The theory is simple: instead of buying a household item or a piece of clothing or some equipment you might use once or twice, you take it out and return it.

    • @nyan@lemmy.cafe
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      198 months ago

      Modest profit isn’t an issue, but most businesses of more than a certain size accumulate MBAs like some kind of parasitic fungus. They then proceed to wring out as much money as possible in the short term while destroying the business in the long term.

      If it’s just a local guy making 5% or so a year off his one rental shop, that’s no problem.

        • @nyan@lemmy.cafe
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          18 months ago

          The problem is maintaining competition. Another thing those MBAs salivate over is the idea of buying out the competition, and their squeeze-the-company-dry method can give them just enough money for just long enough to buy a competing business to run into the ground when the original one starts to give out. Like I said, parasitic fungus: move to a new host as the old one dies. Keeping them from spreading can only be accomplished by stronger government regulation than many people seem willing to see in place, alas.

    • @Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works
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      28 months ago

      In a purely profit business, you price things based on how much people are willing to pay for them.

      That translates into things never being priced as being “worth it”, but almost worth it, and definitely not worth it for people with tighter budget