The goWholesale Blog

The online rental strategy

February 12th, 2008

I read an article this morning about a mom who started an online business renting toys out to parents (and of course their children). The idea falls along the same lines as Netflix where parents can rent 4 to 6 toys a month which come straight to their doorstep completely assembled and ready for play time. How brilliant! You’ve heard it from parents over and over about how many toys their children have and how shortly after they buy them, the novelty wears off and they are never picked up again. The accumulation of toys over time becomes a burden as well. With this rental system, the kids are happy, they can play with the latest and greatest without parents worrying if their money is well spent, and there’s no hassle of having to get rid of toys the children grow out of!

The idea is so simple, yet very effective. You’d think there’d be more like them but in fact, this is only the third type of business I’ve come across that uses this technique (first Netflix and of course their rival, Blockbuster, then BagBorroworSteal.com a designer purse rental site, and now Baby Plays, unless it’s just still too early for my brain to recall any more).

If you are trying to start a business you may want to brainstorm some ideas such as these. I believe there is a huge market for people wanting to rent things as opposed to buying them especially those in their 20s and 30s. Put your thinking cap on because if you can find the right product, this strategy just might be what you were looking for!

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Posted in E-Commerce and E-Business, Starting a Business |

One Response to “The online rental strategy”

    iLetYou started in 2007 as the first online rental community of its kind for DVDs and Games.

    In the coming weeks, we are launching a search and store platform to allow entrepreneurs to launch rental businesses for any product. Obviously, we think there are many opportunities in the rental space just like a great new concept like Baby Plays.

    If you have ideas, want ideas or would like to learn more, please visit iLetYou and contact us!

  1. Posted by Rodger on February 12th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

Leave a Reply