Best Days to Return Movies?

AJC analyzed how long it took Netflix to receive his movies, and put together a chart to reflect his research:

What do you think? Does it reflect your experience with Netflix?

Comments

[corey3rd]

sometimes Netflix will sit on my Monday arrivals and won't ship till Weds. although I've discovered that if my next film is a brand new title, they will ship it on Monday.

There's never a reason to return a DVD on Friday since it'll just sit in the mail all weekend. I wait till Saturday

[danb]

If I drop a movie in the box on Friday or Saturday (pre-pickup) then my movie is normally received by Netflix on Monday and I normally get the next one on Tuesday. Otherwise this is a fairly decent observation.

Cue rants about how it doesn't work if you're being throttled and no matter what day you send your movie back you'll never get Stratosphere Girl.

[peter]

His findings reflect what I found out about friday mailings.

The PO is 4 blocks from us so we always drop off the the disks before the last pickup at 5pm (2:30 on Sat.). We never bother mailing on fridays, as it's the same turn around as Sat mailings. This was confirmed by several weeks of testing.

We watch our BB movies on thusday since that usually is a faster turnaround then if we mailed them Sat.

Cheers

[peter]

I said>>>
We watch our BB movies on thusday since that usually is a faster turnaround then if we mailed them Sat.<<<

I forgot to add that we do mail BB flicks back on Fridays.

[WeaselBuddha]

Cool.

What was the volume used for the analysis? How many a month does AJC average? He mentions high volumes, but as ocassional occurence.

If I had to guess, to some extent the chart also reflects Netflix volumes, average mid to light users probably want weekend movies. Hence the mid-week returns hoping for Friday/Saturday.

Movie folks want to maximise the chances of getting new releases, ala' Corey's approach, which I used to try, have your movies get in on Monday as to get shipped out Tuesday new releases.

Whereas heavy users want to just maximise number of movies per month.

[Dan]

Basically what I get from the chart is dont watch movies on Thursdays.

From my experience the first Monday pickups are the worst. So I dont drop on Sundays.

If I drop on Sunday, I typically wont get a replacement until Thursday.

If I drop on Monday afternoon then I can have a replacement on Wednesday.

[hawk5391]

I'm lucky enough to live in Southern California near the (I think) largest Netflix shipping center. I always drop movies at the post office in the early morning (it's on my way to work) so they ship same-day.
I find that if I mail a movie on Friday, Netflix receives it Monday and ships another movie immediately, which almost always reaches me the next day. I have found that movies that I drop on Saturday, however, generally don't reach Netflix until Tuesday or sometimes Wednesday, with my next movie arriving the day after. This is worse service than I receive by dropping off Monday, and I haven't figured out why. I have attributed it to the weekend shift of the local post office staff, and I no longer drop off on Saturdays.
As a side note, I tried Blockbuster "free" for a month (they charged me anyway) and I liked that they were open Saturdays, but I had a much worse time getting them to ship movies I wanted, and their turnaround times were about a day longer on average, despite that they also have a shipping center locally, from which most of my movies originated. I think Blockbuster's rumored plans to allow for drop-offs at local stores will be a hit, especially with the incentive of a free rental at the store. It's too bad Blockbuster's site, queue, and recommendations are light years behind Netflix's.

[CJ]

Weasel Buddha's observations are right on. I'm a heavy user (8 out plan) who also wants new titles.

For new titles, I also try to make sure I have 3 to 4 disks to put in mail Sat. Then Netflix receives Mon, Netflix ships Tues new titles on Mon, and I receive new titles on Tues. I also keep a list of new movies, not even in theaters yet, which I check for once a week in the Netflix catalog, and then add to my Saved Queue as soon as they appear. This probably puts high in the priority list for those titles.

[corey3rd]

I'm able to watch a new title when it comes in on Tuesday and have it back in the mail so they have it on Weds. I wonder if this helps in making sure I get a new release shipped out on Monday since I don't have a history of sitting on titles.

[smgpugfaw]

Matches my experience with Netflix perfectly. Once you get yourself into that Saturday/Tuesday/Thursday roatation, you're in business.

That gets me 6 movies each week and I always receive new releases on Tuesday by returning on Saturday.

That's why I don't understand all the complaints about NF. I rarely get a movie taking more than the chart above shows and if I do, I just slip it back into the rotation at the next available drop.

I never get bumped from new releases or see a wait - heck, I often get three new releases with a Saturday return.

Each month I average at least 20 movies and often pull a 'perfect 24' (on the 3-out plan).

[peter]

R Hawkins said>>
SNIP... tried Blockbuster "free" for a month (they charged me anyway) and I liked that they were open Saturdays, but I had a much worse time getting them to ship movies I wanted, and their turnaround times were about a day longer on average...SNIP.

Yes, that's what I've found also. Usually, 70-80% of my Q is listed other than "available now". I stay w/ them due to their 4 p/mo in store rental & to cover the days when we are out of NF. We are on the NF 8 p/mo & BB 3 p/mo.

I know it sounds like all we do is watch movies, but take into account that we watch no TV (we do watch some TV shows on DVD).

Cheers

[Hunter McDaniel]

I'm not sure exactly what this chart is supposed to show, other than the effect of weekends. Also, my experience is that discs I mail on Saturday (pre-pickup) do get to Netflix on Monday; maybe the Saturday pickup times are not accurate on the box he is using?

What's more interesting, I think, is that there are a lot more scenarios that get your disc back to Netflix on Monday/Tuesday than on other days of the week. This translates into a higher workload for Netflix on those days and - no coincidence - a lower probability of getting same-day shipment on those days. At least that's what I have observed.

[shattereddream92]

Sorry for posting here, but can somebody please tell me how to make a new topic?

[WeaselBuddha]

This isn't a forum, its' a Blog, sorry.

You can write the blog owner, Mike at hackingnetflix@gmail.com - if Mike feels the story, or topic is compelling he'll post it, and the rest of us can either constructively comment on it, or mock it as the case or contributer may be.

[NetflixShill]

I have found that Sundays are the WORST days to send things. They take longer to get back than if I returned Monday (even ignoring the extra day). This is true with NFLX, BBO, and Nicheflix. I also find that sending after a pick-up always adds an extra day (beyond the obvious delay). Returning things on Thursday is also usually a waste, because Netflix can just pretend not to get it and stiff you. It is best to allow 2 days and never send on a Sunday or after the last pick-up of the day.

[NetflixShill]

"it doesn't work if you're being throttled and no matter what day you send your movie back you'll never get Stratosphere Girl."

You won't get The Stratosphere Girl, because Netflix doesn't carry it. Blockbuster has it and so does Hollywood. There are many titles Netflix doesn't have - Carl Sagan's Cosmos, Cleopatra 1963, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Stalker by Tarkovsky, RAN: Criterion, Santa Claus: The Movie, Pal Joey, Das Boot: Uncut, The Best of Blur, Basic Instinct: Dir's Cut, American Psycho: Uncut, etc. They can't send you what they arbitrarily refuse to purchase in the first place. There are thousands of DVDs you can buy new on Amazon or elsewhere, but Netflix does not carry them.

[WeaselBuddha]

"it doesn't work if you're being throttled and no matter what day you send your movie back you'll never get Stratosphere Girl."

Guess you just told us! Boy and we were expecting that red envelope, having the movie they don't carry, one not on our queue, to be delivered. Maybe even tomorrow. Boy, am I bummed out.

"Oh, you're a bad pony. And I'm not gonna bet on you." - House of Games (1987)

Shill, you saw the entire rant related to your Stratosphere Girl fetish, the other day, right? How you've already mentioned the dopey Stratosphere wench eight times before ( like this month? ). And yet you bring it up here, only one reason is possible, that is, why, is to piss people off. I thought you just didn't have a clue, silly me. Only possible reason: to to irritate and garner attention.

Guess what, you are a bad pony. No more attention for Shill, you are dead to me, a non-person. And now, you've shed all doubt, you really are the wrong end of a horse. Are you really this small Shill?

Who will join me in the embargo of our own personal Schiesskopf? Super Bat Dude? Corey?

[NetflixShill]

"Shill, you saw the entire rant related to your Stratosphere Girl fetish, the other day, right? How you've already mentioned the dopey Stratosphere wench eight times before (like this month?)."

I don't read or pay attention to rants, or most of your posts for that matter. You've shown yourself to be a person unworthy of reading, Weasel. Your name is appropriate. As for Stratosphere Girl, I have no fetish for it. And the fact remains that Netflix doesn't carry it or hundreds of other DVDs that are available now. Why is that, or do you just dismiss them off-hand with stupid arguments and dismissives? How pathetic.

"And yet you bring it up here, only one reason is possible, that is, why, is to piss people off. I thought you just didn't have a clue, silly me. Only possible reason: to to irritate and garner attention."

No, the reason is because I like to watch obscure movies and Netflix refuses to get a lot of titles. That's why I left them. And here I thought you had also left Netflix. I see instead that you are defending them for not having a movie. How? By criticizing the movie and the person who mentions it. I'll continue to mention the movies that Netflix doesn't have until someone corrects me that they do. You should be banned for your dumb comments and flagrant abuse. Don't you have anything meaningful to add whatsoever?

[noe638]

Maybe Netflix does not carry the titles you mentioned because they have done an algorithm on those titles and discovered that customers who rent/buy/request those movies are more likely to attempt to rent over 15 movies per month and are therefore unprofitable, and refusing to carry them irritates and drives those customers away.

They used to call heavy renters evangelical, now they are trying to figure out ways to get rid of them. I think they are treating you bad on purpose.

[WeaselBuddha]

Noe,

You in on the embargo?

[NetflixShill]

Talk about paranoia, noe. Heavy users don't have different tastes, or broader tastes in movies. Netflix doesn't get things, because their suppliers don't get them. Other firms have different suppliers, so they have some different titles. That's why it's unwise to let any company become a monopoly. You will end up denied certain movies, like The Cook Thief His Wife Her Lover.

P.S. I won't miss Weasel Buddha's brilliant commentaries, like calling every news story a "tempest in a teapot." Gee, where did you get that line, WB? That went out when they started having pictures that could talk. Do you have any better material? Quoting House of Games also demonstrated your wide range. Please, sir, may I have another?

[NetflixShill]

Why don't you go embargo yourself to death, Buddha? We can make do in your absence, just by adding the phrase "tempest in a teapot" (and other cliches) to the start of each new topic. OK? Thanks. See ya, pal.

[NetflixShill]

"Guess you just told us! Boy and we were expecting that red envelope, having the movie they don't carry, one not on our queue, to be delivered. Maybe even tomorrow. Boy, am I bummed out."

BTW, Weasel, didn't you even notice that you weren't quoting me there? That was danb, you flake. Sheesh, get your lies straight? He is the one who brought up Stratosphere Girl in this thread, not me. I would have no reason to bring it up if someone didn't try to say "Netflix has everything and there's no point doing business with anyone else, cuz they're the best." You're just angry at me, because I called you on your pathetic "tempest in a teapot" line several threads ago. Why don't you stop trying to influence opinions here? People have brains and can decide on what to believe without your help. Winner.

[gir]

@WeaselBuddha,

Just skip past his posts unread. I suspect you'll be joining a silent majority. You can't respond to his rants if you don't read them, and they can't affect you.

[corey3rd]

shill, why does it matter what Netflix doesn't carry since you don't rent from them anymore? I heard that Hastings has all those titles at home and he hasn't brought them in to put them in the system.

but enough about that - what throws my game off as far as the fast return action is that my mailman takes one day off a week and the replacement guy seems to do the route in reverse. So my 10:39 a.m. arrival turns into nearly 4 p.m. And he seems to float his off day between Weds. & Thurs so I have to pay attention to that when lining up the queue.