Bookswim – Netflix for Books
highfade.com
highfade.com
It's too much work and I don't think it's profitable in the long run.
Last time I checked, there aren't any established book rental places. This is probably due to a few factors, but the biggest is that a library is doing this job about as efficiently as possible already, for free.
Basically, this startup is competing against something that is free, funded by government, and offers no real advantage, other than the fact that I get to use my computer instead of walking down the block.
In the real world, libraries are slow, far and few between, poorly stocked with weeks-long inter-library waiting lists, and open during hours convenient only to the un-employed.
I still question this initiative though, for the simple fact that there are no book rental stores the same way that there are movie rental stores. There are book stores, libraries, and even used book stores, but no rental stores.
That bothers me. It tells me that there is something about the way people consume books that is inherently different about how they consume movies.
At any rate, I'm not educated about the topic enough to know this answer. This site is going to find out whether this is an untapped gem or a bust waiting to happen.
I wish them luck.