What Is Amazon Home Services? Is It Worth It?
Amazon launched its Home Services operation in early 2015 to help its customers find home repair and maintenance professionals, and it looks like it’s here to stay. But is it a smart choice for local service professionals?
Scheduling Has Never Been Easier
Amazon makes the process very simple for its customers to schedule a home service expert:
- Select the service
- Schedule the appointment
- Place the order
Amazon Home Services has done a great job staying in front of its consumers during the online shopping process. Allowing users to bundle a service with a product, Amazon is cutting out the middleman and eliminating the need for advertising. For instance, if you are buying plumbing fixtures, Amazon will give you the option of scheduling a professional plumber.
Users can also use the regular search bar to search for things like “air conditioning tune-up,” “yard maintenance,” or “garbage disposal repair” and service options will appear right alongside Amazon products.
Users can purchase their products, schedule their service, and pay all at once at Amazon’s checkout.
Amazon Home Services vs. Google Home Service Ads
- Amazon sets the price of service in many cases and takes a 15-20% cut for the cost of generating leads and doing business on Amazon.
- Amazon guarantees satisfaction for the services provided by participating service professionals with their “Happiness Guarantee.”
- This guarantee ensures that if a customer is dissatisfied with service, the job will be rectified or a full refund will be provided. They also offer price matching within 14 days.
Amazon Home Services Pricing
Pre-Packaged Services
Services with defined scope which allow customers to purchase based on price estimates (ex: TV wall mounting, bed assembly, treadmill assembly, move-in or move-out house cleaning)
- 20% for the portion up to $1,000
- 15% for the portion greater than $1,000
Recurring Services
Services purchased as a subscription plan for recurring appointments are 15%. That’s a big cut! You have to adjust your prices on Amazon to make it work. They used to charge around 10% commission on all service jobs, but now it is 20%.
The more Amazon takes, the more you need to raise your prices to reflect that. You don’t want to end up losing money on Amazon.
Tip: This is a nice trick to know in general. You can normally find lower prices for goods on Amazon by searching elsewhere. Amazon takes a pretty significant commission from everything they sell on their platform.
Source: Amazon
Amazon Home Service Requirements
- All Amazon Home Services providers are required to carry General Liability insurance with a limit of $1,000,000 US dollars per occurrence. You will be required to provide your insurance information upon registration.
- If you select a trade profession (Electrician, Plumber, General Contractor), you will be required to provide your license information.
Note: You will not be approved to sell your services on Amazon if you do not meet the above requirements.
Source: Amazon
How Amazon Home and Business Services Works
- You need the Amazon seller services app on your phone.
- You get an alert. You can accept it or not.
- You arrive at the job and clock in. When you are done, you clock back out.
- Like Google LSAs, you need a smartphone to use Amazon Home Services.
- Amazon usually process payments on Fridays, so you probably won’t get paid until Monday.
Even if the customer disputes the transaction, Amazon will pay you regardless. You don’t have to worry about getting screwed over by the customer, however, Amazon will not reimburse you for canceled appointments.
They expect you to show up at the job site even if the customer hasn’t picked up their phone. If they are not home, you are stuck with the short end of the stick. Amazon will not reimburse you for the time and gas it took to show up to a canceled appointment.
Amazon is currently working on a Home Service subscription service so you can get regularly service appointments on a regular schedule.
Is Amazon Home Services Connected to Alexa?
The short answer is yes!
Amazon has a lot of power and can be a big disruptive force in the home services industry. They act as the middleman between customers and service providers and take care of all customer interactions — the “Uber for home services”
Still, there has been a lot of complaints on both sides. They will need to refine their process, but once they do, we might all be scheduling local services through Alexa, our personal assistant.
Learn more about voice search and its impact on local search.
Learn More about Amazon Home Services and Other Market Disruptors for the Home Service Industry
Get ahead of your competitors by looking ahead! Learn about current and future market disruptors that could hurt your company if you’re not careful – or improve your company if you’re riding the wave.
In VitalStorm’s eBook, 5 Market Disruptors for the Home Service Industry (and How to Use Them to Your Advantage), you’ll learn how to navigate disruptions in the home service industry including the Amazon Home Services, Voice Search and other recent innovations.
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