Airbnb, Snapgoods and Other Pioneers Of The ‘Share Economy’

The company typically has an eBay-style rating or review system so people on both sides of the transaction can trust the other. With the popularity of these services, many people don't need to buy when they can rent from others. Above, Ron J. Williams, CEO of SnapGoods, a site for lending and borrowing high-end household items, such as cameras, kitchenware or musical instruments.

Airbnb

Travelers can rent a room or a whole home or a British castle (pictured) on Airbnb. The San Francisco startup is the poster child of the collaborative consumption/peer economy sector.

DogVacay

Dog owners can leave their dog with a host who will take care of the dog. It's cheaper than a kennel and gives dogs a more comfortable place to stay, the company says.

RelayRides

Google Ventures-backed RelayRides enables people to borrow cars from neighbors. They can rent the cars by the hour or by the day. If the car has OnStar, users can open the car automatically through a mobile app. Available nationwide.

TaskRabbit

TaskRabbit is a mobile marketplace for people to hire people to do jobs and tasks, from delivery, to handyman to office help. Founded in 2008, the site has 4,000 Taskrabbits on the service nationwide who bid to do tasks that are posted by people looking for a service. All the "rabbits" are interviewed and have their backgrounds checked before going on the system.

Getaround

Peer-to-peer car sharing company Getaround lets people can borrow cars from others. Owners who are out of town can also leave their car with Getaround, which will rent out the car, clean it and take care of it. Getaround cars are covered by a $1 million insurance policy from Berkshire Hathaway. Currently operates in San Francisco, Austin, Portland, San Diego, ChicagoLiquid

Rent a bike from a neighbor through sharing startup, formerly known as Spinlister.Zaarly

Zaarly is a peer-to-peer marketplace for people to provide services for others. Compared to other services, Zaarly focuses on creating "stores" for sellers to market their services, from home repair to iPhone repairs. In the above example, you can buy a home-made pie or cobbler.

Lyft

Lyft is a ride sharing service for people to find rides from "regular" people who have a car. The service, created by Zimride, only takes "donations" because it is not a taxi service.

Lending Club

Forget houses, cars and dogs: use Lending Club's peer-to-peer network to get cold hard cash. Lending Club is cheaper than credit cards for borrowers and provides better interest rates than savings accounts for investors.

Fon

Startup Fon enables people to share some of their home Wi-Fi network in exchange for getting free Wi-Fi from anyone of the 7 million people in Fon's network.

SideCar

A ride sharing startup, now available in San Francisco and Seattle, allows "regular" drivers to pick up people who want a ride. Drivers accept a donation, but don't charge a fee.

Poshmark

People buy or sell their clothing via Poshmark's mobile app. They can also display their virtual closets and find friends who have similar styles.