Methods overview

Calendar rental, also known as one-off or event rental, is the most recognisable method: you might have rented your skis, a suit for a wedding, or a dress for an event this way before.

In calendar rental, a customer books an item between two specific dates, which Supercycle calls the Arrive by and Return by dates. You predetermine the rental periods - the number of days a product can be rented for - and the corresponding price.

Calendar rental works well for products customers don’t need often like partywear, sports equipment or garden machinery.

Membership rental gives your customers access to a catalogue of items for one recurring price. This works well for everyday products or those where a customer’s size or needs are likely to change over time (like childrenswear or maternity wear).

With Supercycle, you can use an item-based or credit-based membership system. If you opt for credit-based you’ll be able to set the credit cost of items to customers at the variant level, which works well if you want to include large and small items (like dresses and accessories) in your membership.

Customers can swap their items at an interval you determine. Once they’ve returned an item, they’ll be able to rent a new one.

With subscription rental, a customer pays monthly for access to a single product. This is great for high-value products like phones and household appliances, especially those customers regularly upgrade.

The customer specifies a start date when ordering and is billed until they return the item.

As a merchant, you can set different monthly prices depending on the variant and minimum rental period.