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Amazon Launches 'Home Services' For Repair, Installation, and Other Work 120

Posted by Soulskill from the remember-when-they-sold-books dept.
An anonymous reader writes: Amazon has quietly rolled out a new business called "Home Services," which aims to be a middleman between customers and all sorts of contracted services. It includes things like appliance repair, home cleaning, installation/assembly of products in your car or home, tutoring (academic and musical), and even performance art. Amazon makes money on this by taking a cut of the total price — between 10 and 20 percent. Since everything is geolocated, they have many more options available in big cities than in small rural communities. One of Amazon's goals is to help standardize the price for various services, so there aren't any surprises when the bill comes due.
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Amazon Launches 'Home Services' For Repair, Installation, and Other Work More

Amazon Launches 'Home Services' For Repair, Installation, and Other Work

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  • Not sure, how this is "news for nerds", but I like it. Amazon have been quite amazin (sorry) over the years. So much so, I fear, when they stop being quite so amazing, it will take a while for decent competition to spring back up.

    • Sears tried something like this years ago. Except it mostly dealt with connecting contractors to customers who purchased the products sold for installation. They ran into a lot of legal problems. Some areas considered them to be contractors themselves so they needed to be licensed and bonded. Some areas considered them liable for disputes that popped up. They got a handle on it but not before some headaches. Amazon will find this out too.

      • Re:Not sure, if this is "news for nerds" (Score:5, Insightful)

        by ColdWetDog ( 752185 ) on Monday March 30, 2015 @08:54PM (#49376439) Homepage

        I think it was Sears and, in fact, it appears to be active today. Although likely ignored by pretty much all.

        Perhaps Amazon has more reach - it certainly has more cachet - but I don't see this as terribly effective. For one thing, standardized prices imply consistent quality. That might happen when you're making widgets. For labor with any degree of skill - I'm rather doubtful that this is the case.

        • Re:Not sure, if this is "news for nerds" (Score:4, Insightful)

          by FlyHelicopters ( 1540845 ) on Monday March 30, 2015 @09:43PM (#49376665)

          I like being able to see reviews from Amazon customers with "verified purchase" next to their names, means much more than random comments online.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Smerta ( 1855348 )

            Absolutely. In a similar vein, have you noticed, the reviews with "Amazon Vine" next to them are typically full of platitudes & praise?

            I appreciate Amazon's transparency, in fact I applaud it, but I think the whole Vine program is a bit brain-dead ("Hey we just shipped you a brand-new 60" Samsung HDTV, please let us know if you like it.")

            IMO the Vine reviewers would have a lot more credibility if reviewers had to return the product after 30 days (shipping paid for by Amazon). I'll bet if you check

            • I am simply glad that Vine reviews are marked as such, so that I know the person got a free item.

              The program doesn't bother me, it is transparent. It would bother me if they tried to hide it.

        • Well, if they're going to make it, they've certainly got a long way to go. I live in a moderately sized city and the only services they showed available in my area were "Equipment Assembly" and "Furniture Assembly." Real useful for someone too stupid to read IKEA instructions, I guess.

        • For one thing, standardized prices imply consistent quality. That might happen when you're making widgets. For labor with any degree of skill - I'm rather doubtful that this is the case.

          I'm not even so concerned about consistent price as the fact that I think Amazon will increase quality.

          A service provider who is dealing only with individuals doesn't lose much if he/she botches an assignment. I mean, how much do you really spend on a plumber or electrician in your lifetime? But an Amazon service provider who generates a lot of customer complaints is going to get booted from the program which presumably feeds them a lot of business, so there is a higher incentive to do each job right.

      • I find a wonderful sense of schadenfreude every time I consider that Sears shut down their catalog sales only two years before Amazon launched.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by cusco ( 717999 )

        Sears makes a lot of money off its contractor "referrals". My dad was a remodeler for many years. He got a couple of jobs through Sears during a slow spell and was kind of pleased. Then he ran into a friend at the lumber yard who had lost his business and was working for someone else. He explained that Sears gave him plenty of business and life was good. Eventually he was working exclusively for Sears, and didn't have time for any of his outside customers.

        Then Sears started to squeeze him. They star

    • it will take a while for decent competition to spring back up.

      If there was decent competition, they wouldn't have been so successful in the first place. You can only take over a market quickly if the incumbents suck.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HiThere ( 15173 )

        Sorry, but Amazon took over the market by operating at a deficit for decades. I've heard that they are still operating at a deficit, which, if true, is frankly amazing. How *do* they stay in business.

        When most companies use this policy (pricing below the cost of service) the governments put them out of business. Somehow Amazon is allowed to "prosper". (I'm not sure that proper is the right term if they're actually still operating at a deficit. I know they did for over a decade, as there used to be many

        • Re:Not sure, if this is "news for nerds" (Score:5, Informative)

          by lister king of smeg ( 2481612 ) on Monday March 30, 2015 @09:13PM (#49376513)

          Sorry, but Amazon took over the market by operating at a deficit for decades. I've heard that they are still operating at a deficit, which, if true, is frankly amazing. How *do* they stay in business.

          When most companies use this policy (pricing below the cost of service) the governments put them out of business. Somehow Amazon is allowed to "prosper". (I'm not sure that proper is the right term if they're actually still operating at a deficit. I know they did for over a decade, as there used to be many financial people commenting about it.)

          they aren't operating at a deficit per say they make lots of money but they reinvest all of their profits back in to r&d, infrastructure, and expanding into new areas, so they make no net profit but aren't exactly at a loss either.

  • as a professional service provider... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    i wouldn't subject my business to amazon's policies, pricing rules, commissions, or the very real possibility of having my business trashed in reviews by shady competitors.

    • i wouldn't subject my business to amazon's policies, pricing rules, commissions, or the very real possibility of having my business trashed in reviews by shady competitors.

      You already have that risk with Yelp and similar services.

      My guess is that with Amazon, they won't let non-customers review you. Why should they? So even if your competitors go to the trouble of actually hiring you for something and then giving you a bad review, how many bad reviews could they realistically generate compared to all of your good reviews from real customers?

      I'm not saying that BS reviews are a nonissue, but I think that you are overestimating size of the issue.

  • I wonder if... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by sribe ( 304414 ) on Monday March 30, 2015 @06:47PM (#49375677)

    They'll require providers to sign a non-compete preventing them from taking business from any other source...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mandrel ( 765308 )

      Amazon probably won't (initially) force service suppliers to be exclusive to Amazon, though they could offer a fee reduction for those who do.

      What Amazon are doing however is forcing any offer on Amazon to be no worse than any other offer, so providers can't charge Amazon customers more to cover the fees. Providers must yield some of their margin to Amazon but hope to make it up through greater volume.

    • They'll require providers to sign a non-compete preventing them from taking business from any other source...

      And that will run into legal problems at the county level. Too early to tell how this will play out nationally.

    • I can't see how they could get any service provider to sign up for that unless they are providing more business than the provider can handle. Who would sign up for Amazon if they have to give Amazon 10-20% and only be ~50% utilization? That's a big ask.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by sribe ( 304414 )

        I can't see how they could get any service provider to sign up for that unless they are providing more business than the provider can handle.

        I was being sarcastic, referencing the 18-month practically worldwide non-compete they were forcing temporary warehouse workers to sign. (Until bad press stemming from The Verge article motivated them to drop that ridiculous requirement.)

  • These business are local businesses which originally did not depend on Amazon. So what stops people from bypassing Amazon after locating the business?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by AuMatar ( 183847 )

      Does it matter? I'd think Amazon will be happy to grab a percentage on as many of them as they can. 20% of 50% of transactions > 20% of 0% of transactions.

    • They could do it like those travel sites and not tell you the name of the company until you've booked the service.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Livius ( 318358 )

      Nothing.

      They may be counting on these businesses that have relatively few repeat or on-going relationships. Then Amazon is basically making a referral / recruiting fee, and maybe that business model will work for them.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • These business are local businesses which originally did not depend on Amazon. So what stops people from bypassing Amazon after locating the business?

      That will happen to some extent, but keep in mind that Amazon will also refund the difference if you're offered a lower price from the same provider.

      Amazon also provides their A-to-Z guarentee, if I have a problem, I have someone to complain to besides the service provider.

      I may not know "Joe's Ceiling Fan Installation Company", but I know who Amazon is. I also know what kind of customer service Amazon provides.

      If Joe shows up and does a crappy job, or if he tries to charge me more, or if something else go

  • Amazon's had a growing problem for some time with astroturfed reviews. On products it's reasonably possible to get a feel for things even through that because of the sheer numbers involved, but for contractors and labor it's going to be a critical problem.

    • If they restrict reviews to paying customers (customers who paid through Amazon's), I think that would make it too expensive to game the system on a large scale. How much would you be willing to pay for the privilege of writing a fake review?

  • the river keeps rolling (Score:5, Insightful)

    by crgrace ( 220738 ) on Monday March 30, 2015 @07:18PM (#49375881)

    And so it goes.

    Yet another step to insert a system to mediate and "facilitate" peer-to-peer transactions. I can almost feel the middle class getting poorer as more and more middlemen scrape off their percentage.

    The technology that so many people thought would set us free is being applied to bring us back 100 years when most labor was casual and few people knew if they'd have a job next year.

    Car sharing, house sharing, "free" content generation, task rabbit type casual labor.... no wonder the middle class in the USA is hurting. This might be more effect than cause but we're in an undiscovered country, that's for sure.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      We're already there. At-will employment basically means I don't know if I'll have a job tomorrow.

      But there's further to go. Why have those expensive employees? Why pay payroll tax and FICA and employee benefits at all? Turn those once-employees in to a permanent contractor class, each tasked with involuntarily "running their own business", and let the IRS collect the thousands of dollars of taxes we're saving directly from those poor slobs. 1099s for everyone! It's not like the IRS is enforcing those employ

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by poet ( 8021 )

      The U.S. is hurting? From this side of the pond things are looking pretty good. The dollar is rocking (so much that we can get EU people 1 for 1), unemployment is down for educated people and business is up even for small business.

    • "Finance is no longer a tool for getting money into productive businesses but instead for getting it out"...

  • Phew! Finally! (Score:5, Funny)

    by stox ( 131684 ) on Monday March 30, 2015 @07:32PM (#49375977) Homepage

    Where else was I going to find a "Goat Grazing Service"?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )

      I could find one for you, were I to feel like it. There's a local goatherd who's currently working the the city park, but who also does backyards, or other places that need a short trim.

    • I know you were speaking ironically, but I've hired goats for old-field recovery (rehabbing a field site that infilled with exotic shrubs like english/eurasian privet, honeysuckles, multiflora rose, buckthorn, russian and autumn olive).

      They bring in the goats, stake them with a 15-20' chain and let them eat to their heart's content. You're paying for transportation to the site, veterinary care, water, and supplemental feed (the food quality is so bad, the goats can starve to death packed full of roughage).

      W

  • Comment removed (Score:3)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday March 30, 2015 @07:34PM (#49375989)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Yes, most of the services are not available here either - and I'm less than a mile from Philly, so it isn't about being out in the boondocks.

  • 10 or 20%? For what? (Score:3)

    by Bruce66423 ( 1678196 ) on Monday March 30, 2015 @07:37PM (#49376003)
    The concept seems good - but unless they are adding a lot of value, all they are doing is providing the same service as Yellow Pages, with the possibility of reviews. Or am I missing something? The review concept would be useful, but that's about it, surely.

    • I was kind of thinking the same thing. Except instead of yellow pages, I was thinking angie's list. They do some subscription thing to make money but screen reviews and only allow customers of whatever services to make them. I think they are limited to home improvement type stuff though.

    • The concept seems good - but unless they are adding a lot of value, all they are doing is providing the same service as Yellow Pages, with the possibility of reviews. Or am I missing something? The review concept would be useful, but that's about it, surely.

      Amazon will kick off providers who are not doing a good job, Amazon provides their A-to-Z guarantee, so if I have a problem, I don't have to pay (or Amazon pays me back).

      That is why.

      I've already booked someone for Thursday this week, I think this is a wonderful service and I expect to use it several times a year.

      In my experience, Amazon's customer service is second to none, they understand that a long term customer is worth more than short term profits, they often have refunded me without requiring a cheap

    • I think the killer value will be when they combine this with their drone delivery service...

  • I saw the demolition robot in "I Robot".

    Sorry sir. Did you say Evergreen Road or Place?

  • I think a 10-20% cut is bullshit. I'm really starting to hate Amazon almost, but not quite, as much as Apple.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gnupun ( 752725 )

      Once you have used the local service once through Amazon, won't you get a business card/address from the service person? Why do you need to use Amazon for the next booking? You can book the service directly the next time around saving you the 10-20% Amazon commission.

  • What caught my eye in the fine summary was "One of Amazon's goals is to help standardize the price for various services, so there aren't any surprises when the bill comes due." We live on a rural ferry served island. It is considered a destination for tourists and rich retires alike. The result is that the cost of living is significantly higher than on the other end of the ferry. The ferry consumes several hours for a round trip and is $40-$50 depending on the season so even if you commute from the mainland

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Shados ( 741919 )

      I'd expect them to just do it by zip code...And there's always going to be edge cases.

    • what about parts? an job that takes much longer others of the same time? A room that size of 4 rooms so the contractor loses money on supplies costs.

      What about some Islands with round trip tolls of $6

    • That, and not all plumbers, electricians, tutors, cleaners, painters, etc. are equal.

      Some are experienced and produce amazing work. Others just started and have a lot to learn.

      A standard rate of pay means that the guy who does the crap work gets paid the same as the guy who does the great work.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gnupun ( 752725 )

      Why not? Amazon has been trying to "standardize" ebook pricing to less than $10. They spent $0 creating that book and all they care about is maximizing their profit formula: books sold x commission regardless of how it hurts the creators and the industry. I find it ridiculous that middlemen/distributors have more control and power over a product/service than the creators themselves.

  • Yawn.

  • still bend over and let them being raped being 10 to 20% over commissions to a middle man that provides very little added value other than connect you to your customers. Why not reaching them directly? Why not launching a competing service that bills it a 5 euro fee, or that charges you 20 euros per month, period?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AuMatar ( 183847 )

      Because reaching your customers directly is hard. If it was easy, nobody would sign up for these services. Its especially hard for a small business like these- you expect them not only to be master craftsmen, but master marketers, master SEOs, and master businessmen as well? And do all of it in the span of a working day? Not exactly realistic. Now alternatives competing on margin- that can and will happen. Amazon isn't even the first here. Some of them, like ANgie's list, are paid for by monthly su

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by ruir ( 2709173 )
        Well I signed up for elance, but between their commissions, the unreal price expectations of customers, and the rate indians offer, I never bothered to take a project. I do not particularly enjoy working for free. However it is particularly interesting seeing USA customers saying "we do not welcome indians" for this gig, but then defining an impossible price range for a guy in the 1st world to meet.

  • I sure need some 'home service' from time to time.

    If Amazon can save me all that time in the adult classifieds, I'm all for it.

  • When I did a short stint at Fiverr for grins, I would occasionally get people who would try and send me links to direct me offsite so we could haggle without the limitations set by Fiverr.

    I have no doubt people will be doing this on Amazon, too.

  • The *only* folks who will go for this will be hipsters who would rather talk to an Amazon app on their iPhones than directly with a grubby blue collar contractor.

    I have a neighbor who is a licensed construction foreman. When I need work done on my old house, I basically can assist with demo, site prep, and cleanup and he gives me a big break on the bill. He goes home with a case of my homebrew beer when it is all done.

    That Amazon can even propose this business model really describes the sad state of affairs

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by OhPlz ( 168413 )

      Why? You want everyone to socialize with contractors just because you happen to have one living across the street from you? That argument makes no sense. For many, this is just another thing to deal with. Get estimates, pick one and try to find out if they're scumbags or not, hire them, have them do the work. It's similar to having the furnace cleaned or having major work done on a vehicle. I want decent people to do the work, but I don't want to sit down and have a meal with them. The quicker the wh

  • The article linked to as "standardize the price for various services..." mentions nothing about that at all.

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