Amazon has launched a new online marketplace that will enable users to book plumbers, electricians and other household professionals in the US, reports Mashable. The service dubbed ‘Amazon home service’ will offer 700 services from licensed professionals at launch and is focused around big cities like San Francisco, New York and Seattle. According to Amazon, all service professionals are background checked, insured and licensed if applicable. These professionals will compete based on price, quality of service and availability. The company will offer pre-packaged services at fixed prices which can be added to the cart without special signups or subscriptions. Amazon mentions it will back the services with an ‘Amazon Happiness Guarantee’ and will fix issues or provide full refund to dissatisfied customers. The services will be charged for only on service completion. According to Amazon if customers find a lower price for the same service and professional, it will match the price as well. In the US, Amazon will compete with other services marketplaces like Angie, Handy and TaskRabbit. Services marketplace in India In India, there are a number of players in the services marketplace sector. Near.in, which was launched in December last year, aggregates service providers across various categories like home services, architects & interior designers, dieticians, physiotherapists, photographers, tattoo artists, event planners, zumba classes etc). The platform raised Rs 1.8 crore from a series of individual investors including Manish Vij of SVG Media and Anupam Mittal of Shaadi.com in January this year. Mumbai-based LocalOye is another player in this…
