RENT VS BUY. OPTIONS FOR TRYING NEW LENSES. renting from lensrental

consumer review of  Lensrental.com

Rent vs buy. Series post 3

So I am a little late in posting this review. The Christmas and New Year holidays have thrown me way off balance! Family functions, work, and fun things can wear a body out! My best learned advice for surviving the Holidays to help you next year? Remember you can't keep everybody happy! 
And.....drum roll, please........Don't forget to return the lenses that you rented! I did, there will be more on that later!

In my previous posts Rent Vs. Buy, and ATS Rental review talked about how this photography venture can be a really expensive experience. So since I STILL haven't won the lottery, married a rich man (I kind of like the one I have anyway), or inherited a huge windfall from my not rich parents, I have to see if renting lenses to try new things is a more feasible option. Heck, I figure most of you are like me! 

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What was it like renting from lensrentals.com?

Renting from LensRentals.com, was a pretty painless process. They had the lenses that I wanted in stock for the dates I wanted. I rented them, got a confirmation email, and all was well. My communication with their customer service was very pleasant and accommodating. I put a lot of emphasis on customer service and Lensrentals.com did well in this regard.

What was done well by Lensrentals.com?

Communication  was very personable and nice. Items were packaged safely and I felt like stuff was really protected when I shipped back. 
Remember when I said don't forget to ship your lenses back when you've rented them? Well, here is where Lens Rentals really shined! I was supposed to ship back on Thursday the 24th. Well, duh, I had a houseful of people and we were doing our family Christmas that day because as a nurse, guess what? I was working Christmas day. So, the box got pushed aside, moved behind a chair, and because it wasn't wrapped in shiny paper and begging to be opened by a smiling face, it was forgotten. I didn't get it shipped back until the 28th! Well, I don't know if this is their usual policy or if they were feeling full of Christmas Spirit, but they didn't charge me for the extra days! Woohoo! Thanks LensRentals.com!

What could be improved?

 Well, I previously only rented from ATSrentals.com so any comparison I make will be with them. Getting my package from Lensrentals,com wasn't all warm and fuzzy like Grandma had sent me a surprise. No real concrete things that are absolutely necessary to provide a good experience to complain about, though. So there were no Jelly Beans in my package and they didn't send shipping tape. Thats not a deal breaker. Even though, since all my tape had been ripped off packages earlier, and I had even used what shipping tape I had in the house to wrap the last few presents, I had to go out and buy more. Not a huge drawback, since I would need some in the house anyway, but.......
I really do like Jelly Beans.... 

Would I rent from them again?

Sure, I will depend on the availability of the lenses I want to rent, and if there are other shipping options other than FedEx. I have to drive nearly 15 miles to get to the nearest FedEx place. UPS is a lot more convenient for me. 

Have you rented from Lens Rentals? What was your experience? Where do you rent lenses and equipment?