"You should have access to the stuff you need without costing the earth."

 

ABOUT US

What is Borrow Don’t Buy?

 

Borrow Don’t Buy is a library of things in Plymouth. We’re like a normal library, but with things instead of books! What kind of things? All the sorts of things you need.

Perhaps you’re doing some DIY and need a drill? Maybe you’re having friends over and you’d like a projector to watch a film on? Or you’ve got errands to run and could do with an electric bike to get around town? These are the sorts of things you can find at Borrow Don’t Buy!

Why buy an electric drill when you’ll only ever use it once? Join Borrow Don’t Buy and you could pay just a few pounds to have that drill for just the time you need it.

And it’s not just drills. There’s a good chance we just have what you need.

What do we want?

We want to help you with the following.

Save Money

Reduce Clutter

Reduce your Carbon Footprint

Share Knowledge and experience

Promote the repair and reuse of equipment instead of throwing it away

Inspire the people of Plymouth to create, innovate and engage in social change

Why do we want that?

Because we LOVE Plymouth and we want to build the best city we can!  Sounds amazing, right?  If you are interested in becoming a member of Borrow Don’t Buy or Volunteering/helping out, drop us a line and we’ll get back to you.  Let’s make it happen!

 

four STEPS TO BORROWING

ONE – Join BDB 

You can join Borrow Don’t Buy by just filling our online form. It is free to sign up as an individual and you will just pay-as-you-borrow. 

JOIN

TWO – Browse and reserve things

Our inventory is available to view online and once you are a member you can reserve things.

BROWSE

THREE – Borrow what you need

Come pick up your reservation from THINQTANQ at Fairbairn House, Higher Ln, PL12AN on Wednesdays from 11 am -6 pm.

FIND US

FOUR – Return your item

After you’ve used the items, simply return it, clean, on time, and ready for the next borrower. 

Borrower code
Click here to Check our INVENTORY

WHERE TO FIND US

We are in

THINQTANQ

 

Fairbairn House

Higher Lane, PL1 2AN

Collection times:

Wednesdays 9 am – 6 pm

Fridays 9 am – 7 pm

 

Currently by appointment only, no walk-ins

 

 

Still not sure how to get to us? Click HERE to see a video on how to get to THINQTANQ from Drake Circus.

GET EVERYONE ONLINE

Borrow Don’t Buy, Plymouth’s Library of Things was shut during the Covid-19 period but we continued to push the sharing agenda in other ways by partnering with local community builders Nudge to bring upcycled tech to people who really need it. When Wendy Hart from Nudge contacted us to ask if we could help them, to help the people of Plymouth, the answer was of course a resounding yes!

FIND OUT MORE HERE

MORE INFORMATION

 

How-To’s & FAQ

Do you still have questions that need some answering? We have covered our most heard questions about BDB and how to join it. Have a look and if you still have any questions, just get in contact with us.

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GET INVOLVED

We are a community project run by volunteers and we love it!  Find out here the different ways you can collaborate with us (items, money, time, cup of tea or just high-fives)

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REPAIR CAFÉ

Got things which need some TLC, are perhaps a bit broken and you haven’t had the time or skills to fix them yourself? Don’t throw them away, bring them to our Repair Café and have a go at fixing them!

More

CONTACT US

 

Send us an e-mail to hello@borrowdontbuy.co.uk

Our Supporters:

Borrow Don't Buy Plymouth