Renting definitely has a purpose and utility provided it’s a reasonable price. Coops and shared use spaces are better, but there are lots of things that people barely ever use in day to day life that cost lots of money. I don’t want to buy a lawn aerator for hundreds or thousands of dollars when I only need it once every ten years or whatever. That’s an extreme example, but a lot more people would be willing to do DIY maintenance or repairs on things of the barrier to entry weren’t so high. Being able to rent power tools, party lights, rarely used appliances is a legit useful service to provide.