We now continue with out head-to-head comparison of the two most popular DVD mail order rental companies. If you missed part one, you can read yesterday's post on-line at http://jcorkrum.blogspot.com
DVD Selections
Having a large selection of DVD’s to choose from is extremely important to most customers. Netflix has over 35,000 titles, a number that is probably close to the total number of DVD’s ever made. Blockbuster says they have 30,000 titles.
But making a claim as to how many DVD titles one has in stock vs. actually having them available right now for a customer are two very different things.
For instance, right now in my queue at Netflix, there are 70 films listed that I want to see. Of those, 67 show that they are available right now. One shows “Short Wait” and two show “Very Long Wait.”
In my Blockbuster queue, I had 20 films listed. Only nine of them were available at that moment, the rest were listed as “Short Wait” and “Very Long Wait.” Of the films that were available now, most were newer releases.
In searching for films at Netflix, I always have found every film I searched for. Even if a film has not been released on DVD, it will tell you so and allow you to add the film to a special section of your queue called “Saved.” The films will then move into your queue when the film is released. It will also show you the planned release date, if there is one.
At Blockbuster, it is a different story. There were a few films that I searched for that they do not have at all, including some that are only a few years old. I also did a search on one film that is not on DVD yet and it put it in my queue as “Very Long Wait,” rather than stating that it wasn’t out yet and putting it a different section as Netflix does.
The clear winner in this category is Netflix.
Mailing Times
While many of us usually go to a local video store to pick up our selection, Netflix and Blockbuster mail customers must wait for the movie to arrive by mail…then wait after it is sent back for the film to arrive at the warehouse so another one can be shipped.
At Netflix, the wait is two days about 95% of the time in both directions. Occasionally, a film will take three days to arrive, but I usually attribute that to the post office. Lately, on occasion, the films arrive back at their warehouse in one day. Almost always, replacement DVD’s are sent out on the same day. The bottom line for Netflix is that you can almost always count on two day shipping in either direction.
For the longest time, the closest Netflix warehouse was located in Western Washington. I see now that they have also opened a Spokane warehouse, which explains the one-day shipping times.
As for Blockbuster, I can only tell you the facts for my two-week free trial period, and judging on this short time period may not be considered fair, but it was enough for me to not want to continue.
My first three movies were all shipped out on a Monday, according to the e-mail’s I received from Blockbuster. The first film took four days to arrive, showing up on Friday. The next two films arrived on Saturday, making it five days shipping time.
The first one was shipped back on Friday and the next two were mailed on Monday. The first replacement film was shipped on Monday and arrived on Thursday, for a three-day turnaround. The other two we shipped on Tuesday and arrived on Saturday for a four-day turnaround.
One nice thing that Blockbuster says they have is the ability to ship your next movie before the returning DVD arrives at the warehouse. They are somehow tied in with US Postal computers that scan the barcode at their facility and pass it on to Blockbuster. This system seems to work as the last three DVD’s were shipped prior to arrival at their warehouse.
But, it still takes far too long for the films to arrive, so that advantage is lost.
Clearly, Netflix again wins in this category.
In part three, I will finish up our head-to-head comparison and give you my recommendation. After reading this edition, you can probably guess which one I favor.
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