Is Snappy Auctions a Great Franchise Opportunity?
April 20, 2007 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
While the largest, most celebrated eBay drop-off store franchise concept , iSold It, has closed 60 stores, suspended domestic franchise sales and warned it may be on the verge of collapse, its next-largest competitor remains upbeat and continues to promote its franchise program.
In a company press release, Snappy Auctions celebrates inclusion on the list that made iSold It famous:
Snappy Auctions has been listed in Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 list for the first time… With over 63 units open, Snappy Auctions ranked 309th in the survey, in only its 2nd full year of operation. The Nashville, Tenn. based franchise enables customers to make money off of items that are sold on eBay…
Snappy Auctions CEO Debby Gordon claims that Snappy Auctions is not suffering the same fate as competitor iSold It. In fact, snappy Auctions is doing phenomenally:
“We are poised for a phenomenal 2007, after an incredible 2006,” Gordon continued, “and this accolade is just the beginning.” In 2006, Snappy Auctions launched Snappy Sales Solutions, S3, which has contributed to its recent success. “S3 is yet another step toward our goal of changing the way businesses get value from retired equipment and inventory.”
Snappy Auction also boasts having been named one of Franchise Business Review’s Franchise 50, which honors franchise systems based on outstanding franchisee satisfaction through owner surveys and comments.
According to a Ina Steiner’s column on AuctionBytes.com, “Despite the challenges, Snappy Auctions CEO Debbie Gordon believes in the concept and says it’s all about execution.”
Can Snappy Auctions really be succeeding while iSold It, with much the same business model, is fighting for survival? Have they successfully overcome the challenges that eBay drop-off store critics contend make the concept unworkable? What do you think?
YOU’RE INVITED TO LEAVE A COMMENT ON WHETHER YOU THINK SNAPPY AUCTIONS IS A GREAT FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY.
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Amazement #1: You have to admire the chutzpah of someone who can tout train wrecks as success stories and somehow manage to keep a straight face.
Here’s Debbie’s bio from http://demo.bugleme.com/bm/client/ourteam.php:
“CEO—Debbie Gordon leads BugleMe in infrastructure and technology. Debbie is responsible for developing and managing all of the systems that allow fans to be connected to the Celebrities through a proprietary technology plat-form. In addition, she manages the marketing systems behind customer acquisition and retention. Debbie was the founder and CEO of Snappy Auctions which was the most successful eBay selling franchisor in the US and Asia, in addition to founding S3 Consulting, an asset management consulting firm. The success of Snappy Auctions and S3 can be directly attributed to Debbie’s technology design skills and ability to market a specialty service through a creative and effective campaign.”
The most successful eBay selling franchisor? Quite a claim to fame, but iSold It dashed a lot more dreams to the rocks than SA.
Amazement #2: How can a writer actually print such a sentence?
“No stranger to entrepreneurial ventures, Gordon founded Nashville-based Snappy Auctions, a highly successful eBay storefront business, which has in more recent times experienced a downward slump.”
Downward slump? Do you think the franchise owners who lost their savings and investments would characterize it as a recent downward slump?
That’s sort of like saying Bernard Madoff’s business has experienced a minor temporary sales dip.
I thought I’d sign up for Debbie Gordon’s BugleMe alerts. I looked forward to hearing about her new businesses and fresh lawsuits each week.
There’s something wrong with the system, though, cuz all I keep hearing is the bugle playing “Taps” when they call.
You know this will end in tears for someone. Steer clear!
In the words of Monty Python ..”well it was spitting up blood last night..” Could that be Snappy Auctions?
To those of you that continue to ask ‘How many stores are left, etc’, 23 stores are listed on the Snappy site, of wich 15 have active auctions and 8 are dormant. Shoot, even an ex-president can do this math quickly and without an intern too…!! Right now, 699 items are listed for all of Snappy Auctions collectively. At one time, when the Buckhead Boyz were running at full steam, they would have over 699 items listed…. Snappy sure has come a long way (down, that is).
Cheer – Bill
Does anyone know how many stores they plan to open this year? thanks. Haven’t heard much from them lately.
This was the only thing i could find:
http://www.ktsm.com/news/trouble-shooters-snappy-auctions-closed
Rick T.:
Interesting that the Troubleshooters story is 2 months old – so the El Paso Snappy Auctions has been closed for at least that long.
However, the El Paso store is still listed in the location directory as open:
http://www.snappyauctions.com/locations.php
Here is Debbie Gordon’s latest business venture: http://www.businesstn.com/content/200905/return-spoken-word
Nashville
The Return of the Spoken Word
By Carrie McCloud May/June 2009
Tags: Angel Capital Group BugleMe Davidson County Debbie Gordon Nashville Online Exclusive Online Exclusive Rachael Qualls Snappy Auctions social media Technology Twitter
BugleMe looks for sound profits where others only Tweet
Even before the Twitter craze, celebrities were recognizing the value of social media as a means to bypass formal press outlets and the censoring of publicists to connect with audiences. Phil Gordon, a professional poker player and author, imagined furthering this Web-based trend with a mobile software “created by celebrities, for celebrities,” allowing fans to receive recorded phone calls from their favorite personalities. The resulting endeavor, Nashville-based BugleMe, launched in March, under the partial ownership of the educational media company, Expert Insight.
As an investor in BugleMe, Debbie Gordon (no relation to Phil) says the company aims to be an audio version of blogging, “allowing fans to receive phone calls from their favorite celebrities in nearly real time. This allows the fan to feel connected and increases the strength of the relationship.”
To do so, celebrity clients call a dedicated number from anywhere in the world, enter a password, and pre-record a one- to two-minute message each week. Within seconds, this message is delivered to the celebrity’s subscribers, who pay a $4.99 monthly fee. Messages might provide fans updates on appearances, samples of new material or personal news.
No stranger to entrepreneurial ventures, Gordon founded Nashville-based Snappy Auctions, a highly successful eBay storefront business, which has in more recent times experienced a downward slump. Gordon also founded e-commerce software and marketing company, S3 Consulting.
BugleMe enjoys the support of Sumner County-based Angel Capital Group. Rachael Qualls, Angel Capital’s CEO, joined the BugleMe team as CFO in November 2008. A group of entertainment experts lend additional support as potential client recruiters, including primary recruiter Phil Gordon, CEO of Showtime Sports Marketing Firm Brian Efird and music industry promoter Katie Guido.
BugleMe intends to distinguish itself from other marketing-based call and text messaging services with its “connections, not promotions” philosophy. “Because fans pay to subscribe, the celebrities are able to distribute valuable content that is exclusive to BugleMe subscribers,” Gordon says.
A unique revenue sharing model grants celebrity users 20% of gross revenue, following a $150 startup fee. As a result, clients gain a new revenue stream, while expanding their fan base, controlling their own image and communicating through a more intimate medium. In addition, BugleMe provides each client with a Web-based community for users to respond, via a platform of discussion boards, polls and other postings.
A total of 12 “bugling” celebrities now exist, including musicians Dave Robbins, Julia Burton and Superchick, as well as Captain Thunder Racing and Big John of Vh1’s Rock of Love, along with prospects of NFL and other sports clientele in the near future.
Upon entering the media market, BugleMe attended the second PodCamp Nashville, part of a worldwide conference series held for bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, social networkers and other media enthusiasts, on March 7 at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Chris Brogan, a co-founder of PodCamp and social media expert, predicts “more niche and privatized content as time goes on,” but also questions the success and profitability of subscription-based services like BugleMe “unless they offer an amazing amount of value over the free commons.”
Ultimately, BugleMe’s success or failure will depend on whether its audio component is considered worth it—worth the money for the fans and the time for the celebrity. In the rapidly shifting environment of today’s social media landscape, it shouldn’t take long to find out.
Hey Hillary – put on your Daisy Duke shorts and your tight, see-thru Wal-Mart blouse and lets go over to the single-wide in our lift-kit equiped pickup truck to get cozy with the stars with this here ‘BugleMe’ must have, whatever it is. Seems that a couple of well qualified and seasoned Gordons have joinede up and opened up shop to make us feel wanted and in-step with the celebs out there. Wo-hoo..!! There’s Phil Gordon, ‘professional’ poker player then there is Debbie Gordon ‘professional’ carnival shill, fine shoe horder and captain of commerce. So Hillary, put down your bon-bon’s, put on those duds I suggested, turn down Judge Judy and lets bid on ‘BugleMe’ over at the Nashville Snappy Auctions web site back at the trailer….
As always – Bill
This brings new meaning to (and may prove wrong) the classic phrase, “You can’t polish a turd”. Debbie Gordon, yet again, has found a way to take “total crap”…spin it, dress it up, and put it out there for the masses to be impressed with. This BugleMe idea is about a day and a dollar short, and will never match the popularity and ease of Twitter (especially for celebrities wanting to “type” a quick update). It’s great to see that all of the money she took from Snappy Auctions is now being used to fund her personal and business ventures, when she should have been investing her time and money back into the people who made the company what it…was. How does this woman continue to find alliances in the business community with such a poor history of business development and leadership skills. She is the a true puppetteer and anyone who chooses to do business with her is just hanging themselves on the very string she manipulates. I suppose you CAN polish a turd, and while it may look good on the outside for a short while, it will always stink.
Strangely enough the link you have above no longer works and you cannot find any mention of Debbie Gordon on the Bugleme web site. Could it be that they figured out she was more of a liability than an asset?