FriendWithA: Rental Market for Sports Equipment

What is FriendWithA?

FriendWithA is an online rental platform where you can list anything for rent, from camping equipment to bounce-houses. But it’s a particularly popular place to rent out high-end sporting equipment.

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How it works:

For owners: If you want to list an item for rent, you sign up with your name and email. If what you are renting is worth more than $1,000, you’ll also need to verify your identity. The site requires that you provide information about the amount the item cost new and when you purchased it. You’ll then describe the item, provide a title for the listing, set the price for rental — daily, hourly and weekly — and say when your item is available for rent.

After that, you’ll get notified when someone wants to rent your property.

For renters: If you want to rent an item, you choose what and when. And then you’ll need to either provide a deposit equal to half of the item’s value, or buy insurance.

FriendWithA Review:

FriendWithA is one of several peer-to-peer rental sites that encourages people to list and lend everything from sporting equipment to household goods. Launched in 2018, the site specialized in high-end sporting equipment such as one-wheels and skis.

However, it also appears to have captured a significant amount of the high-end photography/videography market — at least in Los Angeles, where there’s plenty of freelance and part-time filmmaking.

The challenge here is a simple one: The site is young and doesn’t have a huge following. And, frankly, there’s not a giant profit margin in renting out household goods and sporting equipment. For instance, people renting out one-wheels, which cost about $750 – $1,000 retail, charge $40 to $55 per day, depending on the rental location.

If a renter is late returning your equipment, they get fined. And, if they’re a full day late, you get 110% of your rental rate for the inconvenience.

That might sound pretty good. After all, you’d pay for the item with about 20 rentals. But, you’ve also got to account for the time it takes to meet with the renter for pick-ups and drop-offs. So, your real profit is going to depend on how you value your time.

Fees

At one point, this site charged a modest 6% site commission to owners, plus an insurance fee. Now it appears that owners pay about 20% for the site’s commission plus insurance. However, this apparently varies based on the rental. You can find FriendWithA’s fee calculator here. 

The fees for renters will also vary based on the item. Renters need to click on the item and say how long they’d rent it before they get a calculation of the fees.

Payments

Payments to owners are made via direct deposit once the rental is complete. Renters are charged at check-out.

Insurance

Importantly, FriendWithA provides insurance for the items that you rent out. This is important because most private insurance coverage doesn’t cover so-called “voluntary parting.” Voluntary parting is when you voluntarily give somebody your possessions, whether as a rental or a loan. When you do that, most insurers say that you’re on your own if the renter doesn’t give your stuff back.

However, FriendWithA’s coverage is subject to a deductible of 10% or 2% of the item’s value, whichever is more. So, if you paid $1,000 for your one-wheel and a renter destroyed it, causing a $1,000 loss, the site’s insurance coverage would reimburse you $800. That’s the $1,000 minus the 2% deductible, which is the greater of the 10% ($100 deductible) or 2% of the item’s value ($200).

People who rent on this platform also must sign a liability waiver, emphasizing that you know that you could get hurt using sporting equipment. That’s not the owner’s problem. The idea is to take the onus of wrongful death and injury claims off owners renting out their equipment. However, there’s always a risk that you’ll get sued if someone hurts themselves while renting your stuff.

Recommendations:

If you have sporting goods, high-end cameras and other business or household items you’d like to rent by the hour, day or week, this platform is a nice place to do that. You can list your items on FriendWithA here.

If you have high-end film or camera equipment to rent, also check out ShareGrid. Another option for renting out anything else: Yoodlize.

Updated 8/19/2024