How IKEA Plans To Rent Furniture

[@sileigh1]

I have had most of my IKEA pieces for so long they are considered vintage now. Whenever something outgrew our use it was rehomed with other family members. I find the newer stuff doesnt have the same durability or longevity as the IKEA of old and over the last few years we have made the transition to real wood, upcycled, thifted, or antique pieces. They may be heavy but they will last a lifetime and beyond.

[@mjsvitek]

I have antique pieces of furniture that are older than my great-grandparents and will probably outlive my great-grandchildren 😶

[@ZerudaDensetsu]

So true!

[@carl9901]

I second this, the old products perhaps were too good lol.

[@amyarcher8017]

I think this is a great idea for people that move every year, but for people that are relatively certain they will be in one spot, I see it as a less sustainable and more expensive way to live.

[@FutureProofTV]

We agree! Definitely a market for it but not everybody should resort to it 👍 thanks for joining us here!

[@saragoose]

If the rental included pick-up and delivery, I'd definitely consider it more strongly if I were planning on staying for a year-ish in a place. Because getting rid of used furniture when you're in an apartment and don't have access to a car - it can be really really challenging.

[@user-xg6zz8qs3q]

Getting rid of furniture is easy. Just phone a local pawn shop, thrift store or charity and they will move furniture out of your home for free and with a smile. Getting rid of a mattress or sofa is a huge problem however.

[@mariusvanc]

@@user-xg6zz8qs3q They won't be smiling when they discover it's your shitty old ikea furniture they're picking up.

[@turtleanton6539]

And if they build it for you to

[@jadabousamra3612]

Most charities will take it for free but will charge you for logistics, so its not free at all! and you wont be smiling when you get the transportation quote they give you. @@user-xg6zz8qs3q

[@zacstarkey1369]

why dont they sell the items like normal but have a buy back scheme where they give you a percentage of what they expect to sell it for in the reduced store, this would seem like a more sustainable way of doing things for the environment as well as financially

[@MrTuttiFrutti]

They have, at least here in Europe they offer you to buy your used furniture for a decent price I have to say, based on the condition. But you have to take it to their store on your own, which in my opinion is a bit of a hassle depending on what type of furniture it is.

[@Emily-hd9sm]

I think this could be really good for some people who will only be living somewhere short-term. I go to a school that has a lot of unfurnished apartments for student housing, and I seriously saw tons of furniture IN THE DUMPSTERS upon move-out times last year. Also, not everyone stays in the same apartment year after year, so people have to move all their stuff. If this system can become affordable enough to compete with buying a dirt-cheap sofa and throwing it out after one to three years, well, that would be nice

[@begemotowa]

Where do you live? In Poland I've never even heard of student housing without furniture, and all dorms where I have lived were furnished.

[@Silverfrost128]

@@begemotowa In the US, it's pretty common for some university apartments to be unfurnished; at least, I had the same experience. Lots of furniture tossed in the trash

[@SheenaMalfoy]

Only if they drop the contract times. Being stuck with something for a minimum of a year (as was described here) is gonna screw over a uni student who only lives on campus for 8ish months and then goes home.

[@Bonanzaking]

Its not always a waste. When I was in university I’d always use the move out time of the year to pick up nicer furniture as an upgrade or pick up extra stuff. Locals in the town would do the same. Sometimes you scrounge up pretty good hand me downs from rather wealthy students. A lot of students would also hit up the clothing bins where students would get rid of clothes they didn’t want to pack up and take with them.

[@Seargentmyself]

I've been using the IKEA desk I'm sitting at for like 10 years now. I'm pretty confident in saying that's better for the environment than renting new furniture every year

[@kuokic3031]

Financial aspect aside, I think the question regarding quality of products is really the critical part of this. "Retro" IKEA pieces from the 2000's were of a much higher quality than the majority of the products they put out now. Without improving the quality (and therfore longevity) of their products, I can't help but feel this is just a convenient way for corporate companies to have no responsibility for their furnature waste on their books. I've been gifted a bunch of old ikea furniture for my new house, and have been stripping the old orange varnish off them and restaining/making other things things out of them. 90% of the old ikea furnature I have is solid pine, and look great with a little TLC. Meanwhile, the newer pieces I'd bought 6-8 years ago as a student are all veneered and have no solid wood to them, making them difficult to patch up and renew when they've become beaten up through daily use.

[@ZerudaDensetsu]

This is my per peeve with Ikea, and the mass production. Although I understand, and being not wealthy myself, there needs to be a market for cheapee furniture but it also feel elitist to have such cheaply made furniture for people who cannot affors full wooden hand crafted 1k cabinets.

[@madameclem]

Works well for student spending a semestre abroad / internships in markets where houses are not furnished; or for people with job that need to move seasonally, or if you have a temporary change of use for a room (working from home for only 6 months, young baby entering the household can lead to short terms needs, and many other life events I don’t think of!)

[@MarisaClardy]

So, one use case I have for this is: I recently bought a new couch, but it isn't going to be delivered until 5 months after purchase date. In the meantime, I could rent an Ikea couch for those 5 months and spend very little compared to buying a new couch from Ikea, and Ikea will just take it away once I get the my new couch. For now, I am using an air mattress as a couch while I wait for my couch to be delivered.

[@erich214]

I believe you're locked in for a year with rentals as mentioned in the video

[@FutureProofTV]

That's a great point!! Thanks for sharing, Marisa 👍

[@MarisaClardy]

@@erich214 oh, I must have missed that part. If you don't get locked in, then the value prospect is definitely there for rentals then.

[@lunar686]

Omg great point 😊 hope they reduce the minimum time for furniture rental as I know custom furniture orders often take months

[@lincolnlu9869]

The local business I bought my couch from gave me the floor model to use for half a year cuz the couch I ordered was delayed for so long.

[@lovinthisnewchick]

Renting furniture isn’t a new concept in low income neighborhoods in the US. Places like Rent-A-Center were super popular at one point

[@latristessdurera8763]

Same. My grandparents generation rented furniture. Mostly Big ticket items in low income area’s.

[@connorjensen443]

I think we can also learn from the fact that it's not new and has historically been marketed to low-income people. The lesson, in my eyes, is that corporations pushing leasing over ownership is an effective tool to drive marginalization and keep the power structure in favor of those who choose to exploit when given the opportunity.

[@driverjayne]

I was gonna say exactly this! This is just another example of how the middle class is disappearing and how companies are polishing low income realities to make people who grew up middle class but can't achieve that status now feel better about the fact that their economic future is being stolen from them.

[@rodrykamey3414]

@@connorjensen443 I have to fully disagree here. I grew up low income, pay cheque to paycheque and my family used places like Easy Home which was a rent to own service. Kinda like this Ikea system, but with the added benefit of owning over 2 or so years. This system HELPS low income and doesn't harm it in any way. In the video, it's even stated you can swap it out and the prices are actually quite low. This idea that everything harms the lower class needs to stop.

[@vickymc9695]

Same in the UK. These shops are seen as pretty predatory and scummy. Their as bad as payday lenders.

[@jadedDoll]

I can definitely see this working in the same way as people who rent apartments because it's difficult to get into the housing market. If you don't have all the money upfront , it's not a bad alternative. As other people in the comments have also pointed out, it's great for those who live in places short term or move around a lot. It will be interesting to see how they pilot this program and what prices are associated if you damaged/break the furniture.

[@matt05024]

I get that subscription services are really "in" right now, but I think that a furniture buyback program would make more sense since it offers the flexibility of keeping the item long term for a flat price.

[@kathryncryts5537]

I would have loved to have been able to rent furniture in college, I switched apartments every year for 3 years while there.

[@FutureProofTV]

College students are definitely the ideal demographic for this one. Thanks for being here, Kathryn!

[@kathryncryts5537]

@@FutureProofTV yeah, thank you!!

[@Chickadee2202]

Reminds me of this service I heard of that lets you rent your live Christmas tree. You get it in a pot for the season, then they take care of it for the rest of the year and when it gets too big it is planted permanently in a forest. I think that is a really cool alternative to cutting down trees that will die and have to be gotten rid of somehow, and you still get the color look and smell of a live tree, and you don't even have to keep it for the whole year like a plastic one.

[@clarissagoetz4199]

I can see this working well for people who like changing up their space (change styles, colours, etc.), it offers an option to keep things new & exciting. I could also see people, especially if they live in a small space using this to furnish a baby's room, considering cribs and changing tables are only used for a few years at most and it's not always practical to keep bigger furniture in a small place that you don't need at the moment.

[@jits8767]

There is a lot of talk about students here, and as a student who has had the luck to be living in the same dorm since september 2018, I have spent more than enough time looking at the Ikea furniture I bought on a whim and am now stuck with. As per this channel, the biggest symbolizer for this has become the lack side table. I have a black one and I found a white one in the storage room. I have begun a project to lay them with mosaïc, to personalize them. It's really soothing, and it gives me a reason to keep the piece. The other one I will probably give away. If it has a nice mosaïc, I hope the person it goes to also has a reason to keep it around longer. International students around here are pretty thrifty and furniture that people don't want anymore is sold or given away for free. I like that stuff much more than Ikea, it is that oldtimey woodsy vibe. Some couches and matrasses are icky, so not everything you can get of the streets, but there is more than most new students think. The rental system is tricky, because sometimes it obscures true costs and can turn into a burden on your income flow. But the nice part is that you know that it will end up in a good place after you're done. But the furniture around here is already ending up in good places (mostly). All that is needed is for something to spark interest, for people to see that it is not trash but treasure. Ikea furniture is handy, it is often made to be easy to move, to keep for short whiles. But the mass production does not make it spark interest anymore. Also I am a student in the Netherlands and no one has ever rented a Lack coffee table. I like these circular economy ideas, but I just don't think mass produced ikea furniture is the way to go about it

[@YukiTombo]

I could see this taking off with the younger generation in Japan. There are a lot of temporary job dispatchers like language schools that I could see making a rental deal with Ikea, and passing along the cost to their employees who usually stay only one or two years in a certain job or location. We can get used furniture pretty cheaply here, but getting rid of it is an expensive and ridiculous pain in the ass. ETA: And hiring movers! Japanese moving companies are some of the best in the world, but they are very expensive and sometimes companies foot the bill for relocating an employee, which happens a lot. Furniture rental could actually turn out to be cost-effective for that reason.

[@Tara-yn8lu]

I can see this being a thing within the military community. Especially people that are posted often/out of country. Things break often and it would free up more moving space for other families moving in the same direction.

[@Victoria-dh9vb]

I think this would make a lot of sense for people who move a lot for work or school. Part of the issue of moving is that your old furniture might not fit the layout of your new home, so it makes sense that if you know you won't be living somewhere long tern to rent your furniture. That being said, they would have to make it more cost effective, because if it's cheaper to buy, especially if you can then resell the item, no one is going to utilize this service

[@mb_19_24]

As a current university student, I really like the idea of this model, especially from Ikea, because when you go to school far from your home it can difficult to decide whether to buy, store, and move furniture. Particularly, my program requires potentially moving to another city every semester. The one thing I wish would be built into these models is a true month-to-month rental, or rental periods matching academic years. While there are always people selling their furniture on different facebook groups, I can see this being really great for university students.

[@tracys169]

I used to have a friend who would rent furniture from local furniture rent-to-own company: Rent-A-Furniture or was it Aaron's. She would pay up to $250 a month for living room set and washer/dryer (I think TV was also included in this). Very comfortable-and gotta say, not bad-looking furniture. She's doing it because she was moving around, she's not certain she wanted to stay where we lived (she's moved away since).

[@samipso]

Here in Japan we have to pay a fee to throw out big trash. If they come pick up that sofa afterwards it would actually cut costs slightly. Still niche though, but can see it work for places that need to rotate furniture a lot. Like short-term rentals with option for furniture or multi location air-bnb hosts.

[@aus-reviews8462]

pretty smart how they are getting the consumers to build the product so they have something ready to sell in the second hand market

[@sct4040]

You forgot the delivery fees. Whenever I buy a sofa for instance, it cost at least $50 for delivery. If Ikea delivers and pickup for free, the cost becomes the same for the year.

[@y0utuberculosis]

Makes sense if you're living somewhere for only a few months, I lived in Australia in an apartment for I think 3 months and luckily there was a bed, but it was a pain furnishing everything for such a short amount of time. I wonder if they'd rent pillows and duvets too, because the cheapest pillows you can buy for a short amount of time are awful but you can't justify buying nicer ones

[@joermnyc]

In the US there are stores called Rent-A-Center and Aarons, that will rent you almost anything for your home (couches, big TVs, refrigerators, etc)… but it’s actually a huge rip-off and they are banking on the customers not realizing that until they sign the lease contract.

[@cferracini]

I think both can coexist: buying and renting. It all depends on your needs. Many people sell their furniture when they don't need it anymore. Marketplace, Kijiji, OLX, Flea market, etc, are all there. They are great places to get "new" stuff or pass them on.

[@aileen4329]

I love how you’re not embarrassed about rocking to Nickleback! ✊ 😂

[@LapperMedic]

"If you are a millennial, you value the access to the Spotify music library more than you value physical CDs." That's a false dichotomy. I don't use Spotify or any streaming service because I value owning my music, and owning music does not require you to own physical CDs. High-quality downloads and vinyl exist and are enjoyed by many millennials.

[@justjoelee]

how about the category of people who don't have that lump sum of money to spend on furniture? yes in the long run it costs a bit more, but at least it serves as an access point 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@FutureProofTV]

Hey there! You're right, it becomes more accessible to an entire demographic of people who couldn't necessarily purchase pieces outright. However, second hand furniture pieces would usually be comparable in price - so there's definitely options there! That's a great point, though 👍😃

[@Angryoyster]

Jokes on ikea I found most of my furniture on the side of the road for free. But I could totally see people who would like this and use it dorm rooms and college cities come to mind.

[@Dutch_chess]

I remember working at Recovery or PQ at IKEA and had a conversation with one of the returns people. Every year there would be students with U-Hauls returning the furniture they bought a year ago. While the store can kinda recoup the cost with the as-is section, the 365 policy totally undercuts the company in so many ways. I can't tell you how much product I've had to destroy and throw away (it hurt my soul) all because we didn't have room at our sales floor. The whole renting IKEA furniture sounds like it makes sense. At least before I quit, they were talking about it. To be honest, the second hand market is a better option if you ask me.

[@xjoses]

Since you're Canadian, please make a video about MUJI next!

[@MorningCyclist]

Me: yeah, who would continually pay rent for furniture when you could just buy once? Also me: *looking around my college apartment of 90% rented furniture*

[@lunar686]

Who doesn’t enjoy an irrational attachment to an awesome couch 🥰!!! Super interesting new business model and I can definitely see the appeal, particularly for students, businesses and work travel. Although I a little worried this model may end up as a debt trap at the lower end of the income scale, like the rental appliance market became, and I also hope it doesn’t increase the speed of what’s considered ‘trendy’ and then place ‘fast furniture’ on the same ridiculous timeline as ‘fast fashion’...like I don’t think that’s possible, but I wonder if our grandparents could have imagined a world where cold-shoulder tops were the hottest trend one week but were outdated by the next 😂😂😂, like I don’t ever want to hear my kids say that the black lack coffee table was so yesterday, today is about the blue lmao😂

[@AWillems34]

Look into Pivot Furniture! I rented furniture while in Saskatoon and I think it has since expanded to all of western Canada. The furniture is modular making it easy to repair according to them. Once you reach the retail value of the peice, you then own it

[@FutureProofTV]

How cool! We're definitely looking into Pivot, thanks for bringing that to our attention, Aaron 👍😜

[@lawrenceh5354]

It took 2 years to get How you remind me out of my head...2001 to 2003 that damn song played on rotation in my brain. I've been a recovered HYRM addict (I would argue victim) for over 17 years and you just had to get it stuck in there again. Expect a call from my lawyers. (Also, cool video as always)

[@FutureProofTV]

Hahaha sorry about that 😅 Glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for being here!!

[@walkermorales337]

I figured rental furniture would be used in airbnbs and rental units, as you said you can keep the furniture updated, the cost will be written off as a business expense either way and should an item get damaged after a year or damaged in between rentals and matching furniture can’t be readily found then they can just update the furniture. This would also require less upfront capital to furnish the rental property or Airbnb.

[@ttopero]

I can see the benefits for short term rental units that get a lot of wear & the cost can be deducted as a business expense. The model should be less cost for rental than purchase with items that have a longer life & are more durable as they will retain more value longer into the life.

[@ManuelHernandez-ue8ei]

This would honestly be a great plan for businesses around the world. There are two main reasons I can think of. First and most important, it can create a better image with clients. If we were to enter a building where we are conducting any type of business and the next month they had a c o mplete overhaul of furniture it would add an appeal to the business making them think they are very profitable. This would be a great image for the business. 2nd, it would also bring a good office moral with employees. Getting new things and from your boss seems like a great way to improve relations between the workers and management. Thus there would be a greater work flow. Of course it seems kind of materialistic but when people are given new things it rams up the creation of endorphins and cause a better view from a viewpoint of relationship with the company. I don't think with homes this would be as beneficial but I really do see this being implemented in offices.

[@felixbechtoldt]

Do you know how it actually works if you want to give anything back? Do they come and pick it up or do you have to bring it to the nearest IKEA? And do you have do disassemble it first? The only benefit I see is if there is a full service pick up where you dont have to do anything. If you have to bring it to the nearest IKEA yourself, you probably have do disassemble it anyway and/or rent a huge truck/van and then I dont see how it is more convenient than just taking your furniture with you when you move... Especially with that kind of pricing ;)

[@aslfdjalskjflkajs134]

good point

[@Fireberries]

I might have gone for this if I were to have chosen to stay in an empty rented house for my university year. I have no car and other forms of moving large furniture are expensive. The slight additional cost would be worth it in this case, as I'd be saving money, actually. If I bought them outright, I'd have to pay for a moving van to either take them back home for the summer and find some (none-existent) space to store them in or rent out a storage location to store them in. With the renting model, I could rent them for the academic year - possibly. You don't typically rent for the full year, if the place is targeted specifically at students, you just rent the academic term. Student housing tends to have basic furnishings anyway, but I can see some places around the world or some maybe cheaper options being a basic empty place. If I could commit to the 12 month contract, and renting the furniture and the empty place for a full year as opposed to the academic, perhaps renting furniture is simply the best way to go about it. But of course, I have the option of going home for the summer. International students - unless loaded - don't tend to do this. Instead they stick it out for the three maybe plus years. If they do go back, they would need to rent storage lockers for their stuff. If I were to have gone to study in America or Japan or somewhere overseas, furniture renting would be the optimal choice to make. I find it funny that my opinion is pro-furniture renting for these cases... I'm always the type of person to want to own the things and as a rule, I hate the concept of renting. (I'm a millennial who does not have Spotify and never will. I am far too frugal to make that monetary commitment and I hate advertising). Renting is never better in the long run, except in rare circumstances. So I think it's a pretty cool idea, assuming they're right in that it will make the life of the pieces last longer. Also the additional jobs is pretty cool

[@sonipitts]

Considering how much people pay every month to keep furniture in storage units between moves (or for years if their new space doesn't fit the furniture they have), this might actually be cheaper over a lifetime. Not to mention how much space discarded furniture takes up in landfills when people upgrade or break stuff.

[@mrkingsudo]

Honestly, I am in the process of moving to another state but only for a year, and the idea of renting all the furniture for a monthly is a really attractive idea from a sheer laziness standpoint.

[@luriglilleskutt]

It probably wont solve all the things that should be on IKEAs to-do list, but it def might shine a light on the 2ondhand furniture market.

[@ryantsui2802]

If they run a price where they make more money even with fast fashion items then they've already won the game. Sure, they could be incentivized to make sturdier equipment but the rules have been set to where even if they do absolutely nothing they're miles ahead of you as the consumer. Regarding durability, it goes both ways too, if they rent you the equipment they're also factoring in the user being more rough with an item they don't own. I'm going to duct tape my table if I don't wanna buy a new one. I'm not going to ever do that if I'm paying extra renting my furniture.

[@omnibus360]

I think I would do a combination. I have two large items that I worry about when I need to move, and as I never intended to stay here for very long I’m a bit concerned I will need to get rid of them. All of my small items I would buy and kallax etc which fits anywhere. Those two items though I would really consider renting especially if they had a buy out option after a year.

[@ketch_up]

I think this would only work if IKEA brings it's quality back up to where it was in the 90s. A general critique of IKEA stuff nowadays is it's essentially single-use, not really feasible to take it apart and re-assemble it without having it break.

[@BeautifullyReckles]

I would've liked this when I was in college. I lived in certain places for a super short amount of time and so for me this would've been worth it. I also didn't have enough money upfront to purchase everything.

[@FutureProofTV]

The college demographic is definitely who would benefit the most from this system, thanks for taking the time to share with us!

[@DanielBrotherston]

Boy, I sure wish I'd seen this video before I shipped all my stuff to my new home lol. But you're right on price...it's too much. What I really want is for IKEA to provide the used market...but not charge me more for new products for the privilege of having that. It does make sense to a business however. The large national bank I worked for actually had a department which provided this service within the company.

[@madelynh7052]

This is why I bought a Thuma bedframe - i can easily take it apart and transport since the frame pieces are built to fit like a puzzle piece and go together without screws/glue

[@msKita43]

That yellow couch tho 🥰💛🥰

[@ashleymatthews683]

I did Furniture rental in NYC for years with a company called Feather. Higher quality furniture than IKEA. It was entirely the best solution in NYC where moving is INSANELY expensive. the extra cost of furniture does come close to what it costs to move furniture at the end of the lease. Feather included the move in/move out with membership (even if you needed to move it to another apartment) and kept costs down on things like Potter Barn or RH furniture, and made mattress disposal in NYC very easy. i only stopped using it because I knew my new apt would be home for at least 5 years and i could curate the aesthetic better. if i was still moving every year or so I would absolutely still be using it

[@brutalbasspro]

The way you car process I thought maybe he’s Canadian when you said couch I knew it! Add this channel to the other Canadian channels I enjoy. Makes me wonder if the fact I was raised on early Nickelodeon that was mostly Canadian tv shows is why I like things from Canada?

[@thattannerguy856]

That shout out to Matt was freaking clutch lol

[@lynnleigha580]

I did a rent to own on my couch and loveseat, for $50 bucks a month, it was a cyber Monday special and by time I paid it off, I spent about $1,500.00 on it. I probably could have bought it outright for less than a grand

[@MTurner504]

pro tip if you spend the money you would put towards rented IKEA junk towards gas instead and drove around a variety of neighborhoods typically on nicer days you can get some amazing furniture you will than own for the amazingly low price of free .99. and simple solution when you are moving and dont want to take some items with you either sell them for cheap or give them away for free. i collect hundreds of items each month from local neighborhoods and resell for $1 an item no matter what item because i literally find and collect so much stuff and i would rather get rid of it for a low price knowing it helps others who are also struggling. i highly recommend visiting a swap meet during summertime towards the end of it and i guarantee you will find tons of free stuff left behind by those not wanting to hall unsold items back with them. its a freaking gold mine!

[@perezident14]

Noticed you don’t have your personal or shorts channel linked in the “other channels” tab on your profile. Just wanted to give you a heads up in case that wasn’t intentional. Love the video, as always! Thank you for making content. 👌

[@FutureProofTV]

Heya, thanks for the tip! We've added the other channels now. Thank you for being a part of the team 👏💪

[@katebaker9984]

What would make sense is that the new items were rented at a premium rate and the used items are rented at decreasing rate each rental cycle. There is great value for many of us in the moving and set up service and the rental rate could decrease to the point where it covered this service plus 'administration'.

[@KalpeshMange92]

Umm, I’m surprised that this is new for the west. I live in Bombay, India, and for the last 2 years I’ve been renting every piece of furniture in my home. It’s cost effective and the furniture is great. Also, when we move, we don’t pay anything in transport. The company comes and packed it up and delivers it to the new home.

[@mariaklassen6288]

I had a friend from Mexico that lived here for a while in the US he told me he had to move back because of all the payments every thing in the US is on payments I believe he was right

[@lovemusicbandchorus]

This is just going to become yet another example of something that's cool when your rich, and trashy when you're poor. Rent-A-Center has existed for years, and people who can't afford the lump sum of furniture costs have been using it for a long time out of necessity. And people have been looking down on them for it the whole time.

[@Kaat997]

Another note, that does not change the results of the discussion. Work generated due to circular economy for treatment of post used products in any sense involves also that some work in the linear value chain for the actual production of the item is lost! We want to see that shift, but the ratio is not 1/80 or 1/130. I don't have the data about the loss of job in that field, but presumingly the ratio is pretty different. (I really don't want to complain about lost job, but it is just a fact). Have I been studying business models and circular economy for the past year intensively ? Probably. Sorry for being meticulous.🙈

[@1911Zoey]

This gives me the "You will own nothing and you will be happy" vibe.

[@qazzi2436]

Netflix is struggling with loses. Spotify is dealing with losing money. Would this work out?

[@puptart2041]

I thought renting furniture was common? Conn's and Rent-A-Center are pretty big, especially in low income areas. Every apartment I've lived in has offered furniture rental, which was awesome in my early twenties when I moved every year and didn't want to transport/buy furniture. It was often higher quality furniture I wouldn't normally have been able to afford, and it was like $30/mo added to the rent payment each month to have a fully furnished apartment.

[@loganenator]

Does the rental furniture arrive pre-assembled? I missed that detail.

[@Kaat997]

Are the transportation and assembly in the rent price? Because if so, I believe around more than 100€ should be added in the "buying new" business model. But even so, there is no advantage in using the rental model price wise.

[@Sparklepony614]

Had to subscribe after u started singing Nickelback lol ❤

[@mattepple6759]

Lower the price (maybe with renting second hand sets) and you could really have a market in college apartments. Students dont stay more then two or three years in an apt on the large end. If be perfect for that

[@willardSpirit]

IKEA should create a high end spin-off that's more durable made with better materials so customers would buy less but pay more for it. As for movability, be mindful in designing furniture that can easily dissemble for moving

[@insa.kohlbecker]

I love this idea. I don't care about furniture and I want to be flexible. That's perfect

[@annefosli7044]

I'm guessing their rental prices has likely resale value built into it. A lot of people wouldn't want a used couch but would want a used dining room table. I wonder if the more expensive ikea furniture is a "better rental value". I think this is a cool concept, in college I purposefully lived in apartments that were already furnished to not need to deal with furniture but definetly paid a premium for that. This would have opened the doors to more apartments. Renting furniture with roommates is logistically much easier than buying. Also if someone is moving into a new house and just want to rent furniture for a year until deciding what furniture to actually buy it makes sense. People are definetly paying a premium for the service but I think its actually really cool. I don't think it's for most people but could be great for some people.

[@nicholaslangheld8394]

Just go furniture free; I've been decluttering and hoping to do so when I move out of my current apartment with roommates. Its easier to keep clean, more affordable, and more calming.

[@makatron]

Quick question. If I rent the furniture nut I have to move from NYC to Austin, can I drop my current ones at NYC and pickup the same set at Austin?

[@Joe-vm6ds]

I do wonder with the part about not having to deal with moving the furniture around 5:20. Instead of moving it to your new place, you're just moving it back to an IKEA, right? Unless they offer some sort of pickup service it seems like a moot point. Once you've got it into a vehicle you can bring to an IKEA, you might as well bring it to the new place unless there's some weird difficulty in bringing in furniture

[@FutureProofTV]

That's a good point - ideally there'd be some sort of delivery/pickup service included. Thanks for being here, Joe!

[@tasia2174]

@@FutureProofTV If they are partnering with that moving company you mentioned, surely in includes delivery and pickup.

[@puremetalcore]

i think it's a good idea especially because now more people don't have own house/flat

[@juriepica1174]

I now remember who the actor for the mayor from Resident Alien reminds me of XD And you're both named Levi!

[@samantha-jaynechapman2950]

this could be good. get business to be early adopters for onvience while they build the systems up then expand to private homes once the sytems make it more affordable. in a decade you could have a model that works for everyone

[@cat86581]

Honestly it's not a terrible idea for some stuff. Baby cribs for example, if I wanted kids I'd 100% consider renting one.

[@WaqasRasheed]

Your point about how much it creates in jobs is a good one. However, over the lifetime of the furniture rental the money that a person pays will also exceed the cost of owning that furniture … I suppose paying more will create more jobs so it may be possible folks are willing to absorb a 10-20% higher cost if it creates 30 more jobs per metric ton of waste vs 1-3 jobs for disposing the waste.

[@brendaseader1669]

I remember that this was an attractive option (not Ikea) for service families living on and near US military bases in the 60's/70's. Not the best quality, but it worked until you could afford something better.

[@SnoopEastwood]

It seems like this is what companies want to do more and more now. Provide you a service you have to keep paying for rather than actually selling you something you can own outright. I will never get on board with that model I like owning and not having to worry about recurring payments.

[@matt45540]

If it comes assembled I'd be in!

[@mimikyuri]

Me, still owning a Nickleback CD and playing it semi-regularly in my car that still has a CD player

[@lolkthnxbai]

Feel like too many people just ignore used and antique goods for sustainability it can't be rivaled, but doesn't make these people money. I got really into estate sales a while back and I get beautiful antique furniture for insanely cheap, and if I don't need it I just donate it to a thrift shop or sometimes even sell it.

[@rosewater226]

First, I do that with Nickelback in my car now, just on Amazon Music 🤣🤣 no shame! Second, I can't see myself renting the future for personal stuff. But I could see a company doing it. Like, think about say a daycare that needs cribs, or a person with a small business that needs just a few things until they can expand and get more permanent solutions. I can definitely see it working, but I think for personal stuff, people might just fair better to buy a good quality neutral colored couch that they can take with them. But, for a family with kids, this might be good for upgrading beds for youngsters!

[@bjmurray1842]

Does Ikea's rental scheme include delivery, and assembly?

[@BK-qp8zp]

I freaking love IKEA - wish I could live there!

[@theunlicenseddoctor]

I don’t think this is such a sustainable idea as they make it out to be. In my city people tend to give away furniture they don’t need/want anymore (as well as sell for reasonable prices). In some ways that connects you more to the community and allows you to pass furniture to people who can’t afford it otherwise. This kind of rental model would effectively kill this kind of help. I would rather support people around me then be part of a scheme that returns the items back to the manufacturer.

[@EffectedEarth]

The sad part is that they are not accounting for personal resale of furniture as well. If I want to get rid of well kept ikea table, I would just put it up for 50$ on Facebook marketplace…

[@aaronsowers5824]

lebakkens rent to own it's a chain in Wisconsin, idk if its nationwide though I'd assume not

[@Kldkilla4g0d]

I don't think it will be so popular on the buisness side either. Many of them do not care about being "hip" or "with the time". They usually replace it if they are moving or if something is truly broken since they want to keep the costs down as much as possible. So a one time payment for desks which is overall cheaper than a MONTHLY payment makes more sense.

[@juliatorokhov4986]

Outsourcing the cost of maintenance of hundreds of chairs and desks, especially if the business gets a bulk discount, is much cheaper than owning them.

[@Icedragonshiki]

I’d like to be able to let go and pass along my ikea pieces when I move not too far in the future. It will certainly be a lot of work to try and sell on facebook marketplace and then donate the rest.

[@vickymc9695]

Isn't this a really old set-up that been the burden of the working class for generations? Like TVs, washing machine, cookers, beds, and sofas? It's not always been hirer/purchase.

[@straighttothedisco]

I think this would also work for like Air B&Bs and landlords

[@haggardkicks]

I only bought a handful of furniture from the store and most was a bed. The used market is bloated and you can get what ever you need in the second hand markets.

[@hobotify]

I can imagine this working similar to car leasing, especially on more expensive items like couches or tables if they make it a bit cheaper. Like you would pay a monthly price for a year, and when the contract is up you have three options: 1 - give the couch back, terminate the contract. You have used the couch for a year, but only paid half price. 2 - pay the difference in price and buy the couch for good. 3 - renew the contract: keep paying the monthly fee but swap the couch for a brand new one, or a different model Also i don´t really think this model would work with builtins like kitchens or wardrobes.

[@katchingkat7545]

Okay- I have SO many thoughts about this. And I wish we could look at this from another angle. I used to be homeless and well below the poverty line for my entire childhood and a portion of my young adult life. This is a NIGHTMARE scenario to me. Back in the area I grew up there were furniture rental companies- and they PREYED on the poor. People that couldn’t afford to buy a tv- were able to “rent” one- and oh man don’t get me started on the interest rates…. Repossession of furniture etc. There are so many practices that are considered “sustainable” today that came from the same ideas that profited and exploited the poor. Just stuff to think about

[@turtleanton6539]

Yes

[@lynnleigha580]

I've rented to own, pretty much all of my big furniture. I got this huge, $2,000.00, 4 piece, entertainment unit, that takes up my whole wall, for $300.00 cash and carry because someone broke the glass doors for the the side shelves and there's a little two inch chunk taken out of a corner, that if you wasn't looking for it, you wouldn't notice it and truthfully, even if the it had the glass doors, I would have removed them myself.