Netflix is delaying my shipping.....?

Question

They seem to be waiting 1-2 days after they recieve my movies to send the next one. Why is this? Does Blockbuster Online do this? If they don't, I'll switch to them.

Answer 1

Netflix uses a technique called “throttling” where they delay some shipments because the person gets a lot of DVDs. There was an article in USA Today about it – see the below link. There was a Class Action lawsuit, try searching for that online too.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2006-02-13-netflix-usat_x.htm

Answer 2

They're doing it intentionally because they consider you a "heavy user" and they are trying to slow you down to maintain their profit margin (the practice is called "throttling.") Read your user agreement; you agreed that if you were considered a heavy user, they could delay your shipments, ship from a facility that is farther away and give you lower priority for new releases than they would for lighter (more profitable) users. Figure the cost of postage is $0.78 roundtrip... if you are only paying them $15 per month and averaging 18 movies, you aren't netting them much profit (and that's not even taking labor into account.) I'm not sure if Blockbuster does the same thing, but I'd think they'd pretty much have to or they'd lose too much money on the most avid movie renters. The good news about Netflix is that they ease up on the throttling when your usage goes down, so it won't always be like that.

Edit to add: there was a class action lawsuit filed because, in the beginning, the user agreement simply said the member was entitled to unlimited movie rentals. Since then, they'd changed the user agreement... if you've joined in the last year or so, you agreed to allow them to throttle you, so you can't be part of the suit.

Answer 3

If you have the best plan (Unlimited, 3 at a time), then it's actually not as good as you think. When a new movie is released, they send them to people who have the 1 movie plan first. Which isn't right, but it's what they do. Even normal, older movies, they ship mine from California, Washington, Rhode Island, while I'm in middle Georgia. It takes an average of 3-4 days for them to get here. It's getting really annoying.

Answer 4

Blockbuster is better anyway. Not only does it cost the same, but you can get one free video rental coupon per week to use in a store. (Netflix delays shipping when you send movies back too quickly. They don't admit it, but that has been rumored for a couple of years now.)

Answer 5

I use netflix too. They use the money you spend on the rentals to pay for postage. When you reach the limit (the limit depends on how much you pay a month) they slow down the shipping. Here is what we do to get more movies: Send two movies back in one envelope because then they only have to pay postage for one movie and make sure you send them to the same city that it shipped from so they wont have to (if the movie you want is out they ask another netflix cite to send it to you).

--hope this answers your question!

Answer 6

I think both companies may choose to keep us in limbo from time to time, but it helps if you live close to a processing facility. I live in the same county as one for Netflix and the same region (within 2 hours) for one for Blockbuster. I usually have better turnaround results if I take the movie to the Post Office. They get my movie(s) usually the next day, then I get the next movie in the queue the day after that.

Answer 7

It sometimes depends upon the day you return. I've noticed that if I return Monday through Wednesday, I get a new movie in about two days. But if I return it on Thursday or Friday, I won't get it for about five or six days.

It also depends upon the movie you're trying to rent. Sometimes there's a long wait. Expect more time. But even if you have a movie in your queue that's available now, by the time you return your last movie, the one you want may have been checked out.

Answer 8

They are doing the same thing to me. It has been taking me a week sometimes from the day I return a rental to get a new one.. I am with you! I'll switch to Blockbuster!

Answer 9

I've heard about this before, especially when its someone who goes through a lot of movies each month. And when you complain, they're unresponsive. I'd consider Blockbuster if I were you, but I've no experience with them. Good luck

Answer 10

NETFLIX sends items super fast early on to keep you excited about the program. However, if you start invading their profit margins for your membership, watching movies at a very fast rate, they will slow shipment down so as to keep within a specified profit margin for your membership plan. It is really a bad deal as they are the ones who setup the plans and the rates for those plans.