Buy It, Don't Rent It - A bit about using tools and selling them later

If you have ever rented a tool, you have likely found yourself rushing through a job in order to return the tool within "the first four hours." I have found a better way to operate - buy the tool new or used that you need - even if it is expensive - use it at your leisure until you have completed the job to your satisfaction and then sell it on Ebay. Sometimes you can even make money if you buy the tool used.

To illustrate the difference, I show how buying a chainsaw and selling it on Ebay is smarter and less expensive than renting.

Rent a chainsaw:

• Rush to the rental store in the morning and rent a good chainsaw for $40 for 5 hours.
• Purchase the chain for the saw as required by the store - $15
• Hurry your ass and fell the dead tree in your back yard - 1 hr
• Run to the store and get more chain bar oil - 30 minutes - $5
• Buck up the limbs as much as you can in 3 hours.
• Leave the job 75% done and rush back to the store to return the saw
• Return next week to rent the saw again in order to finish the job
• Total cost: $90 and a lot of wasted time and stress
  

Buy a good used chainsaw - use it and sell it:

• Buy a entry-level Stihl Chain Saw used for $150
• Use it as long as you need to finish the job over several days
• Let your friend buy you beer when he borrows it for a job + $10
• List it on Ebay or sell it locally in a newspaper or Criags list or whatever and get $160 for it.
• Total Earned: $20

This is a very real scenario because I have done it several times. Sometimes you make money and sometimes you pay a little, but it almost never pays to rent. I have done this with rototillers, cordless tools, ladders, lawn tractors and automotive tools.