Netflix to end its DVD business by sending users anywhere from 0 to 10 random discs
The streaming giant announced that it was officially ending its DVD rental service September 29
Aux News Netflix
Let’s all join together in a moment of silence for Netflix’s DVD rental service—1998-2023. The red envelope killed Blockbuster, and Netflix is now killing the red envelope. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust—or, in words perhaps more appropriate for everything good about physical media, what is dead may never die.
Netflix may be able to end the subscription service that put them on the map (called DVD.com since 2016) for good—a move they announced to the program’s last few stragglers back in April—but they obviously couldn’t just wave a magic wand and disappear the actual, very large DVD collection with the same ease as they could poof a streaming original like, say, Arrested Development out of existence. (Another point for real, handheld media.)
While fans—and The A.V. Club—wondered what would become of the veritable Library of Alexandra possessed by the streaming giant (once numbering over 100,000 titles, according to Paste), execs were busy brewing up a really goofy solution.
This week, Collider reported that lingering subscribers to one of DVD.com’s tiered plans received an email in their inbox. “After 25 years of movies in the mail, we’re approaching the end of our final season,” it began. “We really appreciate that you’re sharing movie nights with us until the last day. Let’s have some fun for our finale!”
The “fun,” apparently, is in seeing if you actually get to have any fun at all. Starting now, subscribers can opt in to (potentially) join a massive giveaway: up to 10 bonus discs, chosen from your existing queue, could (again, potentially) be shipped straight to your mailbox on September 29, the service’s final day. And that would be pretty cool, right? Potentially!
As the email continues: “You won’t know if any extra envelopes are headed your way until they arrive in your mailbox!” So, some people will be left waiting in vain to receive a DVD—any DVD—that just… never… comes. We guess they really are trying to send out the service with all the drama of some of the more maudlin tear-jerkers in its collection. As it deserves.
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They’re up to ten extra discs in addition to your normal plan. You still have to send them back. They’re not just giving them away.https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/17/23835731/netflix-dvd-customers-10-extra-discs
D’oh! That’s less cool than it sounded.
Also, this article might be the most convincing evidence that the writers don’t write the headlines to their own posts because this:Netflix to end its DVD business by sending users anywhere from 0 to 10 random discsis inaccurate and contradicted by the body of the article: subscribers can opt in to (potentially) join a massive giveaway: up to 10 bonus discs, chosen from your existing queue
Well, to be (grudgingly) fair, it’s not clear if it’s chosen randomly out of the queue, or if you pick which up-to-10 you want from your queue.What they should do is in the last week, put a bunch of tick boxes next to everything in your queue, and you tick the boxes of the discs you want to buy (not borrow), and they send you those, to keep forever, for, say, a buck per disc.Although, really, what they should do is not stop the discs-by-mail service at all.
I assumed they were just sending extra discs from the order your queue is already in as usual, but you’re right, I hadn’t considered that they’re randomly picking discs out of order. FWIW, the email they sent to subscribers reminds them to move their must-watch titles to the top:https://www.reddit.com/r/NetflixDVDRevival/comments/15t1thg/netflix_dvd_final_surprise/I do hope they have a fire sale for their inventory, but for the sake of fairness, I like that they’re not letting people buy discs before the service officially ends. I would suck if you watched titles on your queue go from available to “short wait” to “very long wait” to “nah, we don’t have this one anymore” in the final month.
Sure, I wouldn’t want it (a sell-off) until after they shut it down, or at least not until the last few days before, for the same reason.Not that I’m expecting it to happen, but I hope, if only because it’d be nice to get some stuff cheap, but also, what else are they gonna do with all those discs? Dump ‘em in a landfill?**(Probably, yes)
Although, really, what they should do is not stop the discs-by-mail service at all.Let this be your reminder that this service -is still profitable-. It’s just not profitable enough so it drags down the growth numbers.Capitalism. Is there anything it can’t make worse?
All these dumbshit companies would have to do is change their thinking to “less not-growth” than “more growth” as a driver for profit, and things would be so much better. Including profit!I mean, yes, it’s more complicated than that, but just that one adjustment would be a good starting point. Along with loosing grip on the maniacal focus on short-term.
Let this be your reminder that even Forbes looked at the notion that a company’s primary responsibility is to maximize shareholder value, and declared that “The Dumbest Idea In The World”.
Capitalism didn’t make an already-capitalist business model worse.It’s the shareholders that did that.
I assume it’s random, based on everything I’ve read. Today, after I opted in for this, I went through and did a cull to remove any movies that I would consider lowest priority such that it might be a waste of these bonus discs should they be the ones I receive.And yes, I would love to have the option to buy these for a heavily discounted price. I’m sure a ton of people would jump at that.
The e-mail, which I got because I’m a DVD/Blu-Ray die-hard, said to be sure to put your favorite movies at the top of your rental list. So I rearranged my rentals so all the older and more cult movies I can’t easily get are first….
Library of Alexandra.
I can confirm they sent me between 0 and 10 extra discs and I’m not even a subscriber (it was 0)
Technically, it doesn’t have to be 10 random discs from their library. It could be 10 random discs from your queue.
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Sorry friend, was replying to the wrong thread and couldn’t delete it 🙁
lol no worries
To complicate things further, Collider does actually use the word “random” in their piece… but in their case it’s referring to the NUMBER of discs subscribers may receive, rather than the selection of titles. So, it’s confusing wording all ‘round.
“To complicate things further, Collider does actually use the word “random” in their piece…”
Why is it so difficult to understand that you will be sent random titles that are from your queue? You won’t be getting specific titles, you won’t be getting titles 1-10 in your queue, you will be getting a random assortment of discs from your queue.
Random: 1) “proceeding, made, or occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern” 2) “of or characterizing a process of selection in which each item of a set has an equal probability of being chosen.”Get it? RANDOM.
Not necessarily. They’re still chosen randomly from within your queue apparently.
“0 to 10 random discs”“chosen from your existing queue”*sigh*They’re randomly chosen from your queue.
How absolutely stupid do you have to be to think they were just going to send people discs that aren’t in their queues?
Go find a ballpeen hammer and fucking bash your skull in please, because you are too god damned stupid to exist.
Plagiarizers always assume the blog they C&P from did the fact-checking.
Out of curiosity, I clicked through to the Collider article to see how they reported it, and while I wish it was clearer, they never refer to the promotion as a “giveaway.” I really think Emma Keates either misunderstood what Netflix was offering or didn’t realize the implications of her wording. That’s why I appreciate the Verge for explicitly saying all discs needed to be returned by October whatever.
It wouldn’t be AV Club if the writing wasn’t uninformative, incorrect, and poorly researched. Can’t wait until they fire the writers and rebrand as “AI Club.”
Considering it’s been close to a year since we had a music review, I think IV club would be more accurate. But that implies something…very different.
Brilliant! Take your star.
The real story is what are they going to do with all the discs once operations have ceased. Wouldn’t surprise me in the least if I read they’re all going to a landfill.
Well if that’s the case what’s the point of doing it at all. Giving them to users is an easy way to make someone else have to deal with them.
Presumably it’s to help people with long queues who aren’t sure they’ll be able to rip- I-I mean watch everything before Netflix stops sending out discs next month.
LOL I had a buddy whose parent’s used to do that, reminds me of doing that with VHS tapes back in the day.
::shoves external Blu-Ray burner back behind my monitor:: Why, Killa K? Whatevah do you MEAN…?
Not sure what they’ll do with the discs ultimately. Presumably they’re not going to pay people to place discs in their original packaging (if such packaging exists), but it’s amusing to imagine. They may also not be able to legally resell them under whatever terms they acquire the discs in the first place. So … are they just going to be landfilled like a bunch of Atari games?
I haven’t done disc by mail since the early 10s but I remember they often weren’t in great condition either with a lot of scuffs and scratches. The vast majority of them are probably completely worthless, even if they’d have been worth a little something if they still had packaging, so yeah they may just end up in a landfill. Though putting them in cheap long-term storage somewhere could be an option too.
Yeah, physical media has such an odd end life issue. Everything I’ve read claims that DVDs generally have a 10-20 year lifespan (presumably not accounting for intense wear and tear via a DVD service). So storage just seems like something shareholders would question. Landfill feels most likely.
Gods, I hope not! I’d far rather buy them from Netflix than let that happen….
What the hell is Netflix gonna do with all those DVDs? This would have been a great opportunity to get rid of all that crap.
When Blockbuster Online shut down, they sold all their discs in the stores, still in the mailing sleeves. I think they charged $2 for DVD and $4 for BD, or something like that. They were super cheap anyway. I bought several BDs, put them in generic cases, found a site with high-quality 300dpi scans of cover art, and printed them off at FedEx Office on the color laser.
Probably the crusher. They would have been bought under a rental license (and some discs explicitly ARE rental branded).If we’re lucky, the retail discs (they have a SHITTON of Criterons) will go to a library or something…
“They would have been bought under a rental license (and some discs explicitly ARE rental branded).”
Um, so? They can be sold as used, like every video store that has ever existed does/did.
That’s what I thought, but it’s weird that Netflix didn’t include that part in the actual e-mail.
awww….
So…do you get the KEEP the discs, or do you have to send them back?If you can keep them this is an amazing, fun sendoff – especially since it will be movies in your queue. If you have to send them back this is beyond dumb.
It’s unclear. Netflix DVD’s communications to customers say nothing about returning them, but apparently fine print on the website says they’ll *accept* returns until late October.Given how easy it is to keep their DVDs as it is (say it got lost in the mail, they’ll just send you the next one in your queue), I highly doubt they’re going to be trying to charge people for any they keep
Somewhere in my old house, perhaps somehow slid under a baseboard and trapped in a wall, is a copy of Casino Royale, unwatched and unreturned. Or maybe it got lost in the couch I replaced. The point is, Netflix is never getting that DVD back.And I still haven’t seen Casino Royale.
dude make some time for that. Casino Royale is great.
Peter Sellers and David Niven? It’s better than great. It’s sensational!
Just the other day I found two unopened Netflix DVD envelopes. I have not opened them yet because I feel like if I do the mystery is gone. What could they be. What did I, maybe, want to see over a decade ago but clearly was not that excited to see?
Schrodinger’s DVDs.
You should donate them to a time capsule!
Schrödinger’s discs!
This is could be a good, bad, or neutral thing, depending on which Casino Royale you’re talking about.
Come on, any movie that reunites the talents of David Niven and Peter Sellers must be pure gold, right?(I’ve seen that Casino Royale)
I have the last DVD Netflix sent to my dad after his death. Destroyer with Nicole Kidman. It’s been four years, but I definitely am planning to watch it some day.
But if they were sending Nicole Kidman movies to customers post-mortem, To Die For was right there!
They might count this as a free storage or liquidated asset. If their lawyer and accountant is good they could mark this as tax reduction.
You have to send them back, but the way the communication is so very vague (I received the offer) it’s almost like they want/expect people to keep them. I can’t imagine them fining anyone for unreturned discs. I don’t know why they didn’t just jump all in and say, “Here, keep these.”
The update at the original website says you are still expected to return them.
It’s a small typo but I’m amused that one of the great libraries in world history–if not the greatest–became a chick named Alexandra’s home collection.
I want to think it’s not a typo and Emma really thinks it’s Alexandra. Like people that actually think loose is how lose is spelled.
It’s the “epidamy” of ignorance.
I could care less what you think!
Ah, I miss the days of opening those envelopes, ripping the DVDs, and immediately sending them back.
SmartFlix was awesome for that. So many instructional videos are on torrents because of me.
Was SmartFlix the one where you sent the disc on to the next person, and they refused to do what it took to ensure that the USPS didn’t meter the disc envelopes? So the discs invariably arrived broken?Yeah, they were dumb.
LOL I did that with the porn versions of Netflix too.
The days are not over yet! You can still do it!
So basically, we need a competitor to rise as streaming services get more customer-abusive and bring back the DVD (or similar) rental business?
I guess it’s just Red Box now.
This article is proof that The AV Club is dead…
“Two copies of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Imporium?”
[Opens package from Netflix]Hey I got a Criterion-Aw man, it’s Tiny Furniture…
I can’t wait to get 10 copies of Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar
what is this “dvd” you speak of?
That would be the Death Valley Driver.
You gonna sign up for 10 of those then? 😀
Ahem. I maybe a grey-ray instead of Blue like the young’uns, but I’m quite here.
So are they going to have a big yard sale? Where will they finally dump these things?
Posted this in a couple of other comments, but Blockbuster Online sold all their discs off in stores when it shut down. They were all just in the little paper sleeves they put inside the mailing envelopes, and were priced accordingly—I think it was like $2 for DVD and $4 for BD. I stocked up on a bunch of BDs, put them in generic cases, and printed scans of the cover art. Up close, you can tell the cover art isn’t real, but from a distance they’re indistinguishable.Ever since I bought my PS5 and re-discovered my love for physical media with UHD discs, I’ve been working on upgrading all the DVDs in my collection to either BD or UHD. This could be a great way to do that if they decide to sell them online or whatever. Too bad they never rented UHD, though, as far as I know.
I’d certainly be interested. I also love my DVD collection.
I remember when our local Blockbuster went out of business and the DVDs were a buck apiece (if you bought four, you got one free. For every 10 bought, you got three free). My wife and I bought the entire BSB collection, loaded up on the horror movies and the other thing I remember was that there were dozens and dozens of copies (maybe hundreds, it’s been a few years) of “Syriana”.
The BackStreet Boys have a collection?
A lot of them were for sale at Dollar Tree stores.
I assume they’ll be sold off (or destroyed under some sort of agreement with the various studios).
Maybe they’ll toss them on top of all the Atari 2600 E.T. game carts.
They’ll dump them next to all of the old AOL CD’s and PC Gamer demo discs.
Does it cost extra?
At Netflix HQ… What the hell are we going to do with all these Pauly Shore movies? Nobody has rented one of these in years.
Bury them in a landfill next to the E.T. games.
I’ll take one each of Son-in-Law and Encino Man. No, really.
There’s an in-between streaming and hand-held media: files. Own your own and never worry! Nas is cheap.
You don’t get to keep them. Even if Netflix wanted to get rid of all their discs by giving them away to subscribers (which the article erroneously implies), their licensing deals with the studios are for rental only. Netflix would get into big legal trouble if they let people keep the discs.
Not sure if you have the answer to this, but how does selling former rental copies work in that case? Do they have to officially end the license, or do they naturally expire, or what? I’ve bought a ton of formal rentals from various stores over the years, including a bunch of BDs from Blockbuster Online when that went kaput.
Don’t know the agreements that Netflix has with the studios, but in the dark ages when a Rental Store went out of business they would sell their video stock (plus posters, displays and anything else that wasn’t bolted down) at yard sale prices. Who would pass on beta max and vhs tapes on sale? Not me.Closing this part of their business, they are first looking for someway to liquidate the assets and if that isn’t profitable, then they would look to write it off as a loss and trash the discs.
Ring Toss, anyone?
Not-So-Fun Fact!Back before Streaming, when Netflix ONLY shipped DVDs to people, they had a library of about 100,000 different titles to choose from.Now, if you’re in the US, there are only about 6,600 titles you can watch – most of them being from the past twenty-five years, and almost none of them being from before 1970.That’s a mere 6.6% of what was available before!Boy, isn’t it great how ‘Capitalism Breeds Innovation’?
I’m not sure who said ‘Capitalism Breeds Innovation’ (or why), but one of the reasons why they didn’t call themselves “DVD By Mail” was because they saw the future of the Internet (streaming being a possibility). Netflix started streaming back in 2007 and if you look around, about fifteen years later, the world of watching video has changed (innovation).
Netflix may only have 6,600 titles to stream, but they’re making more money than ever (capitalism). Plus, you, as a viewer, can watch nearly anything right NOW.
Personally, I use JustWatch.com to find what streaming service something is on. I can create a “watch list” there. When enough things to watch are on a particular service, I can take a free trial, watch those things, or maybe pay for a month or two to watch, then stop it. I also use the Hobi app to keep track of TV shows to watch or when new seasons are coming out.
Which is why I still purchase and rent DVDs, Blu-Rays, and UHD Blus.
Edit: I realized you were talking about streaming titles. They still have 10’s of thousands of DVD titles available. Or at least until end of Sept…
For a few years, like 1991-1996, I received the new “TimeOut Film Guide” as a present from a friend, and I read it cover to cover to cover, over and over. Alll these movies, intelligently capsulized, that I had no access to, but someday…Then NetFlix discs made my dreams come true, and I didn’t leave my apt for a couple of years. I saw EVERYTHING!!! Lola Montes!! Profondo Rosso!! Wes Craven’s New Nightmare!! Thanks, Netflix!
Awful reporting, the article even contradicts its own headline. Taking AV Club off my news feed.
I think they’re saying they’ll accept returns through october because they can’t legally force you to keep their trash. The whole point is to purge the dvd collection. Why would they want you to send them back?
Supposedly, you’ll be charged if you don’t return the titles (or at least according to some other articles on the topic).
It would kind of depend on what the charge was as to whether I sent them back or not….If it’s $2/disc? I’ll just pay them outright and keep ‘em!
For those of you who have a DVD plan but who didn’t get the email with the opportunity to opt in on the extra discs (much like myself), the Lifehacker article about this same topic has the link. https://lifehacker.com/netflix-wants-to-send-you-10-dvds-1850752439
I’ve been a longtime subscriber and didn’t get the email (checked spam folder, etc.) for whatever reason, so thank you!Edit: I completely forgot Lifehacker was spun off and haven’t thought to check that site until today.
This is highly ironic to me. I quit Netflix about eight years ago when they unilaterally charged me for a DVD they claimed that I had never returned (I had, weeks before) WITHOUT ANY NOTICE, causing my bank account to become overdrawn ON CHRISTMAS EVE. I never went back, and I intend to have a small party in commemoration when they finally go out of business.
“I got 10 copies of Showgirls!”
I don’t know if anyone is still looking at this article or if my little gray comment will be visible to anyone, but since a lot of people were asking and AVC doesn’t seem interested in updating or clarifying, I’ll post it anyway: YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO RETURN THE DISCS. https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/22/23841540/netflix-dvd-com-subscribers-keep-unreturned-discs