Austin - Community Impact Newspaper

Monty Marion
6 | June 2009 Community Impact Newspaper • Northwest Austin Edition
Business Profile Loanables
Ryan Cush, left, rents out his fishing boat to a user of the item-sharing site Loanables.com.
By Melissa Mixon
In late 2006, Ryan Cush was talking
with friends and family about some of
the old tools that had accumulated in
his garage over the years — saws, a lawn
mower, even a fishing boat. The items had
been sitting and collecting dust, which got
everyone thinking.
“We realized people have all of this stuff
and it’s never used. If you need something,
you go to Home Depot,” Cush, 32,
said. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if
you could share all of your stuff?’”
A few months later, the north Austin
resident started the online sharing site
Loanables.com, which allows neighbors
to rent out items from each other, though
sometimes items are shared for free.
Loanables started as an online itemswapping
site that was used by only a few
north Austin residents. Now, it has a few
thousand Austin members, and Cush gets
inquiries from as far away as England,
where a fan of the sharing site has asked
how to start a Loanables group for her
community.
Unlike eBay and craigslist, the items
posted online are borrowed, not bought.
People loaning out items for rent get to
decide the terms of the rental, including
the price and security deposit. Once a
person requests to rent the item, a loaner
New Office Policy:
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can approve or deny requests, and both
parties remain anonymous until they
agree to a transaction. The Loanables site
does not charge a usage fee and provides a
legal rental agreement that protects both
the loaner and the renter.
Payment and delivery of items is determined
and handled by the two parties.
The idea behind Loanables started as
a way to help reduce mass consumerism.
Rather than spend money on new, and
often expensive, parts Cush figured they
could be shared within the community.
Cush also saw it as a way to get to know
your neighbor.
“One guy rented my boat and we
started going fishing together and having
coffee. We ended up talking about career
stuff and we’ve kept in touch,” Cush said.
That is partly what attracted Marc Ostryniec
to Loanables. Ostryniec, who lives
in Tarrytown, has loaned out everything
from saws to bungee cords and buckets.
Once, members of a school drama club
came over to borrow his tile saw to do
work on their set. When they arrived,
Ostryniec could tell they had never used
a tool like it before, so he gave them quick
instructions on how to use it.
“It worked great,” he said. “It’s really
nice to see what peoples’ projects are.”
While the most popular items rented
are tools, the site offers everything from
Teachers
Loanables
www.loanables.com
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Halloween costumes for babies to a horse
that can be rented for up to $75 a month.
In a creative twist, a Tennessee woman
offered her handyman of a husband for
rent.
Of course, another perk for both renters
and loaners is money. Cush has taken in
roughly $2,500 to $3,000 for items that he
has rented out on Loanables.
“I have a fishing boat that has more
than paid for itself,” he said.
Given the economy, Cush said the site is
especially useful to people wanting to do
projects cheaply or get extra cash by renting
their items out on the site.
“That stuff can be your best investment,”
he said. “You spend $100 on your
stock and then you look at that and then
you spend $100 on that thing you can
rent out. You get a better return on those
things hanging out in your garage or
your attic.”
Loanables also has items for teachers. On the
site, teachers can browse supplies for subjects
ranging from drama to science. The teacher section
is relatively new and postings are limited, but
teachers can find items like overhead projectors
and Spanish language audio CDs.
Visit www.loanables.com/teachers.
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