Sharing MarketPlace module allows members of your community to share items with others. Sharing with persons in the same neighborhood is an excellent way to save thousands of dollars in purchasing new items which may only be used for a short period or a single occasion and then discarded.
Lending and borrowing stuff is nothing new. We've all spent our entire lives sharing with others. This tool simply makes this familiar activity easier by providing a central inventory system online with scheduling and tracking. This feature will help your members to conserve resources and live more productive and connected lives.
Borrowing and lending items is free of charge. Members may charge a deposit for the use of their items but that is up to the discretion of each lender.
HOW IT WORKS
A member has something to lend will post the information on the site. The incentive for lending is that they can build up a reputation on the site and it will be easier to borrow stuff from others.
Members can browse through listings to see interesting stuff that they can borrow. Once they see something that is needed, they can submit a request to the lender.
The lender of an item will review all the borrow requests that they get and make a decision to lend to a particular person. They can always lend to another borrower after the item is returned.
There is the option to accept or reject each request or just leave it pending.
Once a request is confirmed, the borrower is notified by mail and they can then make contact with the lender to arrange pickup. If a deposit is required then they will bring that at the time of pickup.
After the item is used, the borrower returns the item and gets back their deposit if there are no damages. They logon to the site and flag the transaction as completed. The lender will also flag the transaction as completed. The entire exchanged is considered finalized when both borrower and lender has flagged the transaction.
Both borrower and lender are encouraged to leave a review about the transaction so other members can get an idea of what to expect if they were to be involved in a transaction with either borrower or lender.
When posting an item, the following information can be provided :
- Description of the item
- Why the item was purchased
- Estimated Value
- Deposit required (optional)
- Contact - Member can choose to display this only to borrowers
- Location - Member can choose to display exact location only to borrowers
BORROWING
Persons can borrow items that are presently available and are within their proximity to facilitate easy pick up and return.
The borrower must state why they want to use the item and they must list their current location. This will help the item owner to make a decision to lend or not.
ITEM AVAILABILITY
A item owner can flag a listing as not presently available for lending. This may be because the item is currently borrowed by someone or the item is not working properly and is being repaired etc.
CLONE LISTING
Another member who has a similar item to lend can clone an existing listing and post their item for lending also.
WISHLIST
Members can add items they desire to borrow in the future to their wishlist. This makes it easier for them to keep track of these items.
REVIEWS
A person who has borrowed an item can post a review about their experience with interacting with the lender. This will give others a general idea about what to expect if they should borrow an item from the member in the future or if the member returned the deposit upon receiving back the item etc.
Review can include general comments about the borrow experience and specific pros and cons.
When posting a review, a member can also state whether they recommend the item to friends.
It is possible for persons reading a review to flag it as being helpful.
FEEDBACK
Members can Rate and Comment on listings.
Members can request more information about a listing.
PROMOTION AND SHARING
Members can promote (create awareness of) listings with other site members or external friends.
Allows sharing of listings on Twitter, Facebook and other popular networks.
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