Disclaimer - I fully realize how completely idiotic this idea is. But I really, really, really hate doing laundry.
Today’s idea is a clothing rental service that delivers clean, “like-new” clothes right to your door. Users could sign up for the service, browse through a large selection of clothing online, and add clothes to their queue. The clothes would be delivered within a few days, and when you are done wearing them, you would return it via a pre-paid envelope. Once the company receives the clothes, they would ship out the next clothes in your queue.
Why is this cool?
#1 - You would never have to do laundry again. Seriously…I freakin’ hate laundry. OK, you might have to do a little (underwear rental probably isn’t going to fly), but still, it would be much easier.
#2 - Clothes are a big investment, and after a few months they go out of style, they get worn out, you outgrow them, etc… Why spend all that money on something that you probably won’t be able to use (or don’t want to use) in such a short period of time?
#3 - It would be great for travelers or situations where you temporarily need a whole new wardrobe in a short period of time. This would be ideal for someone who just changed jobs, or for someone who travels for work (they could have their “rental” clothes shipped to their hotel, so they wouldn’t have to pack and carry a big suitcase).
#4 - OK, it’s not that cool - but come on, coming up with a viable startup idea each day is actually kind of hard, so you gotta cut me a little slack from time to time. 
7 responses so far ↓
Dave P // January 22, 2008 at 11:25 am
You know, I don’t think this idea is half bad to be honest.
It would take a lot of mucking about, and I’m not sure who would do it so market research is a must.
But given that clothing rental already exists (who owns a tux?) this one might just have wings.
astartupaday // January 22, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Thanks, Dave. It’s one of those ideas that sounds good in theory, but given the relatively high cost of shipping and the relatively low overall market demand, I think it’d be very tough to pull off. Though I’d guess that at some point in the next 20 years we may see something like this take shape.
IdeaRich // January 24, 2008 at 1:10 pm
The whole wardrobe idea might not work work, but what about accessories?
With women, you could offer purses and with men you could offer neck ties.
They change so much that this might be a great service.
astartupaday // January 24, 2008 at 6:39 pm
IdeaRich - Check this out: http://www.bagborroworsteal.com
IdeaRich // January 25, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Just proves my point. Where”s the ties?
astartupaday // January 25, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I think that http://www.tieborroworsteal.com is still available, you should grab it! I actually think something niche like that would probably work better than a full clothing rental site. Plus, ties are lightweight, expensive, and (in my case) not worn often enough to justify spending $50+ for a good one. Maybe cufflinks as well…
ejourney // February 11, 2008 at 10:12 am
Great idea. I think the laundry and dry-cleaning bills for the supplier would be too much though. It would make rental too expensive.
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