Ryan Dillman

Zilok.com, a San Francisco-based peer-to-peer website designed to allow users to rent goods to each other, officially launched today. Whether you’re looking for camping gear, computers, cameras, party supplies, tools, gardening equipment, sporting goods, or dozens of other rarely used items, Zilok is hoping you’ll consider renting rather than buying. They give the example of a power drill, a tool that only receives an average of 12 minutes of use in its lifetime, as one item that may be more economical to rent rather than buy. Zilok claims that there are thousands of other items that people often buy to use just once. Besides being more economical to rent, the site claims that it’s better for the environment as well.

While I find the concept interesting, I’d be nervous to rent out my hundreds of dollars worth of camping gear, for example, without a significant deposit and some sort of legally binding contract. The site seems to have a much larger potential for scam artist abuse than even auction sites like Ebay. I suppose you could ask for a deposit equal to the value of your items to protect yourself from loss, but this would make it unlikely for anyone to rent from you. Still, it will be interesting to watch Zilok and see if they become the Ebay of peer-to-peer rentals.

The press release received from Zilok is attached below:

Give New Life to Unused Stuff: Zilok.com Makes You Money and
Supports Sustainability with Peer-to-Peer Renting

SAN FRANCISCO, May 19, 2008 – Do you have a tent you’ve used twice or a digital camera gathering dust in a drawer? Do you need a power drill for just one project? In a world where a drill is only used for an average of 12 minutes over its whole lifetime it has become clear that even though we often feel we have too much stuff, we always seem to want and need more. After six months in live beta, Zilok (http://us.zilok.com/), already the World’s largest peer-to-peer renting platform, today announced its full US service launch, and with it a proven green way to make money from the things you have and save money on the things you want and need.

Make money, save money
The bicycles, camping gear, strollers and electronics that gather dust in our cluttered closets and garages are needed right now by people in your area who would love to rent an item for a few days rather than spend much more to buy it themselves.

Keep it local and be a green hero
By simply renting things you aren’t using to people in your area, you cut down on conspicuous consumption and encourage the reuse of everyday household items and electronics. With Zilok you help save on the natural resources needed to produce more stuff.

“Inspired by conservation and green movements in Europe, Zilok is the fun way to tackle over-consumption while expanding everyone’s access to the things they want and need—whether that is a scooter or Wii, a ratchet set or a tuxedo” offered Gary Cige, Cofounder and CEO of Zilok.

How to rent out just about anything on Zilok.com
Posting an item just takes a minute: Type in what it is, where it is and when it is available, upload a picture, set your price and choose payment methods. Before you know it you may receive your first text message or email notifying you that “Someone requested your item.” Not someone from out of state, someone from your actual area.

How to rent just about anything on Zilok.com
Just type in what you are looking for and where you live. Find the item, set the time frame of the rental and confirm the request with the retainer system. Next pickup the item locally and pay the owner directly. It is that easy.

What Zilok Users are Saying
Lionel from New York City: “I needed a twin jog stroller for a weekend, and found one on Zilok in my neighborhood. I saved time and about $200, for something I wouldn’t even know where to store.”
Brianna from Seattle: “We have a scooter we don’t use much but pay insurance for. I listed it on Zilok and told neighbors. The word spread and it became an alternative transportation mode for some people in the community. I made more than $150 over this last couple of months, I’m glad we kept that scooter!”
Tony from San Francisco: “My kayak doesn’t get out of the garage very often. I hate seeing things not being used, and I’m glad other people can enjoy it now it’s on Zilok. The extra money is nice, and I really like the community and the green aspects of it.”

About Zilok.com

Zilok is the online rental marketplace, where anyone can offer just about anything for rent to the community. Zilok’s mission is to support and develop peer-to-peer renting as a new, sustainable and community-driven way of consuming.

Zilok went live in public beta in November 2007 in the United States, France and Belgium, and in Spring 2008 in the Netherlands and in the UK. US offices are based in San Francisco, CA. Zilok.com was awarded Site of the Week by PC Magazine, and elected the best European Startup by the audience of the Plugg Startup Rally 2008. Zilok is a member of the American Rental Association.