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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 342 responses total. |
gull
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response 192 of 342:
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Feb 5 23:06 UTC 2006 |
There are rumors that they're "throttling" their mailings to people who
turn over movies fast, as a way to save money. I don't know if there's
any truth to that.
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marcvh
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response 193 of 342:
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Feb 5 23:11 UTC 2006 |
It's certainly been a result of some of their policies. My personal
suspicion is that it's not intentional throttling so much as a side-
effect of their general business decision to compete on price rather
than on service.
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bru
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response 194 of 342:
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Feb 5 23:27 UTC 2006 |
I found out something today about "Brokeback Mountain". It is not a cowboy
movie as I was led to believe by the reviews. it is a movie about
sheepherders!
Brokeback mountain, where the men are gay and the sheep are nervous.
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twenex
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response 195 of 342:
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Feb 5 23:35 UTC 2006 |
Hooray for the return of Grex's Most Enlightened Social Commentator.
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slynne
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response 196 of 342:
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Feb 6 01:58 UTC 2006 |
Yeah. I have noticed a decline in other areas of netflix besides the
mailings. They seem to be getting in fewer copies of really popular
movies too. It is scary because I have had The 40 Year Old Virgin pretty
much at the top of my queue for more than two months and I still havent
gotten it yet. I am kind of planning to actually go to the video store
when something I actually want to see in a timely fashion comes out. I
never used to have to wait more than a week or two for anything. Oh
well, they are still a better deal for me than regularly going to the
video store.
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marcvh
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response 197 of 342:
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Feb 6 02:05 UTC 2006 |
Huh; I got that movie the day it came out, although it now shows up as a
very long wait. A Very Long engagement, ironically enough, has no wait.
Of course, the more discs you rent, the less likely you are to get
titles which are in demand.
Part of this is a function of the deals the studios choose to cut. Some
studios make a deal where they give Netflix the discs for free in return
for a portion of the rental revenue; such discs are usually easy to get,
since it's win-win for everybody that Netflix have a lot of copies.
Some other movies aren't carried that way, so Netflix has to decide how
many to buy.
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eprom
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response 198 of 342:
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Feb 6 02:34 UTC 2006 |
re #187
I came across it randomly yesterday night too.
At first I thought it was the same dude from Queer Eye.
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glenda
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response 199 of 342:
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Feb 6 07:03 UTC 2006 |
I have had "Madagascar" and "The Brothers Grimm" at the top of my list since
they were released. They both went to long wait and then to very long wait
extremely fast. They have been at short wait for several weeks, but I still
haven't gotten them. I agree with Lynne, I may just start going back to the
video store for new releases that I want to see now rather than 1-3 months
from now. "Madagascar" was release on Nov 15th. Used to be that I would get
a new release in the first mailing after its release.
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tod
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response 200 of 342:
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Feb 6 17:22 UTC 2006 |
re #194
They are cowboys that take a job herding sheep. One guy is a bullrider...the
other one is the bull!
YEE HAW!! KOO KOO! Giddyup! Hut!
"I wish I knew how to quit yew!" -Jack Twist
My favorite scene in the movie is the visit to Jack's parents' farm.
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gull
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response 201 of 342:
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Feb 6 18:10 UTC 2006 |
Re resp:196: Interestingly enough, "40 Year Old Virgin" is still near
the top of Netflix's list of most requested films.
Netflix works well for me because many of the movies I rent are older
or relatively obscure. For me the appeal isn't so much the speed as it
is the wide selection and lack of late fees. I rarely have to wait for
a film because the ones I'm requesting just aren't checked out that
much.
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slynne
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response 202 of 342:
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Feb 6 18:18 UTC 2006 |
For the most part, netflix works for me too. Even though I might have a
bunch of new releases at the top of my queue, I am generally not really
in a terrible hurry to get them. I also like to watch a lot of older or
obscure titles which often are not available at the video store. I have
over 300 items in my queue so they always have something that I want to
watch to send me. I like it because it not only saves me a trip to the
video store to return movies but it saves the original trip too. I am
lazy that way.
But every now and then a movie will come out that I want to watch
sooner rather than later. It is funny because I had a real block about
that. Like I had some unwritten rule with myself that if I had netflix,
it meant that I couldnt go up to the video store. Weird I know.
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tod
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response 203 of 342:
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Feb 6 18:22 UTC 2006 |
Netflix works great for us. We get a 2 day turn around usually. Of course,
we're returning them via the post office with the longest hours.
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marcvh
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response 204 of 342:
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Feb 6 18:36 UTC 2006 |
It's a normal psychological process; why buy milk when you have a cow at
home? I have a similar issue where I don't want to rent a film from NF
if it'll be on HBO soon where I can watch it in HD without using up a
rental slot.
Blockbuster has tried to capitalize on in-store synergy; I'm sure you saw
the Superbowl ad where they're offering an in-store rental per week with
their rental-by-mail plan. But you have to print out a coupon, take it
to the store to rent one of their selections, return it, and in general
all the hassle people associate with BB.
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twenex
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response 205 of 342:
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Feb 6 18:40 UTC 2006 |
I'm happy with "the UK netflix", lovefilm, too.
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slynne
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response 206 of 342:
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Feb 6 22:19 UTC 2006 |
resp:203 I return my movies through the mail room at work. And
seriously, for most of my time with netflix, I have had a similar turn
around. It is really only in the past couple of months or so that
things have slowed down. It is weird.
resp:204 Back when I still had HBO, I was the same way!!! Alas, I didnt
watch the Super Bowl because there was a Cary Grant movie I had wanted
to see on TV so I watched that instead. But it doesnt matter. I
actually have an irrational dislike for Blockbuster and dont want to
have anything to do with them.
resp:205 I didnt even know they had netflix in the UK.
Oh and by the way, if anyone wants to be one of my "netflix friends"
let me know.
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gull
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response 207 of 342:
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Feb 6 22:23 UTC 2006 |
My dislike for Blockbuster isn't irrational. Here's how a typical
rental transaction with the Blockbuster on Washtenaw Ave. went, for me:
1. Rent movie. Return on time.
2. Get call from Blockbuster saying the movie is still out and I owe
late fees.
3. Call Blockbuster and insist I returned the movie.
4. Get confirmation from Blockbuster that they have the movie on the
shelf.
This happened repeatedly. Not only was it a hassle, I was a bit
worried that someone would walk off with one of the movies I'd returned
and I would end up on the hook to pay for it.
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marcvh
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response 208 of 342:
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Feb 6 22:58 UTC 2006 |
That happened to me a couple times. I would have been able to live with
that too, if it weren't for the other problem:
1. Look around for a few specific titles of interest. Find they are all
either not stocked at all or rented out
2. Browse until I find something that does interest me at all
3. Find it is only available in pan-and-scan format
4. Go home, disgusted
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furs
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response 209 of 342:
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Feb 6 23:45 UTC 2006 |
Slynners: I got 40 year old virgin with no problem the first time I
put it at the top of my queue! Very weird that you've been waiting
for it! Sometimes, I think it's better not to do that with the new
ones.
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marcvh
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response 210 of 342:
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Feb 6 23:50 UTC 2006 |
It is best to have titles which are in "medium demand" at the top of
your list, if you want prompt shipment. Titles in high demand may
result in delays while they try to find the title, and there's an
increased risk that the one the find will be at a faraway distribution
center and take longer to reach you in the mail.
Titles in an excessively low demand, paradoxically enough, also have
this problem. Netflix doesn't have infinite space at their minor
distribution centers, so titles that aren't renting much end up getting
sent back to their main ones (e.g. San Jose) for storage. So if you're
renting a movie that is old and nobody really wants any more there's an
increased risk it will be shipping from far away and take a long time.
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slynne
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response 211 of 342:
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Feb 7 00:07 UTC 2006 |
Yeah, I have had that happen where films get shipped from a far away
distribution center but I dont mind that so much because it is usually a
title obscure enough not to even be available to rent anywhere else
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slynne
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response 212 of 342:
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Feb 7 00:10 UTC 2006 |
I think my hatred with Blockbuster started when I got hit with some late
fees when they had a 7p return time. But honestly, I am not totally
sure. All I know is that I get a bad feeling about the place.
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tod
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response 213 of 342:
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Feb 7 00:11 UTC 2006 |
That is what attracted me to NetFlix is the obscure titles available.
I also like that if a movie doesn't show up in the mailbox then I have to
read a book instead.
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furs
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response 214 of 342:
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Feb 7 11:09 UTC 2006 |
Yes, where else can you get movies like "Mulva Zombie Ass Kicker"?
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albaugh
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response 215 of 342:
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Feb 7 21:27 UTC 2006 |
I see that a new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie is coming out this summer,
also with Johnny Depp.
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happyboy
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response 216 of 342:
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Feb 7 22:45 UTC 2006 |
is keith richards gonna play his daddy?
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