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Is renting the new buying? That's what we think is true and just what the Times believes too! "Renting is enjoying a renaissance after two decades of decline as cash-strapped families and young professionals rediscover the merits of it."

This is what they had to say:

"Another coveted piece of hardware available on the website is the Nintendo Wii, a games console released last year that uses a “wand” rather than a traditional control pad for interactive gaming. The console is out of stock at many outlets but you can rent one from £15 a day through Zilok from members in London and Sheffield. The new sell-out Wii Fit software can also be rented from GoodiesRental through Ziloks website for £8 a day.

Zilok lists thousands of items from all over the UK, such as badminton rackets at £5 a day, bar tables at £80, cordless hammer drills at £10 and even a Chinese cook at £60."

Four years after Athenes, finally the Olympic games are back! Surely an event to not be missed, Beijing has promised to show the world what it is made of.

It could be a great occasion to share and live this event live with your friends and family. Why not rent a 46' inch LCD screen, a home cinema or even a video projector, so you don't miss a bit of it!
Perhaps, the Olympics inspire you otherwise. Feel like being more active in this great summer weather and getting fit. With your mates, you could rent a football and goals to go play in the local park, or maybe a bike to discover those places around you you've never had time to see. Feel like driving a convertible sports car, whizzing through the hot air ? We sure do! Or perhaps now that you have a bit of time of your hands you would like to try yourself at golf. What about renting some clubs and heading to the closest practice range ?

Possibilites are endless, all you need to do is use your imagination and Zilok whatever you need!

A great August to all of you!

In this Elevator Pitch, Gary Cige, our co-founder is interviewed by the the Digital Content Blog. Get to know a little bit more about the behinds of this incredible story.

Zilok has a novel take on online retail, hoping to do for renting what eBay did for auctions.

Below, you'll find a small extract of the article

"

Explain your business to my Mum

"Zilok is a place on line where you can rent or rent out anything in a safe way. I'm not talking about real estate, but absolutely anything else: a fancy bag, a digital camera, a baby stroller, a barbecue, mower, scooter - absolutely anything. You can now make money from the things you have and save money on the things you want and need. If you know ebay, you can say we're the' ebay but for rentals.

"The idea is for you to be able to rent anything you might need in your neighbourhood or earn money easily by putting stuff you don't use everyday. Some of our members earned more than £200 in a couple of weeks by renting their cameras four or five times."

"

See more on The Guardian

Each and every day we greet new members in our community adding hundreds of new objects and making more transactions happen daily. Therefore we would like to thank you for your trust.

We would also like you to take the time to read through this guideline to renting online that we have prepared for you, may you be an owner or a renter:

• Systematically check your account. This not only allows you to be sure your telephone number is correct but will also inform you if one of your objects is rented out! Equally, you should invite your contractor to do the same.
• Attach legal documents to your account profile.
• Contact the owner or the renter as rapidly as possible after the lease's confirmation.
• Don't forget to sign the rental contract - either the standard one we provide you or if you believe that you can beat our lawyer another of your preference - when you make the transaction.
• Ask for a copy of an official document (copy and original) certifying the identity of your renter.
• Don't overestimate your renter's brightness and do explain how to use the object!
• If requested, don't forget the deposit, either in cash or check; it can be handy.
• Try as much as possible to avoid corporate checks.
• You should verify that the name on the check book is the same as on the person's official documents.
• Also, we recommend you check the photo on the document resembles the person standing in front of you!
• Always ask for your renter's telephone number and make sure it is correct.
• Please evaluate the rental after it has taken place, to make our community a better place.

We like to believe that we live in the best of worlds, but as we all know some come to spoil our ideals. So don't forget to follow these guidelines and your rentals on Zilok will go untroubled. Have fun, and remember money doesn't grow on trees, it grows on Zilok!

The summer season will encourage without doubt rentals of all kinds. You'll think of a car or perhaps a camping-car, or maybe even a villa for in a couple weeks time.

You perhaps already noticed, we have created a holidaysection.

Zilok however enables you to rent much more than that!

Had you thought about the barbecue for the garden, a tent for an excursion, a back pack to go on holiday on the other side of the globe, a Jet Ski for some fun in the sea, and, if the weather depreciates, why not a video game console for your children or a heating parasol to still make the most out of your terrace ?! Zilok is there to make your life easier so you can really enjoy yourself!

After being elected online by people as one of the finalist of the Startup 2.0 European competition, Zilok took the first prize in Barcelona!

We're very honored to have been chosen by people and the jury as the best web 2.0 startup in Europe.

Zilok is already the largest online rental marketplace in the world, with people from five countries already renting their stuff from one another: UK, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA.

The final of the Startup 2.0 contest was held in Barcelona, Spain, which is a perfect place to celebrate!

The jury included outstanding personalities from the entrepreneur, VC and media world, including Loic Le Meur, founder of Seesmic, Martín Varsavsky, founder of Fon, Mike Butcher and Ouriel Ohayon, editors of TechCrunch in Europe, and many others.

Thanks to all the jury members for believing in us, thanks to all our users to have made it possible, we'll make sure we're up to your expectations!

We are happy to announce that Zilok has been selected as one of the 10 finalists that will be present in Barcelona, Spain for the last step of the Startup 2.0 contest.

Over 300 Internet startups have been submitted from all over Europe and Zilok is one of the 10 remaining ones, ready to pitch next week for the title.

Startup 2.0 is a European web startup competition, with an outstanding jury including Loic Le Meur (Seesmic's founder), Martín Varsavsky (Fon's founder), Ouriel Ohayon and Mike Butcher (TechCrunch editors)

You can learn more about the competition on the Startup 2.0 site

London, May, 14th 2008 - Zilok, already the World’s largest peer-to-peer renting platform, today announced its full UK service launch – Now, anyone can offer anything for rent on the Internet.

Zilok.co.uk, the groundbreaking online rental marketplace, is changing the habits of online consumers. As new ways to consume are being created and explored, renting becomes a positive, sustainable alternative to buying and selling.

Make money renting out your stuff

We have too much stuff, yet we always need more. The same bicycles, camping gear, strollers and electronics that gather dust in our cluttered closets and garages will be needed, at some point, by people in the neighborhood. Wouldn’t it be nice if these people could connect and access the untapped wealth of resources trapped in our attics? Zilok does just that, by making all things rentable.

“You buy, on the internet, now you can rent!” is Zilok's slogan. For the first time, you can put your goods up for rent on the internet, and benefit from renting’s numerous advantages: keep more of your stuff, and make more money than you would by selling. The electric drill you only use once a year, the tuxedo or designer handbag stored at the back of the closet, your 3-person tent that you only use once in a while. Just think of everything you have lying around, and you’ll quickly realize just how much you have to offer.

Zilok.co.uk is a fun way to tackle over-consumption and the accumulation of stuff, multiplying the fun things we can experience instead of limiting our choices. All of a sudden, weekend projects are unlimited: a tandem bike ride, a limousine ride, a Wii championship, a kite surfing session... The most popular items today are digital SLR cameras, strollers, and scooters. Nicolas gives us a hint why: “I made 240 pounds over a couple months out of my D80, now I have a brand new lens!”

Rent whatever you want, safely, easily and around you

Looking for something to rent in your neighbourhood? Zilok.co.uk makes it simple and easy for you. Just type in what you are looking for and your location, and a list of available rentals in your neighbourhood will appear on a handy map. The conditions of rental are set by the owner, who you can contact online to make a rental booking. Need a sound system for a party, a tandem bike for a romantic weekend, or a projector for a sports night with friends? You’ll find what you want on Zilok.

Most importantly, Zilok.co.uk offers a system that inspires the confidence necessary for creating a rental agreement: a 360° evaluation (object, renter, owner of object), a standardized rental contract created for each rental, and an optimal privacy protection system.

“New movements by consumers towards renting, as well as technological advancements have made Zilok possible, a marketplace dedicated to renting. Thousands of members in Europe have already joined Zilok.com renting out tens of thousands of items. The online rental revolution is happening and hits the UK as of today ” affirms Gary Cige, CEO and co-founder of Zilok.com.

About Zilok.com/ Zilok.co.uk

Zilok is the online rental marketplace, where anyone can offer anything for rent to the community. Zilok went live in public beta in Fall 2007 in France and Belgium, and in Spring 2008 in the Netherlands and in the UK. Zilok.com was awarded Site of the Week by PC Magazine, elected the best European Startup by the audience of the Plugg Startup Rally 2008 and has already been covered by renowned newspapers like the Herald Tribune. Zilok is a member of the American Rental Association and the European Rental Association.

After Visa/Mastercard and Paypal, ClickandBuy is the third payment method available to Zilok users. We know that entering credit card information online is a hassle, here is another way to make it more convenient.

For more than eight years, ClickandBuy has been providing a secure payment solution. You only need to subscribe and type in your payment information once, and then can make simple payments in more than 7,000 online merchants. Now including Zilok!

Click here for more information about ClickandBuy.

We've been asking to our members since day one what they would like the most to appear on Zilok. The top request is more communication tools to chat and share with the community. We're proud in introduce our forum boards so you can do all that!

A couple months ago we introduced the feature that allows you to directly contact owners on their rental listings. We decided to go one step further and now we're bringing forum boards to you so you can ask other people about their renting experiences, what items worked best for you, what to look for when you're renting something, in fact just about anything!

This is a place for you to hang out with the community, share ideas, and help each other. You can access it all here.

With your member account you can post messages, respond to other members and create your own topic for discussion, you're in control.

To get started, we created three forum boards:

• Zilok Café: this is the hang out place. All friendly discussions are welcome.
• Questions and Answers: this is where you get help from fellow members
• Do-It-Yourself and Gardening: you're renting a tool because you have a project; get some peer advice about how best to use the tools and get your project done!

Forums are a friendly place, we set up a few simple guidelines to make sure it stays this way. Enjoy and engage in the conversation!