Got one of the items below? No need to worry about taking photos or writing a description. Simply list in one click!

Work - Lawn mower, Trailer, Pressure cleaner, Chainsaw, Whipper snipper

Play - Tent, Bike, Kayak, Surfboard, Golf clubs

Live - iPad, Sewing machine, Stroller, Roof box, Trestle table

We know that our Open Shedders are busy people, so we wanted to make listing your idle stuff on Open Shed as quick and easy as possible.

We’ve also done our research and know that these are popular rental items that are regularly searched for. So what are you waiting for, get quick listing now!!

As the Open Shed team go out and about, we often find people who are really enthusiastic about the idea of sharing their stuff or collaborative consumption but are really nervous when it comes to listing itself. So we’d like to take some time out to answer some common questions and concerns.

“I don’t know what to list!”

You first listing will be your hardest in a lot of ways because it means you’re new to Open Shed, listing and writing a description. The trick is not to over think the process.

Start with something super useful that only gets a look in on a semi-regular basis (or even once in a blue moon basis).

An example of this would be a drill or a lawn mower.

Both these items usually spend a lot of their life hanging around waiting for something to do, make life a lot easier than their manual alternatives and are not something everyone owns.

But beyond this…

“I don’t think people would want my stuff!” 

If you are really unsure, check the things people have posted as Wanted items because with the Wanted Listings you know someone somewhere needs that item.

As Vinko mentioned he was able to rent his tennis racquet, an item he hadn’t considered before he saw the Wanted listing. 

An example of an extremely hot ticket item members want are iPads- especially in Sydney.  And as extra proof, the iPad in Melbourne is proving to be a hot rental item.

Being a startup, Open Shed is constantly talking to other businesses who would also like to use Open Shed to rent iPads for testing, demos or seeing if they will work well for business.

So armed with this knowledge the last hurdle remaining is…

“I don’t know what to say in the listing!”

Our best advice is break it down and don’t worry about super long descriptions or awesome photography. In a description, the main things people want to know are:

a) The condition of your item

b) Its features (if applicable)

c) What you use it for

You can even use the headings to break it down to cover all bases. And feel free to use a stock photo if you don’t feel fantastic about your photography skills.  

A perfect example is Tania’s ladder in South Perth, WA. http://www.openshed.com.au/listings/290-rent-awsome-ladder-south-perth

Tania has included a few photos of her ladder, included a line on the near new condition of the ladder and its positioning in 20 different ways as its features. And Tania seems keen, warm and friendly- even though the listing is really fairly simple.

Any owners who have ladders would know how handy they are for changing light bulbs, cleaning cobwebs and gutters and so on. Anyone who needs one but doesn’t have room for a ladder knows how frustrating it can be.

To help you get over the listing jitters, Open Shed is also considering offering workshops, personalised help or even listing day events so we’d love to hear your thoughts- and your tips- on how we can make listing rentals and/or wanted items easier for you. Feel free to hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or in the comments below this blog. 

The community that you want starts at your front door

This Sunday is Australia’s 10th Neighbour Day - its a day to connect or reconnect with our neighbours and remember that our communities can only be as strong as the people who live in them. The catalyst for the first ever Neighbour Day was the sad and lonely death of an elderly Melbourne woman, who passed away in her home in 2001 but was not discovered for two years. Neighbour Day founder, Andrew Heslop, first suggested the day in a Letter to the Editor of The Age after wide spread media coverage of the death, and 10 years on the day continues to grow!

Taking part in Neighbour Day is as simple as saying ‘hello’ to a neighbour in the street, inviting them over for a cuppa or putting on a neighbourhood BBQ. There are plenty of planned activities taking place all around Australia that you can participate in and it is more than likely your local council will have organised an event, so check out their website.

One of the aims of Neighbour Day is to strengthen communities and build better relationships with the people who live around us. This is also one of the aims of Open Shed. With Open Shed Duncan and I hope to encourage communities to reconnect through sharing.

Our communities are incredibly rich with resources, skills and time, but it can be difficult to bring these all together. We think Open Shed can help with this by getting the conversation started and taking some of the friction out of sharing.

What do I mean by this?

It can seem a daunting leap to move from an occasional head nod to your neighbour in the elevator, to knocking on their door and asking whether they have a drill you can borrow for a couple odd jobs. But if your neighbour is on Open Shed you can already tell that they (1) have a drill (2) are open to other people using it. You can simply send them a message and rental requests via the site, rather than worrying what is the best time to knock on their door. AND then you can meet up in person and collect the drill.

When I talk about “friction” I mean the concerns that can arise when we think about sharing our stuff. Common ones for an owner can be what if they break it? Will I ever see it again? While a borrower can be uncertain about reciprocity issues - does this mean next time they ask to borrow something of mine I have to lend it to them? Do I need to buy them a thank you present? Is this worth a 6 pack or a case in the beer economy? Start thinking about all this and it can seem easier just to go and buy it yourself!

Through Open Shed the fuzzy bits of sharing, which can make us a little uncertain about participating, are made clearer. For example, an Owner sets out their expectations of how an item is to returned and what is to be paid if the item is broken (by listing a bond). And a potential borrower can see what rental fee the owner has listed (its probably a lot less than the beer economy dictates anyway!). They request the item for a certain period of time and once that comes to an end the site will remind them to return it.

Sure it may seem “transactional”, but everyone involved has a clear idea of where they stand, so the actual sharing is more likely to take place. And the above concerns don’t need to be discussed, rather the in person exchange time can be put to better use with some neighbourly chit chat!

So this weekend, take some time to think about the stuff that you have that you would be happy to lend to your neighbours - tools, ladders, vacuum cleaners etc - list on Open Shed AND then let your neighbours know!

Duncan and I hope everyone has a fabulous Neighbour Day. We would love to hear if you have anything planned or any stories that arise from the day….