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Do you find it increasingly difficult to maintain your online auctions and still have a real life away from your computer? Help may be around the corner...at your local MyEZsale franchise http://www.myezsale.com.
MyEZsale attempts to relieve the seller of three major responsibilities of online auction selling: image hosting, packing & shipping, and payment processing. MyEZsale achieves this by setting up shop in neighborhood pack and ship stores. Each store in the MyEZsale franchise is outfitted with a digital camera and computer. The seller simply brings their item to one of these outlets, fills out a few forms, and Voila! Your item is on the Net, waiting to be seen by prospective bidders.
I was intrigued by the possibility of pushing some of my larger auction items out the door faster and was interested in what MyEZsale offered. I decided to try something that I might have trouble packing and shipping myself, so I took a 100-year old steamer trunk into a MyEZsale affiliate in nearby Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Day 1
The first step was to fill out a new user form, which gave MyEZsale my contact information, credit card information and license number.
The second step was to fill out an item description form, similar to what you fill out online each time you list an auction. I found that there wasn't enough space on the MyEZsale form to describe the item to my satisfaction, so I word-processed a description and attached it to the form. I chose to sell my trunk on eBay (right now, sellers have a choice of posting their auctions on either eBay, Yahoo, or Amazon, and more auctions sites are planned).
If you are a knowledgeable online auction user, one of the first things you'll notice is that you are limited to 35 characters in your auction title versus the 45 characters you are allowed on eBay. MyEZsale uses 10 of the title characters for an internal ID number. I found it difficult to compose a satisfactory auction title, because I consider those 10 extra characters valuable real estate.
Ken, the owner of the pack and ship store (and by the way, MyEZsale store #1) was very helpful and came out to my car to assist me in bringing in my steamer trunk. If first impressions are important, then he had just made a great one.
My trunk pushed the limits of what UPS would ship (130 inches total-70lbs max.) so Ken tried a few creative-packaging solutions to get my item under the limit. Try doing this at your local Post Office while people are waiting in line for their stamps.
Ken explained that my item would be a 7-day auction (no choice here) and would be posted sometime before his store's 6:00pm closing time the next day. I wasn't exactly thrilled that the auction would end during daytime hours, but I also didn't expect Ken to stick around until 10:00pm so that I could have an optimal auction ending time. I decided to have MyEZsale list my trunk for $34.99 and I went home to wait for my auction to be posted.
There were no fees paid up front. MyEZsale charges a $6 non-refundable fee for listing the item, plus a 6% commission. In addition, the seller must pay for packing materials whether the item sells or not. The packing materials for my steamer trunk came to $25, which I considered a reasonable price for a very large item. Be aware, however, that while the $6 listing fee and 6% commission are consistent at all MyEZsale outlets, the price of packing materials will vary from store to store.
My non-refundable fee for this transaction came to $31.
Day 2
Instead of being posted the next day (Friday), my auction wasn't posted until Monday. Also, instead of the $34.99 starting bid that I expected, the starting bid was one cent and had a reserve on it. I assumed the reserve was $34.99. The pictures looked good and I checked eBay periodically to see if there was any activity on my auction.
Day 7
Some sharp bidder recognized that the trunk was worth more than the one-cent starting bid. By mid-week the bidding stood at $5.50 and by Sunday afternoon the bidding had hit $41. I was pleased...until I noticed that my auction hadn't reached reserve yet! What I later learned was that the price I filled out as the minimum bid was added to the price of shipping materials ($25) and my listing fee ($6). Instead of the $34.99 reserve I assumed was attached to my item, it actually had a $65.99 reserve. That had me scratching my head for a bit.
Day 8
My auction ended around 11:00am at $68.09,which was about what I expected it to sell for. Thankfully, I didn't have to haul a 50lb trunk back and put it in my garage. MyEZsale's policy is to send the seller a check in 2-4 weeks. I received a check for $33 in 4 days.
SUMMARY:
Auction ending price: $68.09
Less fee: $6
Less 6% commission: $4.09
Less packaging costs: $25
(Buyer pays shipping)
My take: $33
All in all, I was fairly satisfied with MyEZsale. The few minor points I mentioned might turn off the veteran seller, but the kinks in the system are probably the growing pains that any fledgling company experiences. One thing I would find useful is software that would allow me to create the MyEZsale form on my computer, rather than handwriting it. According to Mitchell Schecter, co-founder of MyEZsale, that process is already in the works. Future customers will be able to create their listings via the Web, access their accounts online and track their past sales and purchases.
"This is the beginning of the process," said Schecter. "There are going to be things that people don't like. We'll have to modify this as we grow, just like any company would."
Using my initial experience with MyEZsale, I would list the pros and cons this way:
Cons:
- You don't have control over the length of the auction or the time an auction will end.
- You lose almost 25% of the Title Description to a MyEZsale ID#.
- Your auctions will have a reserve whether you like it or not.
- Some potential bidders may find the cost of shipping prohibitive.
- You will be reducing your margin by paying a commission to MyEZsale
Pros:
- Professional shipping. Your items will have a stronger likelihood of being received safely by the buyer.
- The ability to expedite the sale of your items. Just cart them off to a local MyEZsale outlet and wait for a check.
- All items shipped will be insured.
- Saves time, especially when it comes to packing large or heavy items.
- Gets people involved in online auctions who might otherwise find the process of posting items difficult or intimidating.
- This process is definitely EZ!
You also don't have to worry about a negative feedback. All transactions take place under a MyEZSale user ID. (And by the way, there was a positive feedback left by the buyer of the trunk.) Right now, MyEZsale is only available in the Northeast United States and Denver, but according to Schecter, there are stores opening in the next few months in Dallas, Phoenix and Detroit. "Our goal is to open up 50 new stores a month, every month."
Quick growth might be just around the corner for MyEZsale, and that means they might be right around the corner from you!
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