I'm not really in the furniture rental demo, but I don't think it's exactly fair to compare the price points of high-quality furniture with what you'd pay for some particleboard abomination from IKEA. There is definitely a market for a service like this, but I think it's more a question of whether they can compete against the likes of Cort et al.

I agree that furniture rental is a slightly weird value prop though. People lease cars because most folks don't want to outlay $35-100k for a depreciating asset, or they want to change models so frequently that buying becomes unwieldy. Furniture is not nearly as expensive, however, and the rent-to-buy ratios are far less favorable.

Ikea has cheap up to quality offerings. The choice of flimsy particle board or fancy wood is up to you.

Next, the type of people that move often are younger and poorer, and the extra schlepping and assembling are not as big of a problem to them.

I agree, but how long does it remain high quality furniture if it's being used, abused and returned every few months? Repair costs could get out of control quickly.