Andrew ([info]neuracnu) wrote in [info]netflix,
@ 2006-07-28 00:07:00
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Netflix delivery analysis
Netflix is both cool and evil. As a movie nerd, I love being able to rent tons of films every month for the cost of four or five rentals. This rocks. However, anyone who has subscribed to the service for a few months starts to ponder how they can get the most out of their monthly subscription. Hence, the following:

Assuming that your local delivery center is one mailing-day away (mine is just on the other side of town) and the next film in your queue is available locally, you get the following delivery schedule:

Mailbox
Drop Off		USPS Pick-UpNetflix Receives,
Processes and
Sends		DeliveredTotal Wait
Tuesday pre-pick-upTuesdayWednesdayThursday3best
Tuesday post-pick-upWednesdayThursdayFriday4not bad
Wednesday pre-pick-upWednesdayThursdayFriday3best
Wednesday post-pick-upThursdayFridaySaturday4not bad
Thursday pre-pick-upThursdayFridaySaturday3best
Thursday post-pick-upFridayNext MondayNext Tuesday6worst
Friday pre-pick-upFridayNext MondayNext Tuesday5bad
Friday post-pick-upSaturdayNext MondayNext Tuesday5bad
Saturday pre-pick-upNext MondayNext TuesdayNext Wednesday5bad
Saturday post-pick-upNext MondayNext TuesdayNext Wednesday5bad
SundayNext MondayNext TuesdayNext Wednesday4not bad
Monday pre-pick-upMondayTuesdayWednesday3best
Monday post-pick-upTuesdayWednesdayThursday4not bad


So, in short, if you want to have the least lag time between DVD deliveries, mail your returns on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday morning. And don't mail after work on Thursday!

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[info]a1an
2006-07-28 05:25 am UTC (link)
well yeah that's a great chart if you have one day back and forth service (which sometimes I did)

but you didnt factor in the throttling the netflix admits it does. I think this refers to two things: they generally make more copies of the brand new releases available to brand new customers. And/or they give faster service to those who use their service less.

This was covered a while back and in a news story wherein netflix admitted this.

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[info]neuracnu
2006-07-28 05:29 am UTC (link)
I know what you mean - I was throttled for a while myself.

Sadly it's a lot harder to statistically take into account a draconian policy of punishing high-volume users.

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[info]progoddess
2006-07-28 01:11 pm UTC (link)
Very interesting. However, we can't mail on Sundays because the post office isn't open. Also: I find that if I mail something back on a Thursday, often they get it and mail something else out on Friday.

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[info]progoddess
2006-07-28 01:12 pm UTC (link)
I see what you are getting at with the Sunday thing. Don't you have mail pick up at your house or at a close box? Do you have to go to the post office all the time?

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[info]neuracnu
2006-07-28 02:34 pm UTC (link)
In retrospect, that first column (Watch) seemed pretty unnecessary so I removed it. It doesn't really matter when you watch something, just when you drop it off in your mailbox.

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Analysis
[info]nomovies
2008-08-16 01:10 am UTC (link)
Beautiful, well done chart. This is exactly the way it SHOULD be. The only thing that should alter this chart is when a distribution center really does not have a copy of your requested DVD. For example, Albuquerque may have more Spanish language DVDs than say, in Anchorage. This type of delay is or should be understandable.
My Analysis is:
Overall service is good. Dishonest Ad campaign is unnecesary. Replace "unlimited" with "20 movies per month" (or whatever plan you would be on) OR let us pay extra so we would be not to be 'Throttled'.
I used to think I was doing them a favor by immediately returning DVDs. They would have it ready for the next customer that much quicker. But that favor is returned with delays if you are a long term customer.
My Recommendation: If you are the victim of Netflix throttling, cancel your membership and begin a new membership with a different credit card. You will have at least 3 throttle free months.

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