You can now hire a goat herder through Amazon

SAN FRANCISCO -- Now you can buy a sink on Amazon and hire someone to come and install it. Or a goat herder to tend your flock. Or someone to teach you aerial yoga.

All are available to Amazon customers through the company's newly-expanded professional services marketplace, launching on Monday.

Called Amazon Home Services, it was previously available in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York under the name Amazon Local Services.

The move makes sense for Amazon, said Jason Daigler, an analyst with Gartner.

"It's a huge market and Amazon sells many products that have logical complementary services, like a flat-screen TV that requires wall mounting," he said.

The complexity of finding someone to do things inside the home gives Amazon an edge, because consumers already trust it.

"As a globally recognized brand, Amazon can provide a level of comfort that consumers may not have with local, unknown contractors. Further, the vetting process Amazon will offer is often more comprehensive than consumers can find through similar online offerings," Daigler said.

The market for such business listing services has been growing. Angie's List was founded in 1995. Since then Craigslist, Yelp, Google Business and others have all begun offering listing services, some pre-vetted, some based on user reviews.

Amazon is seeking to distinguish itself by offering a money-back promise it calls its "happiness guarantee."

Customers pay for service through their Amazon accounts, only when a project is finished.

The company figures there's a big market for finding someone to install or fix items that customers have bought on its site.

"Now they have a one-stop place where they can pick from pre-packaged, price-up-front services," says Amazon vice president Peter Faricy, vice president for Amazon Marketplace.

Larsen says the service is available in every major city in the United States, though it has the largest number of people in place in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.

"That's because those are the four cities we started in, but we have pretty good coverage across 41 states and in 30 of the biggest metro areas of the U.S.," he said.

Amazon is partnering with several national businesses to find the service people it needs. They include TaskRabbit; The Dish Network's home media installation subsidiary; PepBoys for auto care and TakeLessons.com, an online network for lessons of all sorts, including music, tutors and languages.

It also has a full-time vetting team based in Seattle.

Service providers are required to be licensed (if applicable), insured, and undergo background-checks.

Amazon will charge providers a fee that ranges between 5% and 19%, depending on the service.

AND THE GOATHERDING?

Goats, and the goatherds who tend them, are popular in urban areas as a way to clear brush and undergrowth without using herbicides.

A landowner rents a herd of goats which are penned into the area that needs to be cleared by means of a temporary fence. The goats munch their way through whatever's present, with no permits or pesticide warnings necessary. Being natural climbers, the goats can often reach areas that machinery cannot.

Businesses such as Rent-A-Ruminant and City Grazing are among those that make their herds available. Brightly colored temporary fences and a herd of calmly chewing goats are not uncommon sights in cities such as San Francisco and Seattle, much to the delight of local residents.