It's official, Netflix is now slow.
 

I cant belive it, but my normal 2 day turnarounds are now taking about a week. The last disc they sent me they shipped out on 5/31/2002. Estimated arrival was 6/4/2002. I recieved it today, 6/5/2002. This is completely rediculous. They also recieved one of my dics today, and shipped out the next one. The disc they shipped out today is estimated to arrive on 6/8/2002. Note I live in Southern California where the original distribution center is located.

It looks like, as a result of them opening new centers, their inventory is being spred out across the country. Many of my dics may now be shipping from the east coast, which would explain why it takes 3-4 days for them to arrive, instead of the 1 day it should take if it comes from So. Cal.

That's why I bumped up to the 8 out system. This way I pretty much always have something coming or going ;) Of course maybe that's part of their "master plan", but I figured w/ almost 200 in my queue I needed to do something to increase the flow.

Yeah I too have been thinking about upping my plan. Lately I've been going about 4 days without having a disc.

Huh. I managed to get two discs back to them and new ones to me in less than five days, and that's never happened before. Maybe they've finally corrected whatever problems they've had on the East Coast.

I've been back with Netflix for about 3 weeks, and I've already sent back and recieved new titles twice. Total turnaround is usually about 4 days. I am in NJ and my return envelopes are going to Flushing, NY. When I did Netflix last summer, it usually took 4 days for the movie just to get back to CA and another 4-5 days for the next title to arrive at my house; that's why I quit.

At this rate, I'll be able to get 12 movies for my 20 bucks--less than $2 per movie. Compared to my local Blockbuster's normal renting fees alone (not even counting the late fees I would have had to pay by now), I've already cut the cost of renting in half. Plus, the wider selection is great. Things are going great for me--I guess it just depends on where you are.

new netflix distribution centers
 

In my earlier posts I was skeptical that Netflix opened a distribution center in Gaithersburg, MD. Turn around time has decreased for the majority of my DVD's so it looks like they really did open a distribution center here. Money from the IPO must have helped. One or two DVD's did take forever. I assume this was either errors in the start-up of the new center or as posted earlier they may have distributed their stock across the USA and those DVD's were mailed outside the local area. Does anyone really know how Netflix is operating now?

My experience is a total crapshoot. Some days I can mail a return on Monday, and have a new one in my hand on Wednesday. Other times I won't get it until Friday or Saturday.

It's worse for you but much better for those of us on the East Coast. They get returns from me in 2 days and I get the ones they ship out in 3 days, on average.

Well it's about to get better. I read somewhere that Netflix and Best Buy are going to partner up (even moreso than those red tickets already in stores). So expect more new Netflix customers via Best Buy. Hope they can keep up with the demand!

I still think Netflix is great. Since I started using Netflix 2 months ago I haven't stepped foot in Blockbuster once. I always get my movies right on time when I want to watch them. Theres never a time where I tell myself "well Netflix is taking too long with these movies and its pissing me off"

That's how I was during my first month. Memories :(

I've never had a problem with Netflix, although I've only been with them for about six weeks or so. If I drop the movies off at the post office on Sunday night or Monday morning, I always receive new movies for the weekend, and usually by Thursday (unfortunately my @sshole mailman dosen't arrive at my house until after 6:00 pm, so if I stick them in my mailbox they don't go out until Tuesday). Of course, my movies only have to go to Tacoma--about 212 miles from here.

I signed up for Netflix out of frustration with my local Hollywood Video. Not only do they have a crappy selection, but the last time I rented from them I was charged a late fee for a movie I later realized was returned on time. Never again (and don't even get me started on the local Blockbuster).

Hmmm...great selection, no late fees, no trips to and from the video store, "unlimited" rentals for $20/month...in Oregon's Willamette Valley at least, it's a no-brainer. YMMV :)

I've been with Netflix for over two years and have been completely happy. I live in San Jose, CA so the turnaround for a new DVD is not longer than 3 days for me. I love it. Will never go back to Blockbuster. My only complaint is a long wait for popular titles (or maybe just titles where they only have a few in stock)

There has been a marked improvement from a midwesterner like myself. Turnaround time has been cut in half, and they have a lot more new releases in stock.

According to this, Netflix wants to open a bunch of new distribution centers at a startup cost of $60,000 each. As the article mentions, this is an unrealistic cost for a distribution center. Very curious. I wonder if they really are using an Airborne drop box or something.

http://biz.yahoo.com/smart/020613/20020606tech_22.html

So far, I have only not recieved 2 discs which I reported. That has NEVER happened before for me. Of course, I got the replacements. Sometimes I get a movie a day or two early, as was the case with the replacements that I requested, or sometimes 2 days late. Like another said, it is a crapshoot. And secondly, how much longer can Mullholland Drive be a Long Wait? LOL?

Lost In The Mail
 

Has anyone ever mailed a disc back and they never received it? I returned one 2 weeks ago. They claim they never received it so I reported it as lost and they sent me my next selection. Does this happen often?

They sent me Pulp Fiction and I didn't recieve it for about 1 1/2 weeks so I told them and they sent me a replacement.

People are hanging on to it until they can figure it out. Needless to say, they're going to have it out for a long time.

Here's what annoyed me: I had Black Hawk Down in the #2 position on release day, and was "available now". Well, it was bypassed, and they shipped out my #5 & #6 selections, and now it's on a long wait. What's up with that?!?

netflix distribution centers
 

Now that the distribution center in Gaithersburg, MD has been running a few weeks a few observations. Turn around time is much faster. A recent DVD took one day! Recent DVD's have been arriving on time. My fingers are crossed that the startup screwups are over. The longest release for shipment was a day. They seem to quickly select the next available DVD. CA seemed that they may wait a day or two to see if a short or long wait DVD would become available. On a whole I think it is a big step forward. I hope this continues.

I'd like to give the person who decided on the Gaithersburg facility a hug. Not only has it cut return times down to 2-3 days max, the new discs get to me so much faster. I usually see it at least a day before the expected date. And even if it's on the expected date, that's still sooner than it was before.

I'm impressed. I'm still not quite ready to forgive Netflix for it's past sins, but I'm very impressed.

No kidding. This has been in my #1 slot since just before release and I still haven't gotten it yet. Right now, I have over 40 titles in my queue and NONE OF THEM are available. Whenever I return a film I have to go in and add some more titles to my queue to make sure that *something* can ship.

I'm definitely using Netflix for more obscure/foreign type stuff, but still... if all of these titles are "Long Wait" or "Very Long Wait", isn't that a pretty damn good sign that they need more copies?

Anyway, very soon I'm going to have 50-60 films in my queue with none available. That's a pretty bad situation and may result in eventual quittage by me... it's great to have a huge selection, but if the Criterions and foreign flicks aren't actually available and I have to get Tomb Raider or The Grinch instead -- what's the point?

I just had to cancel after a month due to budget constraints, but while I was on the phone they tried to get me to drop to the "2 out" plan with the added bonus that it was only $10 a month for the summer or something like that. So, if you're thinking of lowering your discs out to 2, you might want to try this to save a few bucks!

The service definately improved since last year, at least in my case. If you have the extra cash and/or are already renting often locally, I'd definately go for this.

Apparently Netflix no longer allows you to drop below 3 out. I intended to drop down next month, but not because of any unhappiness with their current service. Since opening a new distribution center in Houston, I have been getting my discs within 3 business days. Much better than the past, and I have been with them off and on since their inception.

Have you tried lowering your queue to 2 films? I had a queue with an average of 20...all with long waits...and I'd always add a film that was available so that I'd get something. Those long waits never appeared. But once I trimmed the queue down to less than 3, mysteriously, titles that I had added a few weeks prior that were labeled "long wait", suddenly became available.

That happened 6 times in a row...then I posted this observation here...and it stopped working. :( ;)

Their algorithm does (or did) factor in how many titles are on your queue. Your position in the queue is not fixed... you get bumped backward, forward, or to the front, based on various factors.