Type Private Company Founder Punsri Abeywickrema Website www.rentalic.com | Founded March 2010 Headquarters San Mateo, California Punsri Abeywickrema CEO | |
Rentalic, launched in March 2010 and based in San Mateo, California, is an online, rental marketplace that encourages collaborative consumption and efficient use of our resources by enabling individuals or businesses to easily and securely rent any good, service, or property; such as video games, cameras, lawn mowers, tents and even private driveways as temporary parking spots. Following the emerging trend of peer-to-peer renting, Rentalic offers a place for “people who need stuff” to connect with the “people who have stuff". Rentalic's vision is to, "Help make the world a better place by building economically and environmentally sustainable communities", through their mission to, "Help people save money, make money, and save the environment by encouraging reuse and sharing through person-to-person renting."
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How It Started
"Punsri Abeywickrema (founder of Rentalic) needed a wheelbarrow to redo his backyard but he didn’t want to buy one for a one time use. The first weekend he worked on the yard, he borrowed a neighbor’s wheelbarrow. The second weekend, he felt bad asking to use it again, so he rented one from a local store. "I thought this might be a problem across society," he says. "There were many wheelbarrows in the vicinity just sitting idle, but that feel-bad factor prevents us from asking for favors." Abeywickrema has software experience from working at PayPal, LinkedIn, and online gaming company Zynga, so he created Rentalic.com."
How It Works
How to use Rentalic - Video
- Individuals and businesses can set up a rental store for their items by registering for free on Rentalic.com.
- Owners set a Security deposit amount for the value of the item, and then Rentalic provides a basic scheduling service for the item, allowing the owner to set dates and show availability on a virtual calendar.
- Once the item is listed, a person can come across your listing and rent it. Using PayPal’s API, the owner of the item can verify that the person has enough money in their account to rent the item.
- Once that’s verified, the person renting the item gets a secret code.
- Only after meeting up in person, and verifying that the item is as described, does the borrower then give the code to the item owner. Conversely, if you’re meeting in a place where you don’t have access to a computer, the person renting the item can call an 800 number, enter in their PayPal account number and then enter in their secret code. At this point, the owner gets your deposit on the item.
- After the item is returned, and it is deemed to be returned intact, the owner releases the deposit and is charged 5% of the total rental fee.
- At the end of the transaction, the owner gives feedback about the borrower and the borrower gives feedback about both the owner and the item. This feedback mechanism provides a level of verification and trust and PayPal takes care of secure payments.