Posted November 8, 2021, 6:54 amUpdated on November 24, 2021, 7:03 pm
“No-buy” challenges have multiplied on social networks in recent years. An even more real challenge at the time of the COP 26 in Glasgow (Scotland). So to bypass the traditional circuits of consumption, free offers flourish, online or by subscription.
There are more and more apps, sites and platforms that allow you to rent or borrow rather than buy all kinds of products: evening dresses, wedding dresses, costumes, board games, covers for transporting your bike, including the DIY tools. We have selected six initiatives for you to put (usefully) your finances, and your consumption, on a diet.
1.Geev, or donations for bananas
Yes, yes, you read that right…bananas. The Geev app (and its 2.8 million downloads) offers to donate unused (or more) items (and food). The goal of the start-up specializing in the donation and recovery of products: reduce global spending, and therefore the carbon footprint. The connection is made via geolocation.
To do this, you have to create an account, which will give you access to the proposals of “geevers” near your home. Transactions are carried out with a site-specific exchange currency, the famous bananas. If you reserve an item, spend a banana. At this time, the “geever” must validate the donation. While when you donate, you earn two bananas. When you open an account, you will be credited with three bananas automatically. This operation aims to encourage giving (not only receiving!)
2. Gameflix, “the Netflix of board games”
Board games are fun, but they can quickly become expensive when you love them (while most of the time, they collect dust in your closets, admit it…). So two French entrepreneurs created in January 2021, Gameflix, a platform specialized in the lending of board games. Who is said to be “the Netflix of board games”.
Through three subscription offers, its customers can borrow each month between one and four games of their choice, in a catalog of more than 700 references, which they must return at the end of the loan (from one to six months) . The price? Between 9.99 euros and 24.99 euros per month, shipping and collection included.
Note: no mobile application, everything happens on the site.
3. Allôvoisins, objects on loan … at your hand
Need a drill while hanging your new shelves? No need to buy, you can call your neighbors with the Allôvoisins app (and its 4 million members, including 300,000 professionals). The neighborhood platform is best known for its “services” section, but there is also an “objects” tab divided into a list of categories to facilitate loans. The service is paid, but the price is often cheap.
The advantage of Allôvoisins is clearly geographical since it allows you to find your happiness in a perimeter close to your home. Its disadvantage, however, is that the search tool didn’t seem very agile… Arm yourself with patience, it’s for a good cause!
4. The traditional: Leboncoin
Essential on the second-hand market, Leboncoin (with more than 30 million ads published) also allows loans between individuals. But, be careful, you have to go for very specific products. For example, the ads for the rental of strollers, bicycle covers or even cars are legion. There is also an anthology of wedding dresses, traditional costumes and disguises… Just look!
To find out: for an optimal search, we advise you to choose the category of your product, then write only “rent” to find only loans and not purchases.
5. Trip, the most sporty
Designed in Pau and launched this summer, the Trippez platform allows you to rent bicycles, surfboards, snowshoes, skis, trailers, tents and other sports equipment between individuals. All without breaking the bank and without risk. Its collaboration with Axa assurances protects against any possibility of breakage or theft.
Unlike other solutions available near you, the platform allows you to rent the sports equipment you need, far from home… in other words, wherever you go on vacation. There is no need to bring your tent, mountain bike and/or paddle to the Pyrenees from Lille on a crowded train or an overloaded car, you can borrow one from an on-site location. This is the great advantage of the interactive map developed by Trippez.
Note: There is no mobile application.
6. Nobuy, the new kid on the block
OK, now imagine all this being integrated into a single app… and you have: Nobuy. Tested by more than 350 people, the application with an explicit name allows you to borrow and borrow products from your contacts. It should be available today on Play and Apple Store.
Once downloaded, you will join the Nobuy network through your phone number, after which you will have access to ads only if you have “friends”, that is, some of your contacts already registered in the App. The goal: to swell the ranks of users, while remaining in neighboring communities. “A pledge of trust”according to Florent Vanhove, co-founder of the solution that secures the personal data of its users.
On the price side, free access is guaranteed for individuals and a subscription system will be set up, in a second phase, for professionals who have a dedicated space on the app.