OpenShed - Great Idea, Why So Rarely Used?

team teri on 18/01/2017 - 21:44
Last edited 19/01/2017 - 08:53 by 1 other user

A while ago I came across this really useful looking website www.openshed.com.au - hire out your surplus tools and hire others from other people like us at a fraction of the cost of what professional tool hire companies charge.

Great in theory. But in practice there was nothing I needed listed anywhere nearby. The few listings in the whole metro area seem to have no people using them (no reviews).

What went wrong, why does a great idea like that not take off like wildfire? Is it just a marketing problem, that no one knows they exist? Is something wrong with them? Is something wrong with the idea in general?

I'm curious to read your opinion in the comments.

Also a quick survey:

Poll Options

• 72
  I'd never heard of OpenShed before now
• 4
  I've heard of OpenShed before but never found anything useful there
• 0
  I've used OpenShed and was happy with the experience
• 0
  I've used OpenShed and was unhappy with the experience
• 1
  I know about OpenShed but have reasons not to want to use them (please explain in comments).

Related Stores

openshed.com.au

• 

  Oofy Doofy on 18/01/2017 - 22:37

  +2

  I have come across another website which was popular for renting/leasing out tools and things from other people, seemed popular for what it was (i forget what it was called). Also came across a website called spaceout, where you can rent/lease storage space people have in their homes and garages etc.

  • 

    holdenmg on 18/01/2017 - 23:32

    Thanks for mentioning Spaceout. Sounds interesting.

• 

  altomic on 18/01/2017 - 22:49

  +8

  yeah, I'll lend out my router.

  <some time later> who f%&cked up my router?!?!?!??!

  • 

    StewBalls on 19/01/2017 - 09:20

    +2

    This is precisely why I no longer loan tools out to family or friends…they might be hopeless but at least they try to take some care of them; yet despite this they usually come back borked in some fashion…I can only imagine the outcome with the kindness of strangers…

  • 

    affable on 19/01/2017 - 10:26

    +1

    Same, lent a powersaw to a "friend". Later I went to use it, smoke but no spin.
    I now reckon that people who don't have a particular tool and aren't prepared to purchase it, won't treat your tool with care. Most DIY tools are so cheap, it wouldn't be worth the hassle to rent. Other tools are more likely to be owned by a tradie and they usually won't lend as they need them.

• 

  holdenmg on 18/01/2017 - 23:30

  +1

  There are lots of places that hire gear out to weekend warriors and tradies. e.g. https://www.kennards.com.au

  Maybe where they win the business (despite the cost) is in having the product, maintained in reasonable order and not too far away.

  Often, people will want more than just one item, and again the Hire Company might have the edge, while Openshed (and similar) might be more than one location and then you have to time and schedule pick-up and drop-off's.

  I'm fine with the Openshed concept, maybe a way it could work better is if the pick-up and drop-off were linked to something like an Airtasker service or a Uber Service (with a Trailer) for someone to gather and return the items when job done.

  Would people pay a moderate premium over the Openshed cost (alone) to have everything they need for a weekends work dropped off say Saturday morning, and collected Sunday arvo? Dunno.

• 

  Nugs on 19/01/2017 - 06:42

  yeah nah.

  what is this for?

  https://www.openshed.com.au/listings/894-rent-round-mirrored…

  • 

    holdenmg on 19/01/2017 - 08:36

    +1

    An attempt to claw back something on an impulse purchase at Spotlight is what it looks like. lol

• 

  kolorijo on 19/01/2017 - 08:06

  If I don't use my stuff, I would just sell them on ebay or gumtree

• 

  Ryanek on 19/01/2017 - 08:27

  +5

  Nice try OpenShed marketing team.

  • 

    team teri on 19/01/2017 - 11:17

    I wish they had a marketing team. When I first saw the website over a year ago it looked like a good idea that just needed more people using it to make it work. It still looks the same.

    Seeing a good idea fail makes me sad - and curious as to why. I have some good ideas myself, but don't want to waste time and money on them if they are likely to run into the same sort of resistance to being accepted.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 19/01/2017 - 08:39

  +3

  Its a pointless system

  tools would get stolen, lost , damaged

  seems like a lot of wasted time tbh, why are they trying to reinvent the wheel?

  Plenty of reputable hire mobs out there that do rentals by the day / week / package deals
  fully insured and licenced and tested equipment as well that meets australian standards

  Not sure how openshed would go if someone was electrocuted or killed by a dodgy powertool in someones "shed"

  Just another failed niche market time waster trying to compete with an already saturated market of rentals

  • 

    team teri on 19/01/2017 - 11:12

    OpenShed offer a guarantee up to $1000 for items damaged or lost. No idea if anyone has successfully claimed.

    There are plenty of hire mobs and obviously punters prefer to use them even if the cost of hiring is 3 times what it would be on OpenShed.

    Not sure about 'satuarated market' though, that would imply there is more supply than demand, usually that leads to competition and lower prices. Somehow the market has failed here. My guess: too many people too lazy to shop around?

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 19/01/2017 - 15:34

      Niche market, most tradies already own their own tools
      Lending tools ends up with stuff being stolen / never returned or swapped parts etc

      I don't see how its viable this whole lending tools solution
      The world has gone mad with all the different things you can do today

      The market has a huge bunch of companies that rent out equipment for hire
      as I said earlier reinventing the wheel isnt much point but the solution may work for the odd person who needs a particular tool for a short time

• 

  lupiter on 19/01/2017 - 09:13

  Do people also rent out the shed? Because I'd love to use a table saw but I ain't taking it home :P

• 

  Euphemistic on 19/01/2017 - 11:37

  +1

  I wouldn't be keen to rent out my tools, unless there is a feedback system involved (haven't checked the website to see if it does).

  Most tools are cheap enough to buy, then if you don't need them again are easy enough to sell online. I buy plenty of tools, it saves me a fortune in tradie labour rates and generally I'll find additional uses for the tools in future projects. The tools I don't buy are the really expensive specific tools that I can rent.