Peer to Peer Rental

[Rhys Gwyther]

Hi all,

First time posting here.

I have a business idea which is a peer to peer rental platform for household goods.

Whilst I have a good idea of the market and demand, I need some qualitative and quantitative data to reaffirm. I’ve tried posting in social media groups, but I’m not entirely sure the best way of going about it.

The question I have posed is - Would you be interested in using a local platform to rent everyday household items (like lawnmowers, power tools, or camping gear) from people in your community?

I wondered whether there’s forums I could post in that would give me the data and insight I need.

Thanks,
Rhys

 

[fisicx]

This already exists:

Library of Things | Borrow useful Things for your home, projects and adventures

www.libraryofthings.co.uk

It’s a great idea though

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

How would you monetize it to make a good profitable business?

 

[Rhys Gwyther]

Fisicx

Library of Things & Benthyg Cymru manage community based libraries, and all items are managed through the organisation. This concept seeks to carve out more of a hyperlocal sharing economy and decentralise control of the assets.

 

[Rhys Gwyther]

Jeremy

I would take a fee per transaction - similar to the Vinted model. General transaction fees are 10-15%, and with the Sharing Economy projected to achieve 1.4trillion by 2030, there’s definitely substantial revenue to be made.

There’s also other opportunities that can be explored in relation to alliances, collaborative advertising etc.

 

[fisicx]

Whilst your idea is sound actually making it work is going to be quite difficult.

Imagine I rent out my tools to someone and they get stolen. Who is going to pay for the replacements? It won’t be the borrower as they don’t have any money. It won’t be me as my insurance won’t cover this situation. Which leaves you. Will your business model have the necessary insurance to cover all losses, breakages and damage?

Local lending often requires a hefty deposit to be paid and the lending organisation owns all the kit.

Consider also there are many rental organisations where you can get tools and equipment. I recently rented a cement mixer.

 

[Rhys Gwyther]

Agreed and something that I have flagged as a risk.

However, my immediate answer would be to ensure there’s buyer protections in place through relevant insurance policies. Again, Vinted offer similar protections. Consideration could also be given to a deposit which is returned when the item is returned and passes a satisfactory check.

Something else to consider would be company policy in respect of ‘you hire at your own risk’. However, the ethical and moral aspect of this concerns me and may prove to be a barrier.

This is why I would like to conduct some further research to understand what people are doing and what will work.

 

[DontAsk]

I might use it once, but as soon as I know Jim down the road is willing to lend me his garden shredder I would go direct with a few beer tokens next time.

 

[fisicx]

Vinted sells things. You are lending things. Insurance will be a lot more expensive.

You could take a deposit but where will the money be held? Would you need FCA approval? Who will adjudicate if there is a dispute? Will you need a solicitor on payroll?

Whilst a good idea, maybe it would work better as a social enterprise through local communities rather than a business. Our local nextdoor often has requests to borrow things in exchange for services.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

peer to peer rental platform for household goods.

What type of good?

Electricals?
Furniture?
DIY?

 

[fisicx]

Just a thought. If you are renting electrical things would they need to be inspected and certified after each loan to make sure they are still safe to use.

 

[Mark T Jones]

P2P has struggled a lot in the UK - possibly down to a mismatch of expectations possibly down to lack of marketing budget.

As with all these ideas, an interesting starting point is to get to grips with some cashflow projections.

No matter how brilliant your idea is, the cash will ultimately define whether it works

 

[Y.startup02]

Ahh, this brings back. memory!

You're thinking of Fat Llama! That company (among a few others) does exactly what you described. They also handle the insurance side of things, offering guaranteed cover.

They were recently acquired by a Swedish company. I remember reading an interview with one of the founders who mentioned that it was a real struggle throughout, and they had the backing from a few successful entrepreneurs and were graduates of Y Combinator (around 2012), which you'd think would help.

I know this because I was actually in the process of applying to YC with the same idea all those years ago. I only got rejected because Fat Llama was already in that batch, and they had a large team of founders, and I didn’t have any extra edge to offer. Turns out we were working on the same idea at the same time without knowing it.

I'm not here to tell you whether you should go for it or not, or to be a naysayer pointing out all the reasons why it might not work. But perhaps consider exploring the B2B side of things rather than B2C — that’s the direction I was heading in before I eventually lost interest.

 

[WaveJumper]

Just a thought. If you are renting electrical things would they need to be inspected and certified after each loan to make sure they are still safe to use.

And who is going to be responsible for the training of said idiots to use said tools. Every time I've lent something to a neighbour strangely it comes back in a worse condition than when it left me.

 

[fisicx]

And who is going to be responsible for the training of said idiots to use said tools. Every time I've lent something to a neighbour strangely it comes back in a worse condition than when it left me.

It’s why the kit you rent from HSS or whoever is somewhat better quality from the stuff you buy from B&Q

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

I appreciate this has gone off topic from your specific question but I would add on the face of it this does seem like a great idea - for all the reasons mentioned above, I'm not sure how you could make this work with so many potential barriers around insurance, potential loss/theft/damage etc.

Whilst a good idea, maybe it would work better as a social enterprise through local communities rather than a business. Our local nextdoor often has requests to borrow things in exchange for services.

I think this could be more likely to work. We've a thriving local "giveaways" group, it's surprising what gets given away and what is wanted.... from stone or slabs when people are renovating their garden, to fridge freezers to clothing etc. It seems to work quite well as a very small local "social" group and I imagine branching that out into lending & borrowing would work. But pretty impossible to monetize I'd have thought.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

The Library of Things shows proof on concept, where they either do not have these issues or believe that they have mitigated them.

However, as we still have no idea if we are looking at spoons, ovens, sofas, drills or cleaners.

 

[ethical PR]

Hi all,

First time posting here.

I have a business idea which is a peer to peer rental platform for household goods.

Whilst I have a good idea of the market and demand, I need some qualitative and quantitative data to reaffirm. I’ve tried posting in social media groups, but I’m not entirely sure the best way of going about it.

The question I have posed is - Would you be interested in using a local platform to rent everyday household items (like lawnmowers, power tools, or camping gear) from people in your community?

I wondered whether there’s forums I could post in that would give me the data and insight I need.

Thanks,
Rhys

Like Fiscix I would use my local Library of Things if I wanted to borrow this sort of equipment .

 

[fisicx]

And there is always this:

Home | Men's Sheds Association | UKMSA

We support Men's Sheds Association in the UK. Men's Sheds are community workshops where men can create converse and connect.

menssheds.org.uk

If I need a bit of help with something they are always willing to give a hand (and expertise).

Whilst the whole idea of sharing resources is great as @BusterBloodvessel said it will be difficult to monetise.

I hope @Rhys Gwyther returns as this thread could generate some excellent business ideas (even if not-for-profit).

 

[Nathanto]

I have a business idea which is a peer to peer rental platform for household goods.

Would you be interested in using a local platform to rent everyday household items (like lawnmowers, power tools, or camping gear) from people in your community?

It's a great idea in principle but I agree with others that for numerous reasons sadly I think it's not something that would work as a profitable business.

Having just looked at Library of Things (which I'd never previously heard of), if I'm reading their accounts correctly, over the last five years they've made a loss of almost £1.5 million so far which I think says it all...

 

[Gecko001]

Something else to consider would be company policy in respect of ‘you hire at your own risk’. However, the ethical and moral aspect of this concerns me and may prove to be a barrier.

Apart from the ethics and morals, the Law might not accept a disclaimer such as "you hire at your own risk".
Also, you might struggle to get insurance, as the claims could be for more than just the replacement of say a lawnmower that was broken by the hirer. The mower might be in a terrible state of repair and injure the hirer.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

As mentioned, the answers to all of these have been approached by the Library of Things.

It is all possible, but is it commercial?

 

[Nathanto]

Apart from the ethics and morals, the Law might not accept a disclaimer such as "you hire at your own risk".

There's no "might not" about it. UK law (Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977) specifically disallows excluding liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence. So if the OP or hirer fail to take proper care over something then they're liable regardless of any contract small print.

 

[OhSimon]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned but there is already a well established website/app called Fat Llama already doing this. It is used by both individuals and professionals.

 

[Nathanto]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned but there is already a well established website/app called Fat Llama already doing this. It is used by both individuals and professionals.

Another company that I have never heard of before and this one appears to be running at an almost £9 million loss according to their latest financial filing!

 

[OhSimon]

In addition to Fat Llama, you also have to consider specialist hire businesses that operate in niche e.g. Power tools, camera equipment etc.

There's nothing wrong with the idea as it's already being done so I wouldn't worry about that however I would consider what is your USP?

In terms of gauging interest. Just create a landing page with an email registration and see how many bites you get. Pump it on social media and a small spend on Google ads.

I did the same recently with a business focused website and it validated the demand.

 

[fisicx]

Even if there is demand the business model just won’t work. Too many expensive moving parts for it to be viable.

As a social enterprise maybe (lending to friends) but even then there would have to be a lot of trust. I wouldn’t want to let someone use my bench saw because it’s too easy to break it.

 

[DontAsk]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned but there is already a well established website/app called Fat Llama already doing this. It is used by both individuals and professionals.

Is that the same Fat Llama that was mentioned in post #13?

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I had a similar idea to this, a co-operative of family/friends/neighbours - but quickly dismissed it.

Working from the question, 'why do we all buy somewhat inferior equipment when we could pool our resources and get something much better and share it?' Eg., A basic Karcher pressure washer for £69 cannot clean as well as a £500 commercial Nilfisk and a lot of other machinery falls into the same scenario.

Having lent a number of items to trusted one's within my inner circle only to have them returned in various states of cleanliness and dis-repair I couldn't see a way of managing the upkeep of equipment abused by borrowers if the idea was expanded.

 

[OhSimon]

Is that the same Fat Llama that was mentioned in post #13?

Yes, well spotted.

 

[Joey80]

I love the idea! There's a company in Switzerland (Sharely) thats been going 10 years + so I guess it's working for them. They have a separate insurance policy that the renter has to purchase.