FAQs

  • Brighton Borrowers has three locations:

    Planet Brighton
    The Open Market, London Road (BN1 4JU)
    Sundays 11am-1pm

    Brightstore
    Hollingdean Community Centre, Thompson Road (BN21 7BH)
    Tuesdays 4pm-5pm

    The Wood Store, Oakley House, Edward St, Brighton (BN2 0BA)
    Mondays 2pm - 5.30pm

    Fridays 10am-12.30pm

    Saturdays 10.30am-12.30pm

  • There are lots of reasons to borrow items instead of buying them! It’s cheaper, it saves storage space, and it is better for the environment, reducing the energy and materials used in producing things by sharing them across more people. It also means that we can all use better quality items: ten people using a good quality drill is better than those ten people each buying a poor quality one that does a worse job and doesn’t last as long!

  • You can regiser an account without adding your card details, hwoever you do need to have registered your payment card details in order to reserve and borrow items. This is so we don’t have to take deposits for items and can be confident that items in the library are secure for future users while keeping borrowing free. You can add a card on the website once you have registered your account, or can do it in person at one of our locations. Your card details will be stored securely, and enable us to process a charge for replacement of the item in the unlikely event that you do not return the item. We would not do this without letting you know. If you are not able to provide credit/debit card details for any reason, please do get in touch to discuss alternative security arrangements.

  • We expect that most reservations will be for a week but if you need an item for longer or aren’t available to return an item at a time when Brighton Borrowers is open then you can reserve an item for longer. You can also extend a reservation during the time you are borrowing it providing that no other user has requested to borrow the item.

  • As explained in our user agreement, we retain the right to apply a late fee for items returned late. This is necessary so that other members can be confident that the items they have reserved will be available when they have reserved them for. However, we know that life doesn’t always make planning easy, so if you believe you will not be able to return an item on time, please contact us at info@brightonborrowers.co.uk and we can discuss alternative arrangements.

    See also “When and why will my card be charged for not returning an item?” for what will happen if an item is returned very late and we haven’t heard from you.”

  • Brighton Borrowers has three locations:

    Planet BrightonThe Open Market, London Road (BN1 4JU)Sundays 11am-1pm

    BrightstoreHollingdean Community Centre, Thompson Road (BN21 7BH)Tuesdays 4pm-5pm

    The Wood Store, Oakley House, Edward St, Brighton (BN2 0BA) Mondays 2pm - 5.30pm

    Fridays 10am-12.30pm

    Saturdays 10.30am-12.30pm

    If you have mobility or other needs that make collecting the item difficult, please also get in touch on info@brightonborrowers.co.uk and we can see if we are able to offer delivery.

  • This can be arranged, however it depends on our volunteers’ availability. If you need to collect or return an item during the week, please contact us at info@brightonborrowers.co.uk to discuss.

  • For our Open Market (Sundays) and Brightstore (Tuesday) sessions, yes: you need to reserve an item in advance. This is because we have far too many things to take everything with us to these pop-up sites, so can only bring those items that people have reserved.

    For our Wood Store sessions (Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays) you do not need to reserve an item in advance. However, it is still recommended you do so, so that somebody else doesn’t collect it before you get there, and so we can double check that your item is in good order.

  • Items must be reserved by midday on Saturday to be collected on Sunday. Items booked on Sunday will be available the following Sunday.

    For collections at Brightstore on Tuesdays, items must be reserved by midday on the previous Sunday.

  • Some items will require hard-to-source consumables for items such as carpet cleaners and some power tools. In most cases these will be included with the item when you borrow it and we don’t charge for these items. We would encourage you to donate to cover the cost of these consumables if you’re able to, this will help enable us to keep lending our items free of charge.

  • Borrowing an item is totally free. If you feel that you can afford to donate to Brighton Borrowers when you borrow an item that would be fantastic. Any donations will be put towards the day-to-day running costs of the project and to purchase items needed for lending that aren’t donated.

  • This is our alternative to having to take deposits for items, so that we can be confident that items in the library are secure for future users while keeping borrowing free. It enables us to process a charge for replacement of the item in the unlikely event that you do not return the item. We would not do this without letting you know. If you are not able to provide credit/debit card details for any reason, please do get in touch to discuss alternative security arrangements

  • If an item is not returned, we will contact you weekly for three weeks to remind you and arrange an alternative return date. It is therefore important that you keep your contact details (email and phone number) up to date on our system. If we have not had any contact from you after four weeks, or if we have not received the item back after six weeks, we will charge your card for the replacement value of the item. This charge may be refunded if we receive the item back within a month of the charge being made.

  • If an item breaks when you are borrowing it, please stop using it and get in touch to let us know.

    As explained in our user agreement, all equipment must be returned in the same (or better) condition as they were issued, barring normal wear and tear. Part of the user agreement is that you, as a borrower, agree to pay for the loss of or damage to any equipment, and agree to accept Brighton Borrowers’s assessment of condition of equipment and of fair restitution for damage. Brighton Borrowers reserves the right to withhold funds from the member’s card should the equipment be deemed to have been lost or damaged while in the member’s possession.

    The “barring normal wear and tear” line above is important, though: we understand that things can happen, and if you have used the item properly and carefully we are unlikely to take the measures outlined above. We are a community organisation trying to serve the best interests of our community, and want to encourage people to borrow as much as possible without being worried about punitive charges if things go wrong. The most important thing is that if something breaks please let us know so that we can repair it for the next user.

  • If you’re having any technical difficulties with the website just let us know at info@brightonborrowers.co.uk and we’ll do our best to help you. Please be aware that the project is staffed entirely by volunteers so please forgive us if we’re not able to get back to you immediately.

  • Most of the items that we lend out have been kindly donated by members of the local community and we have a list of items that we’d love to be donated - just drop us a line at info@brightonborrowers.co.uk and we can arrange for you to drop this in with us. We currently have limited storage space so unfortunately can’t accept unsolicited donations of items that aren't on our wanted list. If you have anything that isn’t on the list that you think members of the community would love to borrow then just let us know.

  • Brighton Borrowers is run entirely by volunteers - there are no paid staff in the project. We were able to start the project thanks to a grant from the National Lotteries Community Fund and are supported with donations of time, money and items by members of the local community.

  • You can create an account at brightonborrowers.co.uk/sign-up

  • Once you have created your account and logged in:

    • Click on your username in the top right of the screen, and then click Account.

    • Click on “payment method” on the left hand side of the screen.

    • Click “Add Credit/Debit Card”

  • To reserve an item:

    • Find the item you would like to reserve, either by scrolling through the items, filtering using the buttons on the left of the screen, or searching using the on-screen search bar.

    • Click the blue “Reserve” button underneath the image of the item. (If you cannot click this button, it is likely out of stock or being repaired.)

    • If you can collect the item at our pop-up stall at Planet Brighton, Brighton Open Market on Sunday between 11am-1pm:

      • Click “Pickup/drop-off Sundays at Open Market”.

      • Select the Sunday you would like to reserve the item for collection on, and the Sunday you will bring it back.

      • Click “Cart”

      • Review your reservation, then click “Submit reservation”.

    • If you are unable to collect at that time, click “Pickup during the week”. You will be prompted to email us to arrange collection on a different day.

    • Find the item you would like to reserve, either by scrolling through the items, filtering using the buttons on the left of the screen, or searching using the on-screen search bar.

    • The status for each item is displayed underneath the image of it. If there is a green tag saying “In stock now,” it is available for reservation.

  • Yes! We would love to know what items you would like us to stock. It can direct our calls for donations, and if enough people request an item we have some budget for buying them. See https://www.brightonborrowers.co.uk/contact for how to get in touch with us.