Recode:

Later this month, the big-box retailer will start advertising try-before-you-buy rentals on its website for cameras, audio equipment and fitness trackers, the company recently told Recode. Best Buy is working with a San Francisco-based startup called Lumoid on the partnership.

Best Buy will feature the try-before-you-buy option on BestBuy.com and then send interested customers to Lumoid’s website to make the rental. Customers earn about 20 percentage of the rental price back in Lumoid credits and can use them if they go on to buy the item outright.

It’s unlikely this option will become available to us here in the Great White North but I often tell my photography students about lens rental. You get to try out gear before you buy it or you get to use gear you’d never buy but want to use for a specific purpose.