengthy queue, and ship those titles available in the nearest distribution center, rather than the more profitable way of doing it the other way around. Who’s running their business, the Bush Administration?
Comment by Bob MacDonald — September 22, 2006 @ 11:12 pm PST
To be clear, this policy is bad for the consumer and should be spelled out clearly (not in their legaleze).
That said, Netflix is still a better deal with better service that any other option out there.
Blockbuster rarely has new releases in their store unless you can get their right when they open on the day of release. Keep in mind, Blockbuster only did their online videos to keep from going under due to Netflix’s revolutionary way of doing rentals by mail. WE all know that Blockbuster had the means to do this, but did not. Had it not been for Netflix paving the way, we would still be stuck with $4 rentals at our neighborhood Blockbusters.
So seeing as how I am paying less than $2 per rental, having them delivered by mail and not having to make countless trips to the video store, I am overall pleased with the service.
Comment by Chester — October 18, 2006 @ 3:36 pm PST
I was a happy user of Netflix from 2002 to 2004. Then, I dropped it for personal reason and never signed other similar service until recently. Three months ago, I signed Netflix again cause I started having more free time. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I ordered the movie GoldenEye (James Bond series) and I received a DVD that was not the Special Edition (SE) release.
I tried by all means to find a way to contact Netflix so to tell them that I wanted the SE but there is no way, their customer support is so automatized that if you have any question that is not addressed in their automation service, you will get very frustrated. If you take a look at the page that describes the GoldenEye DVD, you will see that they do not label it as a Special Edition DVD but, on the “other features” section of the page, they do list all the features that are only available in the SE release. So, it is very misleading if not to say, cheating.
I reported the problem as a mislabeled DVD, so to receive another copy of the DVD, hoping that it would be the SE release, but they never sent me another copy, probably because they treated the regular release and the SE release just the same. I got really really mad at Netflix due to the fact that there is no way to tell them the problem. I wrote a nasty review for the movie but telling them that the review was about the customer service and not about the movie that I indeed liked a lot. They never published my review, of course.
And I ended up renting, for 4.73 dollars, the SE release in a Blockbuster store nearby. I am really pissed off with Netflix and I am just waiting one day before my next billing cycle to drop them again, this time definitely. If you go and visit the site of BBO, you can find the GoldenEye DVD very clearly stated that it _is_ the SE edition that BBO would send you. That’s why I am changing to BBO, I’ll give it a try.
Besides, lately, due to my high demand of DVDs, I started clearly noticing throttling from Netflix. My last movie was sent from NY (I am in MD) and it took 5 days to arrive. So, Netflix no more. To BBO a chance.
After going through all the nightmare of trying to reach a real person in Netflix customer support to report my problem, I did find that they have an 800 number, not shown in their site, but it was too late, I had already rented GoldenEye SE from a BB store and I was already pissed off enough and decided to drop them for good.
Comment by Andre — October 19, 2006 @ 9:36 am PST
I’ve been with Netflix for about 6 weeks total, and overall I’m satisfied with the service. About a year ago, I signed up for the 2-week free trial, just so I could see a few obscure titles that were never going to be at the local Blockbuster or Hollywood. I was watching movies at 3 AM for a couple of weeks there, just so I could get them back in the mail as fast as possible. I cancelled at the end of the 2-week trial, and didn’t sign up again until about a month ago. I don’t really look for the latest releases; I’m usually content to wait and buy them when they go into the “3 for $25″ used DVD bin at Blockbuster or Hollywood. So most of the titles in my queue are “available now,” with one or two “short wait”s. No biggie.
Mail service is generally one day in either direction; I get the “shipping” email, and the DVD is in my mailbox the next day. I mail the DVD back, and get the “Received” email the next day.
I have noticed what I thought was throttling, and for a couple of days there I’d thought about bumping my subscription up to “8 out at a time” 3 days before the month expired, and then cancelling on the last day of the month, just to stick it to them. The evidence of throttling was the usual — DVDs I mailed back together were received by Netflix on consecutive days, DVDs shipped together by Netflix were received by me on consecutive days, Netflix waited a day to send the next item in my queue, instead of sending it out the same day they received the return, and Netflix shipped some DVDs from distant distribution centers. Like others, I ignored the return envelopes for the distant distribution centers, and popped 2 DVDs into the local envelope, and Netflix doesn’t complain.
I have subscribed to Blockbuster online, and so far (5 days into the Blockbuster subscription), they are slightly ahead, even though one of the Blockbuster DVDs seems to have been lost in the mail before I received it. Blockbuster estimates 2 days from shipment to arrival, but their DVDs (mailed from the same city Netflix mails from) usually arrive in 1, same as Netflix.
I do think that Netflix is probably being blamed for normal fluctuations in mail service, in reading through some of these comments. I can understand why they would favor low-volume renters over people like me, and don’t really fault them for filling the low-volume customer’s orders before filling mine. If that means that my DVD is shipped out in the afternoon rather than in the morning, or sometimes not shipped until the next day, that’s understandable.
Most of the movies I request through Netflix and Blockbuster Online are at least 10 years old, and after I’ve seen the 100 or so titles that are on my list today, I will probably cancel both subscriptions. I’ll also probably cancel both subscriptions between Thanksgiving and New Years, just because I don’t want to be part of that annual USPS bulge.
I think the people complaining about “fraud” and “lying customer service reps” should probably step back. If you don’t think you’re getting a good deal, then cancel your subscription at the end of the month. And realize that customer service reps may or may not know everything that goes on in the company, and give them the benefit of the doubt. It’s a free market, which means Netflix is free to set their policies, and you’re free to shop elsewhere if they’re not meeting your needs.
Comment by Steve — October 19, 2006 @ 9:53 pm PST
Just a follow-up to my comment above (#100): I sent back the DVD that arrived from NY, using the same NY-addressed envelope, and it took one day to show up in my queue as received. So, it took 5 days to arrive from NY but just one day to go back to NY. This is real throttling.
Comment by Andre — October 20, 2006 @ 8:45 am PST
Yup, Netflix “throttles” me on a regular basis. Here is a copy of an email I just sent them to complain:
===============================================================================================
Dear Netflix:
I returned 2 dvd’s (Bleak House 2 & 3) same envelope well over 1 wk ago and Netflix “claiming” not received! This delayed receiving and crediting of my account is ridiculous and has happened more times than acceptable. I am about to come to the conclusion that Netflix PURPOSEFULLY holds out on sending me more movies to make sure I don’t receive too many in a month even though SUPPOSE to be unlimited 5 out membership. I have heard talk of others reporting this phenominum of THROTTLING and Netflix INTENTIONALLY restricting # of dvd’s per month. I have been a victim of your unlawful and disgraceful practice of THROTTLING too many times to be mere coincidence or human error. SHAME ON YOU! It is my understanding that BLOCKBUSTER does not pracice such shameful tactics and even though I am quite sure you don’t give a damn, I am going to look into switching to blockbuster.
stephanie xxxxxxxxxx
ps- I have been a member for many many years, why would you treat me so bad?
=================================================================================================
I will post their reply if it is interesting. NETFLIX SUX!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by stephanie dunn — October 25, 2006 @ 7:27 pm PST
I think the people who are telling the complainers to lay off are missing the point. Netflix are engaged in a business model where they expect to make money on a majority of the customer base, the small volume renters, and loss it on a smaller minority of customers, major renters. The company as whole makes a profit when the gains exceed the losses, i.e. the greatest number of subscribers for the smallest number of rentals.
This is not a unique business strategy, it happens in lots of diverse environments. For instance many supermarkets sell value ranges of products, often as loss leaders, on the principle that even if they make no money, or indeed a loss on selling, for instance, a loaf of bread; nobody actually goes into a supermarket and buys just a loaf of bread. But people could, and on that customer they would lose money. The equivalent business practice to Netflix’s throttling would be if the superstore kept track of everyone who did only buy that loaf of below cost bread and swiped it off the bread isle before they could get to it whenever they came in the store.
I know that sounds silly, and it is, but that’s exactly what’s so wrong about throttling. If their business model doesn’t work, they should say so openly, anything else is tantamount to fraudulent behaviour.
Comment by Lliam — October 26, 2006 @ 6:51 pm PST
I’ve been with Netflix since about 2002. I was a fairly light user on the 3 at a time plan. No problems at all. Recently, i was laid off from my job and had extra time to watch movies, so i increased to the 5 at a time…receiving about 25-30 per month…then I switched to the 8 at a time plan…and immediately (that day) the movies that were in short wait went to long and long went to very long. Now 50% of my movies aren’t shipped the same day the others were received. I should have stuck with the 5 at a time plan, it seems i triggered the “throttling” number by changing to the 8 at a time. It seems strange i got throttled not by renting more movies, but by increasing my plan. i guess they figured i could potentially increase my rentals. I’ll try the plan for a month and see if this continues. If it does, I’ll drop it back down and see what happens and then just cancel if it doesn’t it get better.
Comment by Tom in Houston — November 2, 2006 @ 11:10 am PST
I don’t subscribe to Netflix, but subscribe to blockbuster online. From what I have read here, blockbuster seems the better buy. They don’t “throttle” and you also get unlimited free rentals at their store, and that’s on top of your rentals sent to you via mail. Same price but sounds to me like better service. You might consider switching. They just started the free unlimited rentals. You just bring in your online video in the mailer, they automatically check you in and the next video on your que is sent, and you can also get a free rental from the store. You don’t need to use the store, but they are giving you the alternative if you want your movies quicker, or if you don’t have a movie to watch, you can get a free one at blockbuster.
Comment by Tracie — November 2, 2006 @ 2:57 pm PST
I’ve used Netflix two times previously and just signed up a third time, about 6 weeks ago. Every time, it starts out great for the first month, then it goes severely downhill. After they “receive” a movie return, it is a day or two before they show the next one as “shipped”. Now, it takes more than a week to receive another movie after I return one. Blockbuster online rentals weren’t available the first to attempts with Netflix, so maybe I’ll try them now.
Comment by tom m. — December 16, 2006 @ 8:15 pm PST
[…] Netflix throttling? […]
Pingback by » Netflix Throttling — January 20, 2007 @ 4:01 pm PST
Same for me..Being throttld badly by NF. At least blockbuster doesnt give you the option of more than 4 at a time so they wont have to throttle people. I am a switcher and am glad I did.
Comment by Eric — April 2, 2007 @ 8:40 pm PST
We should do something about this. i wish someone would dedicate a web site to this subjct. Like a full blown web page..not just a forum. Somehow we need to warn the dvd lovers of america and the world that netflix is like cancer. the more you give the more it takes. Who ever heard of punishing better customers. Punishing customers that are willing to spend more money, to me, is like shooting yourself in the foot or biting the hand that feeds.
Comment by Eric — April 2, 2007 @ 8:44 pm PST
Slow down the lesser useres shipments..they wont care as much as heavy users….either way you go, it’s completely unfair.
Comment by Eric — April 2, 2007 @ 8:45 pm PST
If you really want an unlimited deal you’ll have tay about 60 bucks a month.. I got two seperate 6 at a time accounts and sometimes i recieve 12-18 a week..this is the only way to get the amount of movies i watch..It is expensive. about 60 bucks a month but its still worth it. if you really want to go crazy get 2 8 out accounts and get anywhere from 16-25 in a week. depending on shipping. if you only get one sipment a week you’d still get 16 a week. so if you can afford it thats the only way to get real unlimited rentals. at least semi-unlimited rentals..
Comment by Eric — April 3, 2007 @ 8:36 am PST
Well the above estimates are a little high. Lately I havent even been getting a full shippment during a week..before i could at least getting my plan limit a week and with two accounts i was oing pretty good. but recently its been way down. im not even recieving a full plan shippment a week now. i still recieve about nine a week total sometimes more but thats with 2 accounts with 6 at a ime. used two i could expect at least the full plan load per account per week now its about half that..give or take
Comment by Eric — April 3, 2007 @ 11:12 am PST
why dont they just eliminate any plan over 4 at a time because they throtttle anything over that it seems
Comment by Eric — April 3, 2007 @ 11:13 am PST
I have just crossed the 2$ point this month in my rentals, and i\’ve noticed a SLOW down. LIke someone hit the breaks. The movies were so slow, I even reported the disk missing. It is 100% true they do this kind of stuff, then they will say your DVD is shipping, but maybe they check and algorithm and if your account is too high it adds a day. Also, they often ship the DVD from another location, like the opposite coast. THe best trick was when they sent me the wrong format several times, that really through me into a loop. I think it is false advertising \”unlimited\”, because it really isn\’t unlimited. I guess the people who use the service, are losing them money. Kinda weird to be a customer, and the enemy of their service at the same time. ha ha. It is ironic how they boast about 1 billion DVDs shipped though, if they didnt want us to rent a lot of DVDs why boast about it in in advertising?
Comment by anon — April 23, 2007 @ 11:02 pm PST
simply amazing. when im through renting all the older movies in my Q i’ll just save myself the aggrivation from now on by renting new releases from the video store.
Comment by freddyC — July 23, 2007 @ 12:05 pm PST
Broken TRUST is what ultimately will end Netflix. Here’s why:
I can accept that such a company might not have every disc available in every location every day. As a customer, I understand and can wait. I’ll trust they’re being straight with me and cut them slack.
However, it is disingenuous to report that a locally unavailable movie must be shipped from another location THE NEXT DAY. There is no reason it couldn’t be shipped THAT day. Combine the one day delay for shipping from the distant location, extra travel time, plus no weekend service and you’ll wait a week for your movie. This is throttling plain and simple. A cheap trick. If Netflix had good will towards you as a customer it would simply locally ship the next choice in your queue the day you originally requested it.
Once you figure out their disingenuous strategy in one part of your dealings with Netflix, you can’t TRUST any part of their operation. Netflix smoothes over its fundamentally bad relationship with its customers with cheap prices. You might classify it as an abusive co-dependent relationship.
As soon as another company or technology comes along that doesn’t treat its customers neurotically, Netflix will go out of business. When customers are handled in underhanded ways, they GET IT. They’ll bolt at the first chance.
Comment by Steve — March 5, 2008 @ 8:36 pm PST