this post was submitted on 06 May 2024
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How rental ‘libraries of things’ have become the new way to save money (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
224 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The theory is simple: instead of buying a household item or a piece of clothing or some equipment you might use once or twice, you take it out and return it.

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[–] [email protected] 33 points 6 months ago (4 children)

Everything as subscription.

Yeah it is seem to be cheap now, until you become dependent on it.

On the flip side, when you lost your job, cancel your home subscription and become homeless.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Oh, I assumed this article was going to be about public libraries. Often public libraries will have things for checkout, like gardening or cooking equipment. Yeah, this is somewhat distopian. These companies will probably make bank off of this. It should be public. We need a larger library system for much more things.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Not sure I agree that it's dystopian. Imagine how much less waste there would be. People with less crowded storage/garages/houses with less junk they use rarely. Like, I have this scroll saw I've used for like one project. Why the fuck do I own this thing?

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

I guess so, but I just see this going in the direction of not wining anything and needing a subscription service. They end up costing a lot more and nearly killing off alternatives.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

We need a larger library system for much more things.

Private Equity goes REEEEEE!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

I remember when corner stores rented DVDs, this could be another business for them. But...since they haven't adopted it I guess it really isn't that profitable. Power tool prices have come down in price and size.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

Ubik was right

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

What could go wrong with depending on such a service? The things up for rental here are only things that have to be frequently changed or used just once or twice. I don't expect to subscribe to more permanent things as part of the expansion of tool rentals. Yes, some like Adobe have already adopted subscription for permanenty things, but that's different from this topic.