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Evolution of the Netflix Envelope
Posted by
Zonk
on Fri Apr 21, 2006 08:21 PM
from the uhoh-used-the-e-word dept.
from the uhoh-used-the-e-word dept.
An anonymous reader wrote to mention an article over on CNN Money. They go into some detail on what seven years of tinkering has done for the simple red Netflix envelope. From the article: "Years of experimentation went into creating the perfect DVD envelope. In 1999, Netflix started out with a heavy cardboard mailer. With only 100,000 subscribers, costs weren't a concern yet. Then the company experimented with plastic envelopes, which proved not to be recyclable, and padding, which added too much to postage costs. Both top-loading and side-loading envelopes made an appearance."
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Careful! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Careful! (Score:2)
See? they thought of that alreaday. Netflix envelopes now have self-adhesive peel-off sticky bits. Nothing to lick 'cept your partner =_)
Re:Careful! (Score:3, Informative)
Perfection is in the pennies (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Perfection is in the pennies (Score:2)
Hmm..... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Hmm..... (Score:3, Funny)
Bar Code on Envelopes (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Bar Code on Envelopes (Score:2)
Re:Bar Code on Envelopes (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Bar Code on Envelopes (Score:5, Informative)
There are two possible barcodes on the mailer that are of interest to the USPS.
The first, and most common, is the barcode immediately below the address area. This barcode is a routing code derived from the address, and is used only by USPS.
The second, and optional (you pay USPS for it) barcode will appear immediately above the address area. This barcode is used to do 'package tracking' of a crude sort. It contains a code identifying the USPS customer (netflix, for example), as well as some arbitrary data supplied by netflix - probably including a customer id and 'movie id' of some sort. This barcode is scanned when the envelope arrives at the USPS, and the scanned data is transmitted to the USPS customer who printed the labels. The customer then knows that 'the check is in the mail'. The most common users of this are credit card companies and utilities (gas, electric, cable).
Beyond the barcodes, there is another USPS mechanism at work, which your 'netflix delivery guys' allude to. That is, for a fee, the USPS will 'aggregate' mail for a customer in a largely internal way. For example, the USPS allows you to set up 'virtual' addresses almost anywhere. Any number of 'virtual' addresses can be linked to one or more 'real' addresses. So, in the netflix case, they might have one regional processing center, and several dozen 'return addresses' for the surrounding area. The USPS then internally aggregates the mail at each 'virtual' address, and delivers it to the linked 'real' address. This can both significantly reduce the amount of time that it takes USPS to process a piece of mail, but also reduces the number of actual processing centers that Netflix has to operate in order to maintain the desired level of service.
And no, I don't and never have worked for Netflix
Parent
Re:Bar Code on Envelopes (Score:3, Informative)
perfect paper envelope (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:perfect paper envelope... NOT (Score:5, Informative)
I don't think their so perfect. I work for the post office and have to handle the damn things. I'm not the guy that stuffs your mailbox, I run the sorting machines. (about 95% of your letters are sorted by machine). Problem is, the DVDs jam the machine because they don't flex (enough). They need to be run on a special machine used to sort magazines. I regularly see their ripped envelopes and occasionally broken DVDs from the letter sorters, where they are mixed in with normal letters and difficult to see and remove. The envelope is too flimsy, and the adhesive sticker to "seal" it is a bit of a problem. It sometimes sticks to the adjacent mailpiece. You are seeing the result of "engineering" something to just barely meet requirements, to save a penny or two.
The Blockbuster mailer is great from my point of view. Envelope is sturdy, and fits and protects it's contents well. The NetFlix mailer has the floppy empty "tail" because it is rectangular rather than square. Difficult to handle to load into the machines. This deficiency requires more time to handle the NetFlix, so it costs more to process. But that's OK, 'cause you're paying for it by subsidizing it with your first class postage on other mail. You do realize you subsidize the discounted postage bulk mail pays with your full rate first class postage, right?
Parent
Re:perfect paper envelope... NOT (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:perfect paper envelope... NOT (Score:5, Informative)
Funny, I was always told the exact opposite. Namely, that the discounts given to presorted bulk mail were actually less than the labor saved by the Post Office as a result of the presorting, thus most "junk mail" and stuff shipped at the bulk rate is more profitable, on a piece-by-piece basis, than individual First Class letters. So that really it's all those catalogs and crap that are subsidizing the Post Office's ability to deliver your letter to Grandma for 39 cents.
If what you're saying is true, and it's the other way around, then what I've basically been told my entire life about the Post Office is wrong.
I just ran some quick Google searches and I'm not the only person under this impression:
"Most people are unaware that bulk mailing is highly profitable for the U.S. Postal Service and it subsidizes first class mail." http://www.lawmall.com/abuse/abe-mail.html [lawmall.com]
"Bulk mail thereby subsidizes low cost stamps for letter, magazine, and book mailing." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_mail#Legislat
&c., etc.
Parent
Re:perfect paper envelope... NOT (Score:5, Informative)
Kirby
Parent
poor economy (Score:3, Insightful)
Neat to see. (Score:5, Interesting)
That said, I've always wondered why Netflix didn't use more square envelopes. Some of the earlier designs looked that way. I wonder if it has to do with sorting or some such.
Re:Neat to see. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Neat to see. (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Neat to see. (Score:5, Informative)
From http://postcalc.usps.gov/mailpiecedimensions.asp [usps.gov]
First-Class Letter Nonmachinable Surcharge:
First-Class envelopes weighing 1 ounce or less require an additional $0.13 nonmachinable surcharge if any one of the following apply:
* It is a square letter
* It contains very rigid items such as wood or metal
* It has clasps, string, buttons, or similar closure devices
* It has an address parallel to the shorter dimension of the letter
* It contains items such as pens that cause the surface to be uneven
* The length divided by height is less than 1.3 or more than 2.5 (calculate this below)
Parent
Does the barcode need to be in the window? (Score:3, Interesting)
Would I save them any time by ensuring it is visible? Can anyone from Netflix corp answer this?
Re:Does the barcode need to be in the window? (Score:2)
Re:Does the barcode need to be in the window? (Score:5, Interesting)
I have the same theory. I played around with different PO drop box's on my route to work (different Postal districts) and discovered on a basis of less than 6 returns that orientation seams more important. I think it was 2 out of 6 got back the next day when oriented incorrectly. more like 3 out of 4 if correctly oriented.
If this were truly the case, since they re-use the cotton sleve, why they dont print the barcode in all 4 orientations, or at least encourage people to orient. randomly it would only be 1 in 8 dvd's to get the window correctly set. if they printed 4 on one side it would be 50/50 if it were both sides you could get 100%
since they allow you to return multiple dvd's in a single envelope, the importance of the barcode may not be so great to them.
Parent
evolution and intelligent design (Score:4, Funny)
Only a pointless flame war can guide me through this conundrum. That's why I'm turning to you, O Wise Slashdotters.
This is how it works... (Score:5, Insightful)
(*: And computers only seem special for two reasons: One, most fields don't get to experience exponential growth for decades at a time, and two, you know more about them. There's a lot going on under the hood of any number of other products, too. Familiarity breeds contempt; so does ignorance.)
Re:This is how it works... (Score:2)
Re:This is how it works... (Score:5, Interesting)
From: http://changingminds.org/analysis/betty_crockers_
Betty Crocker's Egg
Analysis > Betty Crocker's Egg
The story
In the early 50s Freud's psychotherapeutic approaches were sweeping America, even to the point where the CIA was trying to use it for mass-control of the population. Although these alarming mind-control experiments had limited success at best, there were some notable successes, particularly in promotion.
A place where it proved successful was in the unassuming kitchens of middle-class families. Betty Crocker Foods had produced an instant cake-mix. All you needed to do was to add water to the supplied powder. By today's standards, the result was probably quite unpalatable, but then, it was something of a miracle.
The problem was that the miracle mixture did not sell. Undaunted, Betty turned to the new science of psychoanalysis to help solve the problem.
The conclusion of the psychoanalysts that she employed was that the although the average American housewife very much appreciated the convenience of the cake mix, she felt guilty at deceiving her husband and other guests into thinking she had worked hard for them when, in fact, she had done very little work.
Their answer: add an egg.
An egg also has the connotation of life and birth, making the creation of the cake more meaningful -- the housewife thus 'gives birth' for her husband.
Changing the recipe to add an egg to the mixture (which was suitably modified to make space for one egg's worth of protein and cholesterol) offered the guilty housewife a way out. By doing more than adding water, by adding a real ingredient, she could assuage her guilt.
The result: sales soared.
Freud 1, Housewives 0
Comment
Was it all so Freudian? Were the housewives feeling guilty? Maybe -- but there are other explanations. For example:
* Eggs are known for their nutritional value. Adding nutrition would seem to result in a better cake.
* It may assuage guilt to add an egg, but the Freudian 'birth' stuff could be theoretical nonsense.
* Doing work adds investment to the process, thus creating a sense of ownership.
The bottom line, however, is that it worked. In today's pre-packaged economy, there may be opportunity for purveyors of instant, one-shot goods to add a little activity into the process that actually increases sales.
See also
Parent
My Postman (Score:5, Funny)
Re:My Postman (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
I hate the paper ones... (Score:5, Informative)
Plus, I can't send it back with a different movie because we only get one at a time.
Similar, but different, ... (Score:2)
Did Netflix try origami? [ghh.com]
Not Perfect Yet (Score:2)
Question (Score:4, Interesting)
Still room for improvement (Score:3, Insightful)
The fact that there is an "OPEN ALONG EDGE" notice says to me they aren't done innovating. I should be able to open it naïvely the first and get at my disk without worrying about damaging the return envelope.
I hope Ubuntu sees this (Score:4, Funny)
Redbox beats red envelope hands down.... (Score:3, Informative)
Imagine being able to go online and request any movie you want, and be watching it within the hour. (OK, other than using BitTorrent!). You just go down to the local Redbox kiosk and pick it up within the hour.
This is on the way, and you can't beat the current prices ($1/day) for new releases. And, there is a website with Redbox codes [insideredbox.com] where you can get A LOT of free rentals, too.
So, if you are in one of 10 major metros [mappoint.net] you can get this today.
So, forget the red envelope, and get ready for the Redbox.
Evolution? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Evolution? (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
What Pure Bullshit (Score:3, Informative)
Weight (within reason) shouldn't be an issue. You can send letters up to 1 ounce, for base USPS postage. Since a DVD only weighs half that, and they only send one at a time, they could have very heavy envelopes before it would cost them any extra money. I think it would be a good idea for them to send 2 at a time (and in an envelope 2/3rds as large) which would make this more of an issue, but that's another story.
DVDs will occasionally break in the mail, no matter what. An envelope would have to be incredibly strong to even slightly reduce the incidents of damage. So, it's the DVD's own strength and flexibility that keeps them from breaking, which has NOTHING to do with the mailer. The envelope is just scratch-protection...
Re:Damn! I was SO interested in the history of the (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Damn! I was SO interested in the history of the (Score:2)
Re:Crappy cheap envelope (Score:2)
"2001
Foam padding is dropped because the benefits don't justify the cost. The company gives top-loading another try."
Re:Synopsis (Score:4, Insightful)
I guess it's just the idea that incremental progress is quite fascinating when you look at it all at once.
That said, I also think it would be cool to see something on the evolution of slashdot interfaces,
Parent
Wrong units, its 3 days per movie (Score:3, Informative)
You are correct in that it works out to "3", but your units are wrong.
It is 1 movie per subscriber every 3 days which is in keeping with my personal use.
12.6Mil per day would be 3 movies per subscriber.
Re:Lies from the article (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Lies from the article (Score:3, Informative)
If you ship 10 DVDs on one day, and it takes 3 days to get to the destination, you would still have 10 DVDs in-transit per day.
It sounds funny, knowing what's "in-transit" is an important inventory metric.
Plus, they might be counting the return trips as well.
It's impossible to know, however, without having the underlying data.
Re:big deal (Score:3, Insightful)
You may not have to be an engineer to send a letter, but to design an envelope that protects the DVD being sent while minimizing cost and customer frustration is quite a bit more complicated than simply sending a letter.
By continually evaluating and optimizing their envelopes, Netflix has been able to both save quite a bit of money (as someone above pointed out, saving 1 cent on every envelope adds up quick when you're sending
Except we're not sending letters (Score:3, Insightful)
In case you weren't aware, DVDs have several properties unlike letters:
1) Rigid
2) Reflective
3) Smooth
If your package alters any of those three properties then your DVD has become a coaster.
Additionally your package has other constraints outside of mailing DVDs:
1) Easy to use
2) Cheap
3) Useful
Cheap means making them lighter and more durable. Useful means making them more productive in the warehouse and as advertising. Easy to use means more users.