

Ask HN: Has a startup ever tried renting out women's shoes? - padobson

I was thinking about statistics concerning women's shoes. Most women only wear a pair of shoes a few times. It seems like there would be value in setting up a Netflix like system where women could pick out shoes they want to wear and put them in a queue, the shoes are delivered, and then returned after use. Obviously there would be w number of hurdles to this, the biggest that I can see being sanitation. I'm just wondering if anyone has ever tried.
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tylerwl
RentMeAHandbag.com seems to be the only site that offer women's shoe rentals.
However, instead of a queue system, they offer weekly or monthly rentals. From
the page I checked out, they're quite pricey ($279/week or $558/month for
Manolo Blahnik pumps).

ShoeDazzle.com ($60M in funding) offers more of the type of service you
described. However, instead of rentals, members pay $40 a month to receive a
new pair of shoes selected by a Hollywood stylist.

It's also worth noting that in a 2011 interview, RentTheRunway.com ($30M in
funding) said their future plans may include "product lines like shoes" -
[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870337340457614...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703373404576148170681457268.html)

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Zimahl
Handbags can also be rented at bagborroworsteal.com, I think you can buy used
ones there too. I find it weird that I know about rentable handbags.

Handbags are one thing, women tend to take pretty good care of them. Shoes are
a tougher sell. Sizing is all over the place. Wear and tear can be
inconsistent. Knock-offs are close enough in quality that most women don't
care. The profit margins might be too low to be worth your time.

Then there's the 'icky' factor. People don't mind wearing bowling shoes
because they wear socks with them. Women don't wear socks in high-fashion
shoes and might be quite apprehensive using rentals even if they are
disinfected.

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rdouble
it's hard for shoes because you would have to stock a big range of sizes.
Also, the price point for shoes is much lower than dresses and bags. It
doesn't make sense for a consumer to rent a $400 pair of shoes for $100. It
makes more sense to rent a $10,000 dress or $8000 handbag for $100. (although,
in the world of $10,000 dresses "making sense" doesn't really apply)

Finally, I worked in fashion e-commerce and there isn't much evidence that
anyone in the space is making any money.

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dmd149
Its been done with dresses but can't think of one with shoes.

<http://www.weartodaygonetomorrow.com/default.asp>

You could probably test this pretty quickly by setting up a webpage with best
selling women's shoes, putting a rent option, and then see if anyone rents it.

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dangrossman
onenightstandshoes.com did it a few years ago, but they are no longer in
business. I don't know the details except that it was a high heel shoe rental
service.

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nurik
If it all I would rent out expensive jewerly...of course protected with
sufficient insurance etc..

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mitchie_luna
This idea is very unique, I haven't heard any business like this except for
business like bowling and ice skating where customers should rent shoes before
they can play.

I agree that the possible problem on this is sanitation. You should think of
idea how to resolve this. Maybe you can use the idea of using socks, stockings
or removal insole.

Goodluck.

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someone2
rdouble - I would love to hear more about your experience. It might be helpful
for me. Can you please email me "k n a n d y a l" at Yahoo.

Thanks

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rdouble
it's hard for shoes because you would have to stock a big range of sizes.
Also, the price point for shoes is much lower than dresses and bags. It
doesn't make sense for a consumer to rent a $400 pair of shoes for $100. It
makes more sense to rent a $10,000 dress or $8000 handbag for $100. (although,
in the world of $10,000 dresses "making sense" doesn't really apply)

Finally, I worked in fashion e-commerce and there isn't much evidence that
anyone in the space is making any money.

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Drbble
Bag Borrow and Steal

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PhrosTT
netflix for ties!

