How to effectively rent your items on Rentus.com

How to effectively rent your items on Rentus.com

Only list items in good working condition

Time is money — and this is even more true if you’re on a timeline. Don’t waste your time listing items that you have not used in a while or are not sure if they work. You are ultimately responsible for the functioning of the item and its safety as well.  Also, list items that are hard to quickly buy or expensive to buy by prospective renters. For example, if you have a power drill even if it is worth $30, it is hard to quickly buy. Your prospective renter would have to go to a hardware store, chose one, spend at least $75 and have a tool that he/she would only use for 12minutes. Renting your power drill for $10 or $15 per day is a great deal for anyone and you can make that money in minutes over and over again.  

Set a pick-up time window

If you’re really short on time, or don’t want to bother with setting up individual pick-up times, put a window for pick-up in your listing. For example, you can list ten different items and on each one say “available for pick-up between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on daily.” In my experience, afternoons will work for most with enough notice.

Make listings great and detailed — with Photos

Good photos and listings can make or break your rent. On Rentus.com you will be competing with some professional renters in your area also trying to grab attention and rent their items. With that said, we are noticing that in the sharing economy, a good number of our users prefer to deal with their neighbors than with companies, so be creative. Your listing should have a clear, descriptive title, a short description, dimensions, how old the item is, what you paid for it originally, and what rental price you are asking for.  Set terms as well. Do you want the renter to purchase a damage waiver? Are you willing to deliver the item? Are you OK with using Roadie (a Rentus.com partner) to manage the pickup and delivery?  These are setting you can set in every item you list or save as your global settings for all your rentals.

Price fairly and attractively

Almost everyone shopping on Rentus.com is looking for convenience before pricing. Price your rentals fairly and make it as convenient as you can for the renter to get the item from and to you.

Typically, a 5 to 10% of the item’s value is a good rule to price a daily rental. For example, if the cost of a new item is $100, your daily rental should be between $5 and $10 per day. Using this model, you can break even from your investment renting your item only 10 days.  The rest is pure profit.

Consider charging the daily rental times 5 for a 7 day or weekly rental. Build your rental business by great reviews and repeat renters.

Answer as many inquiries as you can and be helpful

People in the Rentus.com marketplace are doers and fully understand the sharing economy. They like to ask questions and feel comfortable about the person they will be dealing with.  Be ready to share manuals, videos and quick answers about how to use your item. It is up to you if you would like to give quick tips and ideas on how to get things done. I personally love helping people.

Be practical about pick-up and delivery

Rentus.com offers a very reliable pickup and delivery service using Roadie.com. Roadie drivers will come to your house, pick up the item you are renting and take that item to your renter. Roadie drivers are verified and have passes background checks.