In this recession we're all looking for the best deal out there. More and more people are turning to rent-to-own businesses as a
way to get what they want without credit or a lot of cash upfront. But there's a little give and take. If you don't put down a lot of cash now, you have to pay even more over a year or two.
Aaron's is a national rent-to-own chain and nationwide it added about 26,000 new rental customers last month, according the Washington Post. Why? Some customers say they can't afford to buy anywhere else right now. Royce Garrett has about 7 months to go on his 12 month plan, then he'll own the computer he's renting.
"The kind of work I do I couldn't pay cash for a computer," explains Garrett.
Garrett left Louisiana after Hurricane Rita and started over here. Garrett made a new life for himself but times are tough, especially this year for folks with bad credit or little cash.
"There are just numerous occasions when individuals come in that don't have a lot of money, that are credit challenged," says Nick Stanford, with Aaron's.
Stanford said Aaron's doesn't run credit checks so everyone is pre-approved. But the downside can be more expense. Take a 60" big screen Mitsubishi television for sale there for instance. Pay for it in 90 days and it's $1,500. But if you take 2 years the cost jumps $900.
The trade-off for Mr. Garrett is free delivery, setup and a warranty. "It's a little bit more buying through a place like this, I understand that. But like said in a year's time it's still going to be paid off," says Garrett.
If you're trying to save a little money Stanford says look for used items and specials. Garrett says he's happy with his deal and with business up 10 percent over this time last year other customers are happy too.
We called around to several other rent to own businesses and they're seeing much of the same thing. In fact, most of them say business picked up late last year and it stayed steady throughout 2008.