Ask HN: Why aren't p2p borrowing/lending as popular as car sharing or rental?

Posted by winstonl on Monday November 16, 2015 @06:13PM
from the ask-hn dept.

Just a thought on this, in the peer-to-peer space, there are many car sharing companies or room/apartment rental companies. How come there isn't a big name when it comes to borrowing/lending? Something that would work the same way as Airbnb where people could list items they own (such as books, tools, games, sporting equipment, bikes, etc). People would rent these items and pay the lender a fee. What are some potential problems with this idea?

( 2 comments | 2 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Why aren't p2p borrowing/lending as popular as ca... by rgbrgb on Monday November 16, 2015 @06:22PM (#10578079)

Bulk of the "transaction cost" in sharing-economy transactions is measured in time (registering, shopping, messaging, verifying, negotiating, meeting). In the case of renting/borrowing that's pretty much a fixed cost independent of the value of the item. So it ends up seeming more worth it for big purchases. I think that's why this type of thing is often seen on school campuses (students have a surplus of time and a lack of money), but not out in the rest of the world as much.

These guys are working in this space but they've switched from a borrow/lend model to more of a store: https://yerdle.com/

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Why aren't p2p borrowing/lending as popular as ca... by byoung2 on Monday November 16, 2015 @06:18PM (#10578054)

There are a few in specific verticals (e.g. camera equipment - https://www.cameralends.com/ or clothes - https://www.stylelend.com/)

[ Parent | on HN ]