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Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

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Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#51

Post by flukus »

arcticbull wrote: post #18
mc32 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess, but it makes things even more disposable, more consumerist. More detrimental to the environment.

I could make a case for the opposite -- consumers tend to buy something new at the store then throw it out a couple of years later. I can imagine these types of companies buying more durable goods so they can rent them out to multiple people back to back instead. I see it as almost automating the craigslist model.

Considering the way people often abuse rentals I think the extra durability will mostly cancel out and there are other costs like energy efficiency that I doubt they will optimize for the end user.

It may be a boon for repair-ability though if they see it's economical to have in house fixers.

Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#52

Post by seem_2211 »

Retra wrote: post #45
dawhizkid wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you come to that conclusion? The effect is the complete opposite...instead of a lot of people that move frequently (i.e. younger people) and buy/toss a lot of cheap Ikea furniture every year, you rent high end, long-lasting furniture that is delivered/removed for reuse.

When I moved frequently I bought an inflatable bed or cot. I didn't buy a king sized bed and throw it out every two years. That's insane.

I think the answer is there are different options for different people - some people (like yourself) are happy buying an inflatable bed and sleeping on that. Others would prefer to rent a king sized bed. I don't think one is necessarily right or wrong. Choice is a good thing!

Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#53

Post by seem_2211 »

This is a really interesting trend - and one that brings out some really fascinating psychology in people and how they relate to money.

I am personally uncomfortable with the idea of renting clothing, and don't like the idea of renting a bed or furniture, but am a big fan of renting a car (Zipcar) and will probably rent ski gear for next years season.

Like most things, some people go all in, and decide to rent everything. But my hunch would be that most people will find 1-2 things they don't want to necessarily shell out full price for, and will rent for a bit, before probably buying the gear themselves at some point.

Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#55

Post by jijji »

rishav_sharan wrote: post #22

I actually do this. I have rented 2 king size beds, a sofa, a 200l fridge, 40 inch led tv, small ac and a dining table for around $120 per month. In return i get complete peace of mind, free maintenance and the ability to update my furniture for no reason other than i want to. I personally am pretty happy with renting most of this stuff but will be buying my own dtuff once i have my own house

you can buy all of that on craigslist for ~$700 ... $100 for each bed, $100 (or free) for sofa, $200 for fridge $100 for tv, ac for $50 and dining table for $50.. If you plan on relocating in six months to another city, that might make sense...

Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#56

Post by tehlike »

Barrin92 wrote: post #48
chrisco255 wrote: post #26

Renting an apartment vs owning a house is not necessarily a bad financial move. Depends on a number of factors. For instance, if you anticipate moving within a certain time frame, between closing costs, mortgage fees, commission, etc...it can cost more to own in the first 3-5 years, especially if prices are stagnant. Also, there are hidden costs of home ownership not necessarily factored in for, like repairs, mainten…

Renting anything really isn't a bad move. There's not much upside to owning something that depreciates in value. Instead of buying a sofa for 2000$ renting one for 50 and putting the rest of your money into some productive financial asset is actually perfectly reasonable.

The calculation gets more complicated with appreciating land, and leverage.

Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#57

Post by jijji »

mherdeg wrote: post #2

If the business model for CaaStle does not work out, but I can accurately predict when they will go out of business, should I sign up to rent a bunch of stuff that month and hope I get to keep it after the shutdown?

i was evicting some tenants who had a brand new bed from rent-a-center, and the guys came to pick it up.... one of them forgot his hex screw driver, and called into the manager to say he "saw bed bugs" and then they gave the guy the bed for free -- actually i wound up taking it, but i think if u say "bed bugs" when it comes to those beds, all of a sudden they dont want it back (no it didnt have bed bugs)

Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#58

Post by apatters »

whatshisface wrote: post #5

This seems dangerous, like people are going to spend 100% of their paycheck every month and get everything taken away from them if they go a week without a job.

Renting things is a financial tool and it can save you money. The calculation is simple. You estimate the difference between how much something costs and how much you can sell it for once you're done using it. That's your real cost to own it. Compare that number to the cost of renting it for the same time period. If the cost to rent is lower, renting is a better deal.

For larger and more involved transactions (especially homes) things get more complex, but that's still the basic arithmetic.

Making more things rentable isn't a big problem. The big problem is that many people don't understand this arithmetic so they end up shooting themselves in the foot when you start giving them options. And unfortunately the people who need this knowledge the most are often the least likely to have it.

There's a simple solution which is to just teach a great personal finance curriculum in high schools nationwide. (Well, as simple as solving a problem for hundreds of millions of people is going to get.) Of course this being HN we can probably dream up fancier solutions like incentivizing people to take some personal finance training online.

Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#59

Post by mrhektor »

I think the trick is only owning assets that might appreciate in value.

I wouldn't want to own a car because the value of cars drops as soon as you take the car out of the lot. But owning a house /apartment might be a good idea if the market is relatively stable and you can actually afford it.

It also depends on lifestyle. For a person like me, who moves around a lot, owning furniture for example doesn't make sense. The moving costs, maintenance costs and so on are just a pain. I'd rather rent the furniture, or rent a furnished place.

Re: Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups

#60

Post by onion2k »

taneq wrote: post #21
m463 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, what about people with lots of credit card debt?

Basically the same thing except instead of renting off the "-as-a-service" crowd they're renting off the bank.

One small difference - eventually they pay the bank debt off and own the item. The as-a-service users pay forever.
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