TOYS....Renting vs Buying

I started using the rentatoys service when Arfan was around 1 month because Arfan wanted some stimulation and since my mother is taking care of him I wanted things to be easier for her. But buying a RM500++ worth of swing set to be used for a few months was not financially practical. Yes I know we can use it for our second baby, but who knows when that will be and meanwhile where can we store it?

So when I found out about rentatoys. I decided to try them out. Found the swing set I wanted and the monthly rent was only RM39. I had to put in a deposit of RM300 but I'll get that back so its not like I'm paying RM300 for the thing anyway.

Their service was excellent. I texted them and they replied almost immediately. Confirm amount to pay, and after the transfer is done I texted them back. And 2 days later I got my swing. It was clean and in good condition. EXCELLENT!!!.

Arfan ended up loving the swing set. So I decided to extend my rental for another 2 months. All I did was email them and that's it. And sure enough, nearing the 3rd month of my lease, Arfan no longer wants to sit in it anymore. So we returned it. I used their pick up service. Told them when and where I wanted them to pick it up. And in the website they did say it will be picked up within 3 days after the date I gave them and sure enough, on the 3rd day KTM called and the item was picked up. And although I was charged RM15 for this service it was worth the convenience as I don't have to  lug around this bulky item to a courier service.

But recently Arfan has learnt that standing up is fun!! So I thought it would do him good to have an exersaucer or something similar. Browsed the site again and saw the leapfrog learn and groove activity station. Deposit was RM200 and monthly was RM39. So again I texted them and since my deposit was still with them (this was a day before my item was picked up) they just deducted the monthly rental for the new item from my previous deposit. SO EASY!!!

Now Arfan is happily using his activity station and I'm planning to get the bumbo seat next.

Savings??

Instead of paying RM500+ for the seat, I only paid RM132 for 3 months use.

And the activity station could have easily cost me RM500++ too if I were to buy it, but to date, I only paid RM39 for it.

It's a win win really. :)