Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Netizens were probably too busy looking through all of the wonderful bargains to be had online during Amazon Prime Day last week to notice that the company has launched a new “Hire a REALTOR®” page.
SANTA CLARACA/USA - FEBRUARY 1 2014: Amazon building in Santa Clara California. Amazon is an American international electronic commerce company. It is the world's largest online retailer.
The page was hidden away within Amazon’s Home and Business Services section, which is where users can obtain quotes for a variety of professional services such as setting up new technology or assembling new purchases.
Amazon has already removed the page from its site, but not before it was noticed by a number of real estate professionals, including the National Association of Realtors itself. The page itself was rather sparse, with the generic title “Hire a REALTOR®” and a “Coming Soon” banner. When asked for comment, they declined to say anything about the page.
However, that the page appeared online briefly is already enough to have some competitors spooked that Amazon could soon be entering the real estate referral business.
“When reports of the page surfaced, Zillow’s stock price slumped from $46.15 a share to $44.54 as of Wednesday morning, showing just how closely investors are watching the Seattle retailer,” GeekWire reported.
The NAR later confirmed to HousingWire that Amazon.com did not have permission to use the trademarked logo “REALTOR®”, which is governed by certain guidelines. That may or may not be the reason why they later removed the page.
The page was deleted on July 12, one day after it first appeared.
