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How it works

Access over ownership.

Gear Envy connects Sydney creators with premium kit owned by verified locals. Owners put idle gear to work; renters shoot with equipment they'd never justify buying. Here's both sides of the deal.

Hiring

Three taps to a weekend of kit.

  1. Find & book

    Search by gear, suburb and dates. Real daily prices, full breakdown before you commit. ⚡ Instant Book confirms immediately; Request to Book gives the owner 24 hours to respond — 48 hours if pickup is more than a week away.

  2. Pick up with a photo check-out

    Meet the owner, walk the gear together, snap timestamped condition photos in the app. Two minutes, total clarity.

  3. Shoot & return

    Do the work. Hand back with a check-in photo set. Bond hold releases, both sides review.

Start browsing

Lending

Your cupboard, employed.

  1. List in minutes

    Guided photos, pricing suggestions from similar Sydney listings, your calendar, your rules.

  2. Approve every request — or go Instant Book

    See the renter's rating and history before you say yes. Decline anything, no questions asked. Or switch on ⚡ Instant Book per listing and get surfaced to renters who need gear sooner.

  3. Get paid on return

    Confirm the check-in photos, payout lands. Gear Envy's 15% commission covers payments, claims adjudication and the platform — you keep 85% of your listed price.

List your gear

Trust badges

Good behaviour shows. It never gates.

Everyone starts at Verified. Hire history and ratings build your badge — owners see it as a signal when reviewing requests, and it speeds things up. What it never does: lock you out of gear. Access is handled by the bond each owner sets on their own listing, not by a hire-count tier.

Verified

ID + payment verified. The baseline every renter clears before a first booking.

Trusted

3+ hires at 4.5★ or better. A stronger signal on your profile.

Premium

10+ hires at 4.8★ or better. Owners approve these requests fastest.

Elite

25+ hires at 5.0★. The badge that says "hand it over, no worries."

Fair questions

Straight answers.

What does it cost to hire?

Owners set their own daily rates and you see the full price before you book: the hire price, a 5% service fee that covers payment processing, and the refundable bond hold. The damage-handling process is a platform feature, not an insurance product.

What if something gets damaged?

The photo condition check at handover documents everything, and the bond hold stays until the owner confirms the return. If there's a dispute, the claim is reviewed on the platform and any partial capture is evidence-backed.

Can I cancel a booking?

Each owner picks a cancellation tier for their listing — Flexible, Moderate or Strict — shown on the listing before you book. Exact refund terms are being finalised: details coming soon.

Is delivery available?

Not yet — launch is pickup-only. It keeps the handover personal and the condition check face-to-face. Delivery is on the roadmap: coming soon.

Outside Sydney?

Not yet. Lower north shore and northern beaches first — dense enough creator community for real liquidity. Anyone can join the waitlist from anywhere; booking access opens launch-postcodes-first at MVP. Melbourne and Brisbane follow once the model is proven.