On the beaten path I tend to drive everyday, there is a retail store that was under construction for about the past month. The store had an interesting name, and I had never heard of it before. Not really sure what it was or having any real clue what they did, I decided to go ahead and do some research and solve this enigma (of course stopping by and asking would’ve been too easy).
The name of the store. iSOLD It (on eBay). I wondered, well what exactly is this place? Are they owned by eBay and acting as a brick and mortar consignment center toting the popular online auction site’s name? If they weren’t owned by eBay, how could they have the company’s name on their sign? A friend suggested, well I’m guessing that if you want to sell something on eBay, they will do it all for you so you don’t have to hassle with it. I thought, no, that sounds like a business plan that thrives off laziness… that would never work. Oh wait a minute, many businesses thrive off laziness. I gotta check this out.
Upon researching the company, iSOLD It, I started to unravel an entire underworld of retail stores that I never really knew existed. Being an individual that has sold many items on eBay, I always thought it was pretty simple to snap a photo of the item, type in a quick, catchy description, and voila! Let the bidding begin. Well it turns out, this underworld–the clicks ‘n’ mortars to be exact–are popping up left and right. Franchises that handle your ecommerce selling so you don’t have to worry about it. People that want to sell things online may have stigmas, or lack of time, to accomplish such. So these retail chains are thriving on that need.
What is a “click ‘n’ mortar” retailer? I’m defining them as brick ‘n’ mortar retail outfits that act as a segway between ecommerce and the traditional business world.
With competitors such as QuikDrop, Picture It Sold and other eBay certified “trading posts”, iSOLD It has managed to accumulate over 7.5 million in revenue since its inception. The company is reported as not yet profitable, but with franchises popping up nationwide, it’s well on its way to accomplishing that feat.
The process is simple. Take your old DVD Player, your fine China, or your autographed picture of Tony Danza to your local iSOLD It. They will “professionally” photograph the item for inclusion on the auction site. Then the associate will create your auction. All for a cut of your selling price.
You may ask, what would be the cost of such a service? On i-soldit.com, they’ve included a nice commission table, showing you how much they’re gonna make off (*cue Gollum voice) my precious. If your item sells for $100 you will make 63 cents off the dollar. Now you have to understand that yes there are fees that eBay collects that these “click ‘n’ mortar” stores are absorbing, so that comes with the territory. But these commission rates seem pretty steep to me.
The idea is sound. This business is targeting the non-technologically apt / extremely busy crowd of people out there who want to take advantage of the great service that is eBay. However, as generations progress, I can not see this being a lasting business. More of a fad maybe?
One marketing ploy that iSOLD It has made is to include coupons in every copy of “The 40 Year Virgin” that is published. Maybe I am wrong in my assumption of the target demographic, but if you were to insert promotion into a DVD, would a comedy targeted toward a younger crowd (who has grown up with the internet) be the opposite of an ideal strategy? It’s great that they are getting the name out there, because after all name recognition is king, but seems that money might be better spent elsewhere in the budget.
The site is streamlined. Quick to the point. You get your 3 step synopsis of the service–drop off item, watch people bid, pick up check (-%30+ commission). The site has a nice little form where you can enter your auction information to view how people are bidding. The retailer’s site also features all the items being sold by their services (gaining your item a little bit more exposure on the web). The site totes a nice ribbon stating that they are the “#1 Seller of Items on eBay”. A neat service is their estimation of what your items value is and what you might expect out of your sale. A sales quote of sorts.
They have definitely put a PPC (pay-per-click) ad campaign into effect. Upon searching Google for “ebay trading post”, they are bidding high enough to gain a top position (overture claims this to be a $4 max bid). However, the landing page for this ad is a section of i-soldit.com geared toward parties interested in opening their own franchise store. This may be the company’s pure plan in marketing right now? Open franchises and let the eBay name on their signs take care of the rest. Local seminars throughout California are held for prospective owners to learn more about the opportunities.
Does eBay mind the use of their name?
Under the eBay Trading Post User Agreement, it is stated:
Code of Conduct. You agree to abide by the following minimum conduct standards in your eBay Trading Post-related dealings with others during the term of this Agreement:
1. You will not represent yourself as an employee, representative, partner, or agent of eBay. Further, you will not imply an affiliation with eBay or in any way suggest that eBay is involved with or endorses your products or services.
Take a look at this picture and what is your interpretation (courtesy of i-solidit.com)
Click ‘n’ Mortar. Hope those aren’t cement shoes.