Does the Saturday New Release Trick Work for You?

While new DVD releases are available for sale on Tuesday, Netflix ships new releases on Monday so they arrive on Tuesday. Brad writes, "Most people who want a new release do not add it to the top of their queue until after it has been released.  New releases come out on Tuesdays but Netflix can ship out new releases on Mondays. So I put Tuesdays new releases on the very top of my queue and then I send back dvd’s I have watched on Saturday so that Netflix gets them on Monday to send me new DVD’s.  Probably 95% of the time they will send me DVD’s that are to be released that Tuesday if those DVD’s are at the top of my queue. It doesn’t always work but if I have 3 or 4 new releases on the top and I send back 1-2 discs I am bound to get at least one of them which is great cause otherwise I might not see it for months."

Do you ship movies back to Netflix on Saturday so you'll have a shot at new releases? How well has this worked for you?

Comments

[Netflix User 7]

Works for me, most of the time as well. Though, I haven't bothered with too many new releases for the past couple months... been too busy trying to work through a couple TV series'.

[Larry]

works every single time

[cyberdiva]

Work almost every time. Need to get the returned discs in the mail Saturday before noon. I don't get all the new releases at the top of my list but usually most of them.

[Jay]

Works for me as long as I haven't been returning discs too quick recently.

[jjfromnyc]

works for me, but i'm guessing it will begin to work and less and less the more i read about it on blogs - hehehe

[Terry]

Yea, we should probably keep this on the downlow as much as possible. Been using this 'trick' for a long time. My discs are always in the mail Friday night.

[Frank Schaer]

It usually works. But, I usually prefer to wait till the initial rush has subsided, so I won't feel guilty if I keep the dvd more than a couple of days. If I've already waited a few months, what's a week or two more?

[bill]

NO. this certainly does not work. no one should try this!

[John Dover]

There are new releases worth renting?

[Josh]

Our family has been doing this for a while. In fact, we will hold back returns until Saturday to get new releases. If we don't do that, we wait for weeks to months for any new releases. We still have "long wait" on "Four Christmases" which was released on DVD November 2009.

But, I don't expect it to continue as more people become aware of it.

[Seth]

Uh, listen to Bill, folks. Don't do this. If you do, your Netflix account will, um, bad things will happen. Don't do it! You have been warned!












Sigh. Okay, this does work just about every time. Damn you Brad.

[skullboy]

Worked for me until I upgraded my account. Now I hardly get any new releases even when I send discs back on Saturdays.

[Kelly]

It works almost every time for me too, but I am also on a 1 disc plan and mostly instant watch, so only end up with usually 3-4 DVDs per month total, so guessing I tend to be a high profit customer for Netflix...

[Matt]

I've always done it, and it's always worked.

[twitter.com/wizzack]

used to work for me until i upgraded to 4 at a time. I haven't seen a new release since 500 Days of Summer.

[longklaw]

It works for me probably about the same percentage as it works for you. I put only one new release each week at the top of my queue and I don't do this every week.

[Kam]

It has worked for the handful of new releases I have tried it with. Here's hoping it works tomorrow for "A Serious Man". :)

[Chris O.]

NO. this certainly does not work. no one should try this!

Word.

[Ken]

This works for me about 95% of the time. If I am gettting discs back quiclkly I will sometimes not get the new release.

[Karva]

I do this all the time.

Works very well.

I just did it with Zombieland. They shipped it on Monday and I got it by Tuesday.

[smgpugfaw]

This has worked since I signed on with Netflix in 2004.

Everytime the topic of getting new releases comes up around here I've been posting this method and explaining how well it works.

If you're into new releases, there's no reason this shouldn't net you between 8 and 12 per month (2 or 3 every week).

I honestly thought this was common sense.

[Liz]

Works for me - I usually get new releases the day they come out.

[Guest]

Works about 90% of the time.

[Racket]

If you want to watch films mid-week this works, but you won't be able to watch films on Saturday and Sunday. It works most of the time but holiday Mondays can throw off the routine. If I send back 2 on Saturday then I can often times get 2 new releases especially if I have more than 2 new releases in the que. I don't always get the top 2 but can usually get 2 out of 4 new releases. I have a 3 at a time plan, and I have noticed that if I send back 3 then I get 2 new releases and the 3rd one, magically, ALWAYS arrives one day later or sits at their end 1 day and I get a catalogue title further down in my que.

This works pretty well but you have to;
1.) Consistantly manage your que
2.) Give up watching movies on the weekends
3.) Hold films a couple of days after you view them to keep the window just right.

All-in-all its not worth it and I just would not recommed going to all this trouble, that being said I do it every week, hehe.

[Scotty B]

Ahh, so that's how to do it. I always sent them back before work Monday morning so it would arrive at Netflix on Tuesday and that works more often than not. Doesn't usually bother me if it doesn't work though... at least not until I didn't get Zombieland this week...

[Prozac]

Rachet summed it up perfectly....

"This works pretty well but you have to;
1.) Consistantly manage your que
2.) Give up watching movies on the weekends
3.) Hold films a couple of days after you view them to keep the window just right.

All-in-all its not worth it and I just would not recommed going to all this trouble, that being said I do it every week, hehe."

[Sock Puppet]

I can honestly say that it doesn't not work. Also I haven't not been using this system for the past three years, and perhaps we shouldn't not be not talking about this so that others wont not want to try the same thing, so that they will also not see that it definitely doesn't not work :^)

[Claudio Bory]

Is it really worth it? Im on a one at a time plan so I try to watch two movies a week. I get a movie on Tuesday and another one on Friday. If I don’t watch the movie the same day I get it then I have to hold on to it another four days to be able to start the cycle again. Some of you might say not a big deal. Well when the new release is worth the throttling I am doing my self then is ok. Problem is movies like Zombieland or (500) Days of Summer or Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs that in my opinion are not really worth the trouble. So is it really worth it. Not really unless is a movie you know is good. Also the no movie on the weekend thing gets old fast. Now Im ok because I have IW and I still have some good stuff but once that’s gone then what.

[Karva]

I say it's not worth it unless you've watched the movie by Friday. I mean, why not send it on Saturday if you watched it Friday? However, if I've watched a movie by Thursday I'm not going to hold on to it a couple extra days just to get a new release. I have a 500 item queue and I got a lot of movies I can watch instead.

Although, with Zombieland I did keep a DVD a couple extra days to make sure I got it by Tuesday. It just depends how interested you are in the new release.

[Dan]

I didn't think this was a secret or even really a trick. This works unless you're being throttled. If you are being throttled at all then this isn't likely to help.

This is less important to me now that new release disks tend to arrive in decent condition. It used to be that if I didn't get a new release disk within the first few weeks then it'd come to me looking like someone rough sanded it. I can't remember the last time I received an unplayable disk, so obviously times have changed.

[Nalez]

Works every time for me. I live in a major metro area that makes it easier.
1. The main post office has a last pickup at 8pm. on Saturdays
2. Saturday nights, the sort happens and the netflix mail gets sent to the bulk mail facility about 10 miles from the main post office.
3. Sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning, netflix gets the mail from the bulk mail center and does the processing. I often get my "we have received your dvd" e-mail at 2:00am or so on Monday.
4. Later that morning, my new release gets sent out. Yet to have it not happen in 2 years.

[Larry]

Don't miss having anything on weekends with this trick with 8 @ time & streaming.

[David P]

(Sigh)...You just gave away my best-kept secret! Done this for years, and it's worked 75%+ of the time. Has not worked quite as well with Blu-ray titles, though.

[Michael 61554]

I'm on the five-at-a-time plan and have been doing this for years. Works every time.

[gjs]

doesn't work unless you're on the A-list

[Tom]

Works for me, but over time I expect people will catch on and it will be less effective.

[bob]

Been doing this for years. I was hoping it wouldn't be published...poo.

[rjm]

Works very often on monday. On tuesday, its often too late.

I wish they would actually SEND them on Saturday so we would get them Monday but so far they have never done that with a new release coming out the following tuesday.

[rjm]

The other "trick" is to swap accounts every other month.

[Phelps]

I heard if you do this Netflix sends a special disc that melts in your DVD player and destroys it with acid.

You have been warned!!! Don't do it!!!