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Done right, this could actually be better. I own a lawn mower. In fact I usually own two lawn mowers--the new one and the one I just need to repair a bit. All

Done right, this could actually be better. I own a lawn mower. In fact I usually own two lawn mowers--the new one and the one I just need to repair a bit. All of my neighbors own lawn mowers. We all use our lawn mowers about an hour per week. It's extremely wasteful to purchase 5 lawn mowers to perform 5 hours of mowing per week. We could all hire Suwanda down the street to mow our lawns, but that would cost a lot more than buying a mower. That's mostly because of the labor costs. So what if Suwanda just rented the mower to us and charged us enough to keep the blade sharp and the engine tuned? And what if we didn't pick it up and return it to Suwanda? What if we just passed it around between us, and Suwanda was the 6th stop in the rotation? And every once in a while, the person who got it after Suwanda noticed it was a completely different mower. So 5-6 neighbors pay $5/month and always have a mower in tip-top shape, but never actually maintain it and never shop for a new one.

defenestration 5y ago
I thought about this a lot. What if we just share a lot of tools with our neighbors. It will prevent waste and free up space in your house. However, for me, it's more convenient to have my own tools. I have the freedom to mow the lawn whenever I want. Also on that sunny afternoon when all the other neighbors also want to mow their lawn. And I want a tool that's in the right condition. When I have time to do a job around the house, my tools should work. Not broken, dirty or missing a part. And I don't want a difficult conversation with my neighbor about it. Sharing and borrowing tools with my neighbors directly is fine for me. Co-owning or continuously renting together is not my cup-of-tea.
- freeopinion 5y ago
  Absolutely. I completely agree with everything you said. But I still see the benefit in other models. And I wonder what innovation might occur if we spent more time exploring options.
  - defenestration 5y ago
    Absolutely! I guess the main innovation will be social. Thinking of a way that people feel responsible for shared tools, a non-awkward way of selecting neighbors who you are willing to share with and some kind of emergency-button if you need a tool now and all the shared tools are taken.
    - freeopinion 5y ago
      So let's you and I spend an hour offline ironing this out so we can pitch HN for $20 million of seed money next week. We'll start with mowers and expand into kitchen blenders and frying pans. We'll displace Amazon in about 15 years!
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
    - CogitoCogito 5y ago
      This reminds me of how all the city e-scooters are treated. Those rented by people with apps are treated terribly and thrown around like trash by their operators. Those actually owned by people are treated very well. At it's core it's basically a strong argument in support of private property (at least in this instance). I would love it if you could solve this sort of social issue, but I wouldn't underestimate the difficulty of doing so. Successfully making people feel responsible for shared tools is almost equivalent to "building a better society". It's a worthy goal, but people have been trying to do so for basically all of human history.
- TaylorAlexander 5y ago
  Tool lending libraries are great! https://oaklandlibrary.org/locations/oakland-tool-lending-library https://oaklandlibrary.org/locations/oakland-tool-lending-li...
TaylorAlexander 5y ago
You could also have a community tool lending library where everyone can borrow from it. https://oaklandlibrary.org/locations/oakland-tool-lending-library https://oaklandlibrary.org/locations/oakland-tool-lending-li...
pkaye 5y ago
You can rent equipment already from Home Depot or some "Rent-a-Center" place however they need to pay for their overhead so there is a hefty markup. But it makes sense for tools you use occasionally like a sod cutter or tiller.
CogitoCogito 5y ago
Have you talked to your neighbors about sharing lawn mowers? Why does Suwanda need to be involved?

defenestration 5y ago

I thought about this a lot. What if we just share a lot of tools with our neighbors. It will prevent waste and free up space in your house. However, for me, it's more convenient to have my own tools. I have the freedom to mow the lawn whenever I want. Also on that sunny afternoon when all the other neighbors also want to mow their lawn. And I want a tool that's in the right condition. When I have time to do a job around the house, my tools should work. Not broken, dirty or missing a part. And I don't want a difficult conversation with my neighbor about it. Sharing and borrowing tools with my neighbors directly is fine for me. Co-owning or continuously renting together is not my cup-of-tea.

freeopinion 5y ago
Absolutely. I completely agree with everything you said. But I still see the benefit in other models. And I wonder what innovation might occur if we spent more time exploring options.
- defenestration 5y ago
  Absolutely! I guess the main innovation will be social. Thinking of a way that people feel responsible for shared tools, a non-awkward way of selecting neighbors who you are willing to share with and some kind of emergency-button if you need a tool now and all the shared tools are taken.
  - freeopinion 5y ago
    So let's you and I spend an hour offline ironing this out so we can pitch HN for $20 million of seed money next week. We'll start with mowers and expand into kitchen blenders and frying pans. We'll displace Amazon in about 15 years!
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  - CogitoCogito 5y ago
    This reminds me of how all the city e-scooters are treated. Those rented by people with apps are treated terribly and thrown around like trash by their operators. Those actually owned by people are treated very well. At it's core it's basically a strong argument in support of private property (at least in this instance). I would love it if you could solve this sort of social issue, but I wouldn't underestimate the difficulty of doing so. Successfully making people feel responsible for shared tools is almost equivalent to "building a better society". It's a worthy goal, but people have been trying to do so for basically all of human history.
TaylorAlexander 5y ago
Tool lending libraries are great! https://oaklandlibrary.org/locations/oakland-tool-lending-library https://oaklandlibrary.org/locations/oakland-tool-lending-li...

TaylorAlexander 5y ago

You could also have a community tool lending library where everyone can borrow from it. https://oaklandlibrary.org/locations/oakland-tool-lending-library https://oaklandlibrary.org/locations/oakland-tool-lending-li...

pkaye 5y ago

You can rent equipment already from Home Depot or some "Rent-a-Center" place however they need to pay for their overhead so there is a hefty markup. But it makes sense for tools you use occasionally like a sod cutter or tiller.

CogitoCogito 5y ago

Have you talked to your neighbors about sharing lawn mowers? Why does Suwanda need to be involved?