The holidays may be ramping up, but eBay isn’t just thinking about how best to buy and sell products. Starting today, the company is introducing a new way to connect customers to relevant services.
eBay Hire, as the new beta feature is called, is designed to eventually let service pros sell and market their services to eBay customers in their neighborhood. Interested professionals will have a profile page, where customers can learn about their experience and rates. In future phases, ads featuring the pros will show up in relevant product search result pages. For example, shoppers buying golf clubs might be shown results for accredited professional golf coaches in their zip code.
As an experimental experience, eBay Hire does not charge a sign-up fee, nor make any commissions. After the current promotional period ends, however, the company expects to charge fees for each booking, similar to the fees charged when users list and/or sell items on eBay.com.
eBay Hire is currently working with associations from the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR), the U.S. Golf Teachers Federation (USGTF) and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA),to reach prospective service pros
As Steve Yankovich, vice president of innovation and new ventures at eBay Inc. told TechCrunch, eBay Hire will offer a “smart and seamless experience.”
“This limited beta launch is another example of eBay Inc. using technology to connect buyers and sellers in new ways,” he said.