Zip.ca buys VHQonline.ca

[i6s1]

I just got this in my email:

Dear VHQOnline.ca Member:

We’re pleased to announce that VHQOnline.ca has reached an agreement under which Zip.ca will purchase assets of VHQOnline.ca. Effective immediately, Zip.ca will begin servicing VHQOnline.ca members.

We notice that you were previously a member of Zip.ca and we’d like to welcome you back with 1,500 ZipReward points*, which can be redeemed for one-month of free service. It’s our way of letting you know we appreciate you returning to Zip.ca.

We’ve made a number of service upgrades since launching and our unique hybrid shipping system offers local mailing efficiency in seven Canadian cities (Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Halifax) from fully automated fulfillment centres in Calgary and Ottawa. Our 7 days-a-week, four-way help desk offers quick assistance by telephone, live chat, email and web-based queries.

Zip.ca also has the largest selection of titles in Canada – over 36,000 and growing. And with ZipReturn and ZipRefill you can receive more selections each month. Earn ZipRewards rewards that can be redeemed for services by rating and reviewing movies and for referring friends and family.

Existing VHQOnline members can continue to login to VHQOnline.ca for the next few months, however effective immediately shipping and fulfillment services will be suspended for 3 days while we transition to the new VHQOnline.ca powered by Zip.ca service. You will receive a credit to your account for the number of days that services are disrupted.

A bit of a suprise, I left Zip when they annouced caps, and given that VHQ is local I get pretty good turnaround. I hope they can keep it up.

[ewerx]

I am in the same boat. I switched from Zip.ca because of the slow turnarounds and their lack of list ordering ability.

I really hope they keep the VHQ system where you can order your list however you want. Just having 2 ASAP slots is really lame. I was getting everything completely random order, but with VHQ at least there is some degree of predictability.

Also, I left before the caps, but if they put caps on... bah, I dunno if I will even stay. Damn Zip.ca is totally dominating the whole DVD rental game in Canada and VHQ was one of their only decent competitors. I fear that this means they will be able to charge and do whatever they want. Maybe I will just go back to using B&M rental shops.

P.S. What the hell happend to onlinedvdrentalguide.ca and their forums??

[Jane]

damn! I hated ZlP but I've been really happy with VHQ. ZlP has too much of a monopoly now. If ZlP is going to be the only game in town, it's back to the local video store for me- I refuse to rejoin them.

And to answer your concern ewerx, VHQ members are now subject to ZlP's crappy rental model.

R.I.P. online rental service in Canada.

[i6s1]

P.S. What the hell happend to onlinedvdrentalguide.ca and their forums??

http://onlinedvdrentalguide.ca/forums/

Works for me

[AllWheelDrift]

Never was a Zip.ca member. I actually joined VHQOnline back when it was still Cinemaflow and the service and turn-around have always been good (about 3 days in Vancouver). I've heard the complaints about Zip.ca's slow turn around so I'm tempted to just cancel without giving them a shot.

I think I've also heard complaints about people having problems canceling their accounts with Zip.ca?

[hades]

I am in the same boat. I switched from Zip.ca because of the slow turnarounds and their lack of list ordering ability.

This list ordering is really ********. I can't believe they actually have a system where I get random stuff. Almost wants to make me want to cancel right there.

I really hope they keep the VHQ system where you can order your list however you want. Just having 2 ASAP slots is really lame. I was getting everything completely random order, but with VHQ at least there is some degree of predictability.

I've never been with ZIP, so I transferred over. They just dumped all my DVDs, which were nicely ordered to my preference, into one list from which they'll pick randomly.

Also, I left before the caps, but if they put caps on... bah, I dunno if I will even stay. Damn Zip.ca is totally dominating the whole DVD rental game in Canada and VHQ was one of their only decent competitors. I fear that this means they will be able to charge and do whatever they want. Maybe I will just go back to using B&M rental shops.

Agreed. Especially here in GVRD VHQ had excellent turnaround times. Never had a single problem with them. If caps come, then I will exhaust my list as much as possible then cancel. I don't need a 25$ service plan with a limit. There's a local shop with a similar plan with unlimited service, and I can simply walk in anytime as often as I want.

BTW, Forgot what the store name is called, it is on the corner of North Rd and Lougheed, immediately behind the Thrift Store or Salvation Army (one of those drop-off-your-used-stuff-and-they'll-sell-it-stores).

hades

[i6s1]

I think I've also heard complaints about people having problems canceling their accounts with Zip.ca?

I had no trouble when I canceled mine to to to VHQ.

[pothia]

I used to use Zip and the other one.

I really couldn't dig out that website in my head but it has a blue background on their website and its headquarter locates @ Quebec. The website looks much crappier than Zip's though. Anyone know what company that is?



Edit: never mind, it's called DVD hype

[Absolute]

Wonderful, Zip will buy up all the competitors than jack up their prices.

[mouf]

Zip.ca is not a profitable venture yet and no matter how zip's CEO sweet talk investors, the cash flow is going to dry up real soon. After 1½ year I bet those guys are eager to see results and this is probably their last large acquisition. The hikes will probably strike after the holidays. Smart peeps will rent as much rarities as they can before it happen then go back to local and wait for the free month for returning consumer email..

[YKdvd]

P.S. What the hell happend to onlinedvdrentalguide.ca and their forums??

ODG had a drive crash on their hosting server over the weekend - they are back up and running now (and there is of course a lot of talk about ZIP's takeover of VHQ).

ZIP's times to Vancouver should have been close to competitive with VHQ - they were flying their stuff directly to Canada Post in Vancouver, and I can confirm that I've seen postmarks through Calgary that are before midnight on the day sent to me. They've also announced that they'll be opening a full Calgary warehouse, which should bring down the return times a bit for BC customers.

Zip.ca is not a profitable venture yet and no matter how zip's CEO sweet talk investors, the cash flow is going to dry up real soon. After 1½ year I bet those guys are eager to see results and this is probably their last large acquisition.

This was actually their only large acquisition. I rented from from both Hollyweb and VHQ (actually Cinemaflow, back in 2004), and Hollyweb was no VHQ! MailboxTheatre I never even knew, and I don't think was in operation very long. Neither was the recent MovieBuffs - I doubt it had any great number of customers. VHQonline probably was doomed sooner or later anyway - VHQ was bought in June by the US giant Movie Gallery, which has made a number of statements dismissing the online rental market there. Since they sold off VHQonline so quickly they probably didn't have plans to keep it, and there may not have been any other likely buyers at the moment to keep it running independently.

As I mentioned recently on ODG, while ZIP is now the only big player in Canada, it is still tiny by US standards. They are probably about 1% the size of Netflix in terms of customers (and about the same as Netflix/Blockbuster even after buying VHQ), so even given the relative populations they are only around 10% of the Netflix market penetration. Netflix and Blockbuster seem to be concentrating their resources fighting each other right now (Netflix was apparently planning UK and Canada expansion this year then cancelled), but eventually they will look north, or Amazon might give it a fling (they have Amazon branded services in the UK and Germany).

Finally, yes, for many of us the current ZipList implementation is less than optimal (colloquially, it sucks, but it doesn't completely suck). Depending on what you have queued up, ASAP can work quite well (I get 70-80% ASAP, but don't do much new release ordering). The Standard stuff isn't completely random - aside from availability on the day, it seems heavily influenced by how close to the top of the ZipList a title is (which is a rough measure of how long a title has been in the ZipList, and is what the "Priority" sort column displays). The problem is that there is no real way to affect this order, and ZIP has stubbornly resisted making any improvements in this area so far.

[warpdrive]

Zip has a monopoly now, their caps will surely come into effect soon. This does not bode well. Where o where are you netflix? Zip needs a serious competitor to keep it in line.

[pothia]

I know I know..
Netflix R.S.V.P

[tescosamoa]

hmmm i have noticed a slow down in delivery for some strange reason last month I had the same amount delivered as the cap. Go figure

[HeatSeeker]

Zip has a monopoly now, their caps will surely come into effect soon. This does not bode well. Where o where are you netflix? Zip needs a serious competitor to keep it in line.

I believe their caps are in effect now and have been for some time. I used to be able to have up to 5 out at a time but that changed and I can only have 4 out at a time. The most I seem to be able to get is 14 in a month now. It used to be 16 or more at one time.