The thing about Netflix is that it's maybe one of the best examples of a business that is known today as something very different from when it started. Most people think of Netflix as a streaming video service where you pay money to watch Ryan Reynolds movies on demand or binge-watch TV shows like Stranger Things and Ozark.
Most people do not think of it as a service where you go to a website and tell it what you want to watch and it then sends you DVDs in the mail. That is, of course, how it got started, and it's how many people first knew and experienced Netflix. I can still remember the first time I received a red envelope in the mail.
It was kind of absurd that you could pay a monthly fee and Netflix would just start sending you DVDs. When you finished watching whatever it sent, you would mail them back and the company would send whatever was next on your list. If you'd ever paid late fees because you'd forget to return a movie rental at Blockbuster, it was life-changing.
Even though Netflix has mostly moved on from mailing DVDs--it's even tried to kill off the business several times--it's still technically a thing you can do. At least, for a few more weeks.
That's because, after 25 years, Netflix is finally ending its DVD-by-mail business altogether. It's a bittersweet change for anyone who likes the healthy dose of nostalgia that comes from carefully choosing which movies to put in their queue and waiting for them to arrive.
We've known Netflix was bringing its DVD business to an end, but this week the company sent customers an email with a delightful surprise:
After 25 years of movies in the mail, we're approaching the end of our final season. We really appreciate that you're sharing movie nights with us until the last day.
Let's have some fun for our finale!
If you click below by August 29th, you could find up to 10 extra discs in your mailbox. These finale discs will be sent out on September 29th, our very last shipping day. You won't know if any extra envelopes are headed your way until they arrive in your mailbox!
There are a number of things I love about this. The first is that Netflix basically has big warehouses with lots and lots of DVDs that are about to become obsolete. I don't know if it plans on having a big yard sale to get rid of them, but as someone who has tried to sell old DVDs to random strangers who show up at your house when you have a yard sale, I can tell you they're not worth much.
What is worth far more is delighting your customers. Technically, I guess Netflix still expects the DVDs back. Still, surprising the world's most passionate DVD renters--which is what you definitely are if you're still paying money to have them delivered in the mail--by sending them 10 extra DVDs so they can enjoy them before the whole thing shuts down is really something wonderful.
The other thing I love is that Netflix doesn't have to do this. There was no expectation that it would do anything special as it winds down its oldest business.
That really is the point--it wouldn't be remarkable or special if it wasn't a surprise. You see, surprising your customers by giving them something they love really is the most powerful form of delight.
I don't know how many people still get DVDs in the mail from Netflix, but those who do obviously care about it very much. Maybe they don't like streaming services, or maybe their particular taste in movies goes beyond what you can find on the various streaming services available. Regardless, Netflix is using something that could be a sad ending to do something that isn't just bittersweet, it's the perfect way to say goodbye.
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