As others have said, interesting idea, but......I work in the video field and I know a lot of companies which have rental departments. Here's a reference from the video world: a 2000 ANSI lumen LCD projector, sell price of about $2000.00, will rent for about $100.00 a day, $450.00 a week, $1500.00 a month. A 6000 ANSI lumen LCD projector, sell price $7500.00, will rent for about $250.00-$350.00 a day, $1000.00 to $1600.00 per week, $3000.00 to $4000.00 per month. Now these are estimated but realistic figures. These are the dollars you would have to charge to be profitable. I think these prices would transfer to your rental business as amps and preamps easily approach the $6000.00 level. Your inventory would be tremendously expensive. You need to have a repair department, a shipping receiving department, someone to handle the paperwork, plenty of storage, etc. Will people pay these rates (and more) for equipment? What would people pay for equipment? If you had any given $7000.00 preamp, what would the market bear for a daily rental? Let the Audiogon members help you.
Rayd
Rayd