train wreck waiting to happen: NeighborGoods

[ElZorro]

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/07/ne ... cal-roots/

NeighborGoods: Sharing Returns To Its Physical Roots

by MG Siegler on October 7, 2009

Everyone loves to share stuff on the web (I just want to do it faster), but a potentially more compelling business model is using the web to share physical stuff. That’s the idea behind NeighborGoods, a new service launching its public beta program in Los Angeles today.

I’ve had a chance to look around the service for a few weeks, and the idea seems like a very solid one. Here’s a perfect use case: I don’t have a vacuum cleaner, but someone I know does, and they’re sharing it on NeighborGoods, and it’s available, why not just borrow it? You simply click a button, fill out a pick up date and time, a return date and time, and then send the sharing request. If the person who owns the vacuum approves, you’re all set.

So, how do you stop shady people from stealing your stuff? Well a core idea behind NeighborGoods is to offer “Verified neighbors.” Basically, you send NeighborGoods your address and they mail (as in physically mail, not email) a special code to you there. Once you are verified at that address, you will have a special red check box over your avatar, so people know that you can be held accountable if you borrow something.

There is also a star rating system (out of 3 stars) to show how good of a sharer a person is. And of course, there is a text feedback channel on every profile page for users to express their pleasure or displeasure with that person.

Locality is obviously one of the key aspects of NeighborGoods as well. This is not Craigslist or eBay where you can ship stuff anywhere you want. The idea here is that you will be borrowing with people who are in your city (hence the pick up and drop off times). And that’s why NeighborGoods is only opening to people with Los Angeles zip codes today, this will be the first public trial of the system. If all goes well, the plan is to roll out to a bunch of other cities, founder Micki Krimmel tells us.

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[complacent]

an interesting (and potentially quite useful) idea. I'm curious to see how well it will work.

[ElZorro]

Oh, I give it a week before they figure out their mechanism for handling crime is no where near enough

[complacent]

Oh, I give it a week before they figure out their mechanism for handling crime is no where near enough

a whole week? wow, you're quite the optimist!

[zaxrex]

Well, from seeing the people on freecycle, I can only think they will be the same on the borrow boards. And that scares me.

[complacent]

"In related news, local small claims court cases skyrocket 3000 percent in one month! Devil at work, or just bad timing? Headline at 10."

[Sabre]

Sounds like a great idea, but as you all pointed out, I think they need to work on their verification/safety system. The first thing that came to mind was borrowing of big yard tools (Lawn mowers, tillers etc.). Funny since I just borrowed my neighbors tiller!