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Thanks! Just curious: At what price point would you consider this? Say you have a student room (like a studio), how much would you like to pay to furnish it to

Thanks! Just curious: At what price point would you consider this? Say you have a student room (like a studio), how much would you like to pay to furnish it to your taste? I'm asking because we want to make this as affordable as possible!

sureglymop 5y ago
Well, let's consider the cost of a student "room" or flat first. In major cities like Zurich or Bern this would range between 500 and 850 CHF for enrolled students under the age of 28, usually with any additional costs already included. Now most of these rooms are already furnished (poorly), it is actually harder to find unfurnished rooms. So I think personally, I would probably not pay over half of the rent itself, so if I had a place for 700 CHF, I might pay an additional 350 CHF a month to get furniture I like. So if I stayed in the apartment at least 6 months, I would have paid 2100.- which would be about the same as if I had just bought new furniture, considering that a student room is probably small. I think that at the end of the day, students are probably not your target audience, because they also see furniture as more disposable. So they would sell their furniture too, when they get a new room. Now you could use that opportunity to offer a very cheap rental fee specifically for students and then they could give back the furniture when they move on. I guess my point is, the price point is okay, the fact that it would take two years to eventually own it isn't attractive to a student. The alternative of paying for some time (e.g. 6 months) and then dropping the subscription without owning anything at the end is also unattractive.
- anandchowdhary 5y ago
  Thanks for the insights! I believe that if you have a small studio/room as a student would, a four-year plan would cost closer to CHF 150. I know that a 1-year one would be much more expensive, but we're working hard on changing that. I agree that unless we offer significant savings, students are not an ideal market for us, but maybe when we get furniture back and we renovate it, students might be especially interesting since we can furnish their rooms for a big discount.

sureglymop 5y ago

Well, let's consider the cost of a student "room" or flat first. In major cities like Zurich or Bern this would range between 500 and 850 CHF for enrolled students under the age of 28, usually with any additional costs already included. Now most of these rooms are already furnished (poorly), it is actually harder to find unfurnished rooms. So I think personally, I would probably not pay over half of the rent itself, so if I had a place for 700 CHF, I might pay an additional 350 CHF a month to get furniture I like. So if I stayed in the apartment at least 6 months, I would have paid 2100.- which would be about the same as if I had just bought new furniture, considering that a student room is probably small. I think that at the end of the day, students are probably not your target audience, because they also see furniture as more disposable. So they would sell their furniture too, when they get a new room. Now you could use that opportunity to offer a very cheap rental fee specifically for students and then they could give back the furniture when they move on. I guess my point is, the price point is okay, the fact that it would take two years to eventually own it isn't attractive to a student. The alternative of paying for some time (e.g. 6 months) and then dropping the subscription without owning anything at the end is also unattractive.

anandchowdhary 5y ago
Thanks for the insights! I believe that if you have a small studio/room as a student would, a four-year plan would cost closer to CHF 150. I know that a 1-year one would be much more expensive, but we're working hard on changing that. I agree that unless we offer significant savings, students are not an ideal market for us, but maybe when we get furniture back and we renovate it, students might be especially interesting since we can furnish their rooms for a big discount.