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This is just another move from mega corps to tricking us in to paying a subscription for everything and never owning anything. Owning pretty much always ends up

This is just another move from mega corps to tricking us in to paying a subscription for everything and never owning anything. Owning pretty much always ends up cheaper if you will have the item for a long time. Renting only makes sense for short term needs. I don't need to buy expensive equipment I only use once a year so renting that makes sense but for a couch it makes far more sense to buy it outright and use it for 10+ years rather than pay constantly for it. I suspect that even this article itself is a hidden marketing move to change social norms so people think renting is the cool new thing to show off.

dawhizkid 7y ago
Well most of these companies are startups, not megacorps. Just like everything you should do the math...if you only plan to live in a city or apartment for 1-2 years then renting a furnished apartment (either officially furnished or DIY with one of these startups) could make sense. The alternative in my experience is buying a lot of cheap Ikea furniture that's a pain to buy/put together/toss that may or may not come out to what you'd pay renting much nicer furniture with assembly/delivery included both ways.
- baroffoos 7y ago
  This article pushes the idea that this is not just for people planing to leave soon but for anyone who wants to live the luxury life which is just ridiculous. Also megacorps have been pushing for this as well, for example the trend to pay a huge monthly fee for your phone and plan which forces you to essentially buy a new phone every 2 years.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    What definition of “force” are you using? What is stopping someone from finishing paying the monthly cost of the phone after 2 years and then not signing a new contract to lease a new phone? Every single mobile provider in the US makes it clear how much mobile service is if you want to pay for just the mobile network, or to lease the phone and the mobile network. Apple offers a monthly payment plan that is equivalent in cost to paying upfront for the same phone and AppleCare+. All of the information is clearly available for the lease vs pay upfront, and mobile network vs mobile network + phone calculation.
    - RandomBacon 7y ago
      > What definition... The one that people who make poor financial decisions use. The service providers didn't automatically drop your monthly rate after you the subsidized phone was paid off, so people felt like they might as well get a new phone since they were paying for it anyway. > What is stopping... Nothing except that people don't know any better. Tell everyone you know (without being annoying) how much you pay for unlimited by using a prepaid plan on your top-of-the-line phone. Maybe they'll start to learn. I've already switched a few people, you can too.
      - lotsofpulp 7y ago
        That situation is pretty far from any useful definition of force, in my opinion. If people are too lazy to do some basic arithmetic, that’s their problem.
        RandomBacon 7y ago
        Me too, unfortunately I know too many people who would call that being forced.
methodover 7y ago
What if I don’t know what couch I want? I spent like 2 months going couch shopping every other weekend. I couldn’t decide. Whatever I bought I’d own, and be tied to forever, it feels like. Selling shit is time consuming and annoying. Moving it later or donating it is annoying and maybe been expensive. And the damn couch itself was expensive too. It felt like this big decision that I had to get right. I didn’t end up buying anything. I’d have much rather just picked out something interesting to rent for a while, see if I like it. If I do do, great. If not, it’s easy to change it.

dawhizkid 7y ago

Well most of these companies are startups, not megacorps. Just like everything you should do the math...if you only plan to live in a city or apartment for 1-2 years then renting a furnished apartment (either officially furnished or DIY with one of these startups) could make sense. The alternative in my experience is buying a lot of cheap Ikea furniture that's a pain to buy/put together/toss that may or may not come out to what you'd pay renting much nicer furniture with assembly/delivery included both ways.

baroffoos 7y ago
This article pushes the idea that this is not just for people planing to leave soon but for anyone who wants to live the luxury life which is just ridiculous. Also megacorps have been pushing for this as well, for example the trend to pay a huge monthly fee for your phone and plan which forces you to essentially buy a new phone every 2 years.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  What definition of “force” are you using? What is stopping someone from finishing paying the monthly cost of the phone after 2 years and then not signing a new contract to lease a new phone? Every single mobile provider in the US makes it clear how much mobile service is if you want to pay for just the mobile network, or to lease the phone and the mobile network. Apple offers a monthly payment plan that is equivalent in cost to paying upfront for the same phone and AppleCare+. All of the information is clearly available for the lease vs pay upfront, and mobile network vs mobile network + phone calculation.
  - RandomBacon 7y ago
    > What definition... The one that people who make poor financial decisions use. The service providers didn't automatically drop your monthly rate after you the subsidized phone was paid off, so people felt like they might as well get a new phone since they were paying for it anyway. > What is stopping... Nothing except that people don't know any better. Tell everyone you know (without being annoying) how much you pay for unlimited by using a prepaid plan on your top-of-the-line phone. Maybe they'll start to learn. I've already switched a few people, you can too.
    - lotsofpulp 7y ago
      That situation is pretty far from any useful definition of force, in my opinion. If people are too lazy to do some basic arithmetic, that’s their problem.
      - RandomBacon 7y ago
        Me too, unfortunately I know too many people who would call that being forced.

methodover 7y ago

What if I don’t know what couch I want? I spent like 2 months going couch shopping every other weekend. I couldn’t decide. Whatever I bought I’d own, and be tied to forever, it feels like. Selling shit is time consuming and annoying. Moving it later or donating it is annoying and maybe been expensive. And the damn couch itself was expensive too. It felt like this big decision that I had to get right. I didn’t end up buying anything. I’d have much rather just picked out something interesting to rent for a while, see if I like it. If I do do, great. If not, it’s easy to change it.