Rentin', readin', and returnin': Portland's iFlipd creates a platform for renting ebooks — and getting value out of recycling them

Leave it to Portland. I mean, when one of your landmarks is an entire city block crammed full of new and used books, you may have a thing or two to say about how we read—and share in the experience of the written word. And while ebooks may have changed that dynamic a bit, one Portland startup is working to rethink how we can be using that format more effectively.

Meet iFlipd, a new platform for renting and sharing eBook content that has the potential to up-end the publishing market as a whole. Much like Car2Go or Redbox, you simply pay rent for the books you want to use. And if you’re not done in a week? You just pay the rent again.

Couldn’t this go on forever? Well, it could. But the iFlipd folks just give you the book once you’ve rented it enough times to purchase it.

Whoa whoa whoa. How did you get so far in the post that quickly? You’re a pretty fast reader there, cowboy. And that’s why you’re going to like iFlipd too. Because you see, if you finish the book before your rental expires, they have this neat little feature that let’s you “flip” it back to your community. Where someone else can pick up the remaining time for a buck.

The startup is currently working with a variety of publishers to bring more content online, but they’ve already got quite a bit from which to choose.

The app is currently available for iPad and will be available for other devices and platforms soon.

For more information or to get to reading, visit iFlipd.

Published by Rick Turoczy

More than mildly obsessed with the Portland startup community. Founder and editor at Silicon Florist. Cofounder and general manager at PIE. Follow me on Twitter: @turoczy View all posts by Rick Turoczy