Time-Saver Site Takes Concept Nationwide

You can shop for groceries online, grab a Janet Jackson CD from your favorite e-store and even buy a Christmas tree--sight unseen--off the Net. But can you buy time?

A Fullerton-based Web start-up has launched a clever service that promises to help consumers save time and money by finding service businesses. In return, it helps businesses find new customers.

Think of Handshake.com as the EBay for busy people. People select what kind of service they’re looking for--catering, housecleaning, oil changes--and a range of how much they’re willing to spend.

That bid goes out to Handshake.com’s nationwide database merchants--officials say they’ve pulled together a list of 600,000 companies--who then can bid for the job. If the customer likes an offer, he or she is put in touch with the supplier, and the two entities seal the deal directly.

Handshake.com doesn’t do its own ratings of the merchants. Instead, it relies on customers to post reviews--or complaints--to Handshake.com’s site. To protect the public’s privacy, Handshake.com doesn’t send information about the customer to the merchant, Chief Executive Ajay Shah said.

The 27-person company, which nabbed $4 million in funding earlier this year from venture capital firm Idealab Capital Partners, launched its site in October and focused on Southern California merchants. It rolled out its nationwide service listings last week.

“We’re targeting people who value their time, who want good quality service and a fair price,” said Shah, 23. “They want to get their to-do list done as fast as possible--not spend a full day shopping around to get a good deal on a wedding photographer or an auto detailer.”