Pay for Consumer Services?

Transaction or subscription based models don’t have to be services targeting businesses. Consumers can and will pay for web services that meet their needs. A prime example is TheFamilyPost – a web service that gives families the option of storing photos and videos, creating an online scrapbook or presentation, a family website and chatroom, and more.

Sure, there are plenty of services online that offer some of these for free. You could always try using multiple service offerings to get similar functionality. TheFamilypost really scores by putting all these together, making it simple and easy to use – and NOT having advertising.

For families who value privacy and convenience, this makes a great deal. Advertising can be highly intrusive, if badly handled – and an embarrassment on occasion. You might not want to have anyone think of your baby as a model for diapers, would you? Or have your children seeing the latest candy, soda or toy offer that’s oh-so-seductive to them but a major drain on your wallet. There’s enough child-targeted advertising on the idiot box to be a pain; why add more.

Not to mention that an ad-free, family restricted environment is much more child friendly. You can allow them to log on and chat with grandparents or other members of the family unsupervised, without worrying about predators on the prowl. Peace of mind is beyond price, after all. Plus, they offer a free trial to enable you to check it out – and decide whether you want to pay.

Or look at eSnips. Described as “Myspace for the over 20’s”, eSnips provides profiling and web storage; the basic service is free. Users can also create content that they can share, or even sell through the Marketplace. Today, there isn’t a charge for the buy and sell; but the terms and conditions hint at transaction fees.

“Joining the eSnips Marketplace, placing items for sale and buying items is free.

We reserve the right to change this policy in the future. If we change our fee policy we will give you at least fourteen calendar days’ notice by posting the changes on the Site. We will also attempt to notify you by e-mail, providing the e-mail address you provided is valid.”

Do you know any others?