Angie's List
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Angie's List | |
 |
|
| Type | Domestic Limited Liability Company (LLC) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995-04-26 |
| Founder | Angie Hicks |
| Headquarters | 1030 E. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46202 |
| Key people | William S. (Bill) Oesterle (CEO), Angie Hicks (Chief Marketing Officer) |
| Industry | Information collection and delivery |
| Revenue | $14 mil (est.) |
| Employees | 200 |
| Parent | Brownstone Publications |
| Website | http://www.angieslist.com/ |
| [1][2][3] | |
Angie's List is one of many companies which aggregate consumer reviews of local service companies and which have been described by the New York Times as "a glorified version of Yellow Page listings." [4]. Angie's List is unique however in that it charges consumers to see reviews. [1], reflecting the Angie's List belief that charging consumers "adds credibility to the information." [4] Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, the company was founded by Angie Hicks in 1995. The company modeled the list after Indianapolis' Unified Neighbors. As part of its public relations strategy, the company tells the story that Angie Hicks, who earned an MBA in 2000, went door-to-door in Columbus, Ohio signing up members and collecting ratings on local contractors.[3] In 1996, Angie's List purchased Unified Neighbors and relocated the company from Columbus to Indianapolis. As of January, 2007 the company serves 124 U.S cities[5] and provides reviews of companies in more than 250 categories.[6]
Angie's List grades companies using a report card style A through F scale using consumer reviews.[2] Revenue for Angie's List comes from fees paid by its members and from advertising. It claims to only accept advertising from companies that have a "B" rating or higher.[7], though not all reports submitted by members are used in establishing a company's rating as Angie's List employees "are skilled at picking out would-be saboteurs" who would distort a company's rating by submitting a negative review. [2] Angie's List stated policies prohibits contractors from paying to be on the list, adding their own names, or reporting on their companies.[8] A forum post quoted in Newsday, however demonstrates that it would be easy for business owners to get around this prohibition,
"Let's say that I'm the business owner.... If I can create a fake e-mail account and use my home address (or my neighbor's address) so that Angie's List doesn't know who I am, then [$5.95] a month is a pittance for being able to enter a review of my own business. So, their whole 'we charge a small fee to keep the reviews honest' thing doesn't work ... but it sure does help bring in revenue without worrying about advertising."
In response to such criticisms, Angie's List claims that an employee reads every report as they come in to check for abuse and inaccuracies.[3] Angie's list also claims they ask each member submitting reviews if they are affiliated with or compete against the company that they are reporting on[3], and that a member can only report on a company once every six months.
According to the New York Times for companies like Angie's List the number of reviews of businesses in many cities and their suburbs is thin and has more business listings in cities where they has been operating longer.[4] Like many of its competitors, Angie's List has paid people to submit reviews through programs such as its Angie Cash fundraising program, which was discontinued in March of 2006.[10] Angie's List has not released data on the number of consumer reviews it receives per company listed, but it does report receiving approximately 15,000 consumer reviews each month [3], yet other sources cite 5,000 reports are received nationwide each month.[4]
[edit] Financial Information
Because it is a private company, Angie's List is not required to release its financial information to the public. However, according to information released by the company, it has an estimated $14 million in annual revenue generated primarily through advertising in its newsletter and by charging members $4.95 a month, or $47 annually. [5] Angie's List has not publicly disclosed its annual expenses nor overall profitablility data.
[edit] Membership Information
As of January 2007, Angie's List reports having 500,000 members, but has not specified whether or not that figure includes only paid members or whether it also includes members using a free trial membership.
[edit] References
- ^ accessIndiana. Indiana Secretary of State. Retrieved on November 7, 2006.
- ^ a b Schein, Amy. Brownstone Publishing, LLC. Hoovers.com. Hoovers. Retrieved on January 30, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Duros, Sally. "Mining gold from Chicagoans' word of mouth", Chicago Sun Times, 2007-01-05. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ a b c Darlin, Damon. "Let's Say Your Toilet Backs Up. How Do You Find a Good Plumber?", New York Times, 2006-08-05. Retrieved on January 10, 2007.
- ^ a b Murphy, Tom. "Angie’s to-do list: doctors; Service ratings firm explores expansion into health care", Indiana Business Journal, January 20, 2007.
- ^ Daniels, Mary. "5 Things to Know...about home warranties.", Chicago Tribune, 2007-01-14. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ Tribble, Sarah Jane. "Angie's List earns an "A" for filling consumer niche", Seattle Times, 2006-08-28. Retrieved on January 10, 2007.
- ^ "Angie's List helps you choose a contractor", KVBC, 2006-07-10. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.
- ^ May, Liisa. "All You Need To Know On The Web", Newsday, January 26, 2007. Retrieved on February 5, 2007. (in English)
- ^ Angie Cash at the Internet Archive
