Owning nothing is now a luxury, thanks to a number of subscription startups • Hacker News Board

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

#221

Post by tom_ » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:40 PM UTC

dingaling wrote: post #101

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…

> Finally, one can use the savings from paying rent What savings? Rent as you stated already includes anticipated maintenance costs, property taxes, the landlord's mortgage costs, often an agency fee, plus a margin for the landlord. I don't think I've seen rental rates ever cheaper than a personal mortgage. The main advantage of renting is avoiding long-term commitment but you'll pay a premium for that flexibility. O…

Rent on an apartment that you'd be very happy to rent is often cheaper than a mortgage on a house you'd want to buy!

It's not unusual for people to accept different compromises when they're not necessarily going to have to live somewhere indefinitely.

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

#222

Post by eric-hu » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:41 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #182

grecy wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep it if it brings you happiness, after all, that's the point. It's the rest of the stuff that can go. I helped a friend move last month. After we'd been to the 5 places she kept her stuff, we discovered she had 5 coffee machines, 5 cutting boards, 5 juicers, etc. etc. The things you describe make you happier and are not stuff. The things I described are just stuff.

> 5 places she kept her stuff Storage unit rental, now that's a means of preying on people who can't let go and/or move often. (It strikes me that there might be startup value in "home inventory management", although it would have to be made as frictionless as possible - wave a camera round your kitchen, inside all the cupboards, get a list of everything you own. Snoop your Amazon webpages so it can remind you not to…

You say preying, but I'm glad I was able to rent out space to store some things when I moved cities and told myself I'd move back. Turns out I didn't move back, and only went back to pick up a few things and give away the rest. I doubt I would have been able to detach from those things if I took them with me.

Were the rental costs a waste? I suppose I would have saved a few hundred dollars if I could have just gotten rid of the stuff earlier, but it would have felt like a personal loss instead of a natural detachment.

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

#223

Post by noonespecial » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:42 PM UTC

suff wrote: post #199

Dumblydorr wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Specifics, specifics. The rent vs buy debate will not be answered with finality, it always comes down to specifics. You're wrong about renting, I save a lot and invest much of it, while renting.

Have you ever gotten a six figure check when you move out? Happens to buyers all the time.

Ever gotten a six figure bill on your way out? Happened to lots of buyers around 2008.

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

#224

Post by Loughla » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:42 PM UTC

whatshisface wrote: post #49

theamk wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really. Manna is about minimum wage workers suddenly losing all law’s protections and safety nets; and this article focuses on people like “founder of a holistic wellness-focused tech start-up in Los Angeles”

These companies don't want to be seen as secondhand shops for poor millennials, they want to be seen as trendy lifestyle outlets for rich people that poor millennials want to emulate. That's branding 101. The reality is something else...

That's exactly right. Rentals of furniture and appliances have been around for years - Rent-a-Center.

It's just like the new 'trend' of Van-Dwellers or tiny homes. Sure, you open up your travel opportunities, but this isn't new. It just used to be called homelessness and low-income housing.

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

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Post by Loughla » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:46 PM UTC

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.

>I can imagine these types of companies buying more durable goods so they can rent them out to multiple people back to back instead

Again, Rent-A-Center has existed for decades already, and their goods are certainly not more durable than standard consumer goods.

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

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Post by burke_holland » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:48 PM UTC

scottlocklin wrote: post #160

CPLX wrote: post #136

When I was a kid in the 80’s renting home furnishings, driving a taxi on the side, and renting out spare rooms in your house were all very common activities too. They were generally things people did because they didn’t have stable well paying jobs. That’s still the reason. All this disruptive new economy rebranding notwithstanding.

I'm waiting for rentacenter to rebrand itself as "appliances and furniture as a service."

This is exactly what I thought of when I read this article. Rent-A-Center has been doing this for longer than I've been alive.

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

#227

Post by ghaff » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:54 PM UTC

dagw wrote: post #162

QuadrupleA wrote: post #43

Not sure about furniture and clothing, but Joymode sounds interesting - kitchen gadgets, game consoles, VR headsets etc. Things someone might want to try, but could just sit around unused once the initial excitement is over. REI also, for outdoor gear - I've got backpacking stuff that sits in the basement doing nothing most of the year. It's much easier to acquire things than unacquire them - selling on craigslist, c…

It's much easier to acquire things than unacquire them - selling on craigslist, carting things off to goodwill, or lugging them around during a move is a hassle. Do you have local charities that will come and pick things up? Last time I moved and wanted to get rid of a kitchen table, some bookshelves a bunch of kids toys I just called the people running the local homeless shelter and two dudes with a truck showed up…

Goodwill, Salvation Army, and the like tend to be pretty picky about the furniture they accept. If you're moving and have some good furniture to get rid of, that might work. But just about no one is going to want furniture that is used to the point where I just don't want it anymore.

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

#228

Post by ghaff » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

martin_a wrote: post #158

TeMPOraL wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's much easier to acquire things than unacquire them That's a good point. I wish it was easier. I have a lot of things in my home I'd like to get rid of and which still could be of use to someone else. I'd gladly sell them for a dollar or two each, but at that price point it isn't even worth the time I'm spending writing this HN comment, much less putting it up on an auction, paying the processing fee, and mailin…

> I wish it was easier. I have a lot of things in my home I'd like to get rid of and which still could be of use to someone else. But wasn't it like this some years ago? I think I sold so much stuff I didn't need anymore on eBay and sometimes made good money from it. Nowadays eBay is not very user-friendly for private people and therefore unusable for this. "eBay Kleinanzeigen" (not sure if this exists outside of Ger…

I sold some things on eBay back in the day. Perhaps younger me would have found it worth the hassle. But taking photos, putting together a listing, dealing with buyer questions, shipping, etc. was all way too much trouble for anything but the odd relatively high value item like a camera lens.

And that's not even counting the bulky things which are what I really want to get rid of.

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

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Post by lotsofpulp » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:58 PM UTC

RandomBacon wrote: post #191

lotsofpulp wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What definition of “force” are you using? What is stopping someone from finishing paying the monthly cost of the phone after 2 years and then not signing a new contract to lease a new phone? Every single mobile provider in the US makes it clear how much mobile service is if you want to pay for just the mobile network, or to lease the phone and the mobile network. Apple offers a monthly payment plan that is equivalent…

> What definition... The one that people who make poor financial decisions use. The service providers didn't automatically drop your monthly rate after you the subsidized phone was paid off, so people felt like they might as well get a new phone since they were paying for it anyway. > What is stopping... Nothing except that people don't know any better. Tell everyone you know (without being annoying) how much you pay…

That situation is pretty far from any useful definition of force, in my opinion. If people are too lazy to do some basic arithmetic, that’s their problem.

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

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Post by mywittyname » Tue, Jun 11, 2019, 1:59 PM UTC

madengr wrote: post #209

abalos wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is similar to a realization I had the other day: for many people collecting things is less about the objects and more about the memories and nostalgia and associated with those objects. I have been having a lot of "identity" problems lately, and it occurred to me that very little of what I own has any substantial story about it nor does it say much about who I am as a person. The objects we collect exist as affi…

I hate seeing all this garbage from Ikea when there are plenty sturdy “antiques” made from hard woods, as opposed to sawdust, glue, and cam locks. I have a some furniture hand made from my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father. I made a nice pair of speakers. This stuff will go to my kids. Much rather buy from the Amish furniture store and pay more, than the disposable shit from Ikea.

Ikea has lots of products that are made of solid pine. If you use some wood glue during assembly, their stuff will stay together quite well. I have some stuff I bought 10+ years ago hold together after a half-dozen moves with some basic mods.

I recently furnished my first "adult" house after years of having an Ikea apartment. I was pretty amazed at how up-market you have to go in order to exceed Ikea quality in commercial furniture. Lots of stuff sold in furniture stores is held together with hex-bolts and lock-tite anymore. Meaning you have to move up to Amish furniture if you want something higher quality. But that's like a 3-10x jump in price.

I ended up spending big on couches & dining table, then used Ikea stuff in the bedrooms and offices. I feel like that's a mid-point of cost and quality.