New Delivery Service Uses All Of NYC As Inventory

Just as we're being launched into the long, hot, humid days of summer, a new delivery service has beta-launched so lazy New Yorkers can stay in the air conditioning while someone else peddles to get Frappuccinos, or whatever.

Just like Kozmo, the ZipGigs crew will bring you whatever your (out of shape) heart desires. According to Brick Underground, that means anything except alcohol or prescription meds—which really is cutting out a huge demographic for them. But seriously, anything else and they're on it: your Shake Shack fix delivered right to your mouth, a post office drop-off, ramps from the farmer's market, and so on.

Co-founder Antonia Abraham explained it like this: “We’re an on-demand personal assistant. Our model expands upon what Kozmo did while providing additional services. [Kozmo and UrbanFetch] had inventory that they pulled from, whereas our inventory is New York."

As for the price range: expect a trip to your local Duane Reade to cost around $10 bucks, and an outer neighborhood jaunt to cost double that.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on June 2, 2010 2:00 PM

Comments [rss]

gawkthis

they only work 9-5, which is the same hours that many people in the city work. kozmo and urbanfetch were available to people after their work hours. 9-5 i can get my own starbucks.

Fatmama

that's right and what's the point then? MaxDelivery.com delivers 9am to midnight 7 days a week. Unless they pick up my pets, then they are a glorified messenger service.

asakasan

"Pedals", not "peddles". Please edit before publishing.

paulie

I think they're going to fail for several reasons (the fashionista fixie in the picture doesn't help).

But, what are their costs? All their deliverymen are probably hipsters who bring their own bikes. They probably get paid shit and rely on tips (there's no shortage of assholes on fixies whose parents pay the bills in this town). I'm sure the liability insurance is a huge cost.

I wonder how many employees they have who aren't on the streets.

JenChungsNewBra

So that's where Waldo is at!

Manitoba

Will they deliver stuff or only pick up?

In particular, I'd love it if someone would go to the post office for me and mail any envelopes or packages that need to be sent certified, registered, delivery confirmation, etc. I hate waiting in line at the post office with the myriad of ever-changing forms and regulations, only to be yelled at by the window clerks. I'd easily pay someone $10-20 to do that for me.

rickng123

ZipGigs can pick up and deliver items for you. So if you wanted to mail something at the post office, we can dispatch a courier for you to pick up your documents and wait in line for you while managing the window clerks.

kazubes

Why would you want to mimic a business model like Kozmo that ultimately failed? Hope it works out for them, Kozmo only really took off because the service was novel and the internet was mid-boom, but with services these days like Fresh Direct, free delivery for practically everything, and chain stores every other block, I can't envision this being profitable.

sxs

Also, both kozmo and urbanfetch tried to expand to markets outside of NYC, where, with the exception of pizza and maaaaybe Chinese food, delivery is unknown. Maxdelivery, which delivers almost anything (including alcohol and cigarettes) to Manhattan only, for example, has been doing fine for years.

virgilstarkwell

unlike kozmo and urbanfetch - both of whom kept inventory and thereby lost money on every sale (and, in fact, the bigger they got, the more money they lost) - this is basically putting a fancy name on a messenger company.

i could call my messenger right now and get them to go to duane reade for me and pick something up. they'd charge me for the delivery and the cost of what they're buying. big deal.

jibbly

It was inevitable that all these 20somethings spending tons of money on their fixies decided, hey, instead of pretending to be bike messengers, we can actually BE bike messengers! Ultimate street cred!!!!!!1!!

Not looking forward to these idiots riding like assholes on the streets.

Manitoba

Over/under for days until failure (as measured by shuttering operations)? I say under 10. Anyone want to generate the odsds?

Why no Rx? Is it a liability thing? I could imagine this would be a huge market for them, especially as more and more mom and pop pharmacies have closed over the years, many of which would deliver. You can easily authorize someone else to pick up for you over the phone, or they could keep a copy of an authorization from you on file...