Brother, Can You Spare a Blender? The Scoop on Peer-to-Peer Equipment Rentals

With all the lawn mowers, table saws, and complete collections of CSI DVDs sitting around gathering dust in the shadowy corners of our homes, you would think the idea to rent out unused stuff would have come sooner. Especially as we inch our way out of the recession with the mantra, "frugality is the new black!"

But while renting cars, bikes, films, etc. -- otherwise known as a "product service system" -- is big business for the Netflix and Enterprises of the world, loaning our bikes and...