Your brand new panties are the devil
I don’t know what’s the deal with Singaporeans, but most of us seems to love owning stuff. We buy all kinds of things, (almost) always first hand. And one fine day, usually several years later, we end up throwing them out due to lack of use. I’m guilty of this myself with sports equipment. =p
Why, I personally know someone who owns 3 shelves of comic books! It probably cost him tens of thousands of dollars all added up together over many years, and yet, he’s admitted that he hasn’t read 95% of them in several years.
Here’s a list of things we can explore begging, borrowing, and stealing instead of buying:
1. DVDs, VCDs, etc
Yes, there’re some of you that buy the latest DVD releases to watch on your home entertainment system everytime they come out. You watch it once, and then it starts collecting dust in your DVD cabinet. Why not just rent? For the price of one DVD, you get to rent several DVDs a month! You wanna watch the same show again? Just rent it again! Check out HollywoodClicks and Video EZY.
2. Books, Novels, Magazines, Newspapers, etc
There’s no excuse for this - most of us only read a book once, so don’t buy! The National Library is a great resource for buying books, and if you’re lazy to hunt high and low for the book you want, just reserve it online for only $1.50 and have it delivered to your nearest library branch. Or rent it from the Sunny bookstore at Far East Plaza.
3. Baby clothes, Baby toys and other baby stuff
Babies grow like they’re on steroids, so don’t waste money buying baby stuff if you can. German service Lütte Liehen rents out packages of baby clothes, why don’t we have that in Singapore? That’s a business idea for you. You can also rent baby toys from the Toy Rental Club and Rent-A-Toy. The Toy Rental Club also rents out car seats, strollers, and many more baby-related items.
4. Bags (Ladies’ handbags, of course)
If you’re a fashionista and end up buying a whole wardrobe of bags, maybe you should only buy a few that you use often and rent those special bags for when you feel like it instead. Check out Be A Fashionista or That Bag I Want.
5. Other rentals
For those who only takes photos on your yearly vacation, Scivale may have a rental solution for you for digital cameras.
Board games rentals are available at The Mind Cafe for those having a party or a gathering of friends.
I’ve not seen these yet, but I’d like to see someone start these businesses in Singapore. Watch rental, jewelry rental, affordable yacht rental, scooter / motorbike rental and outdoor equipment (tents, stoves, hiking poles, etc) rental. Anyone knows of any businesses that do these?
And in case you’re wondering about the title, no, I’m not suggesting you rent panties. It’s just… an expression =p
What else would you rent?
One Comment, Comment or Ping
Say Hong
It’s an Asian thing to own things, whether they are assets or not. Noticed caucasians are more open to renting things, possibly due to socio-cultural upbringing and their home country’s culture.
But I do start to see asians starting to rent things, mainly due to economical reasons.
Say Hong
ps, Salesforce.com will see plenty of growth in the Asean region in the next few years.
Nov 30th, 2008
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