Consumerism has led us all to be a society of impulse buyers with homes full of things that we needed the day that we bought them, but more times than not, go unused afterwards. What if there was a way to short circuit that behavior by renting items from our community when we need them?
A new site, Stuff4Hire.com wants to offer people a way to find products that they need without having to own them–and a way for people who have tools, gadgets or appliances that are gathering dust in a closet or under the sink, to generate income by renting these goods out.
Jude Alexis, the founder of Stuff4Hire, just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $15,000 to help develop the site and to raise awareness of its existence within the community.
“Stuff4Hire will provide people with access to items that are otherwise costly or difficult to obtain,” Alexis says. “If you’re an amateur photographer and you occasionally need lighting equipment, then it makes more sense to rent it from someone within your community who has that equipment, than to buy it. Doing so reduces the total cost of ownership of that item for everyone.”
This concept is on the leading edge of the sharing economy movement that seeks to empower people on a grassroots level. From food co-ops to Airbnb, companies such as Stuff4Hire.com provide consumers with alternatives to mass-market retailers and large corporations. “This site enables owners to rent underutilized items to their neighbors instead of buying them new from a company,” Alexis adds. ” Stuff4Hire will also help minimize the over-consumption of products, thereby reducing our environmental footprint.”
The site will protect both lenders and borrowers in any transaction carried out through the site, and will mediate transactions by holding a deposit from the borrower at the time of rental. When the item is returned to the lender, the borrower’s deposit will be returned minus a fee for the rental.
Members can provide reviews about their rental experiences, and negative reviews will serve as warning to prospective lenders or borrows against bad citizens.
Besides the convenience that Stuff4Hire will provide its members, its greatest benefit will be its environmental impact. If people are able to conveniently access the things that they need, it will help declutter our increasingly crowded world.
“We need everyone’s help to bring this vision to life” says Alexis. He continues “we’ve launched a Kickstarter campaign that ends on March 23rd. Since this is a community-focused initiative we are appealing to everyone to help us to raise the money necessary to get this platform built. Based on the feedback that we’ve received about Stuff4Hire, we are convinced that once it gets up and running it will impact every community across the country in a positive way. We are really counting on everyone’s support so please go to Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1236354657/stuff4hire and donate whatever you are able. If you are not able to make a donation then please tell your friends about this project and urge them to support us.”
