A new trend is popping up: websites that help people rent things from one another instead of buying them. This is a great idea for the average Joe or Jane who will probably seldom use  half of the stuff they buy because they assume the will “need it” at some point. Think of power tools, kitchen gadgets, camcorders to take on vacation, etc.

Once upon a time, when people were less transient and you really got to know your neighbors, you might be able to walk down the street and borrow your neighbor’s extension ladder to retrieve a frisbee on the roof or clean the gutters. Or, for you kid’s annual Cub Scout’s Pinewood Derby you might get away with borrowing a buddy’s Dremel rotary sander thingy to shape your boy’s dream car from a block of pine. Now, with so much made in China and seemingly “affordable” instead you buy the tools, the gadgets, the electronics, and store them on shelves, in cupboards, and in the garage (if you have a garage), for that rare event when you may need them. Sometimes years go by before these things are touched. Sometimes you even rent a monthly storage unit to keep all this stuff. And eventually, maybe you offload it between moves in a garage sale for nickles on the dollar.

“The old paradigm of buy and use it once and store it forever is shifting to an economy based on usage and accessibility,” said Jeff Boudier, co-founder of Zilok. (From the Washington Post)

Zilok is a “peer-to-peer” social media rental site founded by a couple in France who figured out that the average power drill is used a total of only 12 minutes during its lifetime. Another is iRent2U.com. Here’s how it works. People post stuff they are willing to rent and users can rate the reputation and quality of the owners much like E-Bay merchants are rated. Renters meet the owners, sign contracts, perhaps put down a security deposit, pay a rental fee, and hopefully use and return the item in the same condition they found it.

Of course, trust is a big concern, but these sites are growing fast and features like the rating system help build trust.

What do you own that you think you might make some extra income from by renting it out? Or what might you consider renting as needed rather than buying?