Zaarly is a site that I keep running up on when I look for opportunities comparable to Task Rabbit. If you aren’t familiar with Task Rabbit, it’s basically a company that allows you to register and get paid for running errands and providing various services to people in your area. Zaarly is very similar — you can open up your own storefront and offer your services or handmade goods to people in your local area who might need them.
Both Zaarly and Task Rabbit are location-limited, and as of now it looks like Zaarly is even more location-limited than Task Rabbit. Currently Zaarly is only advertising storefronts for people in San Francisco, New York City, Kansas City, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The Zaarly website does state that you can apply no matter where you live because they are working to expand.
Zaarly is not yet open globally, but they do want to expand internationally, so you can apply for a storefront no matter where you are located.
What types of things do people sell on Zaarly?
You can sell handmade goods or services. Some examples that I see on the website include yoga, personal training, pet sitting, baking, gardening, car care, and home organization. Zaarly currently has over 400,000 people buying and selling so if Zaarly is available in your area, it might be a good way to earn some money on the side.
How do transactions work?
The Zaarly website breaks down a typical transaction perfectly here. But to summarize, you’re notified when you get a new order and you correspond with the person who placed the order to get all the details hashed out. Once things are set, you complete the work ordered. The customer cannot be charged until the order has been delivered and they are satisfied. At that point, you can charge them through Zaarly and the customer’s credit card on file will be charged the total agreed upon price for the services/products you provided.
How do you get paid?
Once you have charged the customer, the money will come to you via direct deposit to your bank account. This will usually take a couple of business days. Zaarly does keep ten percent of the purchase price as a service fee since they do provide the platform for your storefront and all the tools you need, etc. to process orders.
Can you use Zaarly to promote your small business?
Not exactly. Zaarly does make it clear that small business owners are welcome to sign up and apply for storefronts, but your storefront can’t advertise your business. Zaarly is focused on individuals offering products and services rather than businesses, so your storefront will just display your name and you are expected to be the only one offering services — you are not supposed to accept orders and then have your employees do the work for you.
What do storefronts look like?
The Zaarly storefronts I’ve been browsing are gorgeous and simple to navigate. Your storefront will display your story, photos of your offerings complete with price, and if you get any reviews from customers, those will be visible as well.
What about safety?
Anytime that you are dealing with other people (strangers particularly) in person, it goes without saying you need to be on your guard. Zaarly has community flagging enabled so you can report any suspicious listings or users that are suspicious for whatever reason. Personally, I know that I would feel better providing services to people who had received positive feedback from other sellers so you’d know their past transactions had gone smoothly. If it were someone with no prior feedback, I would probably be nervous to meet them without other people around.
I think it’s wonderful that there are companies like Zaarly and Task Rabbit out there that offer these platforms for people to make money doing what they’re best at and providing services to others, but keep in mind you need to be as safe as possible when dealing with strangers.
How do you apply for a storefront?
Zaarly’s “Start Selling” page provides information on how to apply. Zaarly gets lots of storefront applications, so it could take a while for them to look over yours. Also, they don’t approve everyone. This page here describes the criteria for an approved Zaarly storefront.
