I have been a customer for close to a year now and have been happy. There was only one time when shipments got mixed up, but they remedied the situation quickly. Anytime we have had a problem with a dvd, we mark the sleeve, send it back, and within 2-3 days it has been replaced. I would definatley recommend Netflix to anyone!

NetFlix invented the business of online DVD rentals, and does it better than anyone else. I've been a member for nearly two years, and have been very happy with the movie choices available, the speed of shipping, the low cost compared to local rentals and, when problems have come up, how quick and easy it has been to resolve them.  
 
I love being able to choose almost any movie, without having to drive to a store with a more limited selection. The web site recommendations, based on my ratings, have sometimes pointed me to movies I didn't know but really liked. I do wish that bonus discs were included with the movie, but realistically I don't watch many of them anyway.  
 
My movies seem to ship from two different locations. 80% come from the closer center, and arrive in one day. The rest arrive in 2 or 3 days. All of my returns go to a nearby center, and almost always are acknowledged the next day.  
 
During my membership I've had one movie I never got, another that NetFlix didn't receive, and one that arrived damaged, In each case the NetFlix web site let me report the problem and it was resolved very promptly with absolutely no hassle.  
 
I think it is true that your rental history affects how long you wait for popular movies, but I'm not as sure it affects the turnaround time from when they receive a movie from you until the next is shipped out. I think some of the people complaining about this policy don't realize that it is necessary, since otherwise the cost of postage alone could exceed the monthly memberhip fee. Maybe NetFlix should offer a frequent renter option where you would pay the return postage in exchange for more discs out or a discounted monthly fee.  
 
Obviously your cost depends on how many movies you view in a month. In my 3 out at a time membership, I typically see 12 to 14 movies per month, for an average cost of $1.50 to $1.75 per rental. This is about half of the going rate in my area, not to mention greater convenience and the gasoline savings.  

I have been very happy with their service and selection. All of the problems I have experienced are the fault of my local Post Office.

I have used Netflixs for over a year now, and they provide a great service. You keep 3 DVDs at any one time, and can keep them for as long as you wish. No late fees. The service is only $20 a month, and in that time you could theoretically rent at least 15 movies from them. Compared to Blockbuster, that's a saving of about $55 a month!  
 
Their database is huge, all you have to do is look up the movie you want and add it to your list. You receive whichever movie is #1 on your list, but you can change that quite easily.  
 
Only once or twice have I received a damaged movie. The last instance was only a week ago. I went onto the website and reported it damaged. They shipped a replacement before they'd even received the damaged one that I still had! I sent that one back and everything was cool.  
 
These people that complain about how long it takes, they don't know what they're saying. Netflix has so many more titles to choose from that it's worth waiting three or four days for a movie to arrive, especially if I can keep it for as long as I want until I have time to watch it. I would assume those people who can't wait three days for their movies don't have much else better to do than sit next to the mail box.

Have been a member of Netflix since February 2001. They have since opened a location even closer to my home and I now have myh DVD's about a day after the email is sent. I have had several movies in my queue and they are sent as soon as they are available. Overall, have never experienced a problem with Netflix. Haven't been to Blockbuster in 3 years!!!

I've been with them for almost 4 years and the service is just keep getting better. It looks like they. I live on the east coast and I use to mail to CA. Now couple months ago I notice that the mailing address in in Worcester Mass which is about couple hours from me and today I just notice that the mailing address is only an hour away from me. I got the movie so fast. I don't even go to blockbuster anymore. If you get damaged disc or it didn't get to you ontime. Go online and report the problem they send out the new one out right way.  
If they keep them their service. I'll be their member for life.

November 23, 2002  
Last week I signed up for Netflix 2-weeks-for-free DVD movie rental trial membership. I was provided with enough personal space to add, list, or remove, an unlimited number of titles of movies I wanted to see. I browsed through their extensive (thousands) and very descriptive film catalog, picked out six titles and placed them into my personal "queue" space, where I rearranged them in my order of preference.  
 
Next day, I received a Netflix email advising me that three* DVDs had been shipped. Two days later, I had them in my mailbox. I viewed the first one, placed it in the postage-paid return envelope provided, and mailed it off. One the NEXT DAY Netflix, by email, acknowledged receipt of my return, and advised me that another one had been shipped.  
*Maximum number of DVDs I can have AT ONE TIME during the free trial.  
 
Obviously, with this kind of Netflix performance record, my ongoing membership will be assured, and I plan to keep about 50 films in my "queue." The main reasons why I think that Netflix is a super deal for fim buffs:  
 
1) Never a late fee, and I can keep the movies as long as I want. I send one back, I get the next one on my list promply.  
2) All two-way postage for shipping is paid by Netflix.  
3) Flat, $19.95 monthly fee, regardless of how many films I rent.  
4) Many thousands of DVDs to choose from.  
5) Extensive descriptions of all listings.  
 
If that's not enough, what 's really neat about the service is that "Recommendations" thing: While I am browsing their site, they present me with movie titles I can rate as either "not interested" or I can give one , two, three, four, or five stars to a title. Based on the movies I rate, they present me with choices that they think I would like to consider for viewing. The more ratings I make over weeks and months, the more accurate are their suggestions. Super.

The best service. I live in Denver, CO and haven't had a problem with them. I Have been a customer since May 2002, receive 4 DVDs at once and I can assure you that I always have a movie waiting to be seen. I had a couple of broken discs, and as soon as I reported them, they immediately sent replacements. Their selection is huge, and there's nothing better than having the movie for as many days as I want and not having to worry with leaving my home because I have to return it before the deadline. I love Netflix!

One of the best services online!  
I have a membership more then a year watching 2-3 movies every week. Have couple of times broken disks, but replacement was sent very promptly. Never had a problem with them. Before (approx) December 2001 they sent disks from CA and I'm in MD so "complete cycle" (shipment-watching-shipment-sending new) was about 10 days. Now they have branch 5 miles from my apartment "complete cycle" takes 3-4 days.  

I have been a member since June 26th 2002. Service has been perfect with no complaints. If a movie wasn't played for any reason a couple minutes later they send me a new copy of the disk while I return the defective one. I love the ratings system and all is perfect.

This review was modified by its author, aviationwiz, on 8/28/02 3:29 PM.

I have been a very satisfied customer since June 2001 with roughly 40-50 movies rented. Caveat: we live only 10-20 miles from Netflix so USPS delivery is fast. We have never had any of the issues others have reported. We watch 1-2 movies on the weekend, put them in the mailbox on Monday and receive 2 new ones by Thursday or Friday (we are signed up for the 2-movie option at $14/month).  
 
The only issue we have ever had was when a movie was sent, we didn't receive it, and about a week later Netflix showed it as being received by them. Their explanation was that USPS failed to deliver it. The same moveie was immediately sent out to us again and this time we received it.  
 
The selection is outstanding; we don't mind waiting a little while for the newest releases, we always have enough movies on hand from Netflix to keep us busy watching, a good-size queue eliminates the indecision at the video store of what we should get today and always has some movies available for immediate shipment, deliveries and receipts are fast and reliable with excellent email notification. In other words, in our experience Netflix is one of the very best vendors out there. We have recommended them to numerous friends and relatives, who are now also using them and are thrilled as we are.  
 
The major Netflix advantages: no trips to the video store, no late fees, great selection, and overall significantly less expensive than our local boutique video store (one that carries a wide variety of movies).  
 
Now before you sign up, you should definitely think about how USPS is going to work for you. If San Jose to your location takes 3-5 days each way, then Netflix is probably not for you unless they establish a local presence. This is not a Netflix issue but a choice they made (wisely, I think) to rely to USPS for cheap mailing.

Great service, spectacular selection of movies for delivery, but their download selection is what I paid for, and in a year or two it will be good, but the selection and quality is just not good enough for now

I'm surprised by the horrible rating here. Netflix has a huge selection (almost every DVD ever released in the U.S., including TV shows) and they allow for the occasional lost disk.  
 
But understand you won't see a quick turnaround. I'm a two-hour drive from my distribution center and it takes 4-7 days between when I mail back a DVD and when I get a new one. If I return a DVD on Monday, I can expect the new ones on Friday, but that's delayed by two days if the weekend overlaps the waiting period. That's actually not bad though; it means, in the worst case, that on the X-at-a-time plan, you get X per week. Since it's $6/month for each increase in X, the $15 three-at-a-time plan can give you 12-15 DVDs per month. Each $6/month after that gives you another 4-5 per month. That is cheap.  
 
But Netflix does purposely wait a few days before they send you new DVDs. I know they get my DVDs the day after I mail them, but they wait several days before sending me new ones. This is actually spelled out in their terms of service.

I admire Netflix for revolutionizing the world of video rental. I like the fact that you can stop and start membership and there is no contract. Their delivery times used to be lightning quick but that has slowed considerably as they have gotten more customers. Their web site is very easy to use and you can even watch trailers for movies now, which I love. They're not PERFECT, but I would still prefer to give them my business over Blockbuster for having come up with the concept first.

I've been a member for a couple years now. Overall the service has been good but their claims of "Netflix can reach more than 80 percent of its subscribers with generally next-business day delivery" really pisses me off. I live about 10 miles from one of their distribution centers. When the center opened last year I did receive next day service for a short while. Now 80 percent of the movies they ship take 3-4 days from the date they claim to have shipped them. Of course 98% of my returns are at their location the next business day. Don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm trying to view 6 movies per week for $20/per month. I've been more than happy to watch three movies per week. Only now in order to continue watching three per week I have to return the movie the very next day instead of having several days to watch it. Service going down and price going up. Maybe with the increase in price they can hire someone to actually get the movies to the post office by 5PM on the day they claim to ship them.