4 ms·
Startup Lets You Rent Fine Art, Netflix-Style
- bartonfink 16y agoInteresting, but I'm curious how big their market actually is. Also, it seems like their price point is a bit low and nearly unsustainable given the numbers in the article. If Artsicle buys an original piece for $1500 and rents it out for $50 a month, that piece needs to be actively circulated for 30 months before they see a profit on it. An unpopular piece may never become profitable, meaning Artsicle is stuck with upkeep and storage costs for an expensive mistake. Let's contrast this with Netflix. Assume that Netflix pays an average of $15 for each DVD they hold (probably on the high end). Also, assume that each member pays an average of $12 a month for rental privileges, and that each member holds a DVD out for an average of 3 days. Each member's "rental" costs them $1.20 on average. This means that each DVD Netflix buys becomes profitable after 13 rentals, or just over a month. If a DVD never becomes popular enough to be profitable, Netflix is just on the hook for $15 plus negligible storage costs in case someone decides to rent it down the road. tl; dr - What works for Netflix might not translate away from the DVD world.