| EBay has moved offline. Several companies, | | | | can avoid growing pains." |
| like Snappy Auctions and I Sold It On EBay, | | | | |
| offer sellers franchises for brick-and-mortar | | | | Â- Be careful what you accept. Don't |
| eBay stores. These drop-off spots take | | | | waste your time with items that won't be |
| customer items, evaluate, photograph, and | | | | worth the research and energy you'll invest |
| list them online, collect the payments, and | | | | in them. Patrons sometimes bring in boxes of |
| ship the items to their buyers. In other | | | | junk, or items with very little value. Be |
| words, they do all the work - for a | | | | realistic with your clients, and counsel them |
| percentage of the selling price, of course. | | | | what will and won't bring in money. That way |
| | | | they know what to expect, and they aren't |
| Beginner Strategies | | | | disappointed by their final prices. |
| | | | |
| If you've contemplated jumping on the | | | | Â- Charge a reasonable amount for your |
| bandwagon and opening a physical drop-off | | | | services. Keep yourself in line with what |
| location, fellow store-owner and eBay | | | | others are charging, rather than trying to |
| University instructor, Christopher Spencer | | | | undercut everyone in order to compete. |
| has some advice for you: | | | | Instead, add value to your services by |
| | | | focusing on areas at which you excel. If you |
| Â- Location is key. Get a good broker to | | | | have a staff member who specializes in a |
| help you identify convenient retail sites. | | | | certain area, encourage your customers to |
| It's important to be in a high traffic area, | | | | bring in items in that field because you'll |
| such as a strip mall or a facility near good | | | | be able to get them the maximum prices on |
| anchor stores, anyplace frequented by upscale | | | | eBay. |
| individuals. To get high-quality merchandise, | | | | |
| you need a higher level of clientele. | | | | Â- Concentrate on customer service. |
| | | | Exceed your customers' expectations. Says |
| Â- Take store layout into account. As | | | | Spencer, "Building a reputation and getting |
| your business develops, you'll need | | | | good clients is a matter of word of mouth and |
| exponentially more storage space. Advises | | | | referrals, and that's something people build |
| Spenser, "Consider whether a building will | | | | over time. |
| fit your needs for future expansion, so you | | | | |