Netflix members cheated out of rentals?
Netflix, for the last few years, has been riding a tidal wave of rave reviews, good press, and that all-important word-of-mouth.…
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Netflix Getting Too Tricky For Its Own Good - Comments Page 2
Article comments
26 - David M. Brown
Yeah, I've just been reading stories about this so-called "throttling," which Netflix is now admitting in the fine print. Netflix should just change its pricing formula. Just let the plans be that you get a maximum of so many DVDs per month, with another maximum of how many can be on hand at one time, depending on how much you pay. If there's a monthly maximum, there's no issue either about losing money on the most prolific renters or being honest about the policy. Problem solved.
There should be no "class-action" suit about this. In fact, there should never be any "class-action" suits. But I'm ready to sue all those who have ever sued on my behalf despite my never having agreed to be party to any of the said suits. Care to join me? Well, doesn't matter whether you want to or not because my anti-class-action lawsuit is going to be a class-action suit. All who have ever been unwittingly made part of class-action suits will be co-plaintiffs with me whether they like it or not.
"Class action" suit means it's a bullshit lawsuit that nobody would ever pursue on their own.... Since, for example, all you have to do in the case of no longer wanting to deal with Netflix is...uh...cancel the Netflix subscription....
27 - anon
If the statistics show (and I'm sure Netflix must have a way of tracking usage) that someone is renting way more than the average for a particular level (number out at one time) then those whose usage is more moderate are the ones being penalized when the supply runs short. It makes sense that Netflix would try to balance this out.
Nope. Someone who returns a movie quickly is actually making that movies available FASTER to other members. It's the person who keeps a movie for three weeks that's being unfair to everyone else.
28 - Tyler
"$10 a month for 4 DVDs is not a good deal."
I absolutely LOATHE throttling, but how is $10/month for 4 DVD's not a good deal?
If you go to a brick and mortar video store, it's $4 per DVD. 4 DVD's there = $16. You've saved $16.
I have netflix and a 4-at-a-time plan for $24. Considering the b&o rate of $4/dvd, once I have seen 6 DVD's in a month (between the wife and I, of course), I have evened out with b&o with only dropping the DVD's off in the mail vs. going to b&O to rent and return.
Throttling is complete BS (we've had to buy a DVD so my wife could watch a flick she wanted to see), but netflix is a deal so long as you rent enough to make your cost less (perhaps far less) than $4/dvd.
29 - lono
I have used Netflix for years and have never had a problem. Now that y'all mention it, though, they do come a little slower. However, it still WAY beats the retarded idea of having to deal with Blockbuster.
To be fair to Netflix, though, the black market is catching up. I know two dudes who routinely burn every single movie they get from Netflix, without even watching them. People use Netflix as their personal library. In the long run, everyone gets screwed off that (except my two friends).
Anyhow, I remain a loyal, legal, and happy Netflix subscriber.
30 - Bliffle
I'm a customer they would never have if it weren't for the low cost. I have no real or imagined need to rent any movie for $4 or even $2. I suspect many people are the same.
But this has little to do with 'justice'. Netflix' problem is the way they run their business. They have customers signed up to pay money every month. It's nuts to chase them away. They should expand their inventory, because that's where the REAL throttle is, and retain customers.
31 - Mr. Mat
You guys are all so very easy to push around. THe point is quite simple. Neflix offers "Unlimited Rentals" and they purposely make policy to thwart one's ability to benenfit from the offer.
Saving copies fo new movies for less frequent users is NOT an attempt to limit stcok...it is an attempt to limit their own postage exposure.
In theory, the heavy users would have LESS of an effect on stock than the light user. THe heavy user gets the movie and tursn it around in a day or so...while the light user ties up that stock for days if not weeks..making it idle and unusable.
Netflix is CLEARLY throttling to slow down shipping and postage and they are misrepresenting their product as "unlimited".
By ever remotley accepting their crappy answer as plausible show how easily you all can get pushed around by the man.
THey either need to set limits and price accordingly or figure out a business plan in which they can operate with integrity and remain in the black.
32 - Tan The Man
I went over Blockbuster.com's terms of service and I saw no mention of "throttling" with that service. Having used it for a few months and having identified myself as a heavy user, I met no decrease in service, except for Saturdays. If you have a problem with Netflix, try Blockbuster.com.
33 - Ro
I was getting about 15 movies a month (I work at home and don't have cable). I rarely rent newly released films.
Netflix has severly cut back on when it is sending me movies or doesn't acknowlege the returns for some days. Previously it was always next day to get a movie after it shipped and one day back showing it was received.
They sent me a couple Customer Surveys about a month ago, asking how soon I received a certain DVD after it was shipped. I thought this was to make sure they were staying on top of efficient service to the customer. Now I believe they were evaluating how much longer they could put off sending me DVD's! Since then, they have really slowed.
I think it is a lousy business strategy to withhold from customers who are using their subscription. I agree with other commenters that they should restructure the rental plan rather than downgrade their service. If they can't stand behind unlimited rentals, then they shouldn't be offering it.
By the way, it IS deceptive if Netflix is laying the blame for their hidden practices at the feet of the post office. That seems like slander.
I feel unfairly treated- as if the spirit of the unlimited offering was insincere. And also, now there is a prejudice against me, a negative intent toward me as an unfavored customer.
That doesn't feel good.
34 - Natalie Davis
"You guys are all so very easy to push around. THe point is quite simple. Neflix offers 'Unlimited Rentals' and they purposely make policy to thwart one's ability to benenfit from the offer."
Hear, hear.
Can you hear the acquiescence? POW! "Ouch! Thank you, Mr. Netflix, may I have another?" Damned shame.
35 - masa
i have been a netflix member for about 4-5 months now, so i can consider myself as a regular member.
when i signed up, i guess most of you had the same oppotunity as i did, that they gave me a new customer trial period. during that period, i had to check my mail box (it's a p.o.box, by the way) everyday because i had a new movie in there everyday.
i live in nashville, tn, and i noticed that all the movies i got during that period went to thier chattanooga office (you can tell from the return envelope), so it didn't take more than a day to be returned. i watched about 12 movies that period.
after my trial ran out, i started to go ahead and subscribe thier service because i thought it was great! ("screw the blockbuster"---as i said to myself at the same time.)
but when the 2nd month came by, something, a little thing has changed----i can get one movie in a week. up to today. and return address is not "chattanooga" anymore, it's now seattle, miami, huston, las vegas, and n.y. still though, i see "chattanooga" envelope, but it's once in a couple of months.
since i watch a movie once only and i signed up on the one-movie-at-the-time deal, and i live right next to a local post office, i usually drop it off next morning. i check thier website often, and they used to receive my return next day. but now it takes up to 3-4 days. and often, they won't send me the next one, and i get e-mail says "will ship on sat" (and today is tues).
i noticed something has changed.... i pay my due on time and i never damaged or lost a disc or filed complain. but something isn't the same anymore.
then i saw this posting. well?
36 - hockeyshawny
I used to be a netflix member. Netflix at first was super great during their 2 week(i think it was) trial period. Movies came in blazing fast. Well after a month the turnaround period for a movie was exactly one week. I had it timed to the day. For instance, if I sent my 3 movies back on friday, i would get my next 3 movies the next friday, unless for instance a holiday or something. So it was exactly 7 days for a turnaround period. I guess that isn't that bad. I would recieve the movies that day and "view" them and send them back asap. I worked it out to pretty much getting 12 movies per month for 17.99 or whatever, what sucked though was when they raised to 21.99 for awhile, then changed back. The reason I quit netflix was because my local hollywood video store offered a MovieValuePass package, which is exactly like netflix BUT its local and it was 9.99 per month. So i can rent 3 movies per day and "view" them for 10 bucks. Some days I went back twice cause it great. Eventually i had to move for college but i really miss Hollywood, because they didn't cap me.
I think its crap that Netflix is trying to cap its most active members, if anything they have the best turnaround and they will not hold on to new releases as a casual consumer would.
37 - Bliffle
That giant sucking sound you hear is movie fans leaving netflix.
38 - EightBitHero
I was a member for 4 or 5 months about a year ago until i asked them why my rentals had slowed down to a halt. They sent me an email with a sugar-coated description of their throttling policy. I left them and am happy to be renting from other rental-by-mail companies now.
39 - Andrew Henderson
I've been using netflix for half a year now and at first i could get maybe 15-18 movies a month. But now i get my shipment every monday. That's only 12 movies a month. And they adveritse that you will usually receive your movies within one business day. I could understand 2 and maybe 3 for some people. But 7 days! Come on. That is poor service.
40 - Tyler Newton
What I find hilarious is that I came here before and said netflix sucks if you don't rent a lot of movies because you pay up the wazoo only for a few rentals and is a flawed business model, and everyone said "oh well, I rent a lot so it's great for me."
Funny those people didn't see these holes in that business model until now.
41 - Adam F.
I just cancelled my Netflix this week Feb. 2006. When I started, I would send back my DVD's and would have another set returned within 3 days. Later on, I would be lucky if they send me 3 dvd's within 7 days, LUCKY!
Yes, I would call myself a quick returner but that's because it's in my best interest to return quickly. It's all about my ROI (Return on Investment). However, I don't feel guilty because they have allowed me to return dvd's as quick or as late as I want as long as I keep paying for my subscription.
They however are guilty because they actually mention that they would return the next qued dvd's within 3 days to me. It's not about survival people, it's about earning a slightly higher amount of profit. I'm a small business owner myself and know the difference between the two.
And about them being aggressive against Blockbuster; Well at the time of cancellation, they thier survey asked if I will be replacing my netflix subscription with blockbusters. That's it! No other option, no yes or no, and none other online dvd rental named. They didn't even give me a chance to answer anything else for that question but that.
Netflix not only has bad business morals but are retarded enough to think that the same word of mouth that got them where they are cannot make them fall.
42 - Tan The Man
Blockbuster.com guys, Blockbuster.com...
43 - throttling sucks
they're both bad, it used to be ok when netflix and blockbuster would recieve a movie sent in same day and send one out the next day or recieve it next day and send it out same day. 2 weeks in and all of a sudden movies i send in arent there until at least 3 days later, then they take a day to send it to me. hell i might as well drive 2 blocks to rent a movie at $1/day which would be cheaper than 4 movies/month at 10 bucks a month.
44 - Rene
I'm very disappointed with Netflix. When I heard about them I was so happy because I was so sick of how Blockbuster was manipulating the industry that I didn't hesitate to sign on with Netflix. I too haven't been hurt by this deceitful practice because I'm not a fast returner but when I heard about this I was very disappointed.
45 - Mike-TheNetflixKiller
Many of you are making a false assumption: that Netflix is throttling the shipment of highly desirable DVDs such as new releases or rarities. This is not the case. They are just throttling high users, no matter what they are renting.
I'm experiencing throttling myself, even as an 8-DVD renter. My queue is filled with TV series and movies 2 or more years old. Every DVD in my queue is listed as "available NOW", but they still send them out of order, or with longer ship times on some.
Right now, they're just showing one slot as "may ship tomorrow", even though this slot has been open since 2 days ago. I've never had more than 7 out at a time in the last 2 weeks. So they're essentially not meeting the terms of the agreement.
Several people in the thread had it right, they're just trying to save postage. In postage alone this month, at standard first-class postage, I've cost them $19. At this rate, I will cost them $38 in postage alone. Not far off of the $47 membership fee.
But, hey, they said unlimited, so I'm getting unlimited. You agree to sell your soul to the devil, don't be shocked when he comes around to collect.
For the record, the Netflix page STILL lists "Unlimited" as the number of rental per month. How they're legally allowed to get away with that, I don't know.
http://www.netflix.com/HowItWorks?hnjr=8
And after I finish with the ST:TNG series, Netflix and their throttling can kiss my hairy yellow butt.
46 - Mike-TheNetflixKiller
Many of you are making a false assumption: that Netflix is throttling the shipment of highly desirable DVDs such as new releases or rarities. This is not the case. They are just throttling high users, no matter what they are renting.
I'm experiencing throttling myself, even as an 8-DVD renter. My queue is filled with TV series and movies 2 or more years old. Every DVD in my queue is listed as "available NOW", but they still send them out of order, or with longer ship times on some.
Right now, they're just showing one slot as "may ship tomorrow", even though this slot has been open since 2 days ago. I've never had more than 7 out at a time in the last 2 weeks. So they're essentially not meeting the terms of the agreement.
Several people in the thread had it right, they're just trying to save postage. In postage alone this month, at standard first-class postage, I've cost them $19. At this rate, I will cost them $38 in postage alone. Not far off of the $47 membership fee.
But, hey, they said unlimited, so I'm getting unlimited. You agree to sell your soul to the devil, don't be shocked when he comes around to collect.
For the record, the Netflix page STILL lists "Unlimited" as the number of rental per month. How they're legally allowed to get away with that, I don't know.
http://www.netflix.com/HowItWorks?hnjr=8
And after I finish with the ST:TNG series, Netflix and their throttling can kiss my hairy yellow butt.
47 - Phillip Winn
Tan -- Blockbuster has admitted within the last few days that it is throttling on its online service as well. But thanks for playing.
Folks, you're all losing perspective. What *doesn't* matter is whether Netflix engages in what is now popularly called "throttling," or what exactly the formula is, or whether they advertise such. That's completely and totally irrelevant.
The only thing that matter is how much you're paying, and what you're getting in return. As I mentioned before, I've been a member for more than six years now, and I've never been unhappy. Most of my DVDs get turned around really quickly, without only very occasional delays. Why the delays? I could do the spasmodic frog routine and scream THROTTLING! Or, I could say that they got in more returns than they could process in 24 hours, and my stuff slipped to the next day. I don't know, and neither do you. You're guessing, and based on the descriptions many of you are giving, you're guessing incorrectly.
Are you on a $10/month plan? You're not being throttled, and you never will be. 3-at a time? No, you're almost certainly not being throttled either.
Where do you drop off your mail? How many hops does it take to get to the nearest DC? Do you know?
Throttling is far more rare than most of you seem to realize, and when you see it, it's obvious. It's not just "slow turnaround time." That's the result of volume more than anything, and changes over time getting better and worse as volume shifts and they hire more people and builds more DCs and so on. Throttling is what Mike's describing in comment #45, above. A disc received, but no new one sent out, and your queue showing "Will ship (or may ship) tomorrow." Everything else is SOMETHING ELSE.
But hey, go back to spend $5/disc at Blockbuster, because their business practices are completely and totally ethical in every way, so that's good.
48 - David M. Brown
Thoroughly wrongheaded. How can the dishonesty of the policy not matter? Look, even with the throttling Netflix may be a good deal, compared to other deals. Stipulated. But how does a customer know up front that he's going to be "throttled" once he's switched his movie-watching habits? Plus-throttling, Netflix is not a good deal compared to the deal that was promised.
Those of us who don't accept the bait-and-switch can cancel. Just as those of us who don't like the bait-and-switch of a deparment store sale can walk out of the store without taking advantage of the comparatively good deal that may still be available after the two items in the lot for the alleged sale have been sold.... But does that mean the dishonesty is okay?
It is not necessary here and it's not business-smart. It's obviously causing Netflix to lose those customers who are not only seeking a comparatively good deal but also seeking honesty about the claims businesses make to them.
All Netflix has to do is determine terms that allow them to remain consistently profitable, and announce plans consistent with those terms. That's it. Why don't they? The good will of one's customers is gold.
And honesty is worth caring about. Concern with it should not be belittled.
49 - SyChO
Not sure about the USA, but here we have $1 movie/game rentals were if you bring it back with in 6hours that's how much it will cost. If you do a 24h rental then its $3.
This is the cheapest and best way of renting in my opinion. Screw these delivery services.
50 - Tyler
"Not sure about the USA, but here we have $1 movie/game rentals were if you bring it back with in 6hours that's how much it will cost. If you do a 24h rental then its $3.
"
6 hours???? Hmm...that would NEVER work here...mom and pop video stores used be 1 day for a low price, but too many people complained that it wasn't long enough, and they didn't want to have to go to the video store every day, they wanted to rent 5 movies at one time, and return them in a week.
That was one of the reasons the big US chains Blockbuster and Hollywood video exploded onto the scene: they were able to offer 3 - 5 day rentals, meaning in one trip you pick up several movies/games, and return them all at once.
Then, in typical american fashion, we complained that it STILL wasn't long enough to keep these things, so on came Netflix with no late fees because you can keep the disc as long as you want, provided you pay the monthly fee. Now blockbuster has a rent-by-mail and an in-store unlimited rental plan.
In the US, there are very few of the mom and pop video stores left, and they don't do well because you have to return the next day. But LESS than one day? Even in the US, I've never heard of that.
51 - David Evans
My Movies are faster to arrive than when I started Netflix 3 years ago. As far as I'm concerned Netflix is still okay.
I still Spit on the BlockBuster Door when I walk by the place.
52 - Phillip Winn
David (#48), I don't see how throttling is dishonest. If I saw it as unethical or dishonest, obviously the value provided wouldn't matter.
But the concept of throttling isn't deceptive or dishonest in itself. Neither Netflix nor Blockbuster are actually hiding, despite the press to the contrary. They've just never mentioned it very loud because it's considered a competitive advantage. Not just against each other, but for being able to deliver movies to customers right away.
If it isn't *intrinsically* dishonest, it's a factor to be mathematically calculated when you consider whether you're getting good value. I've been a Netflix member since 1999, and I still consider them a great value. I'm sure others find BBuster a great value too.
53 - Scott Butki
Well, when you pay - as I do - for unlimited number of movies and it turns out they are doing things that do put limits... that seems dishonest.
I still think they are a good value but they should not say unlimited if there are some types of limits.
54 - Peter
I get one movie a week at $8.99 they lowered their price so that they can slow shipping down a little. I'm not really complaining because I could always try other services or change the plan if I want more movies.