Comments on: Franchise Cautionary Tale of iSold It Reaches BusinessWeek

By: sean

sean — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:21:28 +0000

After 3 years, Brian and Gail Eischeid are throwing in the towel. A story in USA Today had drawn them in: iSold It eBay Dropoff Franchise to Close in Savannah

By: ARE NOBLE ROMAN’S FRANCHISE OWNERS FAILIERS?

ARE NOBLE ROMAN’S FRANCHISE OWNERS FAILIERS? — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:27:38 +0000

[...] have I heard that, lately? Was it Mark Golob of Butterfly Life? Or Ken Sully of iSold It? Or was it Cold Stone Creamery’s CEO Doug Ducey, right after the brilliant acquisition [...]

By: kate

kate — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:00:42 +0000

I went to isold it store and found them very nice, i got the idea to buy or look on ebay for a video magnifier for elderly friend…but they rejected some of my things and one of them went for $168 this past week, so i’m guessing they dont have research down…?…one thing they could do maybe is showcase items for sale, esp big ones…locals are likely to bid because they can come pick the stuff up! I think the store is a great idea, although how many years did it take me to go there, at least one…and only then because I have been ill (i went to ebay classes last year).

By: sean

sean — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:30:55 +0000

Sean – FYI, Business Week pulled down all the reader comments. Wonder why?
R.: I was just able to access it. 17 comments. Maybe it was down temporarily.
Sean

By: R.

R. — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:42:19 +0000

Sean – FYI, Business Week pulled down all the reader comments. Wonder why?

By: Miranda

Miranda — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:41:04 +0000

I finally blogged this on my WorkShak blog!
http://www.workshak.com/2007/09/carefully-consi.html

Great job, and good information. It’s amazing how many dubious “opportunities” are out there for those of us who just want to work from home or be our own boss.

By: Joel Libava

Joel Libava — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 00:17:31 +0000

Sean,
You have made some valid points..as usual.
Well I am certainly not anti-new franchisor, for me, anyway, the concept has to really “sing” for me to be able to find that warm and fuzzy feeling that I get a few times a year.
{Related to new franchise concepts, guys hahaha}.
Sean, since you are in the marketing side of franchising, I respect your take on new roll outs of franchise concepts.

There is actually a neat concept out of Akron, Ohio that will be rolling out soon, that I liked right away.
More to be revealed!
Joel Libava

By: sean

sean — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:49:54 +0000

Joel:
I am actually a fan of many new franchise concepts, and have helped launch many dozens of them over the years. I’ve put more focus in the past year on helping some of the start-up concepts, as I did early in my career, because I like their energy, passion and idealism.
However, I think there’s a big difference between a new franchise concept that’s a refinement or variation of a proven model, and one that has an untested, unproven model to begin with. For example, a new pizza franchise or sandwich franchise might be new, but we’ve got an established market, a good understanding of the economics, food costs, etc. We know people will continue to order pizzas in good & bad times, that they’ll order out for lunch, etc. We DON’T know that people will pay a 35% commission to have someone sell their stuff on eBay or that people will pay pajama-clad Cerealogist $4 to eat Fruit Loops from a Chinese Takeout container.
I guess there’s risk associated with a new franchise, but ridiculous risk when the new franchise is of an unproven concept.

By: Joel Libava

Joel Libava — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 20:40:39 +0000

Sean,
When my wife told me she heard about a “cereal only” franchise concept, the first thing I said was:
That, my darling, is a failure waiting to happen!”
Some think I am a Negative Norman. Some think I never think a new franchise concept is going to do well. When I was a member of a large franchise brokerage network {Sorry, Jack and Steve..you DON’T get a link to your network’s website. You don’t deserve it..} a few young unproven concepts were brought on board. I was not comfortable showing them to my candidates. I am very comfortable in my role. I am a skeptical guy, until you prove me otherwise.{When it comes to business that is}.
Cereal Schmerial.
Joel Libava, The Franchise King Blog

By: sean

sean — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 19:00:57 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Miki. For those of you who don't know, Miki is one of b5media's newest blogger, having just taken over at Leadership Turn. Check it out. You're referring to what I call the "hot new franchise" phenomenon. The premise of franchising for an individual to pay a premium (franchise fees, royalties, loss of total autonomy) in order for the right to duplicate of a proven, successful business model. The assumption is that the benefits of not having to go through trial-and-error will provide benefits outweighing the fees, etc. Yet many people want the supposed "security" of buying a franchise, but are looking for the hot new concept (the antithesis of a proven, successful model). So they assume both the risks of an entrepreneurial start-up AND the costs and restrictions associated with franchising. It's a double whammy in a competitive market where a single whammy is more than enough. The lesson is, if someone is stupid enough to buy an all-cereal restaurant franchise, someone will come forward to sell it to them.