What I’m getting at is this:

One aspect of the business can be the consignment model. Where items are sold EITHER online or in store.. The operative word being SOLD! Judging from some of the comments in this thread, one would have to be very selective about items taken on consignment and how much is received for each.

The items accepted on consignment need to be as high end as possible and the return to the consignee should be as much as possible. The store owner should break even or make a small profit. Why?

Higher end merchandise attracts higher end in store consigners/buyers. Paying more to the consignees, initially, establishes a favorable word of mouth reputation about the store to their circle of friends. As this part of the business improves, higher profits could be taken based on reputation for competency, cleanliness, etc.

Another aspect of the same business could be merchandise sales EITHER online or in store. Both ends of the business can support and benefit the other. This aspect of the model assumes having knowledge of or access to wholesale priced merchandise. This merchandise is sold online, or in store, or even drop shipped direct from the supplier!

Thus the older consignment/merchandise should have a competitive price advantage over the new, making it more attractive to a certain type bargain hunter. The new merchandise has its own appeal another kind of buyer. Again, both buyers reinforce the other’s behavior.

Finally, the online aspect of the business sells both consignment and new merchandise appealing to the same kind of buyers mentioned earlier.

The three parts of this business model should make a sturdy foundation for a profitable business.

The benefit to this arrangement is each aspect of the business is enhanced by the other parts. The store location is not limited to local traffic. What doesn’t sell locally can be sold online. And vice versa. The consignment aspect brings in sellers who may become buyers, who might not have come in to the store otherwise. Buyers can later become sellers because they’ve experienced the well lit store, the competency, the customre service, etc.

All in all it seems like an interesting idea.

I am the store manager at a registered eBay drop-off location. However instead of being a franchise store, we are an independently owned and operated business located in Chattanooga, TN (metro pop. 175,000). Not a very big market, but we have been in business for a little over 3 years, but are only at a barely break-even point. We did turn a slight profit the last 3 months of 2007. This is all from “turning on the Open sign and waiting for people to walk through our door”. We’ve done very little advertising, save for a once a month coupon in the local paper. All things considered, we have done okay being that we’ve survived solely on the backs of walk-in customers. This year we are going to be exploring more options to brining business into our store, most of which have been discussed here, such as pickups and partnering with local businesses to liquidate excess inventory, etc.

At this point, the only real competition we have here in Chattanooga is a Snappy Auctions franchise on the other side of town. We have watched numerous other stores close in the past 2 years, including the infamous numarkets franchises in our area. You wouldn’t believe the horror stories we heard about that chain. Others were independent stores such as ours. The most recent one liquidated their excess shipping supplies and equipment on eBay…we won the auction for their boxes and I got a chance to visit their store which was dark, dirty and dingy. I would never feel comfortable leaving anything of value at a place like that. Our location is bright, clean, and inviting which I believe helps tremendously. Another independent store tried opening a 2nd location and very soon thereafter went out of business. That’s a big thing, IMO, is to be careful about over saturating your market with these types of stores.

One of the biggest factors for success in this market is customer service. Numarkets was a customer service NIGHTMARE, especially for the local cosignors, and their eBay feedback was spotty as well. I’m reading stories in this thread about consignors having to wait weeks or even months to get paid once their item sells. Not to mention what can happen if a store closes overnight and you are left with NOTHING. Our turnaround is FAST. Our employees are friendly and helpful and it keeps our customers coming back. Local buyers who win our auctions can pick them up without any handling fees, long waits, or extra hassles.

I also want to touch on one of the first points made in this thread regarding an internet presence. I agree that it is a good idea to have one for a business like this that is tied directly to the internet, but I do feel that the main focus for advertising needs to be in your local market. This is going to be a big focus for us in the coming months. We’ve already established ourselves as the #1 REDOL in Chattanooga, now it’s just a matter of getting more people here in town to become aware of us and this type of market.

I feel confident that our store will be turning a profit in the near future. I feel confident that other REDOLs can do the same. It’s still such a new market that so many people just do not know about. Years from now, when eBay drop-off stores are more ingrained into people’s minds, multiple locations in a given market could work. Right now, you’ve just gotta be sure your market can handle yet another store that not many people are aware of…

I haven’t heard about zippi since - maybe they’re still getting off their feet. Wobbly I’d say.

What happened with zippy.com? Did you sell all those shoes?

Lauren

I have a ton of new high end shoes to get rid of from a movie set that I worked on and am pretty sure I don’t want to sell them myself online. I have an ebay account, but the effort it takes me to sell online is like squeezing juice from a stone. I have a day job, a nightschool, and a ton of stuff to get rid of!

I’ll be trying zippi and report back (if anyone is interested).

Ken Sully’s (CEO) phone number is 858-436-2850 and his fax is 858-436-2859.
His email: Ken@isolditcorp.com

Rick Forry (CFO) can possibly also help - his number is 858-436-2860.

If all else fails call iSoldIt’s main number 858-436-2800, ask the name of the Area Manager for where you left the items. Leave him/her messages. I would not give up until you get your items back. Good luck.

Anyone getting into these franchises now have NOT done their homework. The numbers of closings in 2007 alone show the unstability. As for Am I The Only One’s energy, it is well spent helping MANY of these same franchisees who posted a month ago on how wonderful it all is and are now closing. When the blinders come off, we are the only ones left to help-the franchisors sure won’t!