Got a chore you don't want or have time to do? Cleaning your garage, digitizing old family photos, or perhaps grocery shopping?
A new breed of websites is allowing people to outsource their domestic duties and other miscellaneous tasks, to the highest bidder.
Think of it as an Ebay of sorts, only for your chores instead of your stuff.
For Seth Meister, who lives in Kelowna, B.C., using an online service auction site was a no-brainer considering he needed nearly 3,000 family photos scanned and digitized.
"These photos are literally every photo I have taken in the last 20 years," said the 38-year-old father of two, of his decision to turn to DoMyStuff.com.
"Obviously, I'm quite wary about sending these photos out to a stranger, but the truth is, if I don't send them out to someone I'll never do it myself."
Industry observers predict that these types of service-based auction sites are a veritable gold mine waiting to be tapped.
"It's untested waters," says Ina Steiner, editor of AuctionBytes.com, a trade publication for online merchants, and author of "Turn EBay Data Into Dollars."
"There's probably more potential there than exists currently."
Even the auction heavyweights are standing up and taking notice. Ebay recently created a new 'service' category on its Australian site. Steiner expects more to follow.
These new service auction sites differ from online classifieds, such as Craigslist and Kijiji, in that they are actual auctions rather than ads.
The auction allows people to bid on a variety of jobs. Those looking for the help can accept any of the offers or none at all.
The bidders tend to be a mix of youngsters looking to make an extra few bucks and small businesses looking to expand their clientele, said Darren Berkovitz, the 23-year-old co-founder of DoMyStuff.com, based in Beverly Hills, Calif.
An 18-year-old, for instance, might offer to mow the lawn for $7 or $8 an hour whereas a professional gardening service might charge $15 per hour. The winning bid depends on the level of service wanted.
"It really gives you choice," said Berkovitz, who started the site just over a month ago with three friends after joking that he wanted to outsource finding a girlfriend to someone else.
"Everyone can relate to it - you either don't have enough free time or you don't make enough money," he said of the concept. "It solves both of those problems."
Pointing to web phenomena like MySpace and Facebook, Berkovitz said people are more trusting nowadays of relationships they make online than previously.
"We're coming along at the perfect time," said Berkovitz. "I can remember even two years ago the Internet wasn't what it is today. It's so pervasive in our daily lives. People just feel very comfortable using the Internet today."
"If this idea was five years old I don't think it would be nearly as popular."
But fraud remains a concern just like on regular online auctions.
Experts say the advantage with the service sector is that the majority of people are local.
"If you're cutting someone's lawn, you're not worrying about whether they're a Nigerian scammer," said AuctionBytes' Steiner.
"There will be risks. People do have to be careful and do their homework."
DoMyStuff's Berkovitz isn't worried though, saying feedback features can help the public police each other.
"How did you find people before? In the Yellowpages. But how did you know they were trustworthy? With the Internet, it's great because you can see feedback and do research on people."
Meister said because of the personal nature of his family photos, he'll be checking a person's credentials closely.
"You can be sure that before I accept any of these bids, I will very carefully evaluate the bidder," he said.