So you’re thinking about getting rid of those old Lionel trains in the attic or the Hummel figurines collecting dust on a shelf?
Make the most of these forgotten treasures. Take them to iSold It at 975 S. Lapeer Road and let their professional staff sell them for you on eBay.
‘If you have things that you don’t use any longer, or anything that just doesn’t bring you the same satisfaction it once did, bring it to us,? said Karen Burkeen, who co-owns the franchise with her husband Jon. ‘We can quickly research it, let you know what similar items are currently selling for on eBay, and sell it for you.?
Sports equipment, collectibles, audio equipment, cameras, furniture, appliances, car parts, vintage toys, just about anything you can imagine can be sold online by iSold It.
Best of all, they do all the work. They take an array of high-quality digital photos, write a comprehensive description, post it online for a seven-day auction, answer bidder questions during the auction, collect payment, then pack and ship the item to the winning bidder.
All you have to do is sit back and wait for a check in the mail. ‘It’s a lot more convenient to just be able to drop something off and wait for a check,? Jon said. ‘Buying on eBay is relatively easy. Selling on eBay is not nearly so, particularly with coming changes to eBay policies. eBay is hoping to shore up bidder confidence by giving preference to experienced, professional sellers that maintain high performance ratings with bidders.?
‘iSold It collects a service fee of 30 percent on the sale of each item,? Karen said. ‘There are also eBay marketplace and payment processing fees that sellers must pay regardless of who is posting the items. Our sellers usually receive about 2/3 of the final bid price?.
For no upfront fee, iSold It will evaluate your items to approximate what similar items are currently selling for, and determine a starting bid amount that will maximize the value of the item and give it the best possible chance of selling.
iSold It uses their chain-wide experience of hundreds of thousands of successful auctions to determine the best chance starting bid and the optimum category placement.
Oxford’s iSold It currently sells 80-90 percent of the items brought to them. ‘We refer to it as ‘sell-through?, and we really strive to keep it around 90 percent,? Jon added.
‘As long as the item you’re interested in selling doesn’t have any sentimental value and you can accept the market value, we strongly recommend using our Market Auction, which starts the auction at our suggested starting bid amount. There’s no upfront fee for this, and if your item doesn’t sell, you pay nothing,? Karen said. ‘We do offer a more conservative option for a fee ($30 non-refundable), which protects the seller from having to accept a low bid, but we generally discourage it. The success rate on these protected items drops to about 15 percent.?
An item must have an estimated eBay value of at least $40 before iSold It can agree to auction it for you.
Although the Burkeens live in Lapeer, they decided Oxford was where their new business had the best chance of growing and thriving. ‘This is such a new concept. We felt that Oxford was a little more ready for something like this than Lapeer,? Jon said.
‘We have been busy since day one. It has been fun to see the curiosity. For new customers, the first question is almost always ? how does this work?? Karen said.
The Burkeens believe their business provides a valuable and unique service that’s definitely needed. ‘We’re giving people an opportunity get rid of things they don’t want while finding these unwanted items a new home,? Karen said. ‘And putting cash in their pockets.?
‘We have been able to help bring over $300,000 to our local economy from all over the U.S. and the world,? Jon said.
Besides individual customers, iSold It offers retailers and other businesses a discreet way of liquidating slow-moving inventory, capital equipment, or salvage items. In addition to selling on eBay iSold it now has it’s own online store for selling items at a fixed price.
For more information call 248-628-3544 or visit www.i-soldit.com or www.isolditoxford.com. Hours are Mon.-Fri. 9a.m. ?7p.m, Sat. 10a.m-6p.m. You can also e-mail service.mi0244@i-soldit.com.