Just realized borrowed tools come back way faster than rented ones

I've been running our neighborhood tool library for about 8 months now. Started with just my own stuff but we got a grant fund from the city to buy some bigger items. The difference between borrowed tools and rented tools is night and day. When I borrowed a tiller from a neighbor I had it back in 2 days, but people renting from the library keep things for a week or more. Has anyone else noticed that people treat borrowed tools better than rented ones?

2 comments

2 Comments

christopher_hunt1mo ago

You said "people treat borrowed tools better than rented ones" but I see it the opposite way. When I borrow from a neighbor I feel bad keeping it more than a day. But when I rent from a store I paid money so I want my money's worth. That means keeping it longer and using it hard. The rental place expects that though. They build their stuff tough and charge for damage. Borrowed tools are personal. You mess up your neighbor's saw and you owe them a favor forever. With a rental you just pay the late fee or damage charge and move on. No guilt. So yeah I think people are harder on rentals but that's actually fine.

fiona_reed1mo ago

Consider how fear of returning a broken tool to a neighbor speeds up borrowing, not ownership, @christopher_hunt.