iSOLD IT: CEO Ken Sully Killed in Crash
April 8, 2009 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
Controversial franchisor and CEO of eBay drop-off franchise iSold It Ken Sully was reportedly killed last night in a motorcycle accident. Sully was 58.
A friend who was riding with Ken Sully at the time posted an account of the accident on a Ducati rider’s forum:
It is with extreme regret that I break the news that one of our newest members, and a new friend of mine, Ken S. (aka FastlaneKen) was involved within a fatal accident last night.
Last night, following me, Ken was riding his barely 2+ week old 1198. I passed through an intersection, and noticed he wasn’t there. What happened, a women, barely legal to drive, made an illegal left u-turn in front of Ken and essentially hit Ken head on with her car. Police reports is blaming her 100%. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and probably didn’t feel a thing.
He was loved by people of all walks of life, and had finally saved up to buy his dream bike, the Ducati….
Ken leaves behind a beautiful wife of many, many years, and a young daughter of only 17. He was 58 years old.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Sully’s fatal accident here.
A well-known figure in franchising, Ken Sully was CEO and of the much-hyped iSold It franchise company. 
Entrepreneur magazine named eBay drop-off store franchise iSold It their “Top New Franchise for 2007,” a “Hotter Than Hot” concept and one of the “Hot Franchising Trends for 2007.”
FranchisePick.com and AmITheOnlyOne.org reported that some ex-franchise owners claimed iSold It was a scam, and that Sully was peddling a flawed and failing concept that cost them their life savings.
The FranchisePick.com post Is iSoldit a Great Franchise Opportunity? generated more than 300 comments, many from franchisees upset with Sully and iSold it.
FranchisePick.com published an internal letter sent by Ken Sully to iSold It franchise owners (An Open Letter to iSold It Franchisees from CEO Ken Sully) that revealed that despite the media hype and aggressive franchise sales efforts, the iSold It franchise chain was in a dire situation, that over 60 franchise stores have closed and many more were struggling for their survival. Shortly thereafter the company suspended franchise sales and was stripped of its “Top New Franchise” ranking by Entrepreneur magazine.
Ken Sully joined the iSOLD It in July 2004 from Postal Connections of America. Prior to that, he was Vice President Worldwide Franchise Development of Mail Boxes, Etc., another controversial franchise chain.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
I own the I Sold It in Oregon and spoke with Ken on a weekly basis. Ken was a great person and will be dearly missed. This article forgot to mention that the “open letter to I Sold It franchisees” was written 2 years ago and that the franchise has made great strides to improve the profitability of its franchisees.
To the gentleman that wasriding with him I ask a favor. I was on the scene of the accident that night. I live in south Georgia and was on a somewhat vacation. I had just had dinner on Little Italy and was walking back to my hotel when I came upon the accident that just happened. I saw how diligently the paramedics worked to get any sign of life. Please tell his wife and daughter that I prayed immediately on the spot for him. As soon as I got to my room I continued. I know as a wife and mother if that was my husband laying there I would want someone there praying for Gods peace and will. I am sorry for your loss as well. God speed.
Sylvia Darien Georgia
Ken was a very speical man who would never have willingly been involved in a scam. Because of Ken’s business talents we have owned a very successful franchise for 6 years. He was kind, always wanting to make sure that we were ok with going ahead with the deal had worked with us on. We have missed being in touch with him and pray for the repose of his soul and for his family.
Wow Sean, If I didn’t know better I might think that you wrote this article just so that you could beat a dead man. If thats the case then you really need help. What ever happened to the saying “rest in peace”? Is nothing sacred anymore?
Mike:
You’re right. My last comment is a bit harsh in this context, and not appropriate. This post was not intended to prompt negative comments, and I am glad to read messages like yours and sunnieh’s that show that there’s another side to the story than has been revealed in the hundreds of comments about iSOLD It that have been posted here in the past two years.
In fact, I will ask that this thread only contain positive comments from this point on. I will also break my own policy and delete my comment.
This site is not so much about my opinion as it is about the opinions of our commenters. The fact remains, Mike, that if you Google the name “Ken Sully” this website comes up first or close to it. This is due to nearly 1000 comments left here about Ken and iSold It, mostly negative.
All I know about this comes from my observations and, mostly, my commenters. On the dozens of posts I’ve written about iSold It in the past 2 years, I don’t recall anyone stepping forward to give the other side of the story, including employees or franchisees.
In fact, your comment above is the first that I can recall by a franchisee stepping up to defend Ken, the company or the concept.
Please let others know that if they would like to leave a tribute, describe the progress of the last two years, or otherwise offset all the negativity that has been expressed here, this is an opportunity to do it without rebuttal.
I was shocked when I heard this news. It is truly sad that Ken Sully’s life was cut short. Condolences to his wife and family. As a “former franchisee” the dealings I had with Ken, and others had with Ken were, shall we say – a one sided disaster for the many franchisees that lost their businesses, homes, families, etc”. Sean, You are right that the other side of Ken can be seen in the posts of this website. I am sure that Ken will be remembered by his family and friends a warm caring individual. But, when I asked my therapist, why I am having the feelings I have- it was told to me. Your feelings are Your feelings.
It is quite surprising, that there is still no mention of Ken’s passing on the i-sold it web site.
Sean! I don’t think you were out of line. While it is sad that Ken’s life ended in such a tragic manner and while you understand, personally, the pain this brings to his wife and daughter, this does not make your reporting on “I Sold It” untrue because he has now passed away.
The “greater good” you served in reporting the “I Sold It” troubles is still served in reminding others, even today, that this concept, that was touted by Entrepreneur as a real winner, was not a winner for great numbers of the franchisees who lost everything. Your warning on Franchise Pick saved others that you cannot know about.
This incident demonstrates the conflict that exists between successful franchisees and unsuccessful franchisees within franchise systems and, of course, those who have had a success with “I Sold It” have fond memories of Ken, and those who lost their entire investments do not and out of their remembered pain, they make unkind remarks.
The poster who indicates that Ken would not be involved with any kind of “fraud” doesn’t understand the mindset of those who first invested and took great losses and who believed they were defrauded by Ken because the system wasn’t tested and proven when sold to the original “I Sold It” franchisees.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, Sean!
As someone who worked for Ken, I can say first hand that he was a very kind and caring person. I am very saddened by his untimely and tragic passing. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and daughter who must now continue their lives without him.
There is another side to every story….glad to see that someone was not afraid to voice that you make stupid comments! I am the woman that you berated in your story on the Dominos driver that killed my puppy. To all the stupid, heartless people that made fun of me…..the Dominos owner asked me what they could do…and then a few weeks later I asked them if they could give me the money to buy another puppy(not 900.00). She then said that she would talk to her husband and get back to me the next day, which never happened. What I did get was a dozen roses. You need to get your story straight and never judge anyone!
What I am thinking is it took two years to reserve that 40,000.00 Decati, and in two weeks it was the means in his unfortunate accident… Just as He once said about the franchisees that lost their in iSold it business and life savings it was because they didn’t have the experience …. Maybe he needed experience on his bike and as devastating as this is I guess as many former franchisees his family will need to go on and rebuild theire lives …It may be a struggle but hey that’s life. I guess They’ll manage.
Excuse me but not everyone saw Sully through rose colored glasses! My condolences for the family, but they are well aware of the truth about him. In fact, he was a VERY nasty man not only with iSoldit, but Mailboxes Etc., and as of yet NO iSoldit store (of the few that are left) is in the black at any consistent rate if at all. As for the 200 plus exfrancisees and their families, getting on with their lives after bankruptcy, divorce, heart attacks, suicide attempts, and total loss of there life savings, will take alot of time if not the rest of their lives. I would venture to say that $40,000 could have helped any number of them (including those that Sully gagged and paid off-OH YES HE DID)! The negative facts, are the facts, and if Sully’s death will keep one more family from being screwed by him, then there is nothing wrong with saying so! Thats life (or death), and sometimes it’s a blessing!
Mike:
It’s good to hear that things improved in the past two years. It’s good to hear that Ken and the company eventually focused on unit profitability.
Sully was a thief and a tool. He got out easy….