Lend me your ears June 27, 2011 7:52 PM   Subscribe

I just set up a group for MeFi members over at NeighborGoods, a virtual lending library of "stuff" site. In the continuing tradition of not reinventing the wheel around here, I'm opting to use an existing service to help people share their belongings with other members, so have at it, sign up and list your things.

It'll work best if we have lots of members in the same areas willing to loan out stuff they don't use often, but I'm curious to see if it works out or not. I bet we have enough of a critical mass in places like NYC and San Francisco, but I hope it can become workable in other areas as well.
posted by mathowie (staff) to MetaFilter-Related at 7:52 PM (54 comments total) 15 users marked this as a favorite

What? Who on earth just goes around setting up MetaFilter member groups on random websites? That's completely uncalled fo...

oh...

um...

Okay, well, then.
posted by hippybear at 7:55 PM on June 27, 2011 [2 favorites]


Yeah, think of it like the MeFi reading group, the MeFi writing group, the MeFi Healthmonth group, or the MeFi hemp dispensary group oh shit I've said too much. This is for sharing stuff you don't use often and can be really helpful. People have asked for this virtual craigslist style functionality for a while and I wanted to see how it might work here.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 7:58 PM on June 27, 2011 [4 favorites]


I can't get the site to do much for me, but people in town are welcome to borrow my dremel.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:01 PM on June 27, 2011 [5 favorites]


Can I list pets? If anyone needs lots of fur all over their furniture, you can borrow my dogs.
posted by desjardins at 8:10 PM on June 27, 2011 [8 favorites]


I'm planning on making my life into a romantic comedy based on the farce that I have a lost dog when I, in fact, have no dog, so perhaps I should borrow desjadin's dogs halfway through so that my romantic object believes that I have a dog.
posted by NoraReed at 8:14 PM on June 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


Well, if we're listing pets, I have two cats I can lend out. One of them is a superior feminist type who dishes out attitude right and left but also is good for quality purring, and the other is a boy cat who is afraid of everything but likes to snuggle.

Oh, and the female is leash trained, and will ride on your shoulder for long distances. So you can take her on walks, and when she gets grumpy about the walkies, you can scoop her up onto your shoulder and walk her back to the house effortlessly. The boy cat... he does neither of those.

And yes... Fur everywhere. That's the bonus.
posted by hippybear at 8:15 PM on June 27, 2011 [3 favorites]


OMG, yes this is awesome. If there's anybody in the Boulder, CO area who wouldn't mind lending house stuff for during the month of July, I would be forever grateful and would happily return the favor* with a fun shipment of English goodies (once I return home though...I've currently run out of tea and Crunchie bars and the like BUT I KNOW WHERE TO GET MOAR).

Borrowing pets would be rad. Sometimes I need to curl up with a cat or dog that you don't use often.

*Or if you're ever in Northern England (Yorkshire), you're more than welcome to my meager belongings of a girlie purple mountain bike, foam mattress pad, knitting needles and quirky green lamp. I'll list them soon!
posted by iamkimiam at 8:29 PM on June 27, 2011


I live in Westchester and am in the Bronx and Manhattan a few times a week. If it is a tool, I probably have it. Have to read more about NeighborGoods' policies before I list inventory, but if you are a mefite you are welcome to borrow, just send me a memail.
posted by mlis at 8:36 PM on June 27, 2011


I may need a kidney if this one keeps hurting.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:36 PM on June 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


I'd like to offer up one soul, slightly nibbled.
posted by maudlin at 8:36 PM on June 27, 2011 [3 favorites]


I would like to like this (and also to borrow somebody's handtruck), but boys and girls of NeighborGoods, you need more servers.

And a u in neighbour.

But mostly, more servers.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:02 PM on June 27, 2011 [2 favorites]


Bummer. We recently freecycled a bunch of entirely lendable lawn tools.
posted by 26.2 at 9:10 PM on June 27, 2011


So stealing can be described as borrowing something with no intention of returning it. What's it called when you lend something with no intention of taking it back? Because I have a trunk full of haunted Goosebumps masks that I'd like to "lend" to someone.

Also an electric organ that's just cool enough that we never throw out, but not cool enough that anyone uses it... oh, wait. I suddenly have found a use for this site.

On preview: cjorgensen, that is exactly what I am talking about. Borrowing implies you'll give it back later.
Wait, can you return organs?
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 9:26 PM on June 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


iamkimiam: "If there's anybody in the Boulder, CO area who wouldn't mind lending house stuff for during the month of July,"

well, what do you need?
posted by boo_radley at 9:36 PM on June 27, 2011


iamkimiam: "If there's anybody in the Boulder, CO area who wouldn't mind lending house stuff for during the month of July,"

well, what do you need?


Duh. She needs a Hugh Laurie, an MRI machine, whiteboard, and some Vicodin.
posted by babbyʼ); Drop table users; -- at 9:46 PM on June 27, 2011 [10 favorites]


And someone with a weird disease that looks a lot like but actually isn't an auto-immune disorder.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 10:28 PM on June 27, 2011


fuck yeah! i'm in. seattle mefites: i have a spare chairman mao alarm clock. you may borrow it if you wish.
posted by palomar at 10:36 PM on June 27, 2011


(for real though i'll probably sign up tomorrow when i'm sober in the meantime i'm gonna make and eat a quesadilla)
posted by palomar at 10:37 PM on June 27, 2011


She needs a Hugh Laurie, an MRI machine, whiteboard, and some Vicodin.

I have 2 of those things. But I'm not saying which 2. Well - 3, I suppose, if we spell one of them "Huge Lorry."

And someone with a weird disease that looks a lot like but actually isn't an auto-immune disorder.

Got that, too. Well, okay - it might be an auto-immune disorder. Kind of hard to say without a Huge Lorry.

Unfortunately, I'm not in the Boulder area, and this fucking MRI machine won't fit in the Lorry (it's not that huge), and it's expensive as hell to ship.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:38 PM on June 27, 2011 [2 favorites]


Hey, palomar! I'm in the Seattle area! Will you make me a quesadilla?
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:39 PM on June 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


yes! but i just ran out of cheese so i hope you like peanut butter and jelly in your quesadilla. a pb & j-sadilla, if you will.
posted by palomar at 10:53 PM on June 27, 2011 [1 favorite]


Good post title ...
posted by woodblock100 at 11:07 PM on June 27, 2011


... although given who posted it, I might have expected 'Lend me your Gears ...'
posted by woodblock100 at 11:08 PM on June 27, 2011


Oh, it rhymes with neighborhoods!
posted by ODiV at 12:19 AM on June 28, 2011


OK, if you're ever in Gdansk, my second-best ladder and only full-size shovel are at your disposal.
posted by pracowity at 12:35 AM on June 28, 2011


I'd like to borrow desjardin's dogs, if they are macho alpha males. My girl is fixed, but it doesn't stop her from flirting shamelessly with bad boy types (exclusively). Maybe I could arrange a bodice ripper weekend for her.
posted by taz at 1:55 AM on June 28, 2011


I'd let you borrow my charm and good looks, but I lent them out years ago and they were never returned. :(
posted by maxwelton at 2:34 AM on June 28, 2011


This is really cool. I bet no one else in Canberra ever joins, though.

How does the site privacy work? Is it indexed by Google? If I fill out my profile fully and someone googles my name, will they end up being able to see my site profile (i.e. photo and location, and that I own a ladder worth $80, which may or may not be properly locked up in my garage?)
posted by lollusc at 3:23 AM on June 28, 2011


Well, there's a steam iron and some dinnerware on offer in the Netherlands.
Occasionally, a husband might be available.
posted by likeso at 4:02 AM on June 28, 2011


That looks like a MetaFilter flag on the front, neat. Has that design ever been used before?

Occasionally, a husband might be available.

Pickup or delivery?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:45 AM on June 28, 2011


This is a really great idea, but it seems like most areas wouldn't have the density to make it work. Dividing it into non-overlapping "groups" makes that problem worse.

But for big cities, it probably works pretty good.
posted by DU at 5:00 AM on June 28, 2011


Brandon, that would be "pickup".
I haven't yet listed him. At this juncture.


(nor he me, for that matter. this may be subject to change.)
posted by likeso at 5:04 AM on June 28, 2011


Sure. What could go wrong?

Besides the stuff that could go wrong.
posted by rmd1023 at 5:14 AM on June 28, 2011


Socialism!

I do have a bunch of tools people can borrow if they need them.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:19 AM on June 28, 2011


I have a halo folks can borrow if they need one. Please ignore the filed-off serial number.
posted by FishBike at 5:20 AM on June 28, 2011


Uppity Pigeon #2: " I have a trunk full of haunted Goosebumps masks that I'd like to "lend" to someone. "

What do haunted Goosebumps masks look like? I'm really curious now.
posted by misha at 5:38 AM on June 28, 2011


I have a hard enough time getting my chainsaw back from my best friend
posted by edgeways at 6:00 AM on June 28, 2011




I have some surplus snark if anyone needs it.
posted by orthogonality at 6:30 AM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Thank you, Mathowie.
posted by zarq at 6:48 AM on June 28, 2011


I'm in, with a house full of crap that I can lend or, in some cases, give away. But I think it's more efficient to look at want lists so I'm just going to list a couple of things and keep an eye on who needs what in SF.

Thanks for setting this up, #1.
posted by Quietgal at 7:39 AM on June 28, 2011


I'll list Pointycat. His hobby is something I like to call Inaccupuncture* which has to be the next big alternative treatment for people who don't like to wait around for leeches to drain them.
*sounds so much better than random biting
posted by pointystick at 8:52 AM on June 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


I want to borrow Matt's tiller, but the shipping is probably prohibitive.
posted by theora55 at 9:24 AM on June 28, 2011


I see that NeighborGoods has also been added to the list of social apps we can add to our MeFi profile. :)
posted by zarq at 9:31 AM on June 28, 2011


I look forward to being the Homer Simpson to Chicago's Ned Flanders.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:34 AM on June 28, 2011


Oh, I love stuff like this! Thanks!
posted by Kpele at 9:40 AM on June 28, 2011


Matt has a bike I'd like to borrow, but I think he might be too tall.
posted by box at 9:52 AM on June 28, 2011


He is not too tall. He is exactly the right size.
posted by scrump at 10:25 AM on June 28, 2011


Now that I finally got the site working, I have put some things on it. If you're in Our Fair City and require a bicycle, I can offer you the back seat of a tandem.
posted by backseatpilot at 10:40 AM on June 28, 2011


Damn, 26.2, we left behind all our lawn tools!

We don't have much to offer at the moment, but I can certainly cover the local dog-hair-supply for anyone who needs some.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:20 AM on June 28, 2011


I signed up for this back when it started, and yes, I listed my dog. She is just the sweetest old thing. The lack of pop.density is an issue here though, so we haven't actually borrowed or lent anything yet.
posted by headnsouth at 11:54 AM on June 28, 2011


boo_radley: well, what do you need"

boo is in Boulder, yay! I hope to meet you soon (meetup thread forthcoming). I'll be there for the entire month of July actually...I've rented a house to share with some other linguists also in Boulder (we're all attending this 4-week summer workshop). It's a partially furnished place and I need to rent a truck to pick up those things - 1 bed, 1 couch, table and chairs. I'm actually looking for anything I might borrow to make life easier for the month, so if you have something, anything to lend I would be forever grateful...an air mattress, a bike, kitchen knives, crockpot, bookshelf, whatever! At the end of the month I'll rent a truck again to return all furniture/goods/things and sell anything I/we bought on craigslist.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:26 PM on June 28, 2011


I don't have any dogs or cats, but would be happy to lend out any or all of my kids. They don't shed much hair, but they do consume enormous quantities of food. They would be ideal for people who are unsure about whether they want to have kids or not. If you break them, you own them.
posted by dg at 5:57 PM on June 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Set up a profile, whee! Is there an easy to see people on MetaFilter who are near you? I seem to be able to see MeFites and I can see people near me, but I want to mash that shit up, yo.
posted by iamkimiam at 6:01 PM on June 28, 2011


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