eBay Australia recently launched eBay Services , as
".. an easier way for service providers to reach eBay’s five million members, and for buyers to find even more of what they’re looking for on eBay..."
Sellers of services can launch in the eBay Services category through a classified advertisement or in the 'Buy It Now' or Auction format.
Reviewing Model
Service sellers are reviewed in the same way as item sellers, using eBay's standard feedback system, that many are accustomed to by now.
Listing Formats
Service providers can list their services in the Auction or Buy It Now format as well as the Classifieds ad format. Classified ads differ from Auctions in that there is no bidding on the service listed.
Pricing
Auction/Buy It Now listings cost a flat fee of $10 (includes insertion and final fee) and are valid for up to 10 days.
Classified Ads cost $19.99 and are valid for up to 28 days.
Features
The listing formats appear to be cross between a premium business listing and traditional/newspaper classified advertisement.
Comment
Its a logical step for eBay to grow into this space given the close relationship between sellers of items and sellers of services. Here are some notes/considerations:
Buyer Location
With the exception of services that involve a final product being shipped (e.g. florists), the majority of services offered will be buyers located within a fairly close proximity to the seller. Because location becomes a factor, eBay may need to consider a map based search, in addition to its current postcode-based radius search.
Value
The listing formats certainly present good value for any small business. One such listing relating to a Mobile Mechanic had been viewed 1,167 times - not bad for an investment of $0.05.
Search Engine Indexing
As with eBay listings in the past, all service listings are search engine friendly - the main disadvantage is that the maximum 28 day period will ensure that they are not around for long.
Review Format
What works for reviewing items, doesn't necessarily work for reviewing services. Reviewers are provided only one line to write a comment and the ability to rate a business soley on a positive/negative/neutral score. Here they would benefit from having rating criteria unique to each category (you can't rate a mechanic's workmanship in the same way you rate how a dentist looks after your teeth).
Other deficiencies in the reviewing model include
-Small and large transactions carry the same weight in the feedback summary. It is therefore easy for a dishonest user to initially build up a deceptive positive rating by buying or selling a number of very low value items (could apply to services) then subsequently switching to fraud.
-A user may be reluctant to leave honest feedback out of fear of negative retaliatory feedback (including "negative" in retaliation for "neutral").
Summary
Reviewing model aside, eBay's done a great job of integrating services into a item-centric search platform and for a small business owner, it provides yet another means of increasing their exposure online.
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