Crowdsourced gadget library rents out sound booths, drones and more

KitSplit is a community marketplace which enables creatives to hire out and loan cutting edge equipment.

The latest gadgets are often eye-wateringly expensive, and yet their short life-span usually means they’re unlikely to warrant their initial cost. We have already seen Lumoid, an equipment rental service, enabling customers to rent cutting edge gadgets such as drones, but a new service based in New York now takes this idea one step further — adopting the Airbnb model and creating a crowdsourced gadget library. KitSplit is a community marketplace which enables creative types to hire expensive equipment and loan out the apparatus they own.

The growing marketplace hopes to become a streamlined rental experience for adventurous creatives. The company currently offers over USD 1 million worth of equipment, covering everything from studio spaces and traditional audio/visual kit — such as camera lenses and spotlights — to the latest gadgets, including Oculus Rift DK1s and 360 degree Stereo VR Rigs.

To begin, users create a profile by inputting a few key details about themselves. KitSplit is free to join but all potential users are vetted via their Facebook or LinkedIn account, which they connect to their new profile. If the user is intending to loan out their own equipment they set up a payment profile and create listings, with photos, for each of their devices. Then, potential renters can search or browse the library — when they find what they want they simply get in touch with the owner and organize an equipment handoff. KitSplit provide template rental forms for the parties to complete and handles payment via Braintree. The company take a 15 percent cut of all rental fees.

The service is currently in Beta and is focused mainly on the New York area, but the creators plan to expand into other regions and offer additional services such as courier delivery and insurance. They are planning a public launch in 2015. Are there any potential partners which could help to improve the service’s logistics?