posted on June 25, 2004 05:10:47 AM new
Thanks for the GREAT commentary on the WSJ* announcement (6/17/04) about UPS Stores-AuctionDrop-eBay. As a result of your comments, UPS Stores are doomed to become: Lost & Found Counters for all the junk people have tried to unload on us legitimate eBay consignment sellers. Do you agree?
*Wall Street Journal
[ edited by selectiblecollectables on Jun 25, 2004 05:56 AM ]
posted on June 25, 2004 05:25:19 AM new
I AGREE!!! ... this is gonna be interesting to watch (it all tumble down) ... I also think UPS might be sending to AuctionDrop, stuff that some cat burglar just stole, to get it off the theives hands quickly, eh?
Here is article in our Akron newspaper this morning:
Posted on Fri, Jun. 25, 2004
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Company makes eBay easy for all
Computer not needed if you use AuctionDrop to handle your sales
By Mary Ethridge
Beacon Journal business writer
Selling on the online auction eBay may be lucrative, but it can also be fiercely complicated.
You must know how to shoot and download digital pictures, appraise and list items, set up a payment account and master the ins and outs of the Web site.
It's a process that can be so intimidating to the uninitiated, they often throw their hands up and make plans for a garage sale.
But a new company aims to make it far easier to unload your stuff on eBay. You don't even have to own a computer.
AuctionDrop Inc., a year-old, California-based company, is linking up with the 3,400 UPS stores nationwide to help consumers handle the logistics of selling on eBay.
Here's the idea: You take your item to the UPS store and fill out a form that asks you to set a minimum starting price. (AuctionDrop claims a $1 starting price lures more buyers.) UPS sends it to AuctionDrop at no cost to you. AuctionDrop then sets up the eBay account, takes and transmits the digital photos and writes the copy. They ship to the buyer, collect the money and then take a 20-38 percent cut before sending a check on to you. The more valuable the item, the smaller the percentage cut for AuctionDrop. If the item doesn't sell, AuctionDrop returns it at no cost.
There are a couple of restrictions: Items must be worth more than $75, weigh less than 150 pounds and be in fairly good shape.
Several companies, including Snappy Auctions, have opened outlets that offer a similar service, but they are limited to small geographic areas.
AuctionDrop's deal with UPS significantly broadens its scope and makes it the biggest player in this emerging market.
There are several UPS stores in the Akron-Canton area. United Parcel Service Inc. expanded its retail presence in 2001 when it purchased the Mail Boxes Etc. packing and shipping chain.
AuctionDrop co-founder and Chief Executive Randy Adams said the notion of building or franchising new stores would have been too slow and too expensive.
``It became clear to us that we would have to create an alliance if we hoped to expand our service,'' Adams said. ``It quickly takes us to a new level.''
Adams is an Internet entrepreneur who has launched six companies, five of which have been successful.
He is well connected in Silicon Valley and received $6.5 million in financing for AuctionDrop from two of the best-known high-tech venture capital firms in the country.
Until the link with UPS, AuctionDrop sites were limited to five in the San Francisco Bay area. The company, which was founded in spring 2003, has not made a profit yet but has had sales of $1.5 million to date.
Although eBay has no direct financial or operational control of AuctionDrop, it stands to benefit greatly from the expansion.
``We're excited about this,'' eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman said last winter at an investor's conference. ``Clearly, they are getting an incremental customer that would have never come to eBay on their own.''
EBay, which collects fees from sellers who pay to list and conduct business through its online marketplace, received about 7 cents from each dollar of merchandise sold on its site last year. At that rate, $10 billion in consignment sales would yield $700 million in revenue. EBay's 2003 revenue was $2.17 billion.
For more information on AuctionDrop or to find a nearby UPS Store, visit www.auctiondrop.com or call 866-376-7486.
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Bloomberg Business News contributed to this report
posted on June 25, 2004 02:09:49 PM new
item must be worth at least 75 dollars,in good condition and weigh less than 150 lbs-
okay,who is to determine the item is worth at least 75 dollars??UPS or AUCTIONDROP??
What is meant by in good condition,esp when it comes to electronic goods??
so I fill out the form specifiying starting bid,do i start low and what about reserve??
If UPS is trained to look for item worth over 75 dollars and in good condition and the item has to be listed with no reserve at open bid of 1.00 dollar,i can see Auctiondrop saving themselves return shipping fee and not making much money on commish??
by the way,who is paying for the listing fee if the item does not sell??
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on June 25, 2004 02:50:28 PM new
What I want to know is who is paying the UPS charges to get it from their store in Akron, or Boston, or Atlanta to Auctiondrop in San Francisco, and returned if it doesn't sell? According to the article, the customer won't have to pay it. Does Auctiondrop pick up the tab? Or does UPS, out of the goodness of their heart, provide free shipping?
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on June 25, 2004 03:27:20 PM new
sparkz,
there is a contract between auctiondrop and UPS for all these shipping back and forth.
Auctiondrop pays UPS
-sig file -------we eat to live,not live to eat.
Benjamin Franklin
posted on June 26, 2004 11:14:19 PM new
This should be interesting to see how this plays out. I've dealt with several MBE/UPS Stores over the years, and love the staff at mine - they are great...but I don't know if this could work. As others have said, the UPS store staff isn't going to want to turn ANYTHING away if they get paid to ship the item. It's one thing to train a staff to tell the good stuff from the junk, but the UPS staff doesn't have time from what I have seen - they are always busy! Wait til Christmas time when there is a line out the door! I don't see it working, but you never know I guess.
Friends don't let Friends say stupid things like Friends don't let friends vote Republican!
