Before becoming the streaming giant we know today, Netflix used to distribute DVDs to paid subscribers. Alas, this era is coming to a close. To celebrate, the company has announced a special offer for older U.S. subscribers and those in their DVD plan.
The news was shared via email, telling users that it plans to ship 10 discs based on their DVD queue. Those who are interested must sign up before Aug. 29 and review their queue to ensure they receive their desired titles. However, this promotion comes with a catch. According to Deadline, these discs, along with any outstanding ones, need to be returned by Oct. 27th.
“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!”
When Netflix opened its doors in 1997, it was initially a U.S. mail-based DVD rental business. Members could borrow an unlimited number of discs online without worrying about due dates, late fees, or monthly rental limits. It wasn’t until 2007 that Netflix began transitioning into streaming.
According to Netflix’s DVD page, it has sent over 5 billion DVD and Blu-ray rentals. Similar to the streaming side, users can choose from three rental options: basic ($9.99), standard ($14.99), and premium ($19.99). To this day, its rental service continues to offer no late fees and free shipping & returns.
DVD and Blu-ray sales have started declining due to streaming platforms providing extensive movie and TV libraries for a monthly subscription cost. In 2019, CNBC reported an over 86 percent drop in sales over 13 years. We are also witnessing companies move away from DVD sales, with The Walt Disney Company halting physical media distribution in Australia and New Zealand.
Nevertheless, despite the decline in interest in physical copies, there are still people interested in purchasing them. This interest is especially apparent when considering that streaming libraries could remove titles due to licensing agreements or to cut costs.