Hey Guys,
So I have been thinking of numerous fastlane ideas and feel that I may have found something with some potential. However, I really want to get other opinions on the idea before I spend the next few months pursuing this idea. I have asked a few friends and they like the concept, but mentioned the same problems I have listed below. Therefore, please be honest and give me your opinions. Tear it apart, I value your feedback.
So, last week my nephew broke a wooden cabinet door and my parents asked me to fix it. In order to fix it I would need some glue and clamps. I soon realized I didn’t have large enough clamps to hold the door together while the glue set. However, lucky for me, my friend is a carpenter and has numerous clamps and I was able to borrow one. But this got me thinking, what would I do if I didn't know anyone? This then lead me to the idea of creating a rental website.
The website would be very similar to craigslist, but instead of individuals selling and buying, they would be renting items in which they didn’t use every day. I have done a few quick searches and found a few websites that are currently doing this. However, they don’t seem to be very big and there is no dominant website, like craigslist, at least that I have found.
I also found some depressing information on this one site, Rentanything.com which was started in 2000. The site/company was able to raise $3M from venture capitalists and it still failed. This then lead me to the possible problems with the concept of the site.
For one, there is the possibility that when someone comes to rent your item, he may never return it, or he may break it. The only solution to these problems is to charge a deposit, but I feel this would greatly reduce the amount of transactions. Another possible problem is there will not be any trusted loaners and renters at first. I figure this would just be a hurdle I would have to overcome. One idea I had to diminish this problem would be to create a feedback page for each user, similar to eBay. This would then lead to more trusted loaners and renters, again just like eBay has with their sellers and buyers.
Any feedback would be appreciated. And please be honest, tear it apart.
So I have been thinking of numerous fastlane ideas and feel that I may have found something with some potential. However, I really want to get other opinions on the idea before I spend the next few months pursuing this idea. I have asked a few friends and they like the concept, but mentioned the same problems I have listed below. Therefore, please be honest and give me your opinions. Tear it apart, I value your feedback.
So, last week my nephew broke a wooden cabinet door and my parents asked me to fix it. In order to fix it I would need some glue and clamps. I soon realized I didn’t have large enough clamps to hold the door together while the glue set. However, lucky for me, my friend is a carpenter and has numerous clamps and I was able to borrow one. But this got me thinking, what would I do if I didn't know anyone? This then lead me to the idea of creating a rental website.
The website would be very similar to craigslist, but instead of individuals selling and buying, they would be renting items in which they didn’t use every day. I have done a few quick searches and found a few websites that are currently doing this. However, they don’t seem to be very big and there is no dominant website, like craigslist, at least that I have found.
I also found some depressing information on this one site, Rentanything.com which was started in 2000. The site/company was able to raise $3M from venture capitalists and it still failed. This then lead me to the possible problems with the concept of the site.
For one, there is the possibility that when someone comes to rent your item, he may never return it, or he may break it. The only solution to these problems is to charge a deposit, but I feel this would greatly reduce the amount of transactions. Another possible problem is there will not be any trusted loaners and renters at first. I figure this would just be a hurdle I would have to overcome. One idea I had to diminish this problem would be to create a feedback page for each user, similar to eBay. This would then lead to more trusted loaners and renters, again just like eBay has with their sellers and buyers.
Any feedback would be appreciated. And please be honest, tear it apart.
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