Ottawa Family Fun

Ok, so I went to zip.ca and signed up for Two Weeks of Free DVD Rentals with Zip.ca . I have now been renting from them for about a month. Here is my unbiased opinion (even though I signed up for the affiliate program, this is really an unbiassed opinion. I promise!).

I love visiting my neighbourhood video store. The guy is great! I refuse to go to Rogers Video or Blockbuster because he is so good! But, I thought, zip.ca is giving away 2 weeks of free rentals (which really translates into maybe 6 free movies - since the movies have to be back to zip.ca before they will send you new ones, or before you can cancel the membership and not be charged.) But, I am really happy with the service! I have signed up for the 4 movies at a time option. I am not getting movies for me, but for the kids. All kinds of movies that you would not find in a big video store let alone a small one.

The following has been my strategy:
- Try not to keep a video any longer than 4 days (3 days is best).
- Send the movies back on Mon, Tues, or Wed. It usually takes 1 day for zip.ca to get them back and then send you a replacement. It is just a waste to have the item in transit for more than the 1-2 days. (Once you have been a member for over a month, you can just click a “returned” checkbox and they will send you a replacement within 24 hours).
- Make sure that I have a long list of movies for the kids.

Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:
- Plenty of choice for family movies for the kids and non-new releases are quite available.
- No late fees (but you are paying a flat fee, so if you keep 1 movie too long, you end up paying for it)
- Quick shipping - since it is right in Ottawa, the turnaround is really quick. I would suspect that anyone within 1 hr of Ottawa would get similar service (ie. Almonte, Kemptville, Manotick, … places that may have a limited selection of rental options)
- You get 2 ASAP (ship to me As Soon As Possible) options. This just allows zip.ca to see your top choices. I have 1 ASAP item that I have been waiting for for about 2 weeks. Before that though, they had shipped every ASAP I had asked for, so it just may be that they only have 2 copies.
- If you want to pay for something you can’t wait for, you can pay a rental fee and they will ship it immediately (but it feels like a rip off since you may be next on the shipping list). I think the only time this would be a good option is for a New Release you really want, or one with low availability.
- They have a very very large selection of items you may not find elsewhere (I would bet that if your local Blockbuster has it, then zip.ca probably has it as well).

Cons:
- You have to rent a decent number of videos to make it worth while
- You have to wait for an item to ship
- Even with an ASAP, you may not be able to rent an item immediately
- You have to select a bunch of movies you want to rent and they will send you them in any order (trying to send the ASAP marked ones first).

If you are interested, I have a link that will give you Two Weeks of Free DVD Rentals with Zip.ca (it is an affiliate link, but I signed up as an affiliate after I wrote the review and then I went back in and put the links in. I am experimenting will affiliate stuff to see if there is even a slight chance that you can make enough to pay for hosting…) Again, I only sign up for affiliate stuff if I am going to put a link to a product anyway.

By the way, I signed up as a Chapters affiliate, and they have not even sent me an email back yet. That is why all of my links for books are to Amazon.ca. I have shopped with both, and have been happy with Amazon, but sometimes it is nice to go to the Chapters site to see what is available in your local store.

Have a nice trip home tonight, take your time, put on some tunes and relax.

Ok, so I went to zip.ca and signed up for Two Weeks of Free DVD Rentals with Zip.ca . I have now been renting from them for about a month. Here is my unbiased opinion (even though I signed up for the affiliate program, this is really an unbiassed opinion. I promise!).

I love visiting my neighbourhood video store. The guy is great! I refuse to go to Rogers Video or Blockbuster because he is so good! But, I thought, zip.ca is giving away 2 weeks of free rentals (which really translates into maybe 6 free movies - since the movies have to be back to zip.ca before they will send you new ones, or before you can cancel the membership and not be charged.) But, I am really happy with the service! I have signed up for the 4 movies at a time option. I am not getting movies for me, but for the kids. All kinds of movies that you would not find in a big video store let alone a small one.

The following has been my strategy:
- Try not to keep a video any longer than 4 days (3 days is best).
- Send the movies back on Mon, Tues, or Wed. It usually takes 1 day for zip.ca to get them back and then send you a replacement. It is just a waste to have the item in transit for more than the 1-2 days. (Once you have been a member for over a month, you can just click a “returned” checkbox and they will send you a replacement within 24 hours).
- Make sure that I have a long list of movies for the kids.

Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:
- Plenty of choice for family movies for the kids and non-new releases are quite available.
- No late fees (but you are paying a flat fee, so if you keep 1 movie too long, you end up paying for it)
- Quick shipping - since it is right in Ottawa, the turnaround is really quick. I would suspect that anyone within 1 hr of Ottawa would get similar service (ie. Almonte, Kemptville, Manotick, … places that may have a limited selection of rental options)
- You get 2 ASAP (ship to me As Soon As Possible) options. This just allows zip.ca to see your top choices. I have 1 ASAP item that I have been waiting for for about 2 weeks. Before that though, they had shipped every ASAP I had asked for, so it just may be that they only have 2 copies.
- If you want to pay for something you can’t wait for, you can pay a rental fee and they will ship it immediately (but it feels like a rip off since you may be next on the shipping list). I think the only time this would be a good option is for a New Release you really want, or one with low availability.
- They have a very very large selection of items you may not find elsewhere (I would bet that if your local Blockbuster has it, then zip.ca probably has it as well).

Cons:
- You have to rent a decent number of videos to make it worth while
- You have to wait for an item to ship
- Even with an ASAP, you may not be able to rent an item immediately
- You have to select a bunch of movies you want to rent and they will send you them in any order (trying to send the ASAP marked ones first).

If you are interested, I have a link that will give you Two Weeks of Free DVD Rentals with Zip.ca (it is an affiliate link, but I signed up as an affiliate after I wrote the review and then I went back in and put the links in. I am experimenting will affiliate stuff to see if there is even a slight chance that you can make enough to pay for hosting…) Again, I only sign up for affiliate stuff if I am going to put a link to a product anyway.

By the way, I signed up as a Chapters affiliate, and they have not even sent me an email back yet. That is why all of my links for books are to Amazon.ca. I have shopped with both, and have been happy with Amazon, but sometimes it is nice to go to the Chapters site to see what is available in your local store.

Have a nice trip home tonight, take your time, put on some tunes and relax.