Amazon Home Services Expansion Provides New Opportunities for Houston Businesses
Last week, Amazon announced that it had expanded the number of providers and services offered by Amazon Home Services in several areas of the country, including Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. For those who don’t know, Amazon Home Services allows customers to hire local contractors and service providers directly on Amazon.com—everything from plumbers to interior designers. This expansion could prove to be an opportunity for local small businesses to increase their exposure and clientele through Amazon’s enormous user base.
Local businesses can quickly and easily apply to sell services on Amazon, but approval is based on Amazon’s background check—which includes online reviews, media searches, and reference checks. In other words, you probably need to have a sterling track record of excellent service. But when the application is so simple to fill out, it can’t hurt to apply, can it?
Of course, if your business is accepted as an Amazon Home Services vendor, Amazon takes a cut of any job scored via their website, so keep that in mind. Most other fees, however, have been waived—at least until December 31, 2015. So it’s probably best to apply before 2016 when Amazon may begin charging signup fees, subscription fees, and background check fees.
View current pricing and fees here:
http://services.amazon.com/selling-services/pricing.htm
Outside of the potential exposure to Amazon’s massive user base, the benefits of becoming a vendor on Amazon Home Services include no upfront costs or lead fees (at least for now) and the fact that Amazon handles the payment processing and any customer payment issues that might arise. You get to focus on your business.
“We are excited to expand our offers and availability across the country,” said Nish Lathia, General Manager of Amazon Home Services, “providing customers with a quick and simple way to purchase services and service pros with a trusted a familiar marketplace to reach local customers. We’re also excited to see the growth in custom service requests with completed projects ranging from central air installation to home entertainment setup.”
Meanwhile, small-business owner Sonny of Sonny’s Handyman Services in San Jose, California, said, “I had to hire 7 new technicians to keep up with the business I’m receiving from Amazon.”
All said, it sounds like a great way for service-oriented businesses to gain new customers—if you’re lucky enough to be approved for an invite.
Go here to apply as a service provider on Amazon Home Services:
http://services.amazon.com/selling-services/
READ MORE FROM AMERICAN COMMERCIAL CAPITAL
Business Video Roundup: Buffalo Wild Wings Gets Saucy, Loida Lewis Talks & AI in Business
Image: bhofack2 / Envato Elements
In this week’s roundup of great videos for entrepreneurs and business owners, Buffalo Wild Wings fires back at the Chicago gentleman who sued them for false advertising, Forbes’ Diane Brady sits down with Loida Lewis to talk about her incredible journey in the business world, Gong.io CEO Amit Bendov ruminates on how AI will transform business, and PepsiCo’s André Moraes discusses how their…
Business Video Roundup: Marketing Shifts, Brain Surveillance, Banking Turmoil & More
Image: Prostock-studio / Envato Elements
“People really connect with a mission,” says Immigrant Food co-founder Téa Ivanovic. In this week’s business video roundup, she reveals how a strong mission has helped her business gain media attention, connect with customers, and retain employees. Also on deck: Gary Vaynerchuk talks about the massive marketing shift happening right now, Harvard Business Review takes a look at brain surveillance technology that will…
Houston Factoring Companies: Why Choose American Commercial Capital for Invoice Factoring?
Image: SeanPavonePhoto / Envato Elements
If you are a Houston-based entrepreneur who has been searching for ways to improve your business cash flow and get the capital you need to grow, chances are you’ve come across a dozen Houston factoring companies who all claim to be the answer to all your problems. Invoice factoring is when a business sells its accounts receivable (invoices) to a third-party company at…
