Hire Things (and Cahooting): Extracting More Usefulness

Hire Things (and Cahooting): Extracting More Usefulness

Hire Things started out in October last year as Let Use It, changing its name in response to user feedback. It takes the middle ground between eBay (for sale) and Freecycle (for free), offering goods for hire. Instead of owning goods outright you only pay for the time you need to use them. A classic product service system (PSS), but rather than the items belonging to a business, in the typical rental model, they are owned by the average you and me. Currently operating in New Zealand, the founders have plans to expand into other markets like Australia and the UK in the next couple of years. They may find the British market a little competitive as there are already similar services on offer there. One is Cahooting, whose mission is to “help make the world become a more fun and sustainable place, by reducing unnecessary production and pollution !” (Whereas Hire Things seems to have a slightly less altruistic philosophy. “Use it as an excuse to buy that thing you’ve always wanted because you can make your money back hiring it out to others!”) Another British model is called Anything for Hire, where you can get what you’ve always dreamed of since being a kid: castles and even dragons. Hire Things, via Springwise (see also their related trendspotting article on Transumers.)