Friends and Connections

CO-OP is built on trust. You can only borrow from and lend to people you’re connected with. This guide explains how connections work and how to grow your network.

How connections work

When you connect with someone on CO-OP:

  • You can see items in their catalog
  • They can see items in your catalog
  • Either of you can request to borrow from the other

Connections are always mutual—if you’re connected to someone, they’re connected to you.

Your starting connection

When you join CO-OP through an invitation, you’re automatically connected to the person who invited you. This is your first connection and gives you immediate access to their catalog.

Inviting new friends

To invite someone to CO-OP:

  1. Go to Invitations in the navigation
  2. Click Send Invitation
  3. Enter their email address
  4. Add a personal message (optional)
  5. Click Send

The person will receive an email with a link to create their account. When they join, you’ll automatically be connected.

Who should you invite?

CO-OP works best when you invite people you:

  • Know personally
  • Trust with your belongings
  • Would feel comfortable borrowing from

Think neighbors, close friends, family members, and colleagues you know well.

Accepting connection requests

Sometimes you’ll receive connection requests from friends of friends—people who are already on CO-OP but not yet connected to you.

To manage connection requests:

  1. Go to Friends
  2. Check the Pending section
  3. Review each request
  4. Click Accept or Decline

Viewing your connections

The Friends page shows everyone you’re connected to. From here you can:

  • See their profile
  • Browse their catalog
  • Remove the connection if needed

Removing a connection

If you no longer want to share catalogs with someone:

  1. Go to Friends
  2. Find the person
  3. Click on their profile
  4. Click Remove Connection

Removing a connection means:

  • You can no longer see their catalog
  • They can no longer see your catalog
  • Any active loans will still need to be completed

The trust network

CO-OP is intentionally designed around personal connections rather than being open to everyone. This means:

  • Every person on CO-OP was vouched for by someone
  • Your catalog is only visible to people you’ve explicitly connected with
  • You’re borrowing from real people you know, not strangers

This trust model is what makes CO-OP different from public marketplaces or rental services. Take care to maintain that trust by being a reliable borrower and lender.