Effects Pedal Hire Business Idea

[Les_Paul86]

again, im probably not your target audience but i could see myself using a rent to buy feature for a pedal like a strymon timeline and paying it off over a 3-4 month period at like $15 a week. but really, at that level, with no interest, whats in it for you?! .[/quote]

as for renting, i could imagine myself wanting to rent something like a unique fuzz pedal (ala Fuzz Factory) for a recording session over a week for about the same amount of money i could rent a video game for...say $5 a day, minimum 3 day rental etc. much more than that and i would (personally) try to see if any friends had one i could just borrow or potentially start looking for a similar sound in a cheaper pedal, like a clone or Mooer etc.[/quote]


Don't get me wrong there is some great advice here but I think we're grossly underestimating how much the rentals will be. The above for example of $15/w isn't going to pay for even half the cost of the pedal in 3-4 months. Even buying them at cost, the margins will be tiny on rent to buy without interest.

I think your best bet would be something similar to Pedal Genie, a monthly prescription. Pedal Genie advertise $39.95 for 1 pedal per month but what would make this more appealing is if you could have more than one pedal per month, provided you only had 1 at a time. i.e... return one and get a new on the following week. I'd find this very appealing and would order pedals for the fun of it.
It also lowers the risk, having a guaranteed amount up front for the month.

You may also want to have a network of suppliers. I'm not sure where you are based but for example, if you are in Auckland it might pay to have a partner in Wellington. Then customer may be able to pick up and drop of pedals to avoid postage fee's or even view the pedals if possible? come try them out if someone has appropriate facilities?

You could go one further on this... create a network of pedals geeks willing to rent out their own gear. Pedals that are just sitting under the bed or in a draw could be rented out rather than sold on. The risk is then with the pedals owners though and there wouldn't be much protection for stolen goods. Unless it was worked on a rated system? Like couch surfing? You could review and rate the owners and loanee's to help lower the risk.

Cheers

[StompboxesForAll]

Your idea is cool but lets not forget KISS. Keep it simple....
The pedal genie idea is really good, but how many people want to spent $40 every single month - plus in NZ its going to be more like $80/month.
Im based in Wellington, a good midway point for shipping although I realise most of the pedals will be going north.
And your right about $15/w not being enough to pay of a pedal, especially a Strymon!

Cheers for your input.

[Bg]

for an expensive pedal that I'd like to try for a week before I pony up the cash, I'd go with this. Haven't read the entire thing so I'm sure theres a sliding scale in place for price. But for myself, I'm dyed in the wool multieffects, or no effects.

I'd love to hire an axe fx or kemper at 40 bucks a month though but realistically, a hand shandy a day would be more realistic for the expensive stuff? Studios would be keen for stuff they haven't got?

I always remember the tale of the coral sitar, beloved on a few 60's and early 70's tunes. Only a couple left in the world and the amount of rental charged was humongous for a tour! So Pete Townshend managed to track another down and bought it for megabucks, cheaper than renting though.

and now you can get a danelectro one for just over a grand

anyway,... back to topic

[willow13]

But for myself, I'm dyed in the wool multieffects, or no effects.

and me as well....but that is mainly due to OCD and hating how messy pedals look on the board/floor, esp when using many brands



as far as OP goes, its a nice idea on paper but in this small market with so many options at so many price points, keeping it going without sending you to the poor house will almost be mission impossible (imo)

[jeremyb]

I think it has potential, but more as a way to fund lots of awesome pedals for yourself, i.e. you get to use them when they're not being borrowed! I don't imagine it would be an earner

[Kloppsta]

And your right about $15/w not being enough to pay of a pedal, especially a Strymon!

Umm, yeah ya think? I was making a random example, wasn't doing the maths. But cool man, wish u all the best with "StompboxesForAll"

[StompboxesForAll]

I think it has potential, but more as a way to fund lots of awesome pedals for yourself, i.e. you get to use them when they're not being borrowed! I don't imagine it would be an earner

Yeah my pedal board will be insane!

Thanks for the input so far guys.

[jimi]

I'm a little dubious you could make enough to make a living out of it. Maybe enough to fund your own pedal collection, but with a fair amount of risk and hassle.

Start at the costs and work backwards - talk to an insurance broker to get insurance costs, workout your monthly bills and then you will know how much you need to make just to draw even - websites are cheap, but ecommerce ones aren't . You want to use credit cards so talk to a bank about the costs for having a CC facility. There are some pretty daunting requirements for storing Customer CC info on your website, so you'd want to investigate that 1st. Your liabilities could ruin you if you stored that info and got hacked.

[Delayman]

I looked at the hire idea but it is pretty risky. Have you thought about a sale with guaranteed buy back at a lower price (sliding) That way you get your risk covered off up front and the punter gets to try with less risk

[StompboxesForAll]

I'm a little dubious you could make enough to make a living out of it. Maybe enough to fund your own pedal collection, but with a fair amount of risk and hassle.

Start at the costs and work backwards - talk to an insurance broker to get insurance costs, workout your monthly bills and then you will know how much you need to make just to draw even - websites are cheap, but ecommerce ones aren't . You want to use credit cards so talk to a bank about the costs for having a CC facility. There are some pretty daunting requirements for storing Customer CC info on your website, so you'd want to investigate that 1st. Your liabilities could ruin you if you stored that info and got hacked.

This would be a part time operation to begin with- my full time job would cover my living costs and I would try to build up a customer base and make it profitable. It could be grown into a full time business if I had enough of a market and also included pedal sales as well.
I have a budget and I have estimated the costs as best as I can at this stage. The price pedals are charged out at depends on how much I can buy the pedal.
As for CC info, PayPal is very respected as is DSP and a few other options.

Cheers for your input, I have had one insurance quote but talking to a broker is probably a good idea.

[StompboxesForAll]

I looked at the hire idea but it is pretty risky. Have you thought about a sale with guaranteed buy back at a lower price (sliding) That way you get your risk covered off up front and the punter gets to try with less risk

That's a good idea but a lot of people cant afford boutique pedals to begin with- I like the idea of hiring them out at a fair fee and customers being able to try a whole range of different pedals with there rigs or just use them once for recording.

I will think about your idea though. If I could combine it with rent to own then it could possibly work.
So the customer would pay the pedal off over 3 months (example only) , then if they decide they dont want it then I could buy it back- would have to be at a secondhand price though so they could just sell it on trademe.

[fuzziebro]

if you got one of these badboys in stock, i'd be hard pressed not to rent one from you...

http://www.macaris.co.uk/Colorsound/Col ... _fuzz.aspx

[fuzziebro]

also, things like boss OD-1, and MIJ t-wah, things I might not want to own, but may have a specific use or limited amount of gas for;

you might also want to consider sterile wipe downs after pedal returns... and has it already been said? the delivery company you use will be an important choice too...

[StompboxesForAll]

Hmm 250 pounds for the colorsound, that means over $500 imported, and a hell of a monthly rental price unfortunately. Sterile wipes is a good idea fuzziebro.

Cheers.