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. …read more

(FranchisePick.com) In 2006, Entrepreneur magazine said that their hot new franchise iSold It had sold more than 800 franchises. 2 years later, iSold It has disappeared from all Entrepreneur lists, and CEO Ken Sully refers to the chain as having 125 retail stores nationwide. Here’s his endorsement from a current Central Desktop software press release.
(March 27, 2008)– Central Desktop, the complete business collaboration platform for business teams today announced the release of the Central Desktop Security Pack to meet the growing needs of business teams… “We have over 10 GB of information stored and shared by over …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  After three years in business, the iSOLD It franchise owners of the Savannah Centre eBay drop-off store franchiseare calling it quits.  According to iSOLD It franchise owner Gail Eischeid, the eBay drop-off store will remain open through mid April to assist current customers. After the store is closed, the owners will still be available to sell items online for both individuals and businesses by appointment.
iSOLD It franchise owners Brian and Gail Eischeid moved to Savannah from Atlanta about six years ago. In a December, 2007 interview in the Savannah Morning News, the franchise owners explained how they came …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  The eBay Dropoff Store Franchise was yesteryear’s hot new franchise opportunity.
Unfortunately, it was so hot that it burned up the cold, hard cash of many an iSold It, Snappy Auctions, and AuctionItToday franchise owner.  What happened?  Scott Pooler provides his take in his article eBay Franchise Drop Stores – Why they failed, excerpted below. 
Do you agree with Scott? Disagree?  Leave a message below.
The concept:
eBay drop stores came upon the scene with a great fanfare and promise….

These franchises promised individuals an easy way to be in business for themselves – a way to “have a store without investing …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) Related posts:
Britney Spears’ Smell Auctioned on eBay; reportedly “very nice”
iSold It on eBay Franchise Teams Up With Britney Spears
BID ME BABY, ONE MORE TIME… Britney Spears Selling Her Clothes on eBay
The eBay extravaganza star-powered by the once-hot pop diva Britney Spears and once-hot franchise chain iSold It keeps building in intensity and excitement toward its inevitable climax.
According to our earlier story, the Tarzana, CA franchise drop-off shop “iSold It will continue to auction off an outfit each week building up to the main auction – The Famous Red Dress worn by Britney when she was caught not wearing …read more

(FranchisePick.com) What do Britney Spears’ old clothes smell like? At this moment, the answer would cost you $610… and climbing.
At the moment of this writing, there have been a total of 36 bids on eBay for Britney Spears’ Miss NRG casual wear leopard print top, pictured at left.
The master writers at iSold It know just the right details to include to send the bidding through the roof.
Note that “This top still has Britney’s pleasant smell in it and smells very nice!”

BRITNEY SPEARS WORN LEOPARD TOP MISS NRG CASUAL WEAR
You are bidding on an absolutely original outfit worn …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  2007 was a pretty devastating year for both pop’s once-hottest star Britney Spears and franchising’s once-hottest concept, iSold It on eBay.
It appears that these two trainwrecks hope that they can help each other get back on track:  by allowing the iSold It drop-off store’s Tarzana, CA franchise to sell Britney’s iSold old outfits on eBay.
Here’s the press release posted by William Fikham (?) on ecommwire.  It’s titled:
iSold It Continues to Auction Outfits Worn by Britney SpearsBRITNEY SPEAR’S ASSISTANT CASHING IN ON OLD OUTFITS WORN BY BRITNEY BY SELLING THEM AT ISOLD IT – AN EBAY DROP OFF STORE

The headline seems to imply that it …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) As we begin to wrap up the first year of blogging at FranchisePick.com, I’ve made a list of the companies and posts that prompted the most comments from FranchisePick.Com readers.
#1 Snappy Auctions Franchise: 600+ Reader Comments
Most-commented Post:
Is Snappy Auctions a Great Franchise Opportunity? April 20th, 2007 – 601 Comments
#2 iSOLD IT Franchise: 590 + Reader Comments
Most-commented Post:
Is iSoldit a Great Franchise Opportunity? April 3rd, 2007 – 346 Comments

#3 Contours Express Franchise: 380+ Reader Comments
Most-commented Post:
Is Contours Express a Great Fitness Franchise? May 10th, 2007 – 334 Comments
#4 Butterfly Life Franchise: 300+ Reader Comments:
Most-commented Post:
IS BUTTERFLY LIFE A GREAT FITNESS …read more

Another casualty from the eBay drop-off store gold rush is featured in the Press Enterprise today, excerpted below.  This one didn’t even need the help of a franchise company like iSold It or Snappy Auctions, they were able to fail in less than ten months all on their own.
“The worst idea I ever had.”

When they launched The eBay Store last September in downtown Riverside, owners Ollin Martinez and Belinda Correa had high hopes.
“You’d be amazed,” Martinez said in a November interview. “There’s a buyer for everything.”
But there wasn’t. Within three months after opening on University Avenue, the partners were amazed …read more

(FranchisePick.Com) FranchisePick.com and other blogs have been reporting the story of the troubled eBay dropoff franchise segment in general and segment leader iSold It in particular since early this year. So far the mainstream media and business press, including many that eagerly hyped the flawed concept, have been slow to to cover the story or to warn prospective franchisees of the risks associated with this controversial venture. That could, however, be changing.
Earlier this week I was interviewed by BusinessWeek reporter Douglas MacMillan for the story (Can You Profit as a Franchise Pioneer?) that appeared online today.
The …read more