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I thought having local service providers would be cheaper. So I compared some of their prices with Walmart and Best Buy. TV Wall Mounting (my won mounting brac

by nabaraz 12y ago

I thought having local service providers would be cheaper. So I compared some of their prices with Walmart and Best Buy. TV Wall Mounting (my won mounting bracket): Amazon: $229, Geek Squad: $149.99 Tire installation Services (2 tires): Amazon: $69, Walmart: $12 each Car Stereo Installation: Amazon: $120, Best Buy: $64.99 I think there is a large market for local listings (e.g. Angies List, Groupon Local etc) but their prices are way too high.

MichaelApproved 12y ago
The Amazon guarantee would go a long way with me. Something goes wrong, I don't have to worry about battling it out with the contractor. I call Amazon and let them deal with it. I can't say it's worth double the price until I actually need to use one of their services but I would definitely accept a premium for the hassle free service.
- mattmanser 12y ago
  You'd pay double for a guarantee?
  - MichaelApproved 12y ago
    Why is that so crazy? Depending on the service cost, my time could be worth more than having to deal with the headaches of finding and dealing with a trustworthy vender. Consider we're talking about $150 installation for something in my house, like a TV. That could mean knocking holes in the wall. Searching Yelp reviews and interviewing contractors can be time consuming. Then, if something goes wrong, my wall could be ruined. Taking the contractor to court to recover damages is a massive investment. That might not be worth the trouble if I could have Amazon send someone and cover all headaches. It becomes dead-simple. "I'll just use Amazon's guy" There's no question, it's a premium service, but you're getting real peace of mind with it. It's not like you're only paying for a brand name, you're also getting a guarantee from a trusted company.
    - ghaff 12y ago
      You have a higher opinion of the value of Amazon's guarantee and brand in this space than I do. You're talking independent contractors here (just like Home Depot and many others use today) and you can expect lots of outcomes between didn't show up or didn't do the promised task and did a perfect job. Even with contractors I know and trust, things don't always work out perfectly when you're dealing with unexpected problems on the fly. For me, the potentially interesting aspect is "handyman" type tasks that fall outside the range of services you can have done through Home Depot, Sears, my local plumber or electrician, etc. Though I would guess it's significantly more expensive than you can get from giving someone local some cash (assuming you can find the right person).
      - MichaelApproved 12y ago
        > ou have a higher opinion of the value of Amazon's guarantee and brand in this space than I do. In my personal experience, they're one of the highest rated companies I've dealt with, in terms of customer service. They've earned that credit with me over the years that I've purchased items from them.
        ghaff 12y ago
        Oh, they've been fine with me as well. But with products, "good customer service" translates into "stick it back in the box, put on this label, and set it out for UPS to pick up." Dealing with a lot of home improvement/repair projects that aren't quite perfect seems more complicated. The model can certainly work for a lot of well-defined tasks but, then, I can get things like appliance or straightforward minor plumbing repairs done pretty straightforwardly today. And they look pricey for assembling furniture and the like.
    - bentcorner 12y ago
      Even Geek Squad's rate is too high. Mounting a TV onto your wall is not a hard thing to do. Find studs, attach mount to wall, attach mount to TV, put on wall. I've done it several times. Granted, it's not fun, but it's not I'd-rather-pay-$150-to-not-do-this non-fun. Even if you're a high-paid professional it's likely cheaper to do it yourself (assuming opportunity cost for this time was work, and not, you know, enjoying your weekend). (IMO the TV wall mounting prices are completely out of line with the difficulty of the task. Compared to tire installation that takes more time, tooling, and personal risk, I'm really surprised that it costs so much.)
- brudgers 12y ago
  Putting tires on a car is a commodity service of the sort that if something goes wrong the biggest problem isn't getting a full refund. With construction there's still a messy contract that needs to get sorted out, and Amazon is charging double the going rate to maintain a reserve for often having to mobilize a crew twice. They have to because every building contains a different bag of hurt buried in its walls. The people who are experienced enough to reasonably predict what's buried are unlikely to need to give Amazon a cut because they are already busy.

by nabaraz 12y ago

MichaelApproved 12y ago

The Amazon guarantee would go a long way with me. Something goes wrong, I don't have to worry about battling it out with the contractor. I call Amazon and let them deal with it. I can't say it's worth double the price until I actually need to use one of their services but I would definitely accept a premium for the hassle free service.

mattmanser 12y ago
You'd pay double for a guarantee?
- MichaelApproved 12y ago
  Why is that so crazy? Depending on the service cost, my time could be worth more than having to deal with the headaches of finding and dealing with a trustworthy vender. Consider we're talking about $150 installation for something in my house, like a TV. That could mean knocking holes in the wall. Searching Yelp reviews and interviewing contractors can be time consuming. Then, if something goes wrong, my wall could be ruined. Taking the contractor to court to recover damages is a massive investment. That might not be worth the trouble if I could have Amazon send someone and cover all headaches. It becomes dead-simple. "I'll just use Amazon's guy" There's no question, it's a premium service, but you're getting real peace of mind with it. It's not like you're only paying for a brand name, you're also getting a guarantee from a trusted company.
  - ghaff 12y ago
    You have a higher opinion of the value of Amazon's guarantee and brand in this space than I do. You're talking independent contractors here (just like Home Depot and many others use today) and you can expect lots of outcomes between didn't show up or didn't do the promised task and did a perfect job. Even with contractors I know and trust, things don't always work out perfectly when you're dealing with unexpected problems on the fly. For me, the potentially interesting aspect is "handyman" type tasks that fall outside the range of services you can have done through Home Depot, Sears, my local plumber or electrician, etc. Though I would guess it's significantly more expensive than you can get from giving someone local some cash (assuming you can find the right person).
    - MichaelApproved 12y ago
      > ou have a higher opinion of the value of Amazon's guarantee and brand in this space than I do. In my personal experience, they're one of the highest rated companies I've dealt with, in terms of customer service. They've earned that credit with me over the years that I've purchased items from them.
      - ghaff 12y ago
        Oh, they've been fine with me as well. But with products, "good customer service" translates into "stick it back in the box, put on this label, and set it out for UPS to pick up." Dealing with a lot of home improvement/repair projects that aren't quite perfect seems more complicated. The model can certainly work for a lot of well-defined tasks but, then, I can get things like appliance or straightforward minor plumbing repairs done pretty straightforwardly today. And they look pricey for assembling furniture and the like.
  - bentcorner 12y ago
    Even Geek Squad's rate is too high. Mounting a TV onto your wall is not a hard thing to do. Find studs, attach mount to wall, attach mount to TV, put on wall. I've done it several times. Granted, it's not fun, but it's not I'd-rather-pay-$150-to-not-do-this non-fun. Even if you're a high-paid professional it's likely cheaper to do it yourself (assuming opportunity cost for this time was work, and not, you know, enjoying your weekend). (IMO the TV wall mounting prices are completely out of line with the difficulty of the task. Compared to tire installation that takes more time, tooling, and personal risk, I'm really surprised that it costs so much.)
brudgers 12y ago
Putting tires on a car is a commodity service of the sort that if something goes wrong the biggest problem isn't getting a full refund. With construction there's still a messy contract that needs to get sorted out, and Amazon is charging double the going rate to maintain a reserve for often having to mobilize a crew twice. They have to because every building contains a different bag of hurt buried in its walls. The people who are experienced enough to reasonably predict what's buried are unlikely to need to give Amazon a cut because they are already busy.