What is this site all about?
This site is a place for Owners of things to rent out, and Customers who want to rent some items can meet. When you just do not want to spend the money to buy something that you may use only sparingly, it makes sense to rent it. You can search for items in your immediate area, or if is an item amenable to shipping, you can search by the type of item.
How does it work if I am looking for an item to rent?
You can search from the home page of the site for what you need, and the area that you live in. You can do this without registering with the site. But if you choose to rent an item or make further inquiries of the item owner, you will need to register. Once you find what you are looking for, you will put the dates in that you want to rent the item. After review, you will send this request to the item owner.
You can track your items from your control panel. In the section “Items I Want to Rent as Customer”, follow the link to your active list of items you want to rent. If you change your mind about something after you have submitted the rental request, you can still cancel it on this page. Once the Owner has accepted your request, he or she has reserved that item for you at that time and you are committed to the rental.
There is a link just before you submit your request that shows you the rental contract. Be sure you agree with the terms of the rental before you submit your request.
Once the Rental is scheduled, you still have an option to modify the dates or delivery method with the owner’s approval. Follow the link to your active rentals list for you as the customer to make these requests.
At the completion of the rental transaction, go to the active rentals page to mark the transaction complete, and rate both the item that you rented and the owner.
How does it work if I am looking to list items for rent?
As the owner of items, you first need to register with the site. Then, customize and upload whatever rental contracts that you will be using. This is done through your control panel, in the main section “Items I am Renting Out as OWNER” by following the link to “My Rental Contracts”. Here there is a default rental contact listed, and a link to add a new contract to your list. If you do not yet have a rental contract, you can copy the example contract into a text editor such as Microsoft Word, and edit it to suit your needs. Then add this contract to your list by following the link to add a new contract. There are additional instructions on formatting the contract here at the link “how to upload a properly formatted contract”. If you are having any trouble with this, follow the contact us link at the bottom of the page, and we will get the contract up for you. The important thing is to have the correct language in the contract. Consulting proper legal advice is always recommended.
You will need a location for your listings. If you did not establish a location at registration, go to the control panel and find the link to “Edit or Add Location”. Here you can add a new location. For security, an exact street address is not used to define your location. You will want to be cautious about revealing this information to prospective customers, and use good judgment here. The published location on the site will be city, state and zip code.
Once the contract is loaded, you are ready to begin listing items for rent. You can follow the links that say “List a Rental”, or go to the control panel and in the main OWNER section click on “Create a New Rental”. This page is pretty self explanatory. Simply fill in the pertinent details, and then submit the form to list your item.
When a customer submits a request for a rental, you will receive an email notifying you of the request. At this point, go to your control panel and follow the link to your “Active List of Items You Rent Out (Owner)” to manage the request. With the new request, you can accept the request, decline the request, ask the customer to consider different dates, or communicate with the customer about other aspects of the rental. Exchange of contact information is not allowed at this point.
If you accept the rental request, it is placed into the pending rental list until completed. Upon completion, it is moved to the history list. You can contact the administrator regarding unusual changes in the transaction.
What is the charge to use the site?
There are no site charges to the “customers” of the site (those who are renting items from the owners). The owners are charged a 5% fee for most items, and 10% of the one month rental fee for real estate rentals.
Charges are billed by email monthly, and may be paid by check or by going through PayPal from the site. If you go to the control panel’s General Membership Information section, you can follow the link to “View Your Bill”. There you can review your bill, and link to PayPal.
