Have you ever wanted to try out a gadget before buying it? Sometimes our electronic gadgets are so expensive that it’s hard to tell if it is worth it until you’ve tried it and lived with it for a few days or weeks. Sure, a lot of stores have return policies but it looks like the folks at Best Buy want to try something different in terms of rentals.
Best Buy has confirmed to the folks at Recode that later this month, they will be launching a new program in which customers will be able to rent certain electronics to try before deciding if they want to buy it. This will be done in partnership with Lumoid who will be handling the rentals, while Best Buy will be the ones who will advertise this.
Now some might be wondering if there is a difference between buying a product first and then returning it, or renting it first before deciding to buy it. The difference here is that buying a product first assumes that the customer will keep it, while renting through Best Buy’s new program will see the company try to not let “open box” items go to waste, which are basically products that have been bought but returned.
Usually in these cases retailers such as Best Buy can’t resell them at full price, so by providing them to Lumoid to rent out to customers, Best Buy will be able to recoup some of those losses. Customers who rent the items can earn about 20% of the rental price in Lumoid credits, which can then be used towards the final price if they decide to buy it outright.
The items that will be part of this rental program will include cameras, audio equipment, and fitness trackers, so if investing in any of these products is something you’re considering, perhaps this program could be worth looking out for.
Filed in . Read more about Digital Cameras and Wearable Tech.