I live in San Jose, CA and I subscribe to Netflix. I suspect that the Netflix distribution warehouse in San Jose is close to my work (same zip codes).
Does anyone know exactly where the San Jose Netflix distribution warehouse is?
And do you know if they accept “drop offs”? (It WOULD save them the postage charge.)
Thanks,
J.
According to this article, no you cannot- they keep the address of the facilities secret to prevent customers from coming by and asking for a new release, and the employees who work at a facility who are members also have to drop and pickup via mialbox.
I seem to remember that someone here once claimed to get a movie the day after returning one. (For example, mailing it on a Monday and getting a replacement movie on Tuesday.) Is that possible, even if I mail the movie at the same post office that contains the distribution center’s PO box?
Why not?
I’ve mailed letters in the morning, and had them received in the afternoon. If Netfix was very efficient, and the mail worked out just right, I can see it happening.
They are very efficient, and they have a close working relationship with the USPS.
Netflix began a program some months ago with a new window on the envelope sleeve that exposes the barcode on the DVD sleeve therein, allowing Netflix employees in certain urban areas to scan the returns right at the post office before the warehouse even gets them. Netflix can then drop an outgoing disc in the mail right away and it can get there tomorrow. That’s fairly unusual, though. I live close to the NYC distribution center and I usually have a two-day turnaround. (Drop in the mail Monday morning, new disc on Wednesday.)
If you try to cut USPS out of the loop, Wilford Brimley’s gonna come give you a stern talking-to.
I understand their reasoning, sort of, but keeping your facilites’ addresses secret (if you’re not manufacturing weapons-grade nukes) is kind of creepy. “Hey, we’re going to sell you stuff, just don’t ask where it came from”.
I’ve heard this idea several times, both here and on various websites devoted to Netflix (like HackingNetflix.com) but it always seemed implausible. Instead, it seemed obvious to me that the window on the envelope is for outgoing movies (where, you’ll notice, the barcode does show through the window). That way, the pickers grab the movies off the shelf, the envelope stuffers put the movies in blank envelopes and then a machine reads the barcode and addresses the envelope appropriately. (So none of the employees need to know which movies were ordered by which customer.)
More importantly, I actually asked Netflix customer service about this over a year ago:
Q. On some message boards I read, some people believe that if they insert a returned movie in the envelope upside down, so the barcode shows through, the movie will be marked as returned at the post office. Is this true?
A. No, This is not the case. The discs will only get checked in once they make it back to our shipping facility. Mail is sent and returned using the guidelines set forth by the US Postal Service. Movies are returned to the address listed on the envelope, which is typically your Nearest Shipping Facility.
So I still wonder if it’s possible to get 24-hour turnaround on a movie, as opposed to what I think is the best case of two-day turnaround.
Netflix has a couple of facilities in Los Gatos; one on Winchester Ave. right next to the 85 overpass, and one on University near Lark Ave (by Vasona Park). I ride my bike past there all the time. I don’t think they’re set up to deal with walk-in customers.
A while back, I had a string of broken copies of one particular title. I called customer service and asked if I could bypass USPS and just pick it up. No dice.