A Warning about "I Sold It" (on eBay & in your own home town)


There is a national USA franchise of hundreds of stores bearing the name "ISoldIt". The franchise stores accept items from the public, sells them on eBay, and gives most of the proceeds to the sellers. On the face of it, they seem to be very straightforward. Earlier I wondered openly how they could afford to do this as a business, since the seller does indeed get most of the sales price money, minus a very minor fee.

Here are some points to consider if you've ever thought of buying from ISoldIt on eBay (any of many locations) or even getting into a franchise yourself.

1. The corporate owners of the ISoldIt franchise require a franchisee to pay a very large sum up front. (They're the only clear winners in this game.) All expenses for the store, advertising, etc. are the responsibility of the local owner.

2. The local owners make their profits in the 'handling charges'. Shipping costs you about 3-4 times what the post office charges (or more); they keep the rest. They will never combine shipping; even if you buy 20 items from a single ISoldIt store, they will each be sent individually (and thus with 20 very high 'handling charges'). These charges are not mentioned in the auction description. To discover them, you have a click on a button and use an ISoldIt program that is not part of standard eBay software.

3. The very high handling charges are a violation of eBay's policy. "Sellers may not avoid eBay fees (which apply to sales prices) by overcharging on shipping & handling (which do not involve eBay fees)." However, ISoldIt is a 'licensee' of eBay, and is exempt from this regulation by a secret agreement. eBay and ISoldIt will not admit this exemption exists -- but eBay does not enforce their rules in the case of ISoldIt stores, and the exemption is thus obvious.

4. Beware: If you buy from an ISoldIt, you are not allowed to simply pay for the merchandise. You must first fill out a special form, and are added to a bulk email list (for spam). ISoldIt (corporate HQ) uses an automated system that sends spam to everyone who buys from them. Note that this is illegal in most states, but the law has yet to be enforced in this case. Since ISoldIt is an official eBay affiliate, eBay is also a party to this illegal spam.

5. ISoldIt gives you 7 days to pay for your purchase. However, if you do not pay immediately, ISoldIt corporate sends you "reminders", each of which primarily promotes ISoldIt (i.e. Spam). The local ISoldIt store may also send similar spam ('reminders' with lots of sales pitches attached). Their emails may leave cookies on your computer.

6. As a minor annoyance (though not technically a violation), ISoldIt auctions contain 'Auctionmercials', audio features that will start when you view their auctions, whether or not you bid on them. If you're listening to your favorite music as you browse eBay, it will be interrupted by their commercial, and you will be irritated. This will leave a cookie on your computer.


What can you do about it? Glad you asked. You must be a registered eBay user already, tho -- but that's free.

First go to eBay.com. Search for sellers named "ISoldIt" in whatever combination. Find items they are selling, in list form.
Now turn off your computer audio, to avoid the auctionmercials. (Remember to delete the cookie later, though.)
Open an item being offered, and scroll to the bottom of the screen. There you will find a link named "Report This Item".
Click on it and follow the instructions, specifically reporting "Evasion of eBay fees" by excessive 'handling' (select from a list of possible violations). That will end in a screen that allows you to email your report. Click on that, and the item number will automatically be inserted. Click on "Send". Your report has been filed.
If eBay gets enough of these complaints, the ISoldIt abuses will be stopped.

Good Luck.

Xaxaxe wrote:
I'm moving on now before I start using naughty words like last time. I'm getting worked up, and this time I haven't even been drinking ...

Oh, just admit it, you want Bupu's favors.

ExTSR wrote:A Warning about "I Sold It" (on eBay & in your own home town)

I do not know why people use them, they take 35 - 45% of the final and ripoff buyers for shipping as well.

A busy Isoldit would be a cash cow, think of it, no buying inventory, no risk of long inventory turns, no receivables.  Just pack and collect cash.

Its a good idea as long as you just use there model and do not buy the franchise.  Think of it Menzters bread and Ebay drop off center

Later
Jeff

Deadlord39 wrote:I am probably going to change my eBay name to Isolditt.

       

Blackmoor wrote:Another potential M-bag may go missing very soon

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... RK:MEWA:IT

you cant m-bag 6 books can you??!!

Look at this f**King scammer:

Dungeons and Dragons Modules Lot | eBay

I almost shit whenever I saw a BIN of $500.00 on a lot auction with an OB3.  I was just about to BIN it when I decided to to a closer look and lo and behold B3 isn't even in the f***ing auction.  

That is just totally chickenshit — anyone sending a "sternly worded" note to the seller?

My God, why do some people insist on thinking they are ... so ... damn ... clever?

bclarkie wrote:

Xaxaxe wrote:That is just totally chickenshit — anyone sending a "sternly worded" note to the seller?

Does this qualify?

bclarkie wrote:Nice scam there putting up a picture of a extremely rare module that isn't even the auction listing. Trying to trick someone into buying the auction immediately without reading the whole text is about as low as you can go.

Nice spot, Brian, but is anyone gonna knock the BIN off in case someone falls for this?
Not that potentially getting landed for $30 shipping is a particularly pleasant proposition either, should eBay not remove the auction in time...

Looks like someone already tagged the auction. Come on, fess up, who is it? I love the names you are coming up with for these accounts!