Ebay + Recession = Zilok

A new website takes a page from the ebay/craigslist book to create a forum for peer-to-peer renting. Offering everything from electronics to party supplies to heavy duty maintenance tools, Zilok.com fills that niche in the market for the items that so many people want or need for just a few uses. Use it to get some rent a plasma screen for your next superbowl party ($250/day for a 42 inch in manhattan) or fancy camera accessories for between $3 and $40/day (a fisheye lens goes for $6/day in manhattan.)

The best part of this website is that takes the monopoly power out of the hands of companies like U-haul, which have traditionally been the only place to find a van rental for a day or two (believe me, I moved this summer and looked everywhere.) On Zilok I found moving vans available in California for $85/ day whereas my U-haul experience broke the $300 mark.

But that brings us to the downside: based on the availability of items on the site, it looks like Zilok started on the west coast and is only gradually making it over to the east. All the more reason to start using it now. Offer up for rental those items that cost you more than you should have spent, and in a few uses they'll have paid for themselves! That's what I call shopping for the recession.