What I want is a delivery version. I'd pay $xx/month for access to tools and other household items I rarely need along with $x per delivery and pickup to not have to go get them.
The cost of renting something and having to pay for delivery is probably going to be more than just buying it outright and owning it after that for whenever you need it again.
Plus, the rental company is undoubtedly going to charge you jacked-up late fees when it turns out you don't get your project done on time and need to keep the tool for another day.
When it's so cheap to just go buy a workable tool from Harbor Freight, or a really nice tool from Home Depot, why bother renting some beat-up, abused, crappy tool from a rental place? On top of that, when I need a tool for something, I sure as hell don't want to sign up and have to wait a week for it, I need it now to fix something. I may not use it often, but when I do need it, it's invaluable to have it immediately ready to use.
You've identified why I have so much clutter in my garage and house. I do exactly this - it's cheap to buy most of these tools compared to the cost of renting, and there's a surprising amount of overhead and liability in renting stuff.
That said, I do think there's something off about my accounting. I live in SF - the tool may cost X dollars, but what's the yearly rent on the square footage that the tool occupies? Just to sit there unused 99% of the time.
I'm starting to rent things not because it's cheaper but because I'm beginning to understand the psychological effects of having too much clutter in a relatively small house.
But yeah, renting is really expensive with all kinds of little gotchas, and it's a surprising hassle, too. Almost as much of a hassle as having a lot of clutter around.
Instead of renting, it would probably make more sense for you to buy the tool, use it for a while, and when you're done with it, resell it on Craigslist. Given all the hassle that goes with renting (as you mentioned), reselling on CL is probably no more hassle. And you'll wind up saving a lot of money too.
>What I want is a delivery version. I'd pay $xx/month for access to tools and other household items I rarely need along with $x per delivery and pickup to not have to go get them.
This reminded me of a startup idea that I have, I think one of the biggest items that could be rented out would be generators. Right before a storm hits deliver the generator and once power is back up, pick them up.
Generators are likely not to be available right before a storm hits. Ownership is really the only model that works for items that are needed at exactly the same time, by everyone who would ever need them.
This is a big problem with the community sharing model. It seems like at least twice the hassle of craigslist exchanges since you have to coordinate two physical meetings rather than one. Then there's the whole issue of the borrower isn't quite done with the object yet, please try again next week.
+1 for DTL. I've used them quite a bit for projects and had great luck. Currently have been borrowing tools to rebuild a motorhome and without them I would be storing and laying out a significant investment of tools. I would pay quite a bit more per year for a "Netflix of Tools" if delivery were fast and reasonable.
What I want is a delivery version. I'd pay $xx/month for access to tools and other household items I rarely need along with $x per delivery and pickup to not have to go get them.