To Rent or Buy? A great question the Washington Post asks for Thanksgiving. Some good advice:

• You can often stick to a single store to simplify your rental experience. (Results on iLetYou are arranged by Store.)
• Round tables can more fit people. (You learn something new every day!)
• Rent a coffee maker to stock up on coffee, instead of continually brewing with an 8-cup coffee maker. (You can find coffee makers, more beverage serving equipment you might need, or even a bar or margarita machine at iLetYou.)
• Disposable china may be just as good as the real thing. If you’re going to buy, make sure you go recyclable and keep it green!

Have a great Thanksgiving with these great tips!

A fun, hectic week of Thanksgiving Thursday, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday is upon us. You might brave the crowds to save a few bucks. But there must be a better way… I shall call it Rent & Reuse Monday!

With over 100,000 different products for rent at iLetYou, save money and give your loved ones something they’ll truly enjoy. (Are you a store? We’re looking for a few good Stores to work closely with. And get listed.) Try some rental businesses making the world a more enjoyable and greener place at iLetYou:

Avelle. Borrow handbags from the fashion rental leader Avelle, formally Bag Borrow or Steal. With Avelle’s service, you can now rent watches, sunglasses and accessories, with even more to come. Limited time: Use promotional code Luxury7387 and get a $50 credit!

Chegg. Students are back to school. Textbook rental saves 65 to 85%, precious savings for a starving student. Why not get them a gift card for top textbook rental site Chegg? Save 5% on your entire order with coupon code LQ15 for a limited time!

Over 100,000 products for rent! Discover through Tags what’s available for rent as a wonderful place to start. Or, just search for whatever your heart desires at iLetYou.

Have a joy-filled and safe Thanksgiving! Keep the feedback and thoughts coming.

Best,

Your iLetYou Team

Don’t just take it from us! Here’s the entire entry from renting on Wikipedia on Reasons for Renting:

• In many jurisdictions (including India, Spain, Australia, and the United States) rent used in a trade or business is tax deductible, whereas rent on a dwelling is not tax deductible in most jurisdictions

Businesses rent to reduce large, upfront capital expenditures, gaining a significant tax deduction in the process.

• Financial inadequacy, such as renting a house when one is unable to buy it. One may not wish to pay the full price that ownership would need, allowing for smaller payments over a specified period of time

Simply put, renting can make sound financial sense. Romanticism of the ownership society is now catching up with us. Weigh the benefits, and choose what makes the most sense for your situation.

• Reducing financial risk due to depreciation and transaction costs, especially for real estate which might be needed only for a short amount of time.

Depreciation, fees and miscellaneous costs add up. Especially true for a large purchase, but applicable across the board.

• When something is needed only temporarily, as in the case of a special tool, a truck or a skip.

Speaks for itself. iLetYou helps you find those tools for temporary use, instead of always buying because of lack of better, easily accessible options.

• When something is needed that may or may not be already owned but is not in proximity for use, such as renting an automobile or bicycle when away on a trip.

Mobility is at an all-time high, and requirements away from home are higher than ever.

• Needing a cheaper alternative to buying, such as renting a movie: a person is unwilling to pay the full price for a movie, so they rent it for a lesser price, but give up the chance to view it again later.

Again, make the appropriate financial choice instead of falling back to buying. Movies have been the most common, but we’ll see this trend continue to innumerable rental categories.

• The renter may want to leave the burden of upkeep of the property (mowing the lawn, shoveling snow, etc.) to the owner or his agents

Owning property or merchandise has its own worries. The hassle of ownership is often just not worth it.

• There is no need to worry about lifespan and maintenance.

There are hidden costs to maintenance, so why not let a specialized rental businesses handle what they do best?

• Renting keeps off-balance-sheet the debt that would burden the balance sheet of a company in case the property would have been bought.

Taking on debt often doesn’t make sense, whether it’s businesses or individuals.

Whatever your reasons for renting, it makes financial and personal sense more than you might realize.

With the remarkable sophistication brought by FedEx and UPS, more and more rental businesses are opening up and breaking down geographical barriers with nationwide shipping. Look for the Ships Nationwide badge, and get service anywhere in the US.

iLetYou features a quickly growing number of stores that ship nationwide, helping tell rental businesses’ unique stories. If you think shipping is too expensive, think again. Often, innovative rental businesses are offering subscription-based plans where shipping both ways is always included. Most rental stores offer very affordable shipping rates - you’ll save a bundle instead of buying!

You can find anything to rent from Kids and Baby Equipment and Toys to Sports and Outdoor Equipment right now. Look around, and you’ll be surprised at what you find!  Be sure to rate and review your favorite stores with the Ships Nationwide badge, and share your experiences (good or bad) with others.

Avelle is The New Bag Borrow or Steal.  Sure, there are all sorts of reasons for the name change such as creating a more luxurious, European-sounding name.

The big news and real reason for the change, however, is that Avelle is going to expand from its foothold in handbag rentals into some potentially huge new fashion categories: jewelry, watches, apparel, and shoes.  Each of these rental categories represents a huge overall opportunity for the fashion-conscious, yet budget-conscious, to wear the latest and hottest fashions at prices they can afford.

I predict each of these rental categories will see huge expansion over the coming months and years.  There’s also a huge opportunity to serve more specific fashion needs within these fashion rental categories as well, such as with dress rental.

We can’t wait to see what they have in store next!

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