Save money, reduce your environmental impact and connect with your community, there’s a lot to like about the sharing economy. And while it’s not a new idea, libraries for example have been with us since ancient times, the variety of things we can borrow is very new: Prams, car parks and compost bins to name but a few.
Thanks to advances in technology, there’s a growing number of new sharing businesses. The typical model is pretty basic: Build a website or app, people post details of their wares or services, other people find them and use them in return for a fee. The lenders earn supplementary income – often a bit of pocket money for stuff they have and can share. While borrowers typically benefit from cheaper and more personalised services. And without doubt, buying fewer new things has clear advantages and benefits for our planet too…hello again #waronwaste.
Everyone’s doing it
The Sharing Hub claim that 1 in 10 Australians are “significantly boosting their income through the shared economy”. These individuals work an average 5 hours to boost their income by $1,100.
And on the other side of the coin, they state that almost half of all Australians use the sharing economy several times a month. Mostly to save money.
How you can get involved in the sharing economy
From dresses to drills, campervans to cots, why buy when you can borrow? We’ve rounded up a number of ways to get involved in Australia’s blossoming share economy:
Fashion
Rentadress – Women’s clothing with over 3,000 items from over 1,000 lenders across Australia.
Tumnus – Member-based platform where you can connect with someone locally that has similar tastes to you and swap.
Glam Corner – Dress rental. Think race day, wedding guest and all the accessories.
Designerex – Women’s designer clothing rental, eg rent an $800 dress for $120.
The Clothes Library – Rent pre-loved clothes for a variety of occasions.
Le Tote – Rent clothes from active wear to formal wear. Then buy for 50% off retail.
Her wardrobe – Designer dresses, strong forcus on formal and special occasions.
The Volte – The self-proclaimed “Airbnb of fashion” with designer clothes and accessories.
Outdress – Clothes for women, men and kids. Includes formal wear and ski gear.
Storage & Carparks
Spacer – Storage space or car parks. Ideal for apartment dwellers.
Parkhound – Carparks to rent by the day, week or month.
Travel and transport
Car next door – Borrow cars from your neighbours, an hour, a day or a week at a time.
Airly – Access empty jet capacity on shared charter flights. Includes luxury airport transers (cars, helicopters).
Uber – Share rides – one that needs little explanation.
Shebah – An all female version of Uber.
Drive My Car – a peer-to-peer car sharing service, much like Car Next Door.
Coseats – Ride-sharing. List where you’re going to and from and see if you can hitch a ride.
Get My Boat – Boat rental in Australia and abroad.
Accommodation & holidays
AirBnB – Accommodation in Australia and around the world. Whole houses, part houses or rooms.
Camplify – Caravans and campervans that are otherwise sitting idle.
Couch Surfing – Almost 400,000 hosts with spare rooms and couches across Australia offering free accommodation.
Love Home Swap – Swap your home with another, in Australia or internationally.
Homestay – Rented out spare rooms for a night, a week or a month.
Home Exchange – swap your home with one of the 65,000 member across the world.
Flip Key – Trip Advisor’s take on AirBnB – holiday rentals across the world.
Finance
SocietyOne – Marketplace lending, a P2P (peer to peer) lender for investors and borrowers.
ThinCats– A P2P lender for businesses
Home
Sharewaste – connects people (often apartment dwellers) who have food scraps with people that have compost bins and chooks.
Libraries – books,music, online magazines and journals. The classic share economy location.
Streetbank – a wide variety of stuff available in your neighbourhood. Sign up like a Facebook group.
ToolMates – power tools, wheelbarrows, ladders and more to start or finish that job around the house.
Airtasker – Known and favoured by many people to get small jobs and tasks done such as furniture assembly, cleaning or delivering a parcel.
Quipmo – surf, bike and snow gear. Borrow near your destination and save lugging stuff about.
Mad Paws – Find pet sitters in your local neighbourhood to care for your pet pet in your home or theirs.
Borrow My Pooch – Similar to Mad Paws, find locals that will care for your dog – walks, dog sitting and play dates.
Pet Cloud – Another pet-sitting site to give you peace-of-mind that your fur baby is being cared for when you’re away.
Kids
Toy libraries – 280 locations across Australia with toys, games and puzzles for kids.
Kindershare – Baby equipment such as prams, port-cots, toys and feeding equipment.
Work
Two Space – Coworking spaces in unused cafes and restaurants.
Rubberdesk – Affordable spare desks and work spaces for freelancers, small businesses and start ups.
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