Slow turnaround, not enough new inventory
Written: Jan 10 '03
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I first joined NetFlix at the end of 2000. I loved the selection and the fact that I didn't have to leave the house.
After three or four months I discontinued the service because the movies took way too long to get from California to my house in Maine. It would take at least four days for a movie to get to me and another four days for it to be sent back.
A few months ago I heard that Netflix had opened several other distribution areas. Since one is right near Boston, about an hour and a half from my town, I figured that the time was right to give them another go.
Right after I signed up again, I made the unpleasant discovery that the Netflix inventory has not substantially increased in the past two years. Their selection of offbeat/hard-to-find titles is about the same. In the foreign section, for example, the only additions seem to be anime. They don't carry many foreign movies made after 1999- not a big deal in 2000- but it's now 2003.
I'm not impressed with their selection anymore. You can view their inventory before you sign up, and I highly suggest you do.
While you're browsing, you might notice that while there are a good number of categories, there isn't a great search feature. While you can search by obvious things, like actor and title, it's hard to browse... and the personalized recommendations leave much to desire.
I soon realised another disappointment. It takes longer for my movies to be swapped out than it did before! Two years ago, I was able to click a box that said I had sent my movie in three days before- then they'd send me another movie. Now I have to wait six days before they will send the next movie in my queue.
And even though mail typically takes a day to get from my house to the Boston area, it's taking five-six days for Netflix to mark my movie has having arrived. This has to be due to some sort of inefficiencies in their warehouse.
I love being able to log onto the website and put a movie in my rental queue anytime I want. I can never think of any movies I want to see when I'm in a video store, so it's nice having a list.
Netflix is certainly worth a try. Some people get their movies very quickly. If the turnaround time was just one or two days better, I'd probably continue the service. The concept is great, and the price for basic membership certainly isn't prohibitive- but don't expect unlimited movies. I'll be lucky to get 10 this month- which isn't bad, but it doesn't feel 'unlimited'.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
eholmes1
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Reviews written: 26
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