From CrunchGear:

Think of Snapgoods as Zipcar for stuff. You reserve an item – an iPad, a bike, a pommel horse, a chainsaw – pay a small amount per day ($10-$15 or more for pricier items), put down a security deposit using your Paypal account, and you pick up the item after meeting the lender or, barring that, you pick it up and drop it off at a place local to you both that acts as an escrow point.

In short, Snapgoods assumes that most people won’t break your stuff and that there are people out there who want to try or use your stuff for a few hours. This could be an iPad or, in a more practical case, a concrete drill. In order to ensure that the renter doesn’t break your stuff, they require a number of verification measures including SMS replies, Facebook connections, and “group” creation for different parts of each city. Most important, however, is that Snapgoods is hyperlocal. You’re not going to get offers for people in Kansas City (unless you’re in Kansas City). In fact, Snapgoods is New York only for now, and will be expanding over the next few months.

Snapgoods is potentially a really cool idea, with some things more practical than others. I wouldn’t trust someone I don’t know with my iPad, or my phone, or my laptop or HDTV. I would lend someone, and would gladly pay by the hour to be lent, things like a drill, a power washer, a keyboard, and any number of other things that serve a short-term purpose other than “ooh, pretty.”

Snapgoods doesn’t quite satisfy my yearning for a Bag Borrow & Steal for gadgets (pay to use a gadget for a period of time – say, an iPad when you’ve got a long trip – and then return it when you’re done), but it’s getting there. It’s New York-only for now, but this model’s bound to expand if it works.

Would you use it?