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I gave a look at their site. If you want to own an iPhoneX + MacBook Pro for 12 months, it costs you almost 200 EUR a month. And at the end of it you have nothi

I gave a look at their site. If you want to own an iPhoneX + MacBook Pro for 12 months, it costs you almost 200 EUR a month. And at the end of it you have nothing. If you spent 2,400 you could get a new iPhone X + a barely used MacBook Pro and use both at least 2 years. Doesn't make much sense unless money is no issue and you really hate ownership.

badestrand 8y ago
Some people might want to test iPhone and MacBook if they are thinking about switching over from Android and Windows. Or a few app developers might want to lease it for two months for testing. Grover does not need every single person to use their service.
- Kagerjay 8y ago
  mkbhd (youtuber who does gadget tech reviews) / physical apple store / physical microsoft store is all you really need to make a decision.
fuxufu 8y ago
We rented an HTC Vive last week for an event (Hackathon for recruiting). Cost us about 45€ for a month. We wouldn't need the device longer so this was easier/cheaper.
jpalomaki 8y ago
Some people are not interested in buying used equipment or selling their old stuff.
- disiplus 8y ago
  well, with grover you are also getting a used item.
thesimon 8y ago
On the other hand: The GoPro 5 is only 20€ for a month, perfect for a vacation.
- Tepix 8y ago
  Yes, it seems to be one of their best deals.
mcintyre1994 8y ago
Maybe they'll be convinced to burn capital and make it cheap to grow :) VC funded iPhones sound good!
wongarsu 8y ago
It obviously has to be more expensive than buying the stuff yourself, otherwise they wouldn't make money. What you are buying is essentially flexibility. It's great if you - need the equipment for the next trade fair or vacation and give them back after that - know you will switch to the latest model that will come out in 6 months but need something until then - are a cash-strapped startup and are fine with paying extra as long as you don't have to provide money upfront Especially the last category might be a major market.
- i_cant_speel 8y ago
  Use case #2 is something I would definitely consider this option for.
- mmt 8y ago
  > It obviously has to be more expensive than buying the stuff yourself, otherwise they wouldn't make money. What you are buying is essentially flexibility. > - are a cash-strapped startup and are fine with paying extra as long as you don't have to provide money upfront This is where the legitimate value of VPS and cloud computing for early startups. The price premium (i.e. a multiple, rather than merely a percentage) is comparable. That implies a high degree of waste/risk with unused/unreturned inventory is baked into the price. What I have yet to read, when reading about this benefit, is what happen when the startup is no longer cash-strapped. In practice, I've seen many remain "fine with paying extra", with the benefit being not having to transition to the cheaper option. It's a subtle form of lock-in. This service, however, appears to be aimed at consumers and only considering B2B in the future, so perhaps it's all academic.
Kagerjay 8y ago
I looked at their website, the only things I would consider investing is VR kits to try out new steam video games, nintendo switch for a specific video game, goPro when I go hiking once a year, audio mixing equipment, and a 3D printer. Everything else just seems like its not a worthwhile investment. Either the item offers next to no value short term (speakers) or offers little value because I can window shop it at a store (Laptop, ipad, phones, etc) Also, I wouldn't want to rent a macbook pro either. Especially considering how awful the keyboard layout & lack of legacy ports are for 2016,2017, and 2018 editions are compared to 2015. You'd probably won't get a choice in what edition you get, that'd be really hard to track I can definitely see some younger millenials buying into this. Getting new shiny tech is always a hot conversational topic, but older generations I can't see this flying by.
RandallBrown 8y ago
At the end of it you don't have nothing, you have credit towards a purchase of those devices. If your rental cost goes 3 months beyond the retail price, you'll own the devices. I basically do the same thing now with my iPhone X through Apple's subscription plan.
CPLX 8y ago
Sure but there of course are valid use cases. For example, I run a digital agency, and we're 100% mac based for everyone. I would definitely consider renting a super top of the line windows laptop and trying it out as my primary machine for a month or two to see how it compares. I'm not committed to the concept so I don't want to pay a lot of money, but comparing an entry level PC to my top of the line MBP is a pointless exercise. There are lots more examples, you could think of dozens. Like I want to see if I would use a drone much after the first week or two if I had one. And on and on and on. I'm not convinced they're going to thrive as a business, but at least as a basic concept the premise isn't ridiculous.

badestrand 8y ago

Some people might want to test iPhone and MacBook if they are thinking about switching over from Android and Windows. Or a few app developers might want to lease it for two months for testing. Grover does not need every single person to use their service.

Kagerjay 8y ago
mkbhd (youtuber who does gadget tech reviews) / physical apple store / physical microsoft store is all you really need to make a decision.

fuxufu 8y ago

We rented an HTC Vive last week for an event (Hackathon for recruiting). Cost us about 45€ for a month. We wouldn't need the device longer so this was easier/cheaper.

jpalomaki 8y ago

Some people are not interested in buying used equipment or selling their old stuff.

disiplus 8y ago
well, with grover you are also getting a used item.

thesimon 8y ago

On the other hand: The GoPro 5 is only 20€ for a month, perfect for a vacation.

Tepix 8y ago
Yes, it seems to be one of their best deals.

mcintyre1994 8y ago

Maybe they'll be convinced to burn capital and make it cheap to grow :) VC funded iPhones sound good!

wongarsu 8y ago

It obviously has to be more expensive than buying the stuff yourself, otherwise they wouldn't make money. What you are buying is essentially flexibility. It's great if you - need the equipment for the next trade fair or vacation and give them back after that - know you will switch to the latest model that will come out in 6 months but need something until then - are a cash-strapped startup and are fine with paying extra as long as you don't have to provide money upfront Especially the last category might be a major market.

i_cant_speel 8y ago
Use case #2 is something I would definitely consider this option for.
mmt 8y ago
> It obviously has to be more expensive than buying the stuff yourself, otherwise they wouldn't make money. What you are buying is essentially flexibility. > - are a cash-strapped startup and are fine with paying extra as long as you don't have to provide money upfront This is where the legitimate value of VPS and cloud computing for early startups. The price premium (i.e. a multiple, rather than merely a percentage) is comparable. That implies a high degree of waste/risk with unused/unreturned inventory is baked into the price. What I have yet to read, when reading about this benefit, is what happen when the startup is no longer cash-strapped. In practice, I've seen many remain "fine with paying extra", with the benefit being not having to transition to the cheaper option. It's a subtle form of lock-in. This service, however, appears to be aimed at consumers and only considering B2B in the future, so perhaps it's all academic.

Kagerjay 8y ago

I looked at their website, the only things I would consider investing is VR kits to try out new steam video games, nintendo switch for a specific video game, goPro when I go hiking once a year, audio mixing equipment, and a 3D printer. Everything else just seems like its not a worthwhile investment. Either the item offers next to no value short term (speakers) or offers little value because I can window shop it at a store (Laptop, ipad, phones, etc) Also, I wouldn't want to rent a macbook pro either. Especially considering how awful the keyboard layout & lack of legacy ports are for 2016,2017, and 2018 editions are compared to 2015. You'd probably won't get a choice in what edition you get, that'd be really hard to track I can definitely see some younger millenials buying into this. Getting new shiny tech is always a hot conversational topic, but older generations I can't see this flying by.

RandallBrown 8y ago

At the end of it you don't have nothing, you have credit towards a purchase of those devices. If your rental cost goes 3 months beyond the retail price, you'll own the devices. I basically do the same thing now with my iPhone X through Apple's subscription plan.

CPLX 8y ago

Sure but there of course are valid use cases. For example, I run a digital agency, and we're 100% mac based for everyone. I would definitely consider renting a super top of the line windows laptop and trying it out as my primary machine for a month or two to see how it compares. I'm not committed to the concept so I don't want to pay a lot of money, but comparing an entry level PC to my top of the line MBP is a pointless exercise. There are lots more examples, you could think of dozens. Like I want to see if I would use a drone much after the first week or two if I had one. And on and on and on. I'm not convinced they're going to thrive as a business, but at least as a basic concept the premise isn't ridiculous.