4 ms·

Probably the biggest issue here is conflict resolution. How do you deal with claims, what is expected wear and tear etc. I think this is why in practice people

by hurin 12y ago

Probably the biggest issue here is conflict resolution. How do you deal with claims, what is expected wear and tear etc. I think this is why in practice people don't rent or loan their own things to those they don't know. It's not hard to loan someone a power-tool - but $10 just isn't worth the potential problems which go with it.

leereeves 12y ago
I had the same concerns. They seem to have chosen to act as a free classified ad publisher and disclaim any responsibility for conflict resolution, but the business would be much more valuable if they could improve that.
- contingencies 12y ago
  Valid strategies? Fat deposit, reputation system, other?
  - leereeves 12y ago
    It's not that different from trusting an Uber driver/passenger, or Handy handyman/customer, or Airbnb host/guest. The strategies are traditional business practices like guarantees, insurance, and dispute resolution combined with technology to lower costs. In this case, perhaps an app in which both the owner and renter agree when the item is loaned and returned, which reminds the renter to return the item, automatically tracks charges on overdue rentals, and allows some automated dispute resolution like: "I'm at the owner's address (GPS confirms it) and the owner isn't available."
    - hurin 12y ago
      I think it's not so simple. If someone is renting out an apartment for a month they can afford to spend time doing paper-work, receiving the renters etc, because the turn-over per rental is large enough (and Airbnb provides guarantees for damages). The question is how is it going to work with the $10/day power-tool. Let's say even if someone breaks my power-tool it will be reimbursed and I'm 100% sure - how much time/paper-work will this reimbursement take up?
      - leereeves 12y ago
        I agree it wouldn't be worth the paperwork for a single item, but owners could make a living renting out many items, perhaps even buying popular items to rent. And as you suggest, the site would need to make dispute resolution as simple as possible. Perhaps automatically refunding both sides for disputes, but banning users with too many disputes. It's not simple--certainly not as simple as publishing free ads--but that's why a business that can do it is valuable.
    - onlyurei 12y ago
      We believe in the virtue of people - when dealing with another real person in physical world as opposed to online, most people are actually good people. Risk of course exists, hence the deposit and the rental price that the item owner collects upfront. Our site facilitates the rental transaction process by providing step-by-step guides and tools, such as pre-filled ready-to-use rental contract that the owner and renter can optionally choose to use - all they need to do is to sign and date. Also we provide Google Calendar export so that you can setup the pickup/return easily and invite the other party so that both sides don't forget. Once involved in a transaction, both sides can communicate using the private direct messaging without revealing email/phone numbers upfront. The process can be enhanced and improved for sure along the way, but we'll have to build up some user base first
  - namenotrequired 12y ago
    At Peerby, we have partnered with an insurance company to give people the option to insure their deal.
- onlyurei 12y ago
  Thanks for your input. On top of the listings, we also provide a full-fledged (MVP at this point) rental transaction process. So we are not just a free classifieds, but a marketplace/platform that tries to facilitate the entire ad-hoc rental transaction life cycle. If anyone is interested, they can try out the rental process on the site themselves.
thret 12y ago
Even loaning things to friends can cause problems. Unless you accept that every loan is something between a loan and a gift.

by hurin 12y ago

leereeves 12y ago

I had the same concerns. They seem to have chosen to act as a free classified ad publisher and disclaim any responsibility for conflict resolution, but the business would be much more valuable if they could improve that.

contingencies 12y ago
Valid strategies? Fat deposit, reputation system, other?
- leereeves 12y ago
  It's not that different from trusting an Uber driver/passenger, or Handy handyman/customer, or Airbnb host/guest. The strategies are traditional business practices like guarantees, insurance, and dispute resolution combined with technology to lower costs. In this case, perhaps an app in which both the owner and renter agree when the item is loaned and returned, which reminds the renter to return the item, automatically tracks charges on overdue rentals, and allows some automated dispute resolution like: "I'm at the owner's address (GPS confirms it) and the owner isn't available."
  - hurin 12y ago
    I think it's not so simple. If someone is renting out an apartment for a month they can afford to spend time doing paper-work, receiving the renters etc, because the turn-over per rental is large enough (and Airbnb provides guarantees for damages). The question is how is it going to work with the $10/day power-tool. Let's say even if someone breaks my power-tool it will be reimbursed and I'm 100% sure - how much time/paper-work will this reimbursement take up?
    - leereeves 12y ago
      I agree it wouldn't be worth the paperwork for a single item, but owners could make a living renting out many items, perhaps even buying popular items to rent. And as you suggest, the site would need to make dispute resolution as simple as possible. Perhaps automatically refunding both sides for disputes, but banning users with too many disputes. It's not simple--certainly not as simple as publishing free ads--but that's why a business that can do it is valuable.
  - onlyurei 12y ago
    We believe in the virtue of people - when dealing with another real person in physical world as opposed to online, most people are actually good people. Risk of course exists, hence the deposit and the rental price that the item owner collects upfront. Our site facilitates the rental transaction process by providing step-by-step guides and tools, such as pre-filled ready-to-use rental contract that the owner and renter can optionally choose to use - all they need to do is to sign and date. Also we provide Google Calendar export so that you can setup the pickup/return easily and invite the other party so that both sides don't forget. Once involved in a transaction, both sides can communicate using the private direct messaging without revealing email/phone numbers upfront. The process can be enhanced and improved for sure along the way, but we'll have to build up some user base first
- namenotrequired 12y ago
  At Peerby, we have partnered with an insurance company to give people the option to insure their deal.
onlyurei 12y ago
Thanks for your input. On top of the listings, we also provide a full-fledged (MVP at this point) rental transaction process. So we are not just a free classifieds, but a marketplace/platform that tries to facilitate the entire ad-hoc rental transaction life cycle. If anyone is interested, they can try out the rental process on the site themselves.

thret 12y ago

Even loaning things to friends can cause problems. Unless you accept that every loan is something between a loan and a gift.