I recently joined up with zip.ca to supplement my TV watching and entertainment needs. After much research I found that Zip listed that they had a dispatch warehouse in Vancouver. This was good news and I expected that I would receive my DVD's within 2-3 days at least. Or so I thought. After adding a plethora of DVD's to my zip list, or zipping DVD's to my list as they call it, I was excited when my first dispatched email was sent within 3 hours of signing up. A great start; From start up to dispatch in 3 hours. The fall came when it listed Ontario as the dispatch depot....so nearly a week later I finally received my first DVD.

This experience with zip.ca echoes all the online ordering I have done from within Vancouver. The main issue seems to be there are insufficient warehousing options on the west coast or it is not financially viable for these companies to hold stock on the West Coast.

The other side effect of shipping from the East Coast is expense. Shipping charges go up and this also makes it a less attractive option for people ordering online. If the Pacific West Coast wants to make e-Commerce a successful business companies need to start warehousing and dispatching from within the region. This will result in faster shipping times and reduced costs.