There is a new trend making its way from people’s computers and to their doorsteps each month. It’s called subscription commerce - a term that describes businesses based online that let you subscribe to a product that gets delivered to you once (or sometimes twice) each month. 

It’s pretty awesome when you think about it. There are things most of us buy every month - or want to. It just makes sense to have those items delivered and not have to worry about when and where to get them.

The interesting thing about subscription commerce companies is that the products are actually not their biggest differentiator. Rather, their biggest asset is the fact that those items are delivered to subscribers at a predictable time each month. Delivery is now one of the top selling points for consumers and that’s something we’re really interested in.

Now, you can order just about anything in this way (seriously, check out this underwear company). Below are a few subscription commerce companies we think are pretty cool.

Disclaimer: a few of these companies work with us for their local deliveries - so we think they’re *exceptionally* awesome (but they actually are).

Blissmo- BREAKbox
Based in: San Francisco, CA

The Blissmo BREAKbox helps replace the bag of Doritos by your desk with healthy snacks by regularly delivering a box of great snack foods to your office. Blissmo curates each box based on their criteria of what makes a healthy snack.

Wittlebee
Based in: Santa Monica, CA

This kids clothing club delivers a box of fashionable childrens clothes to the doorsteps of parents across the country. Wittlebee helps choose your kid’s clothing box based on a survey of styles, colors and sizes.

Doorganics
Based in: Grand Rapids, MI

Doorganics delivers organic or sustainably grown vegetables to your home once or twice a month. With this service, you get what you get - whatever local produce is in season. During the winter months, they source vegetables from organic farms in nearby states.

Dollar Shave Club
Based in: Santa Monica, CA

If you were within 10 feet of the internet last week, you saw this one. Dollar Shave Club sends subscribers a razor each month. There are three different razors you can choose from, with different features and price points. If you were living in a hole last week and didn’t see their video, you should watch it. 

Figuring out how to get products to customers in a faster, sustainable and affordable way is the next frontier of local and online commerce. Is your business considering delivery? We happen to know quite a bit about delivery for business so give us a shout!

Holiday shopping is awesome, but wouldn’t it be great to spend time doing other things you like instead?

Did you know you can save 15 hours this holiday season (on average) by avoiding holiday shopping? Plus, you can help others earn extra money by helping you shop.

How do I ask someone to shop for me?

Go to http://www.zipments.com/jobs/new and fill in the details. Tell the courier (where indicated) how much the item costs and they’ll buy it for you. Just list how much you’re willing to pay them to buy it for you & deliver it. 

What does it cost?

You can offer whatever price you think is fair. How much effort has to go in? Will they wait in line for hours? Use your judgement - couriers can always counteroffer a price they think is fair. Historically, local deliveries via Zipments are $10-15 when they are within the same city and relatively simple in nature. Consider offering more for more work or distance.

How does payment work?

You only pay when you select someone to do the job. When you select a courier, you enter your credit card or PayPal information.

Couriers are paid 24 hours after the job is completed. If you have any questions about this, email us at support (at) zipments (dot) com.

What if the store doesn’t have the item?

Contact Zipments if this happens at support (at) zipments (dot) com. Once we hear from both the customer and the courier, we will cancel the job payment.

Couriers: you may want to call ahead and check on item availability before you bid on the job.

Have other questions? We are available ALWAYS to talk to our customers & couriers!

Email us at support (at) zipments (dot) com!

Happy Holidays!!

Season’s greetings to all of our wonderful Zipments customers and couriers! We wish each and every one of you a happy, healthy and blessed holiday season.

We all know how busy this time of year can be so the Zipments team has a few ideas on how Zipments can help make you more relaxed this holiday season.

Shopping can be an overwhelming activity during the holidays. Zipments couriers will get your shopping completed while you stay home and bake those cookies or trim the tree or hang up all those outdoor lights (after you untangle them from last year!)

Zipments couriers can pick up your groceries for your Thanksgiving or Christmas meals. Did you forget to pick up the pies for dessert or the pineapple for the ham? Let an awesome Zipments courier help you with that!

Each year, you stand in line in the wee hours of the morning waiting for those Black Friday sales to begin. You become cold, tired, and stressed at the thought of all of the items you need to get this year. Why not post exactly what you want on zipments.com and have a Zipments courier purchase it and deliver it to you? Let’s say you find two great deals at two different stores but don’t know which one you want more. Well, get them both! Use Zipments couriers to shop for you in two places at the same time!

Forgot to get a gift for the in-laws and the party is in a few hours? A Zipments courier will help save the day!

This year, don’t wait until Christmas Eve for that special gift. Have a Zipments courier pick up that “must have” item for your favorite someone before it’s gone!

Stressed out from planning the office Christmas party? Unload some of that burden by posting a job on zipments.com to have your party supplies delivered to you.

Did you order Christmas cards from your local printer but can’t find the time to pick them up? Have a Zipments courier get them for you.

Need to decorate the office and forgot the poinsettias. Just have them zipped to you.

Want to send flowers, gift baskets or fruit cakes to your clients? Zipments is your one stop source for all of your delivery needs!

Put your feet up and enjoy some hot cocoa and Christmas cookies. The holidays are a time for relaxing enjoying time with those close to you. Let Zipments take the stress out of your holiday season so your time can be spent with family and friends. This year, Zipments has you covered!

Happy Holiday’s from all of us at Zipments!

At Zipments we are always looking at ways to bring more transparency to our service. We find that the more customers and couriers know about each other and the Zipments process, the easier it is to use.

To help accomplish this, we’ve added more detail to the courier profiles. Check out some of the changes:

First, you’ll notice that the formatting is a little different. The lower left section of your profile lists the number of jobs you’ve completed. Remember couriers, the more complete your profile is (photo, bio, etc.), the more likely you’ll be selected for a job.

Second, check out the Verifications under ‘About Me’. These icons represent all the ways a courier verifies their account - PayPal, Phone, Twitter, Facebook and customer reviews. View the verifications page to learn a little more about each icon. If the icons aren’t present on someone’s profile, it’s because they haven’t verified that element of their account.

Couriers: to connect your Facebook and Twitter pages to your Zipments profile, just visit the ‘Connections’ tab in your courier profile once you’re logged in and connect them. Facebook and Twitter connections aren’t required - they just help you to tell a more detailed story about yourself.

If you have any questions about the new profiles just email us at support@zipments.com

Happy Zipping!

Part of what I love about working for Zipments is that we get to meet people that we might never have before. Cole has been into the office a few times doing deliveries for us & he has an interesting story. Thanks for sharing this with us, Cole! —Laura

My name is Cole Jackowski.  I’m a Zipments courier and I absolutely love it.

I’ve almost always earned my living on my own terms.  I need freedom in my work in order to feel comfortable and be productive; I need to call the shots to a certain extent.  I need to be in charge of myself.  I also prefer to have fun while I’m at it.

My main job is running my Etsy shop, which sells typewriters, pocket watches, and other antiques I’ve restored.  I do a fair amount of desk work and I spend a good amount of time at the computer, but my schedule is my own to shape.  Zipments fits into my work day easily, as I can choose the deliveries that best suit my schedule and location.  I’m intentionally carless, so I go for the deliveries I can perform on my bike or via the Rapid bus system; usually this means downtown/east side deliveries, as I live in Eastown.

Through deliveries I’ve made via Zipments I’ve become familiar with restaurants, buildings and neighborhoods in Grand Rapids I’d otherwise not know much about.  It’s always exciting to jump online to bid on a delivery, wondering, “Where will I go today?”  The Zipments Grand Rapids offices, for example, are in a building I pass nearly every day but hadn’t actually visited before.  It’s fun getting to know the hallways, elevators and offices of the buildings that make up my city.

I’ve tried setting up my own bike courier service before, but it was far too difficult.  I like Zipments because I’ve got a backing of legitimacy and a secure payment system, but I’m still totally independent of any bosses or fee-taking agencies.  Zipments does all the work—bookkeeping, marketing, mediating payments securely—and I just pick up jobs when I want them with a few clicks.  And it bears repeating that couriers don’t get any fees taken out of their payment—what I bid is 100% what I get.  As someone who fancies himself an entrepreneur, I love this.  I’m entirely independent.

The website is welcoming, and so are the folks behind it.  Garrick and Laura of the Grand Rapids office are always respectful and receptive to suggestions when I visit with deliveries.  It feels good to know that the business is more than just the website, that the people involved are willing to share a conversation and listen to me as a user with valid input.

Zipments deliveries are great for breaking up my work day and giving me an excuse to get outside and get some exercise.  As the business grows, I can definitely see myself taking more and more deliveries, and possibly making bike courier-hood a full-time job.  So far my experiences with Zipments have been nothing but fun and rewarding, and I want to tell everyone I can to get on board as customers and couriers.  As an environmentally conscious, bike-loving, web-savvy entrepreneurial spirit, Zipments just hits all the right notes for me.

The last day of my 30 Day Zip was a very special day for me.  It marked my 15th wedding anniversary - the day I made the best decision of my life and married my best friend, Laura.  Since that day, I’ve made thousands of other decisions.  Some good, some bad.  One bad decision I made was to let my weight get out of control.  I estimate that I’ve gained about 1.5 lbs each year we’ve been married.  Of course it has fluctuated a bit.  During each of my wife’s pregnancies, I joined her in the weight gain, though she had a better excuse for gaining weight than I did! 

Over the years I worked to shed a few pounds here and there, only to gain the weight back again.  Through it all, I always failed to focus on the primary issue which was my relationship with food.  I sought out food for comfort, for entertainment, for stress release…but it always failed me, leaving me with discomfort and feeling more stressed than ever.  I’ve often said that I love food much more than it loves me.  I’ve learned a lot about myself and about food.  I’m hopeful we can build a new, more positive relationship with each other going forward. 

During my 30 Day Zip, I’ve lost a total of 14 lbs.  Of course I was hoping to lose 15 lbs by my 15th wedding anniversary, but life seldom works out that perfectly, so I’ll keep pushing ahead with a diet and exercise that will help me shed another 5-10 lbs.

I’ve also learned a lot about Zipments.  Here are a few stats from my 30 Day Zip…

• I posted 46 zipments over 30 days with only 3 not receiving bids, resulting in Zipments working for me 93.5% of the time (I’m very proud of this stat!)

• The 43 zipments that were performed for me were delivered by 17 different couriers.  While couriers like David delivered many meals to me, I still had many couriers to choose from and I really enjoyed getting to meet each and every one of them.

• Each zipment I posted required the courier to purchase food on my behalf (for which they were reimbursed by me through Zipments).  Each job also included a delivery fee to be paid to the courier for their effort.  On average, my food cost $12 for each meal and I posted (on average) $8 for delivery fees…

• …however, since Zipments allows couriers to “bid” on jobs, what I actually paid for each zipment was sometimes different than my posted price.  Of the 43 completed zipments, 71% were paid out at my listed price, 7% were higher than my listed price and 22% were below my listed price.  Overall, I paid less for my deliveries than my average list price of $8.

Zipments is a very new and innovative service.  In designing it, we had to predict various economic, social and psychological factors.  As the service expands to support many new individuals, businesses and communities, I am very pleased to see how well the marketplace performs.  For me personally, it has introduced me to many great people and has helped me re-evaluate something that has been a major issue for me for many years.  I’m committed to staying on the right path with my eating habits.  I’m looking forward to seeing how both Zipments and I continue to evolve in the months ahead!  Thanks for following me on my journey.  I’ll be sure to continue with regular updates to let you know how things are going for me and for the business.

I can’t believe my 30 Day Zip is almost complete.  Truthfully, I had my doubts about whether or not I’d make it.  As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I had no idea the service would perform so well when I first embarked upon this adventure.  Obviously I could not have done it without the support of so many awesome Zipments couriers.  They really are the best!  Yesterday was another example of how wonderful Zipments couriers are and how they do a great job serving the needs of individuals and businesses in their community. 

Once again, I had a morning meeting that prevented me from ordering breakfast, so it was 1:00pm before I had the chance to eat.  Zipments courier Cole delivered a delicious vegan burrito from Stella’s Lounge, a great restaurant just up the road from our office.  When Cole arrived, we chatted about all of the activity in Grand Rapids coming from this year’s ArtPrize.  ArtPrize is an international art competition held for two weeks each year in Grand Rapids.  It’s an amazing opportunity for everyone to view wonderful works from talented artists around the world.  Cole mentioned that he was doing his part to promote Zipments while visitors were in town by proudly wearing Zipments t-shirts everywhere he went.  What a guy!

Cole visited me again later that day when we ordered some frozen coffee drinks from Biggby for our afternoon pick-me-ups.  During my 30 Day Zip, I’ve really cut back on the sweets, so this was a rare treat for me.

I had another great experience with a Zipments courier that evening.  After running my kids to all of their games and practices, it was around 8:00pm before I arrived home.  I knew it was probably too late for dinner but I was really hungry.  I should have skipped dinner but there is a restaurant in Holland called Turks Inn that I had been meaning to try, so I thought I’d post a zipment for a broiled chicken sandwich and seasoned fries (yeah, I know, not a healthy meal).  As 9:00pm came around I had my doubts that I’d get a bid that late at night.  I should have learned by now not to doubt Zipments couriers!  Around 9:30pm, David was at my door with my dinner.  The food tasted great (BTW, for those of you in Holland, you won’t find better food at a lower price than what you’ll find at Turk’s Inn!).

I’ve met some wonderful people who serve as Zipments couriers.  They are professional, friendly people who really care about the businesses and individuals they serve.  I’m looking forward to meeting many more couriers in the months ahead.  As we continue to expand Zipments to new cities, it will be great to form new friendships with people throughout the country…and one day, throughout the world!

Everyday we have interesting deliveries posted. Sometimes they are interesting because of what is being zipped, like the time someone had 4 Adirondack chairs purchased and delivered via Zipments that she found on Craiglist. Other times they standout because of the story behind their Zipments delivery, like one of yesterday’s postings in Michigan.

After heading back to school at Michigan State University, a student realized that he left his homework at his parent’s house in Kentwood! His dad decided to post his homework delivery on Zipments to help. Normally, we wouldn’t be concerned about this delivery being completed but Kentwood is about 70 miles away from East Lansing - it’s not close by. Surprisingly, the MSU dad received a bid for the price he posted ($20) from one of our awesome couriers and the student got his work in time.

This particular trip cost $0.29 per mile - a price unheard of in the same day delivery business.

Why & how are we so much less than a typical delivery service?

For starters, we utilize people who are in a location and already heading somewhere. This courier for instance was also taking cupcakes for Cupcakes by Design to Lansing so picking up this extra job helped to optimize his route and make money for a trip he was already making.

I didn’t get a chance to talk with this student but I hope he got an A!  College is all about problem solving anyway, right?

I’ve been meaning to do a blog post on a specific subject ever since I encountered it on Day 4 of my 30 Day Zip.  Fortunately for me, I did not encounter it again, so I want to touch on it here before I end my 30 day adventure.

Day 4 of my 30 Day Zip was the first time I had to miss a meal because I didn’t get a bid from a Zipments courier to deliver the meal to me.  Since then, I’ve only missed a total of 3 meals (due to no courier bids) over the past 28 days.  On Day 4, I was still very early into my 30 Day Zip and I had no idea how well the Zipments service would work.  I knew we had great couriers in our marketplace, but would a courier really be available every time I needed one?  Furthermore, would those couriers be willing to purchase meals with their own money and agree to be reimbursed 24 hours later through Zipments?  At the time I started my 30 Day Zip, we had just launched a new service within the Zipments marketplace whereby Zipments customers can request Zipments couriers to purchase items on their behalf, then have those items delivered at the time and location requested by the customer.  We knew the Zipments couriers were awesome at performing deliveries…but we did not yet know whether or not they’d be willing to make purchases too.  My 30 Day Zip was certainly a risky experiment both for me and for the company since I agreed to blog about my experiences daily.

By Day 4 of my 30 Day Zip it was still too early to know whether or not the “purchasing” service would work so when I did not get a bid on my breakfast zipment, I began to get very anxious.  A bit because of the business implications, but more so because I didn’t know how and when I’d eat again.  This is what I want to highlight in this blog post. 

Like most of us fortunate Americans, I have never in my adult life had to face the sense of helplessness I briefly felt on Day 4.  I would guess that most of you reading my blogs have also never had to wonder when and how you will get your next meal.  Yet millions of Americans (and hundreds of millions of others around the world) face that terror each day.  I use the word “terror” because any lesser word doesn’t quite describe it.  While many who struggle to feed themselves are forced to adjust to that way of life, it is no way to live.  I feel foolish to even suggest that I found myself sharing the same feelings as those who have far less than I do; however I can say that I did briefly feel a sense of helplessness (and even shame) at the thought that perhaps I would not be able to eat through Zipments.  Zipments is an extension of me…along with my team, I’ve put my blood, sweat and tears into it, so the thought that service would not sufficiently work to provide my meals caused me to temporarily question my own abilities. 

Over the past 28 days, I’ve met many incredible Zipments couriers who kept me fed each day.  My weight loss has been due to the fact that the 30 Day Zip restricts snacking.  Though I’ve had to miss a few meals, my weight loss is not due to starvation.   Thank God I have been given many blessings in my life.  Others are not so fortunate.  Each day millions of people wake up wondering how, when and what they will eat.  I can only imagine the fear they must feel.  As a father, I know the desire to provide the best for my children.  How devastating that must be for those who can’t even provide the basic necessities to their children.

I don’t have a solution to the problem, but I do think it starts with developing an understanding of those who face this problem each day.  I’m vowing to get more involved with resources in my local community that help those who go without proper meals each day.  There are great resources in nearly every community around the country.  I would like to thank those who have already made it their mission to wipe out hunger and malnutrition in our world and I ask the rest of us to find ways to lend support to this extremely important cause.  If the 30 Day Zip has taught me anything, it’s that we often need help from others to survive and to thrive in this world!