(Originally published on my posterous account, thinking it was a little weird to be published here, then I wised up and realized there isn’t anything too weird for here. This is the stuff I think about on my down time.)
Buy to rent isn’t just the newest business model, it’s the CURRENT business model but we don’t acknowledge it quite yet. Admitting to it would mean admitting that what we consume ends up costing us more indirectly than what it would have cost to rent the item instead (note this doesn’t apply to most quickly perishable items, like food, rather reusable items that lose their quality very slowly). You’re probably already doing it and don’t know it. Or you’re on your way.
Buying just isn’t worth it, unless your item is quickly perishable like above, because everything we buy and keep has a shelf life of longer than we’re willing to use it. Say you purchase a book and read it three times in five years. Most of those five years, that book has set on your shelf, either taking up another book’s space or simply adding to your perception of how busy or full your space is. You stored that book longer than you used it. Now, because you won’t trash it, it must be sold or given away. This requires you to either plan and have a garage sale or arrange to bring the book, along with other unused items (there’s no way anyone would take just one item to be given away) to whatever organization you see fit. That took time and considering the book’s worth now, totally not worth it, even factoring in time used and original monies paid.
Everything in your house is like that. Hell, some media in your house may be changing formats, prompting you to buy another version in the newer, easier-to-use format, thus adding to the cost, as you would not have replaced the book/movie/show/image had you not owned it in the first place. So now you have two, full-priced copies that are essentially worthless (if you consider making a profit were you to sell RIGHT NOW the true estimate of worth) to anyone but you. You now have to sell or donate the original piece, while the updated version will prompt you to justify a hardware purchase to make it easier for you to interact with your stored data, a cost which can be tracked back to the original purchase.
And now ANOTHER item is being introduced and though more efficient, still as real as everything else, adding to the amount of stuff you buy to rent. It’s also the perception of ownership. So few of the items we regularly interact with last more than 10 years. Your car? Maybe. Your house? Depending on the deal you got and where you are in your house-buying cycle (1st time homeowner or 4th?), it’s a stretch but I’ll say likely. Most of the rest of the stuff we buy last just a few years, like your phone, your computer and maybe your watch, if you don’t have a super-expensive one made by the Swiss.
The solution is to share more. Does everyone need their own bike? Could a car even be shared? What about sporting equipment? Might be tough to share furniture, but what if neighbors all chipped in to buy extra seats and tables for parties and then reserved them as they saw fit? Much less problems for anyone involved, and while they are still buying to rent, they at least acknowledge it and use it to their benefit.
I don’t like having so much stuff, but digitizing isn’t always the answer. What I need is a system that makes maximum use of what I have, ideally in cooperation with someone with similar, but never, ever close to exact, tastes to my own.
Urban living, here I come.
