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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Death by Franchise, I agree with your comment, but I am not confused about whats ethical is in my mind. I think we are on the same page there. Hugh, you are exactly right. I have hung around on this page way too long. My name on this board has nothing to do with who I AM. Regardless, I wish each of the owners on this board nothing but success and good will in resolving their individual issues. In my opinion, from what I have learned on this forum, Snappy needs to shut its doors. Good luck to all of you and Merry Christmas.
Well….over 600 posts. That should tell you something. Like why would people put so much effort into this? Hmmmmm, I know….it’s because they want others to learn from their experience and not have to suffer what we’ve suffered.
Last I heard Snappy is going down the crapper, so I guess people are learning after all.
Adios A FREAK. Tell your friends at Snappy to get out while they can and before some legal types come and lock the doors shut. Their careers can only go up from here, especially if they learn how to differentiate between “good business” (i.e. rip off that makes money) and real good business (making an honest buck).
Freak, no embarrassment here, unless you are feeling some! The sad thing is that you still don’t get it, even with the analogies, and 600+ comments out here. Goodbye and have a happy holiday!
Any updates to the list of closed stores? I did confirm 2 more stores in the last 30 days and no new ones in the last 6 months.
Per my last posting sales in the top stores were on track with previous months, but the lower selling stores were doing worse during the time of year they should be doing very well.
Well, nobody’s answering at Snappy Corporate.
Nobody’s home. Where did they go?
To hell in a handcart if there’s any justice!!!
Na, they just have no idea how to help the stores make any money doing this. I actually think that they believe that the owners aren’t following the model, when just about everyone is.
I saw a little while ago though that the corp. store had $13 up for BIN, how ironic.
I’d love to hear from the store in TN that just closed and started selling cell phones. I bet that’s quite a story.
Well Newbie, you get it. While some stores have 70-80 items, their sell thru is less than 50% and average sale price is below what is was a year ago.So, if you sell 30-35 items a week (best case) with an average price of $100 (on the hgh side) you net about $13K a month. Not even enough to pay the rent.
And the reason they don’t answer the phone at Snappy HQ is two fold: they had to let so many people go and they have to filter their calls….I wonder why?
Strange that there’s been no press about Snappy in a while. Maybe they’re laying low. Even their website doesn’t include “NEWS” anymore.
The Snappy website also is devoid of phone #’s and an address. at least Hillary could not find them…
-Bill
FROM THE SNAPPY AUCTIONS WEB SITE:
“Snappy Auctions is a pioneer in an exciting new industry, and we are looking for franchisees who share our enthusiasm and commitment. As the leading franchisor of eBay consignment services, Snappy Auctions is poised for fast growth and dedicated to the highest standards of customer and franchisee satisfaction. We are thrilled about the proven market for our services, and look forward to sharing our success with you.”
I think I’m going to hurl!!! Even tho yu guys are pathetic, even I can see thru this kinda crap. R…….where R U?? Woooo hoooooo……R?
Well, Newbie. ‘Bout your question-ah “I’d love to hear from the store in TN that just closed and started selling cell phones.” I did talk-ah to those folks a while back and they were definately in the “we love Snappy” camp-ah. You see-ah, they onlay paid-ah a fraction of what other stores owners paid since they bought their store from Snappy-ah, after Snappy bought it from the bankrupcty court and any loss they took was a pittance compared to the real stores owners-ah. So don’t you worry your little head-ah.
I fear they will continue to support Snappy since they didn’t feel the pain-ah, yes the pain-ah the rest of you felt-ah. Can I get a Snapp-a-go-away-ah.
Rev-ah I was being serious. Why on earth would you start selling cell phones and not keep your store open if you’re so happy with Snappy. It’s pretty obvious they thought they could make money selling phones, and not operating the store. That speaks volumes.
Bill, you should have Hillary look under the desk…I mean the list of stores, you’ll find the number and address for corporate. If they still occupy it or not who knows.
This time of year is the when you’ll see stores closing for tax purposes if anything. You get a huge break when you close a business in most states.
It’s a sad state of affairs all around I think. I have read the AITOO site a few times, and nothing seems to change over there. I saw speak of a lawsuit on this board a while ago, but I probably wouldn’t go to the AITOO folks about doing it. They made it nowhere with a better case from what little I’ve read.
I know most of the people who post here were or are store owners. What’s your background, Newbie?
Oh I’ve been there, done that.
Overall, I think the model is fine in theory except for the fact there is so much cash fluctuation that it’s impossible to really make a living off it.
Even if you’re an owner/manager of a great store, whatever money you paid yourself is going to go right back in when you have a bad month.
Maybe selling mobile phones is the best way to go.
I am sad to hear that the TN store in question was bought from bankruptcy court. That ultimately means that the first owner had to go through that (If my time line is right, or maybe it was the second owner who went through that?).
Anyone who knew her very well loved her to death and that’s sad to find out. She was the best part of corporate and it was a black day when she left.
“Anyone who knew her very well loved her to death and that’s sad to find out. She was the best part of corporate and it was a black day when she left.”
Who is “she”?
So you closed a Snappy store? Tell us about it.
Oh sure, see post 1-600+; my story is not that different.
And I repeat….WHO IS “SHE”?
I didn’t answer your pathetic question in the first place, because throwing names out only does more damage. If you’re a former owner, you know who worked/works in Nashville and owned a store at one time.
Ding ding ding ding….we have a winner! R has resurfaced as Newbie. Merrill has been mentioned above (hint: CTRL F and type Merrill) because you said “She was the best part of corporate ” not that she was also a store owner. Now that you add that tidbit of knowledge we (real former store owners) know who this is.
Oh well, I thought we had another REAL former owner to add to the forum….sigh.
That’s not who I was talking about, and I’m not anyone else. I just thought the question was pathetic.
We know who you are talking about and whenever we see postings with words like “pathetic”, we can’t help but think you are a poser. All the other posers have talked that way about the store owners like that because they are really moles for Snappy and not very good ones at that. I know all of the people who left HQ, but your references were so vague, I needed more info. Since I was/am a store owner, I know about Snappy and I smell a poser, especially the ones who are phishing for info on any legal action. Also, you need to do more homework about legal action against other eBay drop off store franchisors. There has been success by the franchisors. Maybe it’s time we did the same.
Try reading my last post again. I know the person you’re referring to is not Merrill and I know exactly who it is. There was only one HQ employee who was a former store owner and yes she was great to work with. Too bad she got the shaft from Snappy. Also, I have been in touch with several of the ex-employees and they’re pissed.
Are we all referring to the “book keeper” .. hmmm what a story she could tell, or. maybe has already told….
Nope, not the accounting department.
Everyone I have spoken with that was either fired from Corporate or who quit thinks it was/is pretty much a joke. It’s a shame, because it didn’t need to be.
Just to note, Lone Texan, Death by Franchise and BEEN THERE are likely the same person. Not unless three different people in America have the same horrible grammatical error:
… .
That’s quite strange.
POSER ALERT. The same smug, ego centric style that came out of “R” is coming out of NEWBIE. Gee, could it be the same person?!?!? I’m not in Texas, but thanks for playing. Many people use … to mean a pause.
LONE TEXAN. think support. Someone who owned a store then moved to HQ, then was uncermonioulsy dumped like a bag of cement.
And speaking of horrible grammar, it’s “Everyone I have spoken with WHO” not “Everyone I have spoken with THAT”.
“Overall, I think the model is fine in theory except for the fact there is so much cash fluctuation that it’s impossible to really make a living off it. ” Then the model is seriously flawed!!! Wake up Newbie, and smell the coffee!
Newbie, you need to get your facts strait! AmITheOnlyOne.org has done a complete face lift recently-I would call that change! And, obviously you have not chatted with them, or you would be aware of legal actions that have succeeded (and are not posted to protect the iinnocent).
Also, stores DO NOT CLOSE at xmas unless they are in a pitiful state (cell phones or not)! They close AFTER xmas, and that is NOT what is happening here! You get the tax break whenever there is a loss! (In this business that is EVERY year!) You would know that if you were operating one of these stores. Only those without a store (or HQ), beat around the bush (oh Hillary such a pun)! Happy holidays!
You’re right most people use it…correctly. That is without adding a “.” to the end of it. Three different people on here have been making the same mistake.
I’m sure posting under three different names just keeps pumping up where the blog shows up on Google. That’s fine with me, keep bumping it up.
As was said before, anyone who jumps on and says a somewhat positive word is deemed corporate. There’s only three of them left in Corp. so it’s not likely that they are wasting their time.
Have fun, I’ll keep watching as I have been and just be quiet.
NEWBIE, feel free to stay and post. We only “jump” on people who are smug, can’t get their facts straight or say stuff without supporting it without any facts. We’ve provided LOTS of facts. The posers just chime in, demean people and never provide any support for their claims. All you have to do is avoid these areas, and you’ll be fine. Notice I did not say, you have to agree with us. Just be prepared to back up what you say. So far, none of the posers have been able to do that.
Oh OK – in support – I believe her name was Courtney?
And, sorry, there is only one of me – bad grammar or not.
Here’s one all store owners probably know well though or better learn quickly –
…—… …—…
Only one BEEN THERE too. I guess there’s just too many people who were ripped off by Snappy who are saying the same thing.
Courtney was not the person we were talking about. The person we were talking about actually owned a store, sold it to HQ and then worked there supporting stores. She was top notch and gave up a lot to work there only to be dumped when HQ started feeling the pinch. If they would have only spent less money on lawyers sending threatening letters to owners and saved that money for employees, you never know.
Oh well, maybe Debbie has learned from the CEO of ISI and will end up with a big house and a big bag of money even after the whole thing implodes. Isn’t that what success is all about???
None the less, I think we’ll all be hearing soon enough of the final fate. The royalties are dwindling to a point where they aren’t even able to pay for the office space.
It didn’t have to be this way, they actually did have a better outlook on the business than most. Oh well, we will see what happens.
How do you know so much about Snappy’s financial situation? You’d think they still had a good chuck of that $750K they made selling auctions rights to Japan (another poor sucker). They’ll just move into lower price digs even though that will kill the “cool” factor of their current location and DG will have to eat some humble pie.
Oh please give us your great insight into all things Snappy.
The story sounds the same as Isoldit! They are down to the King himself working from his home, with little to no staff. For a franchisor that touted selling 900 franchises, opening around 250 and closing more than half already (in only three years), the stats aren’t too good. And guess what?!…Snappy appears to be riding the same wave!
Hate to disapoint you Newbie, but this franchisor’s “better outlook” is STILL selling an unproven, non turnkey crappy concept! Wake up my friend, they are NO better than the rest, and in many states that “outlook” is known as fraud!
You know that Snappy Sales is an LLC, right? That $750k is not company money…
While it is in fact company money, if you read the article, this money goes into Snappy Intl, LLC and not Snappy Sales LLC, but where there’s money, lawyers do not fear to tread.
From the dismal sales of those franchises, I imagine Snappy will be getting hit from 2 sides, 2 countries and 2 shores now. Yeow!
I say it’s time. Screw your courage to the sticking place. We attack at dawn.
That must have been an “eggnog” post.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA NOT
No you ignoramus he means it. If you were really a store owner you just might get it. He means it’s time to take on Snappy. Oh and if you had read shakespeare you would get the reference
Come on newbie figure it out
I see. Well, you all go ahead and storm the castle.
Oh great….here we go again. Just smug comments and no real content.
Well for the rest of us, I did hear a newspaper in Nashville was going to do a story on Snappy. A friend of mine is a reporter and keeps in touch wiht several papers and the Tennessean is one of them. This should be interesting. There’s no way they can hide behind spin now. The numbers speak too loudly and I asked my friend to make sure they knew about AITOO.
Hope they know about this blog too.
Merry Christmas to all you REAL store owners out there (past and present). This is my first Christmas in several years without the Snappy albatross hanging from my neck and it will be much merrier.
Maybe the 3 Christmas spirits will visit DG. We can only hope.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
QUIK DROP IS DEAD. Ouch.
FYI:
The Quik & The Dead: eBay Store QuikDrop Joins Franchise Graveyard
In the words of Monty Python “Snappy Auctions is not at all well…it was coughin up blood last night.” Another competitor bites the dust. 2 in one month. I hate to say we told you so, but we told you so.
Would that be the Monty Python scene in which the FranchisePick.com Franchise Graveyard wagon rattles through the streets calling “Bring out your dead!” and several eBay drop-off franchisors insist I’m not quite dead yet! and I want to go for a walk!?
Or would that be the Monty Python scene with the black franchise sales knight who, despite having lost all four limbs and its obvious to everyone else that the battles over, insists he’s still got plenty of fight left?
Get Real is on to something. Monty Python has a lot of wisdom about franchising in its sketches, not the least of which is “No matter how good of an argument you make to the contrary, a dead parrot is still a dead parrot.
All good examples, but this was the “Dead Vicar on the Landing” sketch where the main dish for supper doesn’t have much Spam in it and has some rabbit (that was coughing up blood last night).
However your analogies are equally applicable. Snappy is seemingly oblivious to the light at the end of the tunnel that in reality is a train coming right at them.
We need an update from Number Cruncher on the status of Snappy.
I have been a private eBay store owner for more than 3 years. Although I am surviving, and I do have great ideas that I plan on moving forward in the next year I cannot see how any eBay store make it. I am backselling with other services that I feel will help many private eBay stores but until I get it perfected I will just continue to hold it in before announcing it. My current ebay sales for the past 30 days are $21,000 and I have always been a gold powerseller and have made plantinum several times…even made it as a trading post for a few times also. There is no way a store can make it just selling on eBay with other people’s items. Though backselling or upselling other services can help and even make you profitable.