Netflix vs. Blockbuster: The Queue Battle

Now that Blockbuster has had some time to get their act together, I wanted to compare the movie availability of both services. Netflix has dramatically improved their movie inventory in the past year -- I have two "waits" out of more than 250 movies (would whoever has the Shawshank Redemption out please return it?). Blockbuster Online has less than half of my selections available for rental.

I decided to use a popular list of movies to compare the services (rather than my rather bizarre taste in movies), so I add the American Film Institute's excellent "100 Years... 100 Films" list to my Netflix and Blockbuster queues.

Here are the results:

Netflix:

90 movies available now

6 movies awaiting release

4 movies are not carried by Netflix

Blockbuster Online

67 movies available now

9 movies on short wait

4 movies on long wait

7 movies on very long wait

5 movies are coming soon

8 movies are not carried by Blockbuster

While the results of this test are clearly in Netflix's favor, I expect Blockbuster to rapidly increase the number of distribution centers and available movies in the next few months.

Based on movie availability and service problems that I'm hearing about from my readers, I wonder if Blockbuster launched the service prematurely.

Comments

[tom]

One thing I noticed is that the Blockbuster "coming soon' section is in many cases a total misnomer. It's a bucket where stuff they don't own goes, or better yet, movies that aren't released on DVD, such as the original Disney Jungle Book. I do wonder how they get away with putting Coming Soon down for something that has no DVD release date... were your 4 not available at Netflix movies not on DVD yet?

[tom]

oops...just reread and saw you had 6 movies down for Netflix as awaiting release. so not the same as not available...

[RAYMOND KNIGHT]

Before about the available now category. Over the last few weeks they have started a new technique where even though it says available now it actually ships the next day. I think this is a way to save money.

[jeff]

I have over 150 movies in my Queue and it took me many weeks of browsing to build this up. I'm not moving off and going to blockbuster!

[Heath Allyn]

Just to add my personal results for this topic. I transferred my Netflix Queue to my Blockbuster trial and got these results:

Netflix:

98 movies in queue and all are available now

9 movies that I could not currently get at Blockbuster.

Blockbuster:

90 movies in Queue

20 Short waits

1 Long wait

3 Very Long waits.

Now since I was transferring my queue from Netflix, it was a lot easier to find movies Netflix had that BB didn't. There may be plenty that BB has that NF doesn't, but obviously I wouldn't know that unless I stumbled upon them accidentally. That being said, I did stumble upon 6 discs you could get at BB that you can't currently get at NF (I didn't put them in my queue so as not to mess up the comparison totals).

Plus with NF and Tivo developing a Movies On Demand service for the future (Still in development, so few details, but most likely something like downloading your NF and transferring them to your TiVo), I think I'll be sticking with Netflix.

[Terre]

Just an FYI:

Blockbuster has one drawback that Netflix doesn't have. Blockbuster makes you wait until Tuesday before they ship their New Releases, which could stall your viewing time of these movies while Netflix is kind enough (and smart enough to realize that the mail is not THAT fast) to send their New Release selections out on Monday instead of Tuesday which gives you a MUCH better chance of actually getting and seeing the New Release on the actual day it is released. Blockbuster...GET A CLUE!

[David]

Blockbuster has the annoying habit of not sending the top "Available Now" item in my queue. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[MJ]

BB now send out the next movie when you drop your DVD in the mail. USPS tells BB you have returned a movie, expect a 3-4 day improvement in BB. Netflix must follow this lead to stay competitive. Wal-Mart has been doing this for over a year. Turnaround will be critical as Netflix closes more regional processing centers.

MJ

Blockbuste movie search is JavaScript reliant and does not allow opening in new windows (or Mozilla tabs.) BLAAAH!

[PK]

Re: MJ's comment - one of the emails I received from BB talked about the same. But I don't see it in practice. Also, I have noticed (more than a couple of times) that when you return multiple DVDs at once (in their separate sleeves), they rarely seem to receive them together. I say this based on the emails they send when they receive DVDs. When they do receive them together, they never sent me more than one replacement DVD on the same day. This has happened consistenly to me. I would like to know if anyone else had seen the same behavior.

[RAYMOND KNIGHT]

I have yet to see this scanned logging in of DVDs that are returned. I have seen no improvement in the time it takes to log in a DVD. When you e-mail them they say they are working on it. I have yet to figure out what that means.

[Barton]

Seems to be gettin worse. Last week I got selection #12 from my queue. That's when I started counting availability. My queue has around 80 in it, not much churn, and I'm not trying to pick movies that are obscure on purpose.

Last week: 58% available, 31% short wait, 5% long wait, 3% very long wait.

This week: 44% available, 38% short wait, 12% long wait, 3% very long wait.

Two weeks doesn't make a trend, but I'll try to keep an eye on this.

Blockbuster has recently removed their "Coming Soon" link. This was the only reason I subscribed to them over Netflix because Netflix only listed movies that were newly available and not ones they'd be getting soon. Now that the function has been removed from BB's website, there's no reason to stick with BB, in my opinion.

I still see my Blockbuster coming soon link. Perhaps you should check your broswer.

My Blockbuster "coming soon" link is missing as well.

[DAN]

I agree, I hated the fact that there is no preview with BB like at NETFLIX and the only reason I have been staying with BB was because of their Coming Soon Link, now that they took that I will move back with NETFLIX, I cant see the point of waiting around on my money for them to get their act straight. They have been in the movie business for so long and they should have more experience then NETFLIX.

FYI: I checked my browsers, on all 4 computers that i have both on Firefox as well as Internet Explorer. there is no link to the COMING SOON.

[Rudy Boy]

I have both Netflix and Blockbuster...and all I have to say is that Blockbuster always sends my 3 next movies right away...with my Netflix I almost always have only 2 of my next movie choices sent...they seem to "hold off" sending me my 3rd movie choice a few days...even if they are all "available now" selections...I have decided -I going to switch to the Blockbuster 5 movie dael instead.

[John]

I wonder if BB removes the coming soon link after you use the system alot?

[John (Again)]

Someone in another forum asked BB whats up...

Thank you for contacting Blockbuster Online Customer Service.

We appreciate you taking the time to submit your feedback regarding movies that are "Coming Soon". Unfortunately, due to technical issues, we currently do not have a section to search for a list of these titles. You can always search for a specific title by typing the name of the movie into the "Search Movies" box at the top of the page. If we carry the movie, it will display in your search results. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Always here to help,

Your Friends at BLOCKBUSTER Online

[Michael Ruth]

I have been with blockbuster for four months now and up until now i thought that they were great.... Until I tried to find out what there customer service number was or email to contact them about the online rental service... I have in my queue the series 24 - season 1 and season 2 each season is 7 cds - i have them in my queue as such 24 season 1 - dvd 1 24 season 1 - dvd 2 etc... but the problem is, is that they shipped season 1 dvd 5 and season 1 dvd 6 - what good are they to me? Also I have had two dvds where i am able to watch up to the last few minutes and then the dvd is corrupt and so I have no idea what the ending is and it is pissing me off ..... What can I do ---- please email me mikeruth12@yahoo.com I can never get back to this to look at the replies... I am watching the last samaria with tom cruise right now and have had to reply track 1-10 and 1-11 and 1-12 and 1-13 three times each since there are scratches on the damn DVD - WHERE is the QUALITY Assurance ..... ?????

Please help- -- I gets I will go back to listening to LPs since I know how to get past the scratches...
Lift the damn needle... What do you do when there are scratches on a DVD?

If you add the dvds as a "set" they are supposed to ship them in order. If you add the discs seperately, 1 at a time, then you may get them in any order. When you add "disc 1", the should be a link asking if you want to add the entire set, do that.

If they cannot ship the next disc in that series, they skip the whole set and send you somethhing sles further down.

[Jennifer]

I have been with Blockbuster and have only been impressed with their service. Within filing a complaint to Customer Service through their website (report a dvd issue and then down the bottom it says if this didn't help please contact customer service and click on that link) I had a reply within 24 hours and they sent me out the replacement disc right away without even waiting for the other one to get back. I usually always receive the discs on or BEFORE their expected arrival date. I've never had them after that date. And at times I have had more than the allowed three discs at once for the plan that we have. I think it's great. I don't have a problem with the availability of movies. I agree, I wish they had the coming soon feature, but I just search the movies that have recently been in theaters and they come up with their availability date and I'm able to add them to my queue. I'm sticking with Blockbuster.

[Jennifer]

I have been with Blockbuster and have only been impressed with their service. Within filing a complaint to Customer Service through their website (report a dvd issue and then down the bottom it says if this didn't help please contact customer service and click on that link) I had a reply within 24 hours and they sent me out the replacement disc right away without even waiting for the other one to get back. I usually always receive the discs on or BEFORE their expected arrival date. I've never had them after that date. And at times I have had more than the allowed three discs at once for the plan that we have. I think it's great. I don't have a problem with the availability of movies. I agree, I wish they had the coming soon feature, but I just search the movies that have recently been in theaters and they come up with their availability date and I'm able to add them to my queue. I'm sticking with Blockbuster.

[Ziggy]

That's why they're called BLOCKBUSTER. They're very shallow. If it ain't the latest and greatest hit (BLOCKBUSTER!!), your gonna get "short wait" again and again! Wanna see some good classic films like "North by Northwest", some 'best picture' of the year winner, or a special interest film like PBS "Visions of Greece" or a foreign flick, you've got a long wait, because BB doesn't have the stock (if they carry it at all).

In fact, there are many films that Netflix has that Blockbuster just doesn't carry, but very few films that Netflix doesn't have that Blockbuster has. Just look at the 'new releases this week' in Netflix (50-75 every week) and see what's new at Blockbuster (pitiful).

BTW, Netflix does penalize frequent renters, so whether they admit it or not, it isn't unlimited rentals.

[dumbfind.com]

turnaround for netflix movies started sucking bigtime for me over the last month or so. It used to be a 2 mailing day turnaround, I could set my watch by it. Now turnarounds are more like 3-4 days. Hopefully the recent Blockbuster advertising blitz scares them back into shape. I think it is important that they both survive though, we don't want a monopoly here, especially by Blockbuster. If BB drove Netflix out of business then they would probably raise prices to try to bring us back into the stores so we buy their ridiculously expensive candy.

fyi, I found this site with a search for netflix on dumbfind.com

netflix has my vote. They have shown to be far more superior than blockbuster.

[jimmy]

BTW, Netflix does penalize frequent renters, so whether they admit it or not, it isn't unlimited rentals.

Posted by: Ziggy

Re:

Really? ? ? That's mean. . .

Anyway, if u ask me, I'm still undecided between bb and NF.

I've had a 2 week free netflix trial and have had BB for the 2 wk trial plus a month and a half, for a total of 2 months of BB.

In my BB queue right now, I have 31 movies- 11 of which are available. NetFlix always had the most popular movies in. Only 1 video, a drumming video, that I can remember from my Netflix trial, was not available. The BB site is very slow, 5-10 seconds per page load on cable. And if u want to add lots of movies to your queue really fast, get netflix. BB also forgets your login cookies after you close the browser window. Netflix remembered forever. Blockbuster only lists 500 movies per genre. I am a musician and like concert dvds, but navigate to music and performance>concerts and you will see britney spears mixed with george carlin and chris rock dvd's. note: 500 results limit, so you're also missing a ton of results. navigate to music and performance>rock and you get 500 results also- where are the other concerts? I have actually browsed alphabetically and missed some very popular dvds, but doing a text query search or wtvr u want to call it brought up the dvd it missed, and yes, it said it was in the genre i had been browsing. I've mentioned this to BB online and they autmatically responded but have not heard from them since that happened 2 months ago.

on the plus side,they're 3 dollars cheaper than netflix

they give u 2 free in-store rentals per month. I usually get an xbox game with them or a movie i spontaneously want or a movie on my queue that is on "wait" status.

blockbuster over netflix because it's cheaper and i can use the coupons to rent games.
choose netflix if u want to get the movies you really want, when u want them, though. ;) I love that about netflix.

[Luz Ortriz]

I have been a netflix subscriber for a year and wouldn't even think about giving Blockbuster my money, they suck!!

[Peter Venkman]

Wouldn't it be nice if BB would allow you to return your DVDs at a local BB store?

[Chris]

Blockbuster is garbage. They are so slow and never have anything available that you actually want to see. It takes 3-4 days to get a movie from blockbuster. Netflix takes a 2 day turnaround time and they always seem to have movies available. Also their site is much faster and they have a bigger selection. Netflix may cost 3 dollars a month more, but it is worth it.

[Vera Seitz]

I have been with BB for almost a year and at first I really got my movies fast, now it seems to slow down. I agree with most that the available now sucks. I asked for Millinnium season one (altogether) and season two (altogether) they were both available now. I received season two and 2 monthns later i am still waiting for season one. Still says available now, so I
e-mailed them about it and never received any sensible answer, it is almost like they have letters made up to fit certain things, but really doesn't answer your question. I still don't know about switching, but I am
thinking about it.

[solitaire40]

I belong to BB but thinking of switching to Netflix. I used to get movies pretty fast when they came from North Carolina but now the come from PHila Pa & I'm in Richmond, VA so they take longer. I got 1 from Newport News, VA that came really fast but that hardly ever happens. Everyone I know here who has Netflix says it's better 'cause their distribution center is right here and you get them within a day or 2. I'll try the free trial and see what happens.

[n2themuzic]

BB vs Netflix "That is the question"..
Which one is better, it seems that Netflix is the winner after reading these posts. Theres more positive remarks for Netflix then BB
Im with BB right now and have been for a about 2 months, my only problem is there turn around time and they went up in monthly fee. When I signed up for it it was $14.99 and a month later it went up to $17.99 (figures).
Anyway my friends are with Netflix and they have no problems "IM SWITCHING". And regarding these post about "i want the movie the day it comes out" all i have to say is relax..
For you newbies if you want to try out BB use promo code "usatoday18" it gives you a free month.

[n2themuzic]

Oh ya one other thing.. I've been reading some other blogs about Netflix saying that if your a frequent renter then your turn around time gets longer well BB does the same. When I started using BB I would get all three movies in 2 days at the same time. Now I get 1 movie in 2 days and the others 3 or 4 days later.

[stormy]

Have had BB for 5 months and am switching to Netflix. I only have time to watch on weekends so I always mail back my DVD's on Monday. Sometimes BB hasn't mailed replacements by the following Friday. If I want to know what the new releases are I have to go to Netflix to find out and then go back to BB and query on the films name to request it.

They consistantly send movies out of order in my Queue. A movie is marked #1 in my Queue and shows as available, but they send others. By the time I return these my #1 now shows Short Wait. Their customer service sends me a canned reply everytime I e-mail them.

"Our goal is to ship your movies as quickly as possible in order to meet the expectation of 1 to 3 business days for receipt. We review all "Available Now" titles in your queue, and determine which titles are available for 2-day shipping at your nearest distribution center(s). If the requested title is outside the 2-day shipping window, it will be skipped over for a title further on your list."

The two free "in store" movies don't mean anything. The reason I signed up was so that I DON'T HAVE TO GO TO THE STORE. All I hope is that Netflix is better. In my opinion "IT HAS TO BE!"

[Lars Jensen]

Have been using BB for about 5 months now and I must say their service level is decresing.

First of all the price of 14.99 (my main reason to choose BB in the first place) was adjusted to 17.99.

Second, the turnaround time is increasing. Usually, when they received a movie they would send the next one almost right away. Now, it is usually the next day! It is also now more frequent that a movie takes 3-5 days to arrive, rarely just 1-2 days (however, I consistlently report a DVD issue on the third day, having the next movie in queue sent).

Third, their queue handling algorithm must have gotten the flu. I had Crash queued #1 for weeks prior to release. When it was released, it was still #1 in queue and "available". Did they ship it? No. Four movies was shipped before I in rage removed it from queue and re-queued it, and then it was shipped.

Fourth, I receive A LOT (increasingly) unplayable discs. I understand that movies are in hands of customers, however I find it a little too frequent that a disc is damaged, and sometimes the disc is very obviously damaged as e.g large, deep scrathes appear. Why dont they test a movie like that? I bet I am not the first one to file a "damaged disc" issue on it!

And finally, the thing that has gotten my blood up and reason why I am now switching to Netflix: I queued "Das Boot the original uncut version", a 2-disc set. When adding to queue, it did not offer you to add it as a set. But I was very careful to ensure that disc 1 was before disc 2 in the queue. And still, the shipped disc 2 first. Hurra! And not only that - they shipped disc 2 of the (wrong) Superbit edition, and later disc 1 of the correct edition. What the h... is wrong with them???

[Chiwaw]

Which one is the best? Easy, let search for "Team America" in both website. NetFlix return both the censored and the uncensored version. Blockbuster return only the censored one.

Conclusion: BB are assholes enough to decide FOR ME what I should watch or here, NOT watch. This is presomptious, and horribly disturbing.

For that, I will never give a penny to the BB unless they change their politics.

[Dave Chillman]

I've had BB for about 6 months now and I have no issues with the turn-around time. I frequently receive new movies within 2 or 3 days. Plus, BB gives me two free movie coupons a month to use at their stores. My friend, Jeff, uses his coupons to rent movies that have "long waits." My only complaint is that I have had a few movies that could not be played because of their scratched condition. I do my best to treat the DVDs as though they were my own; I suspect there are a small number of members who couldn't care less how they treat the merchandise. I may eventually move to NF, but only if BB ends up not having the movies I want to see or raises their rates unreasonably.

[steve]

net flix starts sucking after about 15 movies.. the turn around goes to hell, its like you hit a maximum for the month and the slow you down purposly