Posts tagged media
Cavalier Daily
Oct 29th
Imagine an online network of people so generous and resourceful that they lend and lease their unused belongings to people in their communities who actually need them. It almost sounds too good to be true.
Such a system of borrowing, however, already exists in Charlottesville, and it is growing everyday.
With all the perks of popular Web sites like Craigslist and Amazon, BorrowMe.com allows students, small organizations and other “frugal folks” to enjoy the convenience of borrowing the items they need, without the purchase price, safety concerns and hassles of cross-country shipping.
Created in 2005, BorrowMe began in Calgary, Canada as a way for people to save money on items like textbooks, furniture and cookware.
The idea for the company started with a Spiderman DVD and a close friend, CEO and Founder Sean Young said.
“I was walking to the rental store when I bumped into one of my friends,” he said. “We chatted and I revealed where I was going and why. He later suggested that I just borrow his entire Spiderman DVD collection instead of buying it.”
Everyone appreciates saving a few bucks here and there, Young said. Why not take the idea one step further?
“If I had X-ray vision and could look through all of these peoples’ garages, I’d find all of these piles of stuff that we all collect,” he said. “Who really uses all of the junk in their basement or garage? On average, how much dust does it collect? If everyone could share the things they didn’t use with people they chose, money would be saved and those items would be put to great use. Life would be a whole lot cheaper and everyone would be happy.”…
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The Manitoban
Oct 14th
Website promotes borrowing, lending instead of tossing in trash
Eric Seniuk | Oct 12
With the economy turning sour, people are looking for creative ways to save money. Many have turned to BorrowMe.com, an online forum where people can lend, rent or sell just about anything.
Users that are new to BorrowMe.com must begin by creating an online profile — similar to those found on Facebook or MySpace. Once the profile is created, users can then register items that they wish to lend or sell.
In addition, users can register “wishes” for items that they’re looking to rent or buy. When a wish is matched up with an item that someone else is looking to unload, users can be alerted with emails, text messages or even Facebook notifications.
Each BorrowMe.com user sets a geographic radius in which other site users are considered “neighbours.” For example, if Jane deems anyone living within a 50 km radius of her home to be a “neighbour,” then she would receive alerts when people living within this radius are looking to lend or sell something that she has requested…
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The Daily Orange
Oct 6th
Web site gives used items a second chance
By Rebecca Toback
Posted: 9/30/09, 1:02 AM EST
With the economy in a downward spiral, borrowing instead of buying seems like an ideal plan. BorrowMe.com provides a borrowing and lending service where users can share things ranging from textbooks to digital cameras.
BorrowMe.com founder Sean Young had the idea in 2005, but did not release the site until earlier this year.
“When the economy went south around a year and a half ago I got back together with some people to discuss the project,” Young said. “And a little over a year ago we started working on the site again.”
Now the site has more than 1,000 users and hundreds of opportunities for users to share, anything from textbooks to vacuum cleaners…
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The News Record
Oct 5th
Renting textbooks online an option for students
By Eric Johnson and Ariel Cheung | The News Record
Published: Sunday, September 27, 2009
In the everlasting search to save a buck or two, more students are turning to the Internet to order textbooks.
Now, not only can books be purchased on Web sites like Amazon.com or the University of Cincinnati Bookstore’s site, but they can also be rented or exchanged.
Rental sites like Swaptree.com and BorrowMe.com let users borrow everything from textbooks to DVDs. BorrowMe.com also offers swaps for furniture and game consoles.
Other sites are created specifically with students in mind. Web sites like Chegg.com and Campusbookrentals.com both offer rentable textbooks at a discounted price.
Most rental sites offer textbooks for nearly half the price of a retail store and give students the option to rent their books for varying periods of time.
“I guess if there are no hidden fees, it would be worth it,” said Emily Schwieterman, a third-year education student. “It seems pretty cheap and efficient.”
One negative aspect of the rental sites is being able to find the textbooks required for classes in a somewhat shallow pool. Long delivery time can also be a problem….
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