..Zilok or Rentmineonline currently beat iRent2u hands down…..

Sure renting isn’t for everyone, but neither ebay or facebook – Longtail! I

It’s great to hear there are many renting websites out there sticking to it. Well done and we hope it helps us all grow the category and the model together.

Cheers,
Steve
Founder http://www.rentoid.com

Are you launching today?

There is a clear trend to rent items in Germany and people who are using it are quite satisfied. I strongly believe there is a change in the mindset of consuming products. Renting items based on your specific needs is already becoming more and more used in Germany. I don’t see any reason why this couldn’t succeed in other countries.

We have just expanded our business to the UK and also offering our service in the U.S. We are happy to see other companies helping to make the rental business more known.

rent it all online!
Volker Wohlfarth from http://www.erento.com/rent

I have been watching the team at http://www.HireThings.co.nz for the last six months…they’re certainly working hard to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Good luck to all of them!

Good luck to all of them!

Power to you Zilok, irent2u, erento, nuvorent.

Peter & the team @ http://www.HireThings.co.nz

I found your entry interesting do I’ve added a Trackback to it on my weblog …

We thank you for your balanced comments. Unfortunately, writing twice exactly the same argument does not make it right.

Zilok aims to revolutionize the world of online rentals by opening it up to individuals, and by bringing together the currently very fragmented world of professional rentals in the US ($100 billion worth). As new ways to consume are being created and explored, renting becomes a positive, sustainable alternative to buying and selling.

There are numerous examples of ideas that were not well exploited but we will not enter into this argument.

Since the bubble, as many have already put it, many things have evolved and changed. New tools appeared, the use of the Internet changed and the number of Internet users has seriously increased.

As for companies that have done the same in the past, you should know that the ideas remain a small part of any business model. The tools we implement, the process, our marketing and of course our team are completely different. What was not successful then can definitely become a huge success now.

Anyway, we would be pleased to discuss with you our business model, do not hesitate to contact me directly : gary@zilok.com
Kind regards,

Gary
Co-founder
Zilok.com

I’d love to be able to take odds on this on Bodog. What are the chances any of these 5 become even a top 5,000 site within the next 2 years. I’d say very low. How about it? Tech Crunch mentioned companies odds on Bodog? Now there’s an idea that would make some money. Or a Tech Crunch fantasy league.

In regard to post #6. It’s the same thing with the same model. RentAnything.com did exactly this and was well funded in 2000. If it didn’t work before why would it now? I can’t think of a lot of ideas that failed in the bubble that are now kicking butt. I think it would make a great read to see companies that failed then that have either come back or exactly the same idea has been done now and works.

#22 I see “Patent Pending” on your site. Thank you for the laugh.

The problem with this rental idea is that it sounds great on paper but it just doesn’t work in real life. If this were such a great idea there would be stores all over the place renting vegetable steamers, pod chairs, and HP Laserjet printers like in the screenshots that accompany this article. But there aren’t.

If this is such a great idea who here has gone to any of these sites after reading this and rented something? Set a tickler in your calendar to come back to this thread in 6 months to ask yourself that same question. It’s going to be 0. Nobody. And I’ll tell you why. It’s because this is one of those ideas that sounds really great, but isn’t. You just gotta see it to believe it. If you don’t trust me, then trust my gut. It’s giving this idea 2 thumbs way down.

Best wishes
Gregory Bronchart

…has been doing this for a while now!

what happened to that site, they were doing something like this but disappeared almost in days (literally). This site is 100 times better designed than moogul was and also “next genration”.

Best Wishes

I think physiology has to change before this takes off. I’m can’t imagine people making a lot of money renting things. The risk is that an I make enough to cover the cost of the item, the one time it comes back broken?

Join my OpenSocial SIG:
http:// http://www.opensocializr.com – Everything OpenSocial: News, Reviews & Code

I put an Apple Airport Express and a GPS unit online. So far only one rental of the Airport but at $10 a week for 2 weeks it was some beer money. It is a great idea if people can get over the hump of lending to strangers. At least with auctions you get rid of the itme but with renting you ideally want the item back in one piece.