EBay middlemen

The stereo collecting dust in the attic or those designer handbags pushed to the back of the closet can fetch hundreds of dollars on EBay without their owners touching a computer.

Drop-off stores, the newest EBay middlemen, are opening their doors to sell other people’s items on the popular auction site. An onslaught of West Coast companies like ISold It, AuctionDrop and QuikDrop are setting their sights on locations across the country, including the Washington area.

“It’s easy to buy on EBay, but it’s a lot more complicated to sell,” said Elise Wetzel, ISold It founder and chief executive. “The process can be time-consuming and intimidating for people who are not familiar with the mechanics of posting items for sale online.”

Although business models vary, the drop-off store concept is simple.

Customers drop off their goods, and, for a fee, the store takes care of the rest from taking photos and posting a description of the merchandise to tracking the bids, answering e-mails from potential buyers and packing and shipping the item to the winning bidder. Some stores won’t take items valued at less than $50.

The stores make their money from commission. The fee structure varies from company to company based on the selling price.

For instance, QuikDrop’s fees are 38 percent of the first $200 of a sale, 30 percent of the next $300 and 20 percent of the remaining sale price of items more than $500.

Items that aren’t sold can be picked up by the seller or donated to charity.

“[Drop-off stores] fill such a need in the market,” Ms. Wetzel said. “We’re the bridge between selling at a yard sale and a traditional consignment store.”

ISold It has sold thousands of items on EBay since it opened its first store in Pasadena, Calif., in December. The company expects to open at least 50 franchised stores by the end of the year, including locations in the Washington area. Ms. Wetzel expects to have several hundred locations.

The drop-off store chains are moving quickly to secure positions in untapped markets.

For instance, QuikDrop International wants a commitment of at least 1,000 franchised stores in the next 12 months,said Kilay Reinfeld, chief operating officer of the Costa Mesa, Calif., company. It already has agreements for more than 260 stores, including 75 stores in Australia.

The company has seven stores, including one in Virginia Beach. The Virginia, Maryland and Washington region can expect at least 70 QuikDrop stores, Mr. Reinfeld said.

Drop-off stores are an extension of EBay’s trading-assistantsprogram, which started in February 2002. The program has 34,000 registered trading assistants who sell items on EBay for others.

Story Continues →