Note: This is technically not open source, but it is something for which open source software would be required.
Decentralized physical storage. Okay, this is a business concept called local storage. Basically, it is a decentralized storage service in the real world. So basically, there would be users and there would be operators. The users could send their items off to operators, and the operators would store the items for them until such time as the user wanted their item back, at which time the operator would ship the item to the user.
The user would put the items they wanted to store into a standard-sized cardboard box, cardboard, or other box. They would then pay a storage fee to the operator and ship the box through the mail to the operator.
In addition, it is possible that some operators might offer local drop-off and pick-up options.
Because this is a decentralized service, anybody could choose to be an operator. And because of that, it is important that if the user was shipping valuable items, that they chose an operator who was well trusted.
Once the user wanted their item back, they would send a request to the operator along with a shipping fee. The shipping fee would include the postage needed to ship it to the desired address, as well as a small fee for the operator to ship the item out the door.
There would be storage fees for each box. So, the shorter a time the user wanted to store the item, the less they would need to pay in storage fees.
Because this is a decentralized service, it could be operated by anyone. It is important for the user to realize that their box could be damaged or lost in storage or during shipment, and they would probably not get any money back for such a loss. So it is important that the user did not ship anything that they were not willing to lose. Now, hopefully, the loss rates would be very low, but unfortunately, they are not likely to be zero.
There are a number of people who could benefit from such a service. Perhaps it is someone who is moving to a new place and they don’t want to take a lot of stuff in their car or on the plane. Or perhaps it is a traveler who needs something on their vacation. Or perhaps it is a digital nomad who moves from place to place. In any case, I think that there may be a number of people who could benefit from a service like this, assuming that the service was able to provide what it does at a low enough cost and that there was enough uptake, enough people who wanted to be operators, that there were locations hopefully all around the world. But that being said, it may take a while for this thing to really develop into something valuable for most people at the beginning, and probably for a number of years, it would remain something small and niche, useful to only a few people.
That being said, the most likely starting place would be people who had a little bit of extra space in their garage or in an empty room in their house or something like that. Preferably not an attic, because an attic can get hot, but if the climate is well controlled in the attic, then that could work as well. Or if they made a note on their site info that their storage location was an attic and not to store anything there that could not take the heat, then it could work out okay, even in that situation.
The early operators probably wouldn’t make a lot of money, but they could possibly earn a few extra bucks every month, which for some people is sufficient enough incentive, and in addition to that, they would be building up skills for the future. If this ever became a large and well-used network, there would eventually be larger operators who made a lot more money, and this could be how they made their whole income, and someone who had started off being a small operator would have a leg up in becoming a larger operator over someone who had just entered the market.
One other note I want to make is about the storage fees. Now, a box could be stored indefinitely at a storage site. However, there would be storage fees to pay. Now, hopefully, these storage fees would be pretty low, but whatever amount they are set to, it is important that the user keeps paying the storage fees because once the balance goes into the negative, it is up to the operator what they want to do with the box. Now, the operator could continue to store the box in hopes that the user would eventually pay the storage fees, but it’s also possible that the operator might choose to remove the box immediately as soon as the storage fees go into the negative. So, the user should be aware of this possibility in order to minimize the chances of having a bad experience. But, anyways, once the balance goes into the negative, the operator is probably going to eventually want to remove the box, and it will be up to them what they want to do with the contents of the box, whether it is to auction off the contents or give them away or throw them away or keep them for their own uses.