9 ms·

I wish there was a startup in this space. I have so much house maintenance stuff. For example, I only really need a ladder once a year. But I keep it around

• JoeAltmaier 11y ago
  Yeah I tried renting stuff like camping gear, instead of owning it. The University athletic services was glad to rent me old-fashioned heavy tents and so on. For about $50 per campout. It was about the same price to buy good stuff, and use it a dozen times! I'm suspicious that an own-in-common club or organization would end up asking me to pay too much for old stuff. It'd be hard to avoid - they'd want to depreciate it all or whatever. A hard startup to invent.
  • Pxtl 11y ago
    I think you're underestimating the cost of good equipment. Yes, a bunch of fragile Coleman gear at Walmart will all fit into that budget, but it would be quickly destroyed if put through the "government mule" life cycle of rented goods.
    • JoeAltmaier 11y ago
      Pffft. I bought 3lb backpacker 2-man tents on sale for $200. Used them carefully, they lasted for 25+ trips. Oh! I see - yes those tents were fragile and high-tech and would have probably lasted less long in general use. So that's part of the problem - rental to the public is hard on equipment. Again, its hard to see a startup model here that would work.
      • Pxtl 11y ago
        Somewhat offtopic, how often did you have to re-seal the seams on those? I brought out some nice old tents a summer or two ago that had served me well as a kid and sadly found that it was as waterproof as a sieve.
        • JoeAltmaier 11y ago
          Never done it. Those backpacker tents were made of some strange tacky fabric that felt like gel?! Anyway they lasted 5 years and then got lost (loaned out and never came back)
    • Grishnakh 11y ago
      That "fragile gear" is lightweight and a lot better for hauling on backpacking trips. If you're not a gorilla and are careful with stuff, it'll last for decades. I had a cheap nylon tent that was probably 25 years old when I finally got rid of it; I sold it for $5 in a garage sale and it was still in great condition even though I used it extensively in Boy Scouts. I replaced it with a newer, nicer nylon tent that I barely use. No, these tents probably won't hold up well with careless renters who don't care about taking care of stuff and abuse stuff. So why should I pay the same amount as a brand-new nylon test for some crappy old canvas tent with mold, which weighs 10 times as much, just so I don't have to own a tent? It makes no sense at all. I'd rather have a nice, clean tent that I own, and I can grab any time someone wants to go camping with me. Tents don't take up that much space when folded up. And even if the Walmart tent only lasts 3 trips, you'll still be saving money over the crappy rental tent.
• danans 11y ago
  In my neighborhood we all borrow each others gear, whether it's home improvement stuff, or occasionally used outdoor sports gear. Any startup in this space would have to establish the "trust" feature of a sharing community, which is a feature that a friendly neighborhood has built-in. You might be on to something if you find an easy way for people to publish their inventory of stuff to a trusted group of neighbors, maybe with a smartphone app to take pics of the gear? That way you leverage the trust that already exists, and just make the publishing and discovery process easier. We use Nextdoor and our street's email mailing list for this all the time. EDIT: Nextdoor and email lists only provide the in-group communication solution, not the inventory solution. It would be interesting to see an inventory solution that worked with a variety of communication services.
  • ycmbntrthrwaway 11y ago
    Instead of trust, it may be possible to rent stuff in usual way by leaving a deposit and paying per hour for using someone else's tool.
    • eitally 11y ago
      And there are plenty of companies all over the world who operate profitably renting tools & equipment to homeowners.
      • Grishnakh 11y ago
        Yeah, and the stuff they rent is probably mostly old junk and beat to hell because renters don't take care of stuff. It's probably a lot cheaper to just go to Harbor Freight and buy a tool there than to rent something.
        • jessaustin 11y ago
          This really varies. On numerous occasions, I've gone to the rental place, taken one look at the machine, and then immediately left said rental place. Once, I had to wait for the dude to take the brand-new backpack leaf blower out of the box and pour in the first bottle of oil. I had no problem waiting that time. It's always a good idea to have the dude start the motor before you load up. Harbor Freight is great for hand tools you'll use occasionally, or power tools you'll use rarely. There's a reason people who use those tools for a living shop elsewhere.
• simonebrunozzi 11y ago
  I am mingling with a startup idea (that I can't really build now, but perhaps in 4-5 years, for various reasons) that would solve your problem; however, I concluded that the only way to solve it is to live in a crowded area (like in a condo) and have a dedicated storage area for this. I can't think of any other way to efficiently and cost-effectively handle this.
• marincounty 11y ago
  There's a place in Berkeley CA. I forget the name, but they loan out stuff like tools, and I believe camping/sporting stuff. They run it like a library. I always thought it was a great service.
• vox_mollis 11y ago
  Prior to our modern atomized ways of living as individuals instead of parts of a community, most people solved this problem by getting to know one's neighbors and community members and borrowing amongst each other.
  • nsxwolf 11y ago
    Doubting this. I lived with my grandparents for awhile in the 1980s, in their neighborhood which was established in the 1950s. I remember everybody had their own everything - tools, lawnmowers, snowblowers, ladders etc. Borrowing happened, but there were socially acceptable reasons for it - something was broken, you just moved in from the city and hadn't bought everything you needed yet, etc. Anyone who habitually borrowed the same thing over and over just because they didn't want to buy it would have been ostracized.
  • andrei_says_ 11y ago
    That's exactly how it worked in my community when I was growing up. But-- people had significantly lesser buying power and tools were significantly more expensive. So it was always getting it from a friend or a friend of a friend. Consequently there were many cases where relationships would get tense because of late/non-returns.
  • andrei_says_ 11y ago
    That's exactly how it worked in my community when I was growing up. But-- people had significantly lesser buying power and tools were significantly more expensive. So it was always getting it from a friend or a friend of a friend. Consequently there were many cases where relationships would get tense because of late/non-returns.
• enjo 11y ago
  There are things like the Denver Tool Library (http://denvertoollibrary.org/ http://denvertoollibrary.org/) that help to solve this problem. What I want is a delivery version. I'd pay $xx/month for access to tools and other household items I rarely need along with $x per delivery and pickup to not have to go get them.
  • jimkri 11y ago
    >What I want is a delivery version. I'd pay $xx/month for access to tools and other household items I rarely need along with $x per delivery and pickup to not have to go get them. This reminded me of a startup idea that I have, I think one of the biggest items that could be rented out would be generators. Right before a storm hits deliver the generator and once power is back up, pick them up.
    • raisedbyninjas 11y ago
      This is a big problem with the community sharing model. It seems like at least twice the hassle of craigslist exchanges since you have to coordinate two physical meetings rather than one. Then there's the whole issue of the borrower isn't quite done with the object yet, please try again next week.
    • jessaustin 11y ago
      Generators are likely not to be available right before a storm hits. Ownership is really the only model that works for items that are needed at exactly the same time, by everyone who would ever need them.
  • sliverstorm 11y ago
    That sounds like a rather niche problem. Most people do not have lots of money to burn and no free time. Maybe you could hire an Uber or a Task Rabbit to go pick up your tool.
  • Grishnakh 11y ago
    The cost of renting something and having to pay for delivery is probably going to be more than just buying it outright and owning it after that for whenever you need it again. Plus, the rental company is undoubtedly going to charge you jacked-up late fees when it turns out you don't get your project done on time and need to keep the tool for another day. When it's so cheap to just go buy a workable tool from Harbor Freight, or a really nice tool from Home Depot, why bother renting some beat-up, abused, crappy tool from a rental place? On top of that, when I need a tool for something, I sure as hell don't want to sign up and have to wait a week for it, I need it now to fix something. I may not use it often, but when I do need it, it's invaluable to have it immediately ready to use.
• ashmud 11y ago
  I am surprised big box hardware stores do not have programs to rent out bigger ladders. Personally, I do need a smaller ladder frequently, though. Community/family can be a good way to share tools, too. I have re-bought tools/parts I was fairly certain I already had, but simply did not have the time to sift through things to find. Especially for home projects that I had a small window to work on and I did not do my due diligence ahead of time to look for them.
  • vonmoltke 11y ago
    > I am surprised big box hardware stores do not have programs to rent out bigger ladders. They do. I rented one several months ago to change some can lights on a 15' ceiling. They have basic power tools as well, though the selection is spotty from store to store.
    • VLM 11y ago
      > "though the selection is spotty from store to store." Need a middleman "broker" with accurate local data and up to the minute stocking data. There's two "close" home depots and a local lumberyard with rentals and a regional contractor supply and a local contractor supply. Which of those five rental agencies has a stump grinder for rent tonight? Check back with me in 30 minutes. Would be nice to have an app that could tell me instantly...
  • munificent 11y ago
    They do, actually. Home Depot has a large rental department. You can rent ladders here: http://www.homedepot.com/c/painting_and_wall_equipment_rental#ladder http://www.homedepot.com/c/painting_and_wall_equipment_renta...
  • dragontamer 11y ago
    The hard part about renting big ladders is transporting them. There are plenty of big-name places like Home Depot or Lowes that rent out their equipment like that.
  • mitchtbaum 11y ago
• deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
• nbclark 11y ago
  I think that's what omni is trying to solve. Store your stuff and have it delivered on demand. Then the next stage would be to allow you to rent it out. Cool idea... https://www.beomni.com/ https://www.beomni.com/
  • ryandelk 11y ago
    Stay tuned :)
• kamilszybalski 11y ago
  https://shareshed.ca https://shareshed.ca
• tcfunk 11y ago
  One of the local Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores here in Des Moines has a tool library that you can use for $200/year (or less depending on income). I just recently moved into a rental home and am virtually tool-less, so I'm considering it for the upcoming summer.
• jsingleton 11y ago
  http://www.streetbank.com http://www.streetbank.com We were discussing just this at a Cleanweb event last night.
• coldtea 11y ago
  >I wish there was a startup in this space. I have so much house maintenance stuff. For example, I only really need a ladder once a year. But I keep it around forever because when you need a ladder, you need a ladder. I would love to not have to store and maintain all this stuff and to just request it on demand. Can someone solve that for me? Actually there is a sorta famous example of a startup that tried to do just that -- or close, they tried to build a social site for people to easily borrow whatever (ladder, chainsaw, etc) from other people in their area. Turns out, most people said it was a great idea and encouraged them, and they even got lots of signups, but people really don't like dealing with strangers for such things, and nobody used the service in practice. A, found it: >There was just one problem. As Adam Berk, the founder of Neighborrow, puts it: "Everything made sense except that nobody gives a shit. They go buy [a drill]. Or they just bang a screwdriver through the wall." http://www.fastcompany.com/3050775/the-sharing-economy-is-dead-and-we-killed-it http://www.fastcompany.com/3050775/the-sharing-economy-is-de... and http://entrepreneurship.org/resource-center/lessons-from-failure-borrowing-tools-from-your-neighbors.aspx http://entrepreneurship.org/resource-center/lessons-from-fai...
  • Disruptive_Dave 11y ago
    >There was just one problem. As Adam Berk, the founder of Neighborrow, puts it: "Everything made sense except that nobody gives a shit. Ah, the good old realities of consumer marketing.
• hengheng 11y ago
  Quite the opposite. Give me a "house improvement standard kit" and a well thought-out place to store it. A well-organized compartment, decent-quality tools that actually make sense, some extendability, and make it take up no space space at all whenever I don't need it. Charge $1000 (€1000) for it, and everybody will buy it along with their house once you've built a brand.
  • jessaustin 11y ago
    Oh god no. I've been collecting tools for decades. When I need another one, I buy it. The last thing I need is a giant box of which I already have 80%.
• dheera 11y ago
  Me too. I wish there were an "Uber for photography lenses", an "Uber for power tools", and so on which deliver these items to you on demand, pick them back up when you're done, and charge appropriately you for the rental.
  • scarecrowbob 11y ago
    There are several places both by-mail and in person that I have rented lenses.
    • dheera 11y ago
      Yeah I guess. On second thought, perhaps it would be a step up if I could "rent anything" from one app. Imagine the selection of Amazon and the convenience of Uber in one interface. On third thought, maybe Amazon could just do this ...
• OJFord 11y ago
  > I wish there was a startup in this space. Why must everything be a startup? You can hire tools, protective clothing, etc. from many DIY/trade stores.
• renaudg 11y ago
  There is one : http://us.zilok.com/ http://us.zilok.com/
• wicker 11y ago
  This is a service that's provided around here by my local hardware store, the local big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe's, and local specific equipment rental services. You can get indoor ladders from the local paint store.
• Grishnakh 11y ago
  The problem is that there's no easy and workable way to share most stuff, even though it'd be nice so we didn't need to own so much stuff. Tools, for instance: if something breaks in your house, you need a tool right now if you want to fix it. Your toilet stops up? You need a plunger, NOW. You sure as hell don't want to sign up to borrow or rent one and wait a week for that. And do you really want to use someone else's plunger? What if they didn't clean it after using it? There's all kinds of problems with the borrowing and renting models. People don't take care of stuff they borrow/rent (and some people don't take care of their own stuff). People don't return it on time. They break it. And what kind of stuff can you borrow/rent? A lot of times, it's substandard junk, or otherwise not up to your standards. What if you want to rent a table saw instead of buying your own, but the only model available is some plastic piece of junk with horrible accuracy? You might as well not even bother with a crappy saw like that if you're trying to do any real woodworking. This is typically the case with tool rentals: the tools they rent out are barely usable, and if they ever were, they're so abused when you get them that it's not worth the rental fee. Better to just buy your own, so you can get something good, and with so little use it'll stay in good shape for a long time, and be ready to use whenever you need it. Sure, it means you have to haul around more stuff when you move, but it also means you can do a lot of things without going through a lot of logistical challenges, or having to pay a lot of money to rent stuff, of having to wait. You said you have a bag of mountain-climbing gear you rarely use. That stuff is, I presume, gear that your life depends on. If a carabeener (sp?) fails, you can fall to your death, right? Would you want to rent some ropes and other gear that you don't know how it's been treated or maintained, or could be some cheaply-made junk? What are you going to do after you fall to your death when something breaks, sue the rental company? And how much money would you actually save by renting this stuff instead of owning it anyway?
• grahamburger 11y ago
  I've often thought that it would be great if someone provided a storage-unit-as-a-service. Send me a box that I can pack full of winter gear and send back, for example. Then send it back to me next winter, and I'll send in my summer stuff. Seems like shipping is still too expensive to make something like that work, esp when you start looking at things like ladders and lawnmowers and snowblowers.
• banterfoil 11y ago
  I have always wanted see a business have a facility that operates similar to a fitness gym. Except instead of weights and exercise equipment, the facility would have table saws, and other power tools. There are so many tools that I own, that I really only need once in a blue moon. I would totally buy a subscription to a facility that allowed me access to these kinds of tools. There are probably a lot of legal implications with renting power tools out to the public. But I still think it would be awesome.
  • rrauenza 11y ago
    Like the Tech Shop? http://www.techshop.ws/tools_and_equipment.html http://www.techshop.ws/tools_and_equipment.html
    • dennyis 11y ago
      Yea I've been meaning to get down to Chandler and check out Tech Shop for a while. Kind of like the gym lol.
    • banterfoil 11y ago
      Ahh yes exactly! I have never seen this before. Thanks for sharing.
• cp-123 11y ago
  Hey Nostromo. Although I can't help you out with the ladder problem. My company is working to help people like yourself live more and own less, with experiences and services to fuel your lifestyle. Eventually, we may move into the problem you described of renting out gear that you may only use once or twice a year. Which was the main problem, when me and my roommate were staring at a very expensive kiteboard and mountain bike that was just collecting dust, and never getting used. So I feel your pain on that note. To start with we are offering a range of products and experiences which you never have to think about owning (or collecting dust) Some of these include - skiing, golf, camping and tennis. We are launching March 10th in San Fransisco, and Bay Area. If you are outside of this, you will be the first to know when we expand to your area, and you can always download the app for free- this is us - http://share-hub.launchrock.com/ http://share-hub.launchrock.com/ Sorry can't solve your problem right now. Hopefully one day we can :)
• deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
• fgimenez 11y ago
  Like Omni (https://www.beomni.com/ https://www.beomni.com/)?