Hacker News Reader

Comment by ghaff | Hacker News Reader

So, once you find someone you like, why not just contract off-app?

We use Rover all the time and usually use the same dogsitter. I don't move off app because the money I'm spending isn't enough to try and get a discount ($25 for a night out with the wife, $60 or 70 a day if we go out of town). Plus they offer pet insurance and some other protections that are worth it.

I use Rover all the time, we have had a number of dog sitters offer themselves as a personal dog sitter off the Rover app for a small discount.

We always politely decline because of the layer of perceived security Rover offers with their insurance.

I've offered to pay the person who watches my dog directly, and she declines exactly because of the value add of Rover insuring her. Seems a fair model.

Can you not insure yourself, or insure yourself against someone else?

Sure, but Rover is presumably benefiting from a much better economy of scale and bargaining position (since it's buying for however many thousands or millions of users it has), whereas you are unlikely to be able to do the same as an individual.

Businesses can often broker discounted group policies which are a fraction of the cost of what an individual policy costs(e.g. health insurance).

Yes but at that point and for the price it's a convenience/time thing. I probably spend 250 or 300 a month on dog sitting through Rover. The time it would take for me to find a way to self insur is worth considerably more to me than 300.

I thought it was fair until I found out they were taking something like 20% from the sitter on top of charging me a service fee of 5% or so.

This conversation actually made me curious what the actual value of that insurance is.

According to this source, at retail prices dog walking insurance costs 500$ a year for comprehensive coverage, or about 40$ a month: https://www.petsits.com/petsittinginsuranceusa

Rover takes almost 40$ in service fees for one weekend of boarding my single dog!

I appreciate the value of insurance, I kind of appreciate the Craigslist+ role they serve, but at the point where more than 25% of my payment is never making it to the sitter... Rover is just burning my money to fund a bloated payroll and lofty valuations

Doesnt bother me in the slightest. Sitters seem happy and protected, I'm happy and protected, the vendor makes what they can. Not everything needs to be a fight against the injustice of middle-men.

We also use Rover because they have insurance that allows the dog sitter to take your pet to the vet and pay the vet for services without you having to be there in person.

I would argue that there are many incentives to use platforms/apps for both the client and the provider/host, instead of contracting off-platform/off-app. For the provider, the app gives them 1) a steady stream of new leads and 2) it allows them to build up a reputation on the platform for repeat business. Maybe it is sometimes a bad sign to contract off-platform, because it could signal that they are not trustworthy enough, or do not have a high enough service quality and so would not have a high rating if they were on the platform? Also as the other user said: platforms often offer mediation/dispute resolution and insurance.

Platforms offer a way for individuals or small businesses to get started in a new sector without doing a lot of marketing for themselves. It's a bit like being part of an alliance.

I am not arguing for the continued domination and rent-seeking practices of Silicon Valley middle-men corporations. I'm arguing that the existence of any online bazaar/marketplace and the ability to search and compare, makes for excellent dynamics.

To go even further, I advocate for an emerging alternative that has been termed 'Protocol Cooperativism':

Instead of monopolistic rent-seeking platforms, it focuses on open source economic protocols that allow full negotiation between peer to peer users. Check out Ceptr.org, MetaCurrency and Holochain. It provides the frame and framework for ever evolving protocols (comprehensive versioning tech).

You can, but they are not always available and it takes some time to find the perfect fit. I like the fact that the price is the same yet there are rules and options if you need a change or the practitioner cancels. Same with Rover.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com