Ever walk into an electronic store and want to try out something, only to realize that there are not rentals and the only way is to spend the full 100%, regardless whether you might end up liking it or not?
Don’t worry. You’re not the only one.
American-based company Lumoid seeks to provide a rental service for tech gadgets: cheaper prices, fewer obligations, and a lot more satisfaction.
“Get more for less”
Founded in 2013 by Aarthi Ramamurthy, Lumoid is a company based on the foundation that people shouldn’t need to commit 100% when trying out new technology, especially when it comes at a heavy price tag. Instead, there should be an option to try-out these products, for a short time and at a cheaper price.
Lumoid offers just that: a convenient all-in-one service for the latest tech gear. Customers can choose to try several devices at a fraction of the price, or simply rent out single items for a short-term basis. Nevertheless, Lumoid offers a second option for those who aren’t that sure about modern technology, allowing for a new way for people to engage and purchase electronics.
“When we started up, I looked at the market and noticed there were so many huge companies and franchises, especially in the rise of the wearable markets” explains Aarthi Ramamurthy, CEO and Founder of Lumoid. “However, there were no companies that allowed you to try-out or experience these expensive products. For example, you walk into a retail store, you pick it up and try it out (sometimes you cant even try out) and you pay full price to try it. And you don’t like it and sell it/return it back. I started Lumoid in order to give people the opportunity to test-drive it and don’t have this huge commitment to the product. In other words, it’s okay to like or not like it. As a customer, you have full control of what you want to spend your money on.”
Lumoid’s Rental System
- Select the Gear (including trial period; arrival date and return date)
- The Items are shipped via UPS or Fedex
- Offers package tracking, as well as online customer contact for all products
- One, two or even four weeks of trial time (day one begins as soon as the postal carrier delivers the package)
- When the trial period is over, customers can ship the items back to Lumoid using the prepaid shipping label provided. No deposits or other purchases necessary!
- In regards to purchasing the full product, Lumoid also offers retail prices, as well as a rent-to-own program for customers who wish to purchase products and pay it overtime.
Lumoid’s Products
Lumoid’s products range from Cameras, to Go-Pros, as well as wearable technology such as fitness trackers and sports watches. Its most popular products are found in camera technology, where you can purchase split-parts of a camera (the lenses, camera bodies, kits) for a few days time. This is perfect for anyone looking for a high-tech camera for a getaway trip with friends or family. Additionally, the ability to test out wearables and zone in on one of the many options that are out on the market is very valuable for consumers and fitness trackers and wearables are a significant investment for many.
In regards to the products, Lumoid does not have its own products but it does compete with retail stores who don’t offer the rental system and have expensive retail prices as well. An example purchase would be as follows: After signing up for Lumoid, the user chooses to borrow 5 devices for the price of $25 (comes in a single kit). If that user decides they like one product, they are able to ship back the rest, and be charged full retail price for the single product, effectively also waiving the initial $25 rental fee. Other than rental kits, users can also rent more expensive products such as D-SLR Cameras or GoPros from $10 to $65.
“The rental system by far is our biggest product advantage”, said Ramamurthy. “It is affordable, and people can compare items with other items; we work with manufacturers in order to maintain quality control, which is crucial to the integrity of our company. We know a lot of customers have very specific questions, for example, is it water proof, is it heavy, etc. Customers have so many questions and concerns but luckily we track all the data regarding the rentals and purchases of our customers so we believe that customers can also get their questions or inquiries answered before renting on this site. Other retail stores have data and analysis, but in order for the customers to see it for themselves, they have to spend the full price. That’s why we can come out on top.”
Rent-to-own and Purchasing
What happens after you finish renting a product and you like it?
Lumoid offers a rent-to-own program called Affirm.
Similar to a pay-over-time plan at AT&T or Verizon, Affirm allows you to purchase a like-new product and pay it in 3, 6, 12 month plans. In addition, there are no deferred interest or hidden fees, so check out is always what you expect to pay.
Lumoid CEO Aarthi Ramamurthy recently sat down with SportTechie to talk about Lumoid’s success and opportunity.
What has been the biggest surprise and challenge(s) for Lumoid coming into the sports wearables market?
One biggest surprise was not expecting to grow so fast. So in many ways it is a good thing. We launched wearables in February this year, and we expected it to be a very slow, long process. I think after the apple watch came out, same with fitbit and other stuff, we experienced a huge growth in customers, up to 6000. In regards to challenges, you obviously the basic challenges such as making our system coordination faster, sleeker, better, those requirements. Planning inventory, and making sure customers get things with positive experiences is also super important.
What/who has been the biggest competition for Lumoid coming into the sports wearables market?
“I think the biggest is competition for us to learn how to control supply/demand in addition to how we provide for our customers. All the items we have on our website are available in stores so that’s what we compete with. We compete with these retail stores, online stores, and everyone else who sells the same product. Nobody else however, offers this try-out version that we have currently so from that standpoint we really don’t have any other competitors. For us the challenge is more about how do we get more people to try our service; making it not too expensive so people will be willing to try, and we do that by making rental prices very low. And I know people look at the price and it’s very low, but we’ll never be a free service. As an e-commerce company, you have to maintain a beneficial relationship between ourselves at the customers, especially guaranteeing quality. Overall however, renting our items will be 1/10 to 1/15 cheaper than the actual price of the product, allowing people to not dive too deep into a purchase that otherwise might be too expensive.”