Zip.ca: Not a Good Choice for All

As this blog has recently gotten a number of Google hits for those researching www.zip.ca, I've decided to add some of my recent correspondence with the online, DVD-rental company.

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We signed up for the free trial on Zip.ca last week.

We were able to view Zip.ca DVD's on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday of this week. They were promptly sent back the following mornings. It appears as if we may be able to watch three next week too. Unfortunately this number does not match our current viewing habits.

Your claim of 1 to 3 day delivery time is slightly misleading. It will always be a two-day turn around for people living near your facilities; yet on the other hand, it will always take at least a week for us because we live in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

What this essentially means is that people living around Ottawa get a theoretical chance to watch three times more movies than is possible for us. To put it another way, we would have to register for an additional two accounts in order to receive the same service as some other Zip members. Although, currently all customers pay $24.95 per month to be a member of Zip.ca, because of geography we'd have to pay almost $75 to receive equal service levels.

The phrase, "Unlimited DVD Rentals for $24.95 per month", as seen on your website, does seem to be a bit of a hyperbole.

I am not sure how this could be rectified and I know your business is just in its infancy. I am not sure how or if flexible pricing could work. It might be possible to vary the number of "checked out" discs depending on the geographic location of the customer. However, I am most interested in learning if you have any long-term plans to set-up multiple shipping points in Canada?

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Dennis; Thank you for your email.

We do have plans and ideas to set up different shipping locations in Canada but these plans will not be acted upon anytime soon. As for delivery times, I can see how Canada Post's shipping can frusterate some. However, we have had customers in B.C. get shipments in 3 business days, on the odd occasion we have even gotten a few people receive them in 2 business days. This is what the free trial is for though, to see how Canda Post and our service plays out with you and the area you live in. If your second shipment also took six business days (or whatever the exact time was) then it is likely that the service won't work out for you as best it could. In the end, you'd be saving $5 from rentals via a video store and probably isnt worth the wait. As I said though, see how long the second shipment takes and average out the times.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to email us at service@zip.ca.

Sincerely, zip.ca