---
title: "Yield to the Zen of Netflix"
date: 2005-10-25T10:47:19-04:00
url: https://blog.lmorchard.com/2005/10/25/yield-to-the-zen-of-netflix/
author: Les Orchard
tags: [asides, zen, video, dvd, netflix]
---

# Yield to the Zen of Netflix

I've realized an irony with our Netflix usage:  When we get a DVD that we *really* want to see, it usually gets watched and sent back on the same day it arrives.  But, when we get a DVD that maybe only I want to see, or maybe neither of us ends up in a mood to see, we end up keeping it for a few days—sometimes for a whole week.  We've yet to "declare defeat" on many choices and just send them back unwatched.  

This is weird, when I think about it: It actually costs more money to hang onto the DVD—in a rentals-per-month sense—versus sending it right back and possibly requesting it again in the future when we're in a mood to see it.  Of course, lots of back and forth with unwatched videos costs postage, but that's not our problem.

This seems like a sort of Zen of Netflix thing I should wrap my head around.  And, if Netflix *really* wanted to save some money and exploit this bug of mine, they should recommend things that I kinda-but-don't-really want to see—so that I hang onto them longer and don't squeeze so much value out of my flat monthly rate.

<!-- tags: netflix dvd video zen -->

<div id="comments" class="comments archived-comments">
            <h3>Archived Comments</h3>
            
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        <li class="comment" id="comment-221082369">
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                <div class="author">
                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.netwhatever.com/randomdev/"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=9024274111f82ec3f12591475bc2a2d5&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.netwhatever.com/randomdev/">Wilson</a>
                </div>
                <a href="#comment-221082369" class="permalink"><time datetime="2005-10-26T03:40:43">2005-10-26T03:40:43</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content"><p>That would be easy. They just need to keep track of how long people keep movies for, and recommend movies that are similar to the ones they kept for longer.</p>

<p>I wouldn't be surprised if that were standard procedure already.</p></div>
            
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        <li class="comment" id="comment-221082370">
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                    <a class="avatar image" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.coxesroost.net/journal/"><img src="http://www.gravatar.com/avatar.php?gravatar_id=3e12425a65c72d80bc36c5c8d696e667&amp;size=32&amp;default=http://mediacdn.disqus.com/1320279820/images/noavatar32.png"/></a>
                    <a class="avatar name" rel="nofollow" 
                       href="http://www.coxesroost.net/journal/">Will</a>
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                <a href="#comment-221082370" class="permalink"><time datetime="2005-10-26T13:32:02">2005-10-26T13:32:02</time></a>
            </div>
            <div class="content"><p>Heh. Yeah, we do that do. At the moment it's a scheduling problem: when will the girls be awake to watch <em>The Muppet Show</em> the same time that I'm home to watch it with them.</p></div>
            
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