News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Uber for Everything. Parent comment

Re:Uber for Everything by michaelt on Friday August 23, 2013 @04:15PM (#6266007) 

  The reason is the labor and real estate costs of 
  administering such a system.
There's also the question of damage an incentives. If I own a nonstick frying pan, I've got every incentive not to scratch the nonstick coating, and if I do it won't hurt anyone but me. If I loan my nonstick frying pan out to 10 people and expect it to come back without any scratches on the nonstick coating, I'd probably be disappointed.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Uber for Everything by jarrett on Friday August 23, 2013 @05:17PM (#6266297)
Yes, this is definitely a problem with rental equipment. Most rented tools I've used are in bad shape, though still usable on a one-off basis.

Rental companies tend to charge for excessive damage to the tools (if they bother to inspect the tools upon return). So that can help to align the incentives.

But it doesn't work as well with individuals lending to each other. Think of all the bad eBay experiences people have reported. The reputation system was supposed to solve that, but apparently it hasn't.

I take good care of my tools, and I wouldn't lend them to a stranger. Especially knowing that I'm not guaranteed payment in the event of loss or damage.

[ Parent | on HN ]