Franchise Pick

379 opinions for Is iSoldit a Great Franchise Opportunity?

• Former Employee
  Apr 3, 2007 at 9:00 pm

  As a former employee for 2 years at iSOLD It,
  I know the full story and where all the bodies
  are buried.

  It is so ashame that such a wonderful and unique concept has been run into the ground by poor leadership and the hunger and greed for money.

  Elise Wetzel had me at “Thank you for being problem solvers, more than employees and thank you for helping change the world!” Those were heady times at the beginning.

  But, as the new corporate office (which is now up for sublease after only a year of occupancy) rang in a new era of iSOLD It, it also rang in a new era of
  lies and further lack of leadership.

  Franchisees were led to believe they could use the profits of their first store to open their second store within 6 months. That was never, ever the case.

  Very little field support was ever offered and even less was done to drive business to the stores.
  As stores began closing, the company got into trouble with improper, untruthful and reporting on their UFOC. There were omissions as well.
  This caused a halt in sales which was always the life blood of the franchisor.

  With the lack of sales, employees were unceremoniously dumped from 50+ to now
  less than 15 employees. Postings by CEO Ken Sully on the Forum, the company’s intranet, proclaim that iSOLD It has stop selling franchises to focus on
  supporting the existing open stores. However,
  with all the cuts in staff, there is virtually no
  one available at the corporate office to support
  any store let alone the 100 or so left in the network. Over sixty have closed.

  What could have been such a compelling success story has now turned into a life threatening
  quagmire of bankruptcies, foreclosed homes, lost retirement funds, lost college funds and crushed
  dreams.

  I loved my time at iSOLD It. My heart goes out to all the wonderful people I worked with . . . franchisees and co-workers. But the leadership at iSOLD It could have taken the company and the franchisees
  in an honest, caring direction and decided not to.

  By chasing fabulous personal wealth and recognition, the leaders put themselves before
  the people that got them there: employees and franchisees. The house of cards had to come crashing down. The leaders believed they could do no wrong, they believed all the hype and all the stories written about cutting edge business concepts and technology. They were the darlings of tech tabloids. They believed in their own
  legends.

  But, alas, the lies, earnings claims and misrepresentations have finally caught up with
  them. They are looking for a small space to house what’s left of their corporate staff.

  As one current employee offered last week,
  “It would take a miracle or a homerun in the bottom of the 9th inning to save the company now.”

  The former Vice President of Real Estate and Construction screamed at CEO Sully claiming
  that he had set her up to fail! Guess everyone
  that is left at the fading company is finally
  speaking out and defending themselves
  against what has been reported as Sully’s
  blaming of everyone and anyone that has
  ever worked at the company for iSOLD It’s
  failure.

  It is clear that he has not learned to look
  at himself for the direction the company
  has gone. Just another page out of the
  ENRON manual of how to take something
  very good and run it into the ground
  and take all the good people down with
  him. Trouble is, Sully has done this before!

  A Heavy Hearted Former Employee that
  believed that something so good should
  have been led in an honest, thoughful
  direction!

• RJ
  Apr 4, 2007 at 5:59 am

  We were one of the many that bought into this “hot” new concept. The experience overall, including being in debt since opening the doors and only getting more and more in debt (never seeing a profit), paired with the sad software that was sold as more than it was, has left us feeling “cold” about the whole concept. It is a flawed concept that was launched quickly as a money-making device for the franchisor. We will be paying off the debt from this bad investment for many years to come. The only people making money on this franchise are the franchisor and the 900 pound gorilla called ebay. Beware building a business that hinges on the unpredictability of a giant like ebay that can very easily change its business model and inevitably demise those who have built their business model around it.

• sean
  Apr 4, 2007 at 8:45 am

  RJ said “Beware building a business that hinges on the unpredictability of a giant like ebay that can very easily change its business model and inevitably demise those who have built their business model around it.”

  This seems eerily similar to the problems that seem to be plaguing those who bought into Mail Boxes, Etc./ The UPS Store franchises as well.

  See The UPS Store posts at:
  http://franchisepick.com/category/ups-store/

• FranchiseBrief.com
  Apr 4, 2007 at 9:11 am

  How can you make money with an eBay dropoff franchise???

  I’ve sold my share of stuffs on eBay and after paying the fees, spending 30 minutes on shipping, I was usually left with a few bucks.

  Now, if you have to pay for the store rent, royalty fees, paying the acutal seller, I bet you end up with about 5% of the profit margin, which won’t pay the kid’s daycare, the gas for the Ford Explorer……….

  I saw 2 eBay franchises open in my city in about a year and the 2 of them are already out of business…..

• Roger
  Apr 4, 2007 at 9:52 am

  Funny, the two franchises mentioned here, iSold It and UPS Store/Mailboxes Etc. have one thing in common: KEN SULLY, CEO!

  Steer clear of this self proclaimed “guru” of franchising. He’ll steal your wallet then stab you in the back and laugh all the way to the bank! (Then he’ll declare personal bankruptcy again.)

• Suzanne
  Apr 4, 2007 at 1:48 pm

  I have never seen such a collection of whining as I have read here. ISold It is a fantastic young start up company that supports its franchisees. Period. Anyone who thinks they will be profitable enough in 6 months to open a second store is not only naive, they are ignorant and have clearly not engaged in the due diligence required of them as a business owner. It doesn’t matter what business you open, it takes more than 6 months to develop, build and cultivate your business to the point where it is self-sustaining and profitable. There were many errors in the above posts- factual errors- that indicate to me that the reviewers are looking for somewhere to vent and not even thinking about what they are saying. I have never experienced any of the problems that these folks claim plague this company. There are fabulous people at iSold It that care about us- the franchisees- and are working day and night to assist us and make this work for us finanially. Sure, there have been some growing pains, but EVERY new franchise out there goes through that. Again, it is naive to expect otherwise and it is incumbant on the franchisees to make their stores work. We broke even our first year which is phenomenal for a first year business and we were profitable by the second. I made smart decisions about store location and I know the vast majority of stores that closed should never have opened in the first place due to poor locations and insufficient working capital. Again, NAIVE folks that probably would not have succeeded in any business. We have all learned that this is a little harder than we thought, but it is a great concept with huge potential. If you read the above comments carefully you will see things like “in debt before the store opened” any many variations of that theme. If a store owner does not have sufficient capital that they are in this position from day 1, THEY SHOULD NOT OPEN A BUSINESS. PERIOD! The iSold It corporate staff has done more than I ever expected to help the network of stores including aggressive, national marketing, the development of new programs to drive business into the stores and networking opportunites at the local, regional and national level. Please, lets not blame Ken and the awesome staff at iSold It, or any company for that matter, for the failures of those that are unprepared to run a business, underfunded and inexperienced. iSold It is a fantastic, exciting new company that dominates this market and is clearly the industry leader!

• boyscout
  Apr 4, 2007 at 1:54 pm

  K. Sulley was definatley connected with Mail Boxes etc.( omitting he was partially responsible) and I clearly recall him stating the reasons for Mailboxes etc. downfall and then protesting to how iSold it was NOT going to make the same mistakes and were committed to provide their franchisees with a strong support and YES with the revenue from a first store would be enough to open the second store.
  I still belive eBays selling forum is an opportunity for people make a living or even supplement their income. Plus I used to enjoy buying on eBay too.
  people need to realize iSold It is not eBay too. Each have their separate issues.
  I believe iSold It just wanted to make money for selling over priced and inflated SIB’s with no intention of working with existing franchisees to get the revenues high enough so revenue from the royalties would exceed the costs of selling SIB.
  Brick and Mortar eBay store, yeah right I wish I could afford a brick right now. I know who I’d want to aim it at!

• boyscout
  Apr 4, 2007 at 3:20 pm

  Suzanne,
  You are naive.or you are a spy.. The franchisees that were in Isold it from beginning were the ones that wear the most scars. If you own a store go ahead convince yourself you are the smartest person in business,then see if you can out fox Mr. Sulley when they use you and spit you out and steal from you in more ways than the SIB that are over charged. When the stars fade in your eyes please rememebr you can find real support at http://www.amitheonlyone.org.
  Somewhere to vent?…pish posh….
  people with human compasion just want to educated and help prevent other people from becoming victims.
  And for your information deary people that have had stores in the early exhausted all of their capital on work arounds and creativity to make it easier for new franchisees. watch out for the wolf in sheeps clothing. My wife did say there are ALOT of actors our there in CA.
  SUPPORT? who you trying to kid? during the build out there is a lot of support…They want to move those boxes because they were so backed up and couldn’t fit anymore in their corporate offices. If you call a broker and try to sell your store right now I can almost guarantee you would either get turned down or you would never get your money back or make a profit even if you throw in your grandmothers antique diamond ring! go ahead work 14 hours a day 6 days a week for two 1/2years and do not collect 200.00 for your efforts. Whining? LOL then when you ask forsupport you are told you need to let your employees go because employee wages are a mojor expense. hmmmmlook around its you and your wife not collecting a wage where do you cut? hmmmm then hear our marketing dollars went for advertising in terriotories Not even close to an ISI store and the famous tag following franchises still available. Shut up Suzanne get back to your listings you’ll need to type faster and kick granny out the door so you can take those photos and itis ok not to answer the phone once in awhile cause you know it won’t be a support person returniing your phone call anytime too soon

• Hunter
  Apr 4, 2007 at 3:28 pm

  Suzanne, sounds like the comments of a “new” franchisee.

  I too purchased into the iSOLD It concept. I too am left deep in debt.
  Is it all Corporate’s fault? No.
  Did corporate promise me profitability in 6 months? No. I don’t recall that specifically.
  Did I assume that? No.
  Was I surprised at the level of cash burn? Yes.
  Did Corp. sell stores to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who wanted to buy one regardless of their qualifications? Yes. I got 5.
  Did Corporate oversell the abilities of the concept? Yes. Other than consumer level traffic, up until I left the franchise, they had no real good ideas.
  Did corporate spend way too many millions of dollars on software? Yes. That money should have been spent on marketing. The amount of benefit received from the promised software would not have been that great.
  Could the software have been better? Yes, but not at the expense of underfunding the brand.
  How many times did a District Manager come to see my store? 2x - Once when we opened and once about 4 months before we closed.
  Did I make mistakes? Sure. That is why I assume the majority of responsibility.

  As I have stated before, I believe the core concept could work, but not in a high-rent, exposure to all manner of junk location.

  My personal moral (which I stole from someone else):

  Pigs get fat; hogs get slaughtered. Don’t be a hog.

• cookie
  Apr 4, 2007 at 3:52 pm

  This concept simply does not work-period. Overhead is way too high, processing time way too long. Of the other franchised e-bay stores, how many (if any) are making enough money to justify the initial investment, let alone return on investment?

• Chance
  Apr 4, 2007 at 5:31 pm

  Suzanne:
  Who was it that asked you to post, Ken,Rick Wetzel, or someone else at Corp. They have asked alot of us to post on their behalf in the past. Interestingly, I have stats on EVERY ISI store out there and NONE are making the grade-so do you have a fictious ebay name? And if you are doing so well why not post here and on your company forum with what makes YOU such a success. I strongly suggest you do a search on this site for the “quiznos suicide”, and read it thorougly because more than one ISold It franchisee has expressed the same feelings, and thanks to Karen & Gene, those people are still here with us. Check out the similar problems at Mailboxes/UPS, and you might see Sully as he really is. Take you rose colored glasses off and realize that YOUR management is bringing down the farm, and their isn’t a damn thing you can do about it. Not that you would!

• Mark
  Apr 4, 2007 at 9:05 pm

  If you want to express your displeasure about this wonderful company. Please visit the personal residence of Elise and Rick Wetzel at [ADDRESS WITHHELD] in beautiful Pasadena, California. Please wave hello to Elise and give her our love for ruining the lives of every Franchisee out there. I wonder if she is sleeping at night. Now that her home address is on the web and it is public information this will give the Wetzels something to think about. Sweet Dreams Weazels.

  EDITOR’S NOTE: We almost never edit or withhold any comments unless it might compromise someone’s safety. Come on, guys… we can’t publish personal addresses. Mark: you don’t really want to inspire a Law & Order episode, do you?

• Diana
  Apr 4, 2007 at 9:41 pm

  I agree with most of the above comments and agree that this company has been a complete SCAM and a RIPOFF to many people. By the way, I would also to wish a big congratulations to Rick and Elise Wetzel “the owner of the I-Sold It Franchise and former owner of Wetzels Pretzels” on the purchase of their new $2.3 million dollar home at [ADDRESS WITHHELD] in Pasadena,California. Rick and Elise that is a nice upgrade from a $1.7 million dollar home. How did you do it? When most Franchisees are losing or have lost their homes.

  Diane

• HomeyJ
  Apr 4, 2007 at 11:28 pm

  I am a former I Sold It franchise owner and all I can say is that deciding to buy an I Sold It franchise was the worst mistake of my life, and has left me nearly bankrupt and in huge debt that I will be spending years to get out of. I may have been naive going in but I’m a smart guy and a hard-worker and I TRUSTED I Sold It to, at the very least, provide me with a VIABLE ##############. I did everything they asked of me, used their realtor and got approval for my location and worked my a$$ off and STILL was losing money so fast it was frightening. As far as working capital I had MORE THAN WAS RECOMMENDED by the geniuses at ISI and THEY told me that I should be near profitability in about 6 months. What a pathetic joke. As far as SUPPORT goes - it was NON-EXISTENT - I asked several times for someone from corporate to come visit my store and HELP ME OUT A LITTLE and I was visited by corporate exactly ZERO times. The only advice I ever got from those jerks was that I needed to spend “more time and money marketing” - tough to do when you’re already spending 80 hours a week fighting with their garbage software and losing thousands of dollars a month. If this blog keeps ONE PERSON from throwing away their life-savings on the dishonest, misleading, unscrupulous, incompetent franchisor that is I Sold It, then that is a good thing!

• Franbest.com
  Apr 5, 2007 at 5:46 am

  Suzanne said: the vast majority of stores that closed should never have opened in the first place due to poor locations and insufficient working capital. Again, NAIVE folks that probably would not have succeeded in any business… If a store owner does not have sufficient capital that they are in this position from day 1, THEY SHOULD NOT OPEN A BUSINESS. PERIOD!

  Suzanne: It’s true that it’s in a franchisee’s best interest to accept responsibility for their store’s success. But isn’t it also true that the reason they bought a franchise instead of opening their own business was because they knew they needed guidance from experts? If these individuals were undercapitalized, why were they granted franchises? If they foolishly chose doomed locations, why were those locations approved? What should the current franchisees who are struggling do to acheive the success you’ve attained?

• sean
  Apr 5, 2007 at 6:16 am

  Chance is referring to the December 14 Franchise Pick post that has links to several stories on the tragic suicide of Quiznos franchisee Bob Baber. (http://franchisepick.com/the-quiznos-franchise-too-good-to-be-true/) There are also stories on FranBest.com, bluemaumau.org and toastedsubs.info.

  This tragedy underscores the importance of these issues, but also holds an important message for struggling business owners: Don’t take a permanent solution to a temporary problem. If your problem is financial, it’s a temporary problem. You can get through it.

• Olivia
  Apr 5, 2007 at 6:51 am

  Some international facts for you.

  The i-Sold it stores in Ireland both closed earlier this year with growing debts, and we are informed that the whole UK franchise has collapsed today 5th April 2007.

  Our advice is get out now before you lose everything.

• sean
  Apr 5, 2007 at 10:46 am

  …we are informed that the whole UK franchise has collapsed today 5th April 2007.

  Can anyone confirm this? Has the company acknowledged it? Is the story anywhere online?

  Also: Can anyone explain why their franchise advertising continues to run despite the fact they’ve “halted” sales?

• Rope a Dope
  Apr 5, 2007 at 11:55 am

  They canned the Director of Franchise Development, Lesley Hawks, who is the one who really made money off this concept. She’s ruthless and I hear she’s now at Wetzel’s Pretzel to pick up where she left off. Watch out for this one, she’s really a black widow. Says plenty about Wetzels Pretzels and their integrity.

• Chance
  Apr 5, 2007 at 2:34 pm

  In response to Seans comment, “YES the UK area developer is belly up. Online Revolution Ltd The Head Franchisor of iSold It in the UK went into voluntary receivership today.”

  Here is one gov’t posting:
  UK business credit reports, risk scores, annual account and company filings online from UK Data LtdCompany

  Details - I SOLD IT ON EBAY GB LTD
  Registered No.05597190
  Address:60 STATION RD, QUENSFERRY, DEESIDE, CH5 1SX
  Type:Private Limited with share capital
  Incorporation Date:19-10-2005
  Recent Changes:
  27/03/2007 Dissolution or striking-off document filed - First notice from Companies House to dissolve company in 3 months

  Question is, how far behind them is the US? Scary thought that 150 stores could be floundering with bad software and no mama.

  In response to MARK above: Lets not stupe to the level that ISI HQ did by sending sellers to a franchisee’s home, and encouraging sellers to file legal suits against their own franchisee. I believe the Wetzels and Sully have enough to worry about with all the litigation they say they DON’T have.

• Broke_But_Wiser
  Apr 5, 2007 at 5:22 pm

  Lesley Hawks. The only phonecall I got after announcing the closure of my store to these jokers was from Lesley Hawks. Mock sympathy and tons of blather about how I was just too early in the game, perhaps didn’t spend enough on marketing. ($40k in the last 4 months) She even asked me for my landlord’s number so she could buy back (at a steep discount no doubt) the store’s sign! I have never encountered such dispassionate and dry, callous insincerity in my life.

  It is plainly obvious that the folks at ISI corporate truly do not give a s**t about the people that make up their franchise. Only their dollars.

  But I don’t really blame the management, they found a sucker in me. The more you sell the more it costs to sell. The crossover point where the amount of goods to come into the store to turn profit is NOT $40k/mo as projected by me. It is far, far higher.

  Suzanne: I employed 1.5 staff members AND paid $750/month for software just to cover the lame joke iSold It provided for software. So essentially the software cost me $3,000/month. AFTER I opened my store I had $70,000 in the bank. Here I am 18 months later, bankrupt. Your words are more meaningless verbal diarrhea in the same vein as Sully et. al (But with markedly better spelling). Either you are trying to manipulate yourself or you are on ISI’s payroll. Wake up, give your head a shake. Best of luck with your ‘profitable’ store.

  Folks, the concept DOES NOT WORK. It CANNOT MAKE SUSTAINED MONEY IN ITS’ PRESENT FORMAT. At least, not enough to warrant devoting such resources to it.

  If I had stuck with the $1/ft warehouse in the industrial park, good and cheap software (Blackthorne, Kyozou, etc), corporate-only customers, self-purchased goods to resell, and my crappy (but totally functional) furniture, I may still be in business. I brought my operation “to the street”, in part because I bought the line that this was the next big thing. Hmmph.

  To cap everything: I’ve been invited into some class-action, but I’m not interested. $15-$25k will buy me a legally binding note stating I’m owed $250,000 from iSold It for restoration of financial standing. By the time that happens ISI will be but a sad and bankrupt chapter in franchising, the note will not be worth the fine bond it’s printed on. And Sully, Wetzels & friends will have moved on to some other scheme.

  Bye bye, guys. I’m pretty sure some of you are going straight to hell. And I’m ok with that.

• Franchise Pick - Franchise Rumor: iSold It UK in Receivership
  Apr 7, 2007 at 7:32 am

  [...] Pick reader CHANCE left this comment April 5 on a related post ( Is iSoldit a Great Franchise Opportunity? ): …YES the UK area developer is belly up. Online Revolution Ltd The Head Franchisor of iSold [...]

• Earl Grayer
  Apr 7, 2007 at 12:15 pm

  An Open Letter To Our Franchisees

  ——————————————————————————–

  AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR FRANCHISEES

  As we have previously announced, we are now focusing all our headquarters resources on supporting our current base of franchisees, while limiting the sale of additional stores to new franchisees. We will continue to add new stores with existing franchisees under current development agreements and will also help facilitate transfers of existing stores to new owners. iSold It, now in its fourth year of operation, currently has over 170 franchised stores open. The chain has sold more than $100 million of merchandise on eBay since inception.

  As you may know, in December 2003, iSold It joined the fledgling eBay drop-off store category, still in its infancy. The first two iSold It stores, one company owned and one franchised, generated significant interest from customers, the press and franchise candidates. The initial customer response was so strong that, encouraged by their results, that first franchisee quickly went on to purchase additional development areas and opened more stores. As the category rapidly grew and sales volumes were easily tracked (due to the transparent nature of eBay), franchise candidates moved forward to open individual stores, often securing areas large enough to develop multiple stores. After 18 months of operation, the 100th iSold It store was opened, and no stores had closed.

  Today, while encouraged by system-wide sales exceeding $4 million per month, the distribution of sales by store has proven to be a bell curve ? with top stores exceeding $80 thousand per month and others struggling to attain $10 thousand per month. Compounding the situation, average selling prices and labor hours per item also vary significantly by store, creating a wide range in store contribution margins. This has resulted in a significant number of stores operating below break-even, and has contributed to over 60 stores closing. Tragically, many individuals who believed passionately in the potential for the category have lost sizable investments, including homes and retirement savings. We personally find this unacceptable and, despite continued interest in this category, we do not feel comfortable selling any new franchises until we get the failure rate lower.

  Over the past 40 months, in an effort to support the network, we have invested nearly $20 million in infrastructure, systems and marketing — spending most of the $8 million in shareholder contributed capital and $13 million in royalties and franchise fees. During this time, no director or shareholder has ever received any distributions or dividends from iSold It, with an exception for a small distribution to shareholders in early 2005 to cover pass-through tax liability related to 2004 company profitability. The company has not been profitable since 2004 and no further distributions have been made. In addition, with the exception of CEO Ken Sully, members of the Board of Directors and shareholders do not draw any salary from the company.

  Going forward, the company faces significant challenges.

  First, the company must preserve its remaining cash so it can remain solvent to support its franchisees. This is being addressed through significant reductions in expenses, including difficult decisions regarding headcount reductions and moving the office to a smaller location.

  Second, the company is now focusing all resources on supporting the existing franchised stores. This is the rationale for eliminating the franchise development group and exiting the company store. (In separate posts, we will keep you current on the 3.0 conversion.)

  The third and most significant challenge is addressing the claims of a group of franchisees who regrettably have each suffered significant financial losses. While we all feel very badly for anyone who lost money, we believe we presented this concept fairly from the beginning and it is unclear if we will be able reach a conclusion without litigation, reorganization or insolvency.

  The team at iSold It remains committed to supporting our current franchisees and finding a success path for the network. We recognize the hard work and sacrifices that each one of you has made to help build your business and this company. We remain passionate about the potential for our business and appreciate your continued support going forward.
  __________________
  Ken Sully
  President & CEO

• Not_Quite_Broke_Also_wiser
  Apr 7, 2007 at 1:24 pm

  I went into this franchise concept with eyes wide open. I was well capitalized, but I was not prepared to have to pump thousands per month into the busines just to sutain it, which I did for 18 months. My biggest concern was whether the population base was large enough to sustain enough traffic to make the store profitable. I di my homework and decided to take the chance.

  What I counted on from the franchisor was functional software that would save time, and corporate expertise in all things ebaY. I received neither. The software was (and still is) a joke. No one at the corporate level has any expertise whatsoever in how to profitably manage a drop off store.

  With the UK and Ireland closed, and the US office staff severely whittled, it won’t be long before the iSold It franchisor will have to close its doors. Their CEO has already hinted at insolvency being a course of future action. Do yourself a favor…. get any notion of this franchise being a winner OUT OF YOUR HEAD RIGHT NOW !!

• sean
  Apr 7, 2007 at 1:59 pm

  Earl:
  What date was the Open Letter sent?

• Once Bitten...
  Apr 7, 2007 at 2:01 pm

  The letter was posted yesterday, April 6th.

• Chance
  Apr 7, 2007 at 5:51 pm

  This is on the the company website-who in their right mind would want an exisiting store in a franchise going belly up!

  Thanks for your interest in opening an iSold It franchise.
  Today, iSold It is the #1 eBay drop-off franchise in the country, with stores nation-wide. The Internet is rapidly changing the world and we believe our concept has the potential to play an important part.

  We are not accepting new applications in the USA at this time. Instead, we are focused on helping existing franchisees develop their current stores and add new stores. If you are interested in purchasing an iSold It store from an existing franchisee and would like to see if there is an opportunity in your area, please send an email to franchising@i-soldit.com. Thank you for your interest in iSold It.

  For US and International inquiries, please email franchising@i-soldit.com.
  For Canada inquiries, please email Mark Clifton at mark@isolditcanada.net.

  Thank you for your interest in iSold It.

• iSold It UK Allegedly in Receivership at
  Apr 8, 2007 at 5:16 am

  [...] He also included an excerpt from an alleged government posting (see comments at Is iSoldit a Great Franchise Opportunity? [...]

• Franchise Pick - iSold It Suspends Franchise Sales
  Apr 8, 2007 at 5:57 am

  [...] Is iSoldit a Great Franchise Opportunity? (4/3/07) [...]

• Franchise Pick - iSold It: American Dream or Franchise Nightmare?
  Apr 9, 2007 at 7:15 am

  [...] iSold It CEO Ken Sully, first appeared in the comments section of a post on Franchise Pick  (Is iSold It a Great Franchise Opportunity?).  Entitled “An Open Letter to our Franchisees,” the letter tells a tale [...]

• Tom Finkbiner
  Apr 9, 2007 at 3:58 pm

  I am an ISI franchisee who owns three stores and started one year ago this week. Our first year’s gross revenues were over $440k and our run rate for the second year would be about $1 million. Am I making money? no. Am I making reasonable progress towards that goal? yes. Do I expect to make money? yes.
  When I bought the franchise I knew that it was not McDonald’s- I would have had to pay more than $1.5 mm for a McDonalds and I would have had commensurate support. I paid $15k for my first franchise plus about $45k for the various store materials. A reasonable return on such an investment in the real world would have been 6-8%- about $5k. Could anybody expect to make a reasonable living on this type of investment? no. Should you expect to? no. Did ISI make such a representation in any of their materials? no.

  The fact of the matter is that this concept is not mature. People don’t know that it exists and the brand name isn’t well known. So a lot of time has to be spent on these issues. This isn’t typical of a franchise concept but this also isn’t a typical franchise opportunity. I invested because there was flexibility and room to try things. Many, more established franchises do not allow for this flexibility and still don’t have good success.

  Before I invested I investigated closely seven similar concepts and visited three other headquarters. Not one of them could hold a candle to what ISI had to offer at this time last year, yet all of them wanted as much money and some more, to be part of their concept. Importantly, ISI had more stores operating at that time than all of those seven other companies combined. That’s why I joined. I understood that there was greater risk but also greater upside if you get the business model and execution correct.

  I believe that there were probably some mistakes made at corporate and many who were and are there would admit that, but frankly, which of us hasn’t made mistakes? The software (SAM 2.0) was not very good (however, it was better than anything that existed at the time of development). An attempt at correction is being made and I will tell you from personal experience with much larger corporations that any attempt at implementing new software is going to be difficult. You can’t anticipate enough problems, spend enough money or provide enough support to implement something like Infopia easily. The biggest corporations (DuPont)and the biggest software vendors (SAP) are each brought to their knees by implementations of this same scope. It takes toughing it out and when you are already raw with frustration and down to your last buck it is an extremely difficult thing to do.

  Let me end this by saying that the type of emotionally wrought negativism is not going to solve the problem. I’ve never met the Wetsels but they already have one extremely successful business and they have every right to purchase any kind of house that they choose, just like each of us does. Yes, Mailboxes, etc. has lots of problems but you will find that they mostly occurred under UPS management. History will show that Ken Sully grew the chain from a few hundred to 4,000+ stores. That’s fact, not speculation. I’m not defending Ken or the Wetsel’s here, but the best thing for anyone with an interest in ISI or a claim against ISI would be for ISI to grow and profit constructively. Let me also make it clear that I was not asked or invited to post.

• Chance
  Apr 9, 2007 at 7:36 pm

  Tom your numbers look great until you do the real math. $440,000 divided by three stores is aprox.$146,000 each then divided by 12 months is around 12,000, and 35% of that is your adjusted gross of $4,300 a month to pay bills with. In otherwords you are not making the bills, and that is not counting your royalties, rent, labor, utilities, and God forbid those hidden fees. You are trying to convince yourself it is working when it is not- even with your numbers.

  As for the software, there is and has been much better software, in fact I understand your new Infopia software keeps crashing.

  Tom, You are NO smarter, nor a better businessman than the 60+ stores that have closed, in fact it is time to get out of your denial to see the reality of the situation. Thats a positve statement!

• Broke_But_Wiser
  Apr 9, 2007 at 8:41 pm

  The numbers game is fun. And numbers are irrefutable. Ken’s open letter claims $4m/mo. in gross sales. That’s an average of $23,500/mo per store, or the peak of Ken’s bell curve. After consignors, royalties & ad fund are paid, that leaves $6,580/mo (If charging 33% across the board). Given that up until recently ISI steered all franchisees toward high-cost retail strips, most are paying between $3-$5,000/mo for rent. Let’s assume $4k (My store was $4900/mo). That leaves $2500 month to pay for:

  - Staff payroll
  - Marketing & bus. dev. strategy
  - Packaging (Handling charge was nixed by ebay) and general supplies
  - Utilities

  And this doesn’t take into account any debt reduction or payback of the initial investment. Nor does it take into account write offs and claims (which are about 2-3 per 100 sales) and miscellaneous expenses that always creep in.

  Folks, this model cannot work as advertised by iSold It. Plain and simple.

• Hunter
  Apr 9, 2007 at 8:56 pm

  Chance, as angry as you might be for what has transpired during your iSOLD It experience, I don’t think that a personal attack on Tom does anything to strengthen your facts. I think that there are some shrewd business people who purchased these stores and there will ultimately be some that survive (for a while); in spite of any corporate shortcomings.

  That said, looking at the numbers Tom provided, Chance is right. Having owned a store myself, I have been there. Let’s assume that the 3 stores are pulling in $1million in gross. That averages to just $27K per store per month. And margins aren’t typically 35%. They are probably more like 30%; if not less, minus 5% royalty. So you have $6750 to work with. I guarantee rent and labor eat that up automatically. That doesn’t include iSOLD IT software fees, advertising, utilities, etc.

  No offense Tom, but I was certainly hoping to make more than $5K per year on my investment. With the money I spent on the franchise fees alone, I could made the down payment on an apartment property and made more than $5K per year, plus I would have had depreciation as a write-off.

  The way I see it, those that are capable of breaking even/making a bit of money will continue to do so until their 5 year leases run out. Most likely, those stores will close/relocate to much less expensive non-retail sites and shift their business model a bit. Everyone else will most likely close with 18 months to 2 years of the original open.

• sean
  Apr 10, 2007 at 4:39 am

  FYI… Here Are Some Related Posts:
  An Open Letter to iSold It Franchisees from CEO Ken Sully (4/9/07)

  iSold It: American Dream or Franchise Nightmare? (4/9/07)

  iSold It Suspends Franchise Sales (4/8/07)

  Franchise Rumor: iSold It UK in Receivership (4/7/07)

  Has iSold It Halted Franchise Sales? (4/3/07)

  Is iSoldit a Great Franchise Opportunity? (4/3/07)

• Another Failure
  Apr 10, 2007 at 10:46 am

  It is quite interesting to read all these comments and see the certain path of bankruptcy for this flawed franchisor. I was also an owner of a franchise drop off store (QuikDrop) and can speak for those that I have talked to that all of the QuikDrop store owners have the same problems - these are not inherant just to iSold-it. If 2% of the stores that have opened across any of the franchises have even gotten a ROI I would be surprised. THIS BUISNESS MODEL DOES NOT WORK - IT WILL NEVER WORK.

  Dont blame yourself for these failures if you are a store owner - the founders of these franchises stretched, pulled, manipulated and massaged the franchise laws so that they could ride out the publicity train of such a so called “hot franchise concept”. Legally there have been some violations, many relating to the UFOC, but in the end these companies will disolve and will be part of history.
  I left my franchisor after 2 years of upside down earnings. The total lack of support, elementary grade software, corporate mental abuse & completely flawed business model all went into my decision. As well, QuikDrop has lost approximately 75% of stores that were opened and these previous owners also have terrible stories to tell of personal & financial ruin.
  To date I still do run a drop off store in sense, taking in only approximately 5% from retail customers and 95% business purchased resale. Without the added overheads and problems associated with my previous franchisor, I am not at Platinum Powerseller level, have executive top seller support at eBay & Paypal and see net profits of approximately 15-20% on my sales of $150k per month. Whats the secret you may ask, well that is for you to find out but I can tell you as someone that turned this business around that THIS CONCEPT CANNOT, WILL NOT AND CAN NEVER BE PROFITABLE. CUT YOUR LOSSES, CLOSE YOUR STORES AND STOP PAYING THE 6 DIGIT SALARIES OF THE SNAKE OIL SALESMAN THAT GOT YOU INTO THIS MESS.

• Chance
  Apr 10, 2007 at 11:11 am

  Tom, it seems you haven’t seen the reality of any of it yet. You would have done better playing the slots in Vegas! Good luck! This was just published today.

  Online commerce stores sold
  Tampa Bay Business Journal - 11:51 AM EDT Tuesday, April 10, 2007

  “Three Tampa Bay iSold It stores are under new ownership.

  Tom Finkbiner, formerly the chief executive officer of Quality Distribution (NASDAQ: QLTY) in Tampa, purchased the stores to pursue a new career. No terms of the purchase were disclosed. ”

  Need I say more!

• Franchise Pick - Are Any eBay Drop-Off Franchises Successful?
  Apr 10, 2007 at 11:51 am

  [...] revelations about failures and financial problems at iSold It have raised serious questions regarding the viability of the eBay drop-off store [...]

• Ron
  Apr 10, 2007 at 2:04 pm

  You people who are whining did not evaluate the risk when you invested.

  Why do you think someone else owes you a living? Take responsibility for your own business, quit looking for a handout! This country was built on pioneers and colonists….both had courage, but fewer pioneers lived to an old age. For the pioneers who died young, was that the fault of the government?

• John
  Apr 10, 2007 at 6:32 pm

  Ron you wrote
  “Why do you think someone else owes you a living?”

  Ron we are talking about franchises’ right? Pioneers and colonists don’t usually buy into the franchise concept. They create them for others to buy into.

  I believe most people who buy into a franchise expect a nominal return on investment. They trade the high gain/high loss possibility of starting a business on there own for a product or service that has a proven track record. That is what franchising is all about. A moderate risk for both profit or loss is what is expected in franchising.

  The comments here represent peoples savings lost in a short period of time. If the “I Sold It” franchise is just an example of Buyer Beware then no franchise is safe to invest in.

• Another Failure
  Apr 10, 2007 at 8:48 pm

  Ron-

  May I say that your comments are rude to say the least. Looking for a handout? Did you read that before you posted it? If you use an elementary level of logic you will realize that the store owners were the ones filling the hands that were held out - not looking for a handout as you say.

  The founders of i-Soldit have been unfairly compensated at the cost of financial ruin of all those that were deceived. Do you really think that if i-Soldit was honest about things that 180 stores would have opened? Were all 180 buyers just moronic fools and corporate was the only logical one or could there possibly be some level of deception here?

  I entered this business model at a different point than most - I purchased in early 2004 and bought into an undeveloped concept - not a business model that was shortly after being sold. As well, I did not risk my finances to the point of ruin and was willing to make changes necessary to be profitable (the first & most important was to disconnect from the franchisor) while developing on the concept I purchased into.

  The point is that i-Soldit violated franchise laws as did QuikDrop (whom still continues to violate these laws) by churning out new franchise locations with the documented high failure rate and lack of sucessful business model. This is illegal - this is where these franchises needed to stop selling - not after being artificially wealthy based on a business model that the only people who thought was successful were the editors looking for fabulous stories for thier books, websites and newspapers.

• Sheila
  Apr 11, 2007 at 4:37 am

  For the record - only one of Tom’s 3 stores has been in business for a full year since he bought into ISI. One opened in late July, and the ink is barely dry on the 3rd store. The numbers quoted, and the rebuttals, didn’t take this into consideration.

  Just my 2 cents to help clarify things.

• sean
  Apr 11, 2007 at 7:15 am

  Question:
  I put together a quick list of eBay drop-off franchisors still offering franchises at Are Any eBay Drop-Off Franchises Successful? Who have I missed? Do any of these eBay drop-off franchises have profitable franchisees? Or profitable stores?

• Chance
  Apr 11, 2007 at 1:26 pm

  Sean,
  You are missing Auctiondrop (at UPS stores), Auction-it-today,and Instant Auctions. NuMarkets was in the forfront for a while, and have completely closed and been sold. Snappy has bought back some stores, Online Outpost supposedly is no longer selling anymore franchises, Quikdrop has a very big group action coming at them legally, and Picture it sold is and has been in a legal battle with Isoldit over trademark.

  A few stores may not be putting in $$ some months, but many are putting in between $3000 to $8000 a month still. One Quikdrop is making money, but they are not a walkin store any longer and they only sell high end watches for one fellow. No others are making a true profit at any consistant rate. ALL the franchisors are struggling and/or having issues with closing stores.

• LittleKen
  Apr 11, 2007 at 2:27 pm

  Anyone heard about Former Met and Philly Baseball Slugger Lenny Dykstra’s “action” against Big Ken & Co.?

  and what about those Franchisees who were able to buy stores a couple years ago for only a buck.

  Gag Me please.

• TryingHard2007
  Apr 11, 2007 at 9:36 pm

  I have been trying to make it since 2005 with my iSold It store. I really feel that there is a service that we can provide but we have not gotten the business model working yet…. I have been having GREAT problems with the new Infopia/iSoldIt software and don’t know how to handle it. iSoldIt corporate and Infopia have not been any help at all. How are people joining together to get some professional help with the problems they/we are having. I am at the end of my money and would really like to find a way to get out and still be able to live…..

• BoyScout
  Apr 12, 2007 at 5:32 am

  why not leave a message and see if Lenny or someoneconnected to him here replies? I see someone has already asked him his opinion.

  http://constitutionclub.wordpress.com/2007/03/14/lenny-dykstrafinancial-guru/#comment-208

• EtheWise
  Apr 12, 2007 at 10:04 am

  No one on our site is connected directly to Lenny Dykstra but I will get word to our resident financial guru and see if he has more information or insight on iSoldit

• Chance
  Apr 12, 2007 at 10:58 am

  Lenny has probably been “gagged” by isoldit like many others have been. It is a great way for franchisors to keep the truth from getting out.

  Interestingly, Isoldit did not settle with the current group action, so the Chemels and others can now talk!

• Sully Sux
  Apr 12, 2007 at 12:31 pm

  Interesting that the CTO at corporate owns a store in Irvine and that store is not currently using the software HE so much wanted all the stores to use!

• Jacob Maslow
  Apr 13, 2007 at 2:20 am

  I had a ebay store with another franchisor, snappy auctions.
  When they sold me the franchise, they were not authorized to sell in my state due to concerns NY had about Snappy Auctions’ financials.

  Snappy Auctions never gave me the proper UFOC and finally terminated me illegally.

  Snappy Auctions terminated me through email despite the contract requiring formal notice of 30 days and a chance to cure any defect.

  Snappy Auctions also has a habit of shutting off franchisees access to email and software putting all operations at a halt if they feel you are not responsive or avoiding them (while all owners work full time in the store, hours and days can be erratic with no set schedule)

  The termination was for discussing issues that I had with other franchisees. In the termination notice, their General Counsel claimed that none of the franchisees were interested in hearing my complaints (25 % contacted me even after - or perhaps because - they were told not speak with me).

  Franchisors can always blame the franchisee for not having enough working capital. If working capital was unlimited, you could be open forever and keep losing money into a bottomless money pit.

  Within 6 months of selling on my own, I reached Titanium status on ebay (over $150,000 per month of ebay sales). When I had the store I never reached platinum (25,000 per month in sales).

• Sully's_Forecast
  Apr 13, 2007 at 8:37 am

  Here Ken Sully openly admits AFTER He and the Wetzels sold so many franchises how they intend to abandoned the franchisees.
  http://www.auctionculture.com/articles/article_knoxville2.php

  “Sully, CEO of iSold It, is a former executive with Mail Boxes Etc. He said iSold It is focusing on blanketing the country with its franchises and this year will launch an aggressive marketing campaign to educate consumers about its merits.
  “We have 165 stores open in 35 states and we have 600 stores under contract,” Sully said. “We’ve got a pretty heavy program and we’ve got a really big marketing strategy. … We’re going to be the brand leader and have the largest footprint.”

• Joe
  Apr 14, 2007 at 9:21 am

  FYI. Mr. Sully owns a yacht and has some assets so the current group of Franchisee’s can go after him and the Wetzels and other board of directors for fraud,breach of contract and misrepresentation. When this company goes BK all of these people will have to dig into their pockets to fight a group action and it looks like it may be around 50 people or so. We are talking about a multi million dollar lawsuit. I hope the Wetzels are sleeping at night because it is on. Sweet dreams Weazels.

• Milk Shake
  Apr 14, 2007 at 1:35 pm

  FYI. Mr Sully’s yacht is like this one only it is a 1987 and needs about $5K in work to be done on it to get it running.

  http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140104816970

  Estimated eBay value: $4,000.00

  Remember, we offer free eBay appraisals!

• bob
  Apr 15, 2007 at 2:26 am

  I worked at a QuikDrop as a summer job. Once I started to get an idea of their costs, I had absolutley no idea how they could ever make money. I realize at this point that my voice is just another in the chorus, but, sadly, I probably made more from QuikDrop than any of the franchise owners. A couple of thousand bucks I made working for hourly wages over the summer sure beats the crushing debt that seems to come with the territory for those who bought into the concept.

  Anyone who can make any money at all doing this is smart enough to make loads more doing just about anything else. A few posters here say that they’ve found the secret to making money selling other people’s stuff on Ebay. If they’re actually telling the truth, I suspect that it involves working from their home or warehouse space and liquidating other businesses’ inventory. Obviously, you don’t need expensive retail space for that. The idea that you’re going to make money taking in and listing $50, $100, or $200 items just doesn’t hold any water.

• Lucky_Escape
  Apr 16, 2007 at 12:51 am

  I went to one of the ISI presentations in the UK last year. I was surprised at how many people were ready to sign for at least one Franchise on the day.

  I think I was the only one (out of about 20 people) that had major concerns about the viability of the business model. Basically, I couldn’t get my head around why it was necessary to have an expensive retail unit, rather than a much cheaper warehouse. I felt that ISI just wanted the glory of a high street presence.

  They touted a very large marketing budget in 2006 as a benefit. However, I asked whether the budget was for advertising the newly opened stores, or for advertising the Franchise to potential franchisees. They admitted it was the latter.

  Nonetheless, I took their projections with an open mind to study at home and create my own projections. In my own figures, I inserted glaring ommisions, such as the cost of advertising items that didn’t sell, and the impact of discount vouchers (which were at the franchisees expense, and did not reduce commissions to the franchisor). I became even more concerned, since I worked out that they were taking nearly 25% of revenue in commissions and charges - nothing like the 5% figure they had been trumpeting.

  They showed us around their flagship store. It was filled with items that I knew would not sell, or would only go very cheaply, such as computer monitors.

  Through further research, thankfully, I also became aware of problems that were emerging in the USA with drop-off store closures (not just ISI).

  I really wanted this to be something great that I could get in on the ground floor. I don’t believe that it was a giant con like some have suggested, but I think that too many people ignored warning signs.

  When I read about the UK having 5 stores affected by this insolvency, this is forgetting all those people who have parted with the Franchise fee, but have not yet got their store off-the-ground. There will be many of those.

  I feel so sorry for those who succumbed to the notion that this was the next big thing, but am happy that I did not throw my money away on this venture. I still think that there is some potential for drop-off stores, but the overheads have to be reduced drastically.

• Samantha
  Apr 16, 2007 at 7:23 pm

  The letter stating that they are not taking any new franchisees is very interesting. I wonder if they even are going to continue to help the soon to be store owners open their stores since it seems that they are not even returning calls. I guess that is hard to do when you have no office.

• Sully's_Forecast
  Apr 17, 2007 at 7:05 am

  Milk Shake,
  FYI Well 4,000 to you may be a drop in the bucket. That 4000.00 can help pay a few mortage payments or food on the table for some of the Zee’s that were ripped off. Do you think we feel sorry for him? LOL I don’t care id K Sully andth Wetzell’s and their families are stripped bare and have to beg for a refrigerator box to sleep in.
  I know what they presented to the franchisee’s in the early stages. They wanted our money and then altered their presentation to the newer zee’s. If I wouldhave known about Sully’s bankruptcy from day one I never would have chosen ISI.
  And as far as feeling sorry for Wetzell’s children going hungry, There is always foodstamps. They have had no sympathy for any of our children or our children’s future all they did was steal it!

• Chance
  Apr 17, 2007 at 1:03 pm

  Alot of things here are being taken personally, but that is because it IS personal. A number of people have been put into the hospital from heart attacks and bleeding ulcers to nevous breakdowns, all from the worry. There are families that have divorced (even after 35 years), lifetime friends who no longer speak to each other, and homes that are being forclosed on, all due to investing in an ebay drop off store with these franchisors who say they care.
  I don’t see ANY help coming from the HQ’s of these companies. In fact Sully and Wetzel would not even settle with the group action for less than the cost of the original franchise fee. Lets see, if they sold thier motorcycles, boats, and one of their 2 million dollar homes, they could possibly help a number of franchisees. In fact, they should be refunding the fees of the stores that haven’t opened yet, including the fees they took for the 900 area developement stores (which they advertise as opening soon) that will NEVER open, because alot of them were owned by former zees.
  Thinking about it, thats alot of money that they have collected and claim to have spent on their crappy software and their poor advertising. They advertised that their software was the backbone of the business, and then abandoned it for one that appears to be worse than the original. They were not too concerned about me and my family when they sold me the franchises supporting that blatant software lie! How many other lies were they upholding? How could they sell this as “turnkey” & “profitable”, so soon after opening their original store? And Why did the gov’t allow an unproven concept to be franchised?
  So is it personal? Yes, it IS personal, I and others worry where the next house payment and meal are coming from, and who will pay the Dr. bills, or take care of our children. I’d say it is VERY personal, and that the franchisors have done NOTHING, except smooth talking, to show that they really care!

• LittleKen
  Apr 17, 2007 at 3:34 pm

  Hey Chance-

  Crappy Software? What happened to “World Class” and all the other hype?
  They will introduce 3.1 (coming soon) in Vegas. That will solve any outstanding issues.

  and put some blame on Greedy ’speclators’ who bought in to the land grab without doing there homewhere.

  So there. Viva Las Begas

• Chance
  Apr 17, 2007 at 8:23 pm

  Little Ken,
  Those who bought in early did their homework, except that there was very little information out there for such a new concept, most had to rely on the franchisor telling the truth (right!). To add to that, Isoldit tells their franchisees not to talk to potentials without a “password”, so VERY little real info was given out, including real numbers.

  As for 3.1 and all its hoopla, Sam 2.0 was given out at the first convention-and it was basically an empty disk in a fancy box. In fact most of the problems that the franchisees had then are the same ones the franchisees have now. And the promises made then, actually had more merit than they do now. It is interesting how quickly history repeats itself.

  Have a great time in Vegas, I will.

• LittleKen
  Apr 17, 2007 at 10:05 pm

  Are you saying that franchisees still have to use software that doesn’t suit their needs? I thought each store was independently owned and operated? Can’t stores use software other than Inpopia? I would be screaming “bloody something or other”. Franchisees pay royalties for this? Makes me want an Auntie Anne’s Pretzel to say the least

• sean
  Apr 18, 2007 at 8:21 am

  Makes me want an Auntie Anne’s Pretzel to say the least
  …or an Auntie Anne’s franchise…

• Chance
  Apr 18, 2007 at 9:58 am

  Actually Little Ken, you can be “terminated” if you run software that isn’t theirs and works!
  You know the real money is in selling franchises - got any good ideas?!

• sean
  Apr 18, 2007 at 1:38 pm

  Is this how it starts? Here’s a new eBay auction franchise for your perusal.
  http://franchisepick.com/will-eautodrop-be-the-next-overly-hyped-ebay-auction-franchise-disaster/

  Warning: could induce flashbacks

• LittleKen
  Apr 20, 2007 at 10:11 am

  Someone mentioned to me a problem with a company “Picture it Sold” and iSoldit Can someone shed some light on what the problem is. Was it settled? Is there a Gag concerning the outcome? I have sifted thru public records and found very little.

• FranBest.com
  Apr 20, 2007 at 11:23 am

  Some links on Picture It Sold v. iSold It:

  http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2006/08/do_quotation_ma.htm

  http://brownraysman.typepad.com/technology_law_update/2006/08/injunction_agai.html

  The appeal decision is posted at:
  http://www.thelen.com/tlu/brmfs/PictureItVIsoldit.pdf

  Don’t know if there’s more to it.

• sean
  Apr 20, 2007 at 11:36 am

  FYI: http://www.amitheonlyone.org seems to be updating almost daily. Worth checking back frequently. (AM I?: Thanks for the links)

  Ina at AuctionBytes.com says Debbie Gordon, CEO of Snappy Auctions, is excited about the eBay store franchise concept, and will be publishing her list of the elements of success for drop-off stores on an upcoming Vendor Monday feature. If you have insights into SA, share them at:
  http://franchisepick.com/is-snappy-auctions-a-great-franchise-opportunity/
  How about QuikDrop?
  http://franchisepick.com/is-quikdrop-a-great-franchise-opportunity/
  Or RocketCity’s eAutoDrop:
  http://franchisepick.com/will-eautodrop-be-the-next-overly-hyped-ebay-auction-franchise-disaster/

• Chance
  Apr 20, 2007 at 5:18 pm

  Hey Little Ken, Picture-it-sold is STILL in litigation with Isoldit over trademark, it seems that they own “the easy way to sell on ebay” which Isoldit has been using. Interesting that NONE of this litigation is on ANY UFOC, and yet the franchisees were all impacted by the infringement (it was used on the store signs). No gag, just one of those “little” things they forgot to mention! Opps!

• Daddy Dearest
  Apr 23, 2007 at 1:43 pm

  Anyone got any type of estemate of how many former ISI franchisess have settled and are gagged. Why don’t this have to show up in any UFOC?

• Jacob Maslow
  Apr 23, 2007 at 4:05 pm

  They are required to notify of all lawsuits, the amount of settlement or terms probably does not have to be included.

  The UFOC is generally filed once per year and includes info from the year before.

  I.e. It may be possible that all of last year’s “action” wont show up until June.

  Some states, like NY require a new UFOC as soon as the business materially changed which includes high # of franchises closing. It is something like a set % within a short time.

  I sold it would probably need to re-file for NY, but if they are no longer offering franchises in NY, they may not need to (believe they still have existing franchises in NY).

• former zee
  Apr 23, 2007 at 9:29 pm

  Jacob, A question or two if I may……

  Would pending or concluded medeation or arbtration be considered a “lawsuit” that would have be included in a UFOC?

  From all appearances Isoldit has settled or done things with former franchisees that gags them, but never appeared in the UFOC. Is this strange, or typical of the of the regulatory wiggle room in the franchise biz.

  If isoldit is no longer selling franchises outside of the existing franchise network? Does this mean they get a pass on releasing a new UFOC until they start selling franchises again.

• Chance
  Apr 24, 2007 at 4:34 pm

  I believe they must document anything pertinent to the franchisees (such as stores closing and litigation) within 30 days of the issue. However, here is quote from a former employee that shows how some people play the game….

  “The Vice President they put above me a year ago is ablsolutely incompetent,
  but fits the mold of the leadership (or lack of leadership) at the top.
  This person is just good at playing the corporate game, covering ass and shifting blame to others. They shifted the blame to me when everyone at ISI knew we had not sold more than a dozen new franchises for six months. And, we had closed over 12 franchises just after the first of the year.

  This was a huge deception as 10 of the stores closed their door before the end of December. They began updating their 2006 UFOC in January and had no intention of divulging the true number of store closings in 2005. They figured they could save up the bad news for the 2007 UFOC. Well, they got caught and the UFOC got pulled down. We had no new California sales that I was aware of in the first six months of 2006 and I believe California sales made up at least one out of every 3 or 4 sales.

  So thanks for the stats. It is clear to the naked eye that ISI is just running a scam. They have no clue of what they are doing to run a real business. There is no internal office management or human resources so the corporate office runs as if they are all little satellites spinning off into space, never know what anyone around them does.

  The executives are all very arrogant, acting as if they can do know wrong but
  they are all very incompetent, corporate save ass types. I could go on and on about the executives there. Most everything they did made no sense.
  So, from the franchisees point of view, nothing made sense. I know for a fact that the general feeling of most of the franchisees is to stay away of
  corporate and not to believe anything they say or report. That it is as bad as can be.”

• Alive & Kicking
  Apr 24, 2007 at 7:47 pm

  What happened to that article on Auctionbytes titled “Elise Wetzel shows no concern over hurting franchisees”?

  I saw it once and then it was seemingly nowhere to be found. I imagine it was pulled by websites after being threatened w/ lawsuits by the Wetzels. Notice how there isn’t any of the board’s bio’s or names on the ISI Corporate Website?

  Sounds like the ownership is content to let Sully be the fall guy and they are running for the hills themselves.

  Other than articles in their “press room” there is no longer any reference to the Wetzels having founded the company.

• Chance
  Apr 25, 2007 at 10:27 am

  The article is still on the internet at the following address. Others just pointed to the article. And the second link is great link for archived websites-in other words an old copy of anyones website. Enjoy!

  http://bestsyndication.com/?q=032007_isoldit-complaints-commentary-possible-franchise-problems.htm

  http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

• Sully Sux
  Apr 25, 2007 at 2:04 pm

  These people have no shame- show no shame-But, someday they will get theirs- The children the “DRAG up” insteadof BRING Up- the questions of when the news hits, what it all means to their names- Maybe Elise will go back to her maiden name of Cayelli -and by the way ,Don Cayelli is on the board

• BIGB
  Apr 27, 2007 at 2:58 pm

  This scheme is exactly like The UPS Store. Another PONZI SCHEME to avoid!

• Little Dancer
  Apr 27, 2007 at 4:17 pm

  Can you say TAP DANCE? they have been doing a two step for too long. Wonder how many new zees will close.

  Some rumblings already with new zees. the writing is already on the ships walls!

  The conference they are having should be extremely interesting and wonder how “well ” attended… 70 people? Does that include spouses?

  What kind of tap dance are they going to have to tell zees. Or how about the cheerleaders they have?

• sean
  Apr 27, 2007 at 4:48 pm

  When is the conference? Where’s it being held?

• Little Dancer
  Apr 27, 2007 at 5:43 pm

  Vegas -next week- should be fun!

• Ozzie
  Apr 29, 2007 at 12:00 am

  I guess you’re all aware that the isoldit focus is now on Australia? They are blitzing the newspapers offering national wide franchises for AU$165 starting price. As an ebayer I had looked into the bricks and mortor option before they arrived and couldn’t make sense of it - our population here is just not dense enough…. anyway, hopefully Australians will investigate before investing and make the right choice.

• Ozzie
  Apr 29, 2007 at 12:01 am

  ooops, I meant AU$165k.

• TryingHard2007
  Apr 29, 2007 at 5:33 am

  Please post what happens at the conference. There are many people we can not attend.

• Johnny
  May 4, 2007 at 4:05 pm

  I was a manager for one of the biggest Isold it stores and we actually made a profit for 2 months out of the 20 months it has been opened… what a joke.

  iSold it is worse then eBay,
  fee here, fee there, eveywhere a super fee !!!

  I am really bright and super computer savy…
  BUT COME ON; THEIR SOFTWARE IS WORST THING I EVER SAW NOT TO MENTION IT TAKES DAYs TO TRAIN SOMEONE ON IT.

  1. If you want to be gorilla raped by fees.
  2. Be given the dumbest, most time consuming, full of bugs software
  3. Almost no support and if you receive any; it is the most unknowledge help or the most common one: they do not know and will get back to you

  then….. iSOLD it is the way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Chance
  May 4, 2007 at 5:10 pm

  I understand that their new”robust” software, as well as the old software is down today! De Je vu all over again-same crap we heard about the “robust” version 2.0 (that went down). Try Auctionsound it is great software, and only takes about an hour to learn, with great support, and get this-it cuts the checks too! Quite a few are using it, and it’s cheaper. (Funny how the Corp powers above, would not even talk to these software folks when they tried to come to the aid of all the stores after Andale went down for 10 days and then again with the great 2.0)

  The franchisees problems have never been solved, it is the same problems - just with newer owners-how long will it take them to catch on? When they run out of money? Corp was aware of these SAME problems more than a year ago and has done nothing but gloss over the issues, that is why the same issues keep popping up! Imagine that! As I said “De Je Vu”.

• gardener
  May 5, 2007 at 9:40 am

  The software issues at iSold It have been a 2-year wild goose chase. AuctionSound proves that software is a solved problem. Think of all the money iSold It spent on software over the last few years when what they really needed to do was pump the money into marketing to drive traffic to stores. Why do you need overengineered software to put items on multiple markets when you don’t have enough items coming in the store in the first place??

  Instead, they overspent on high-end store fixtures, made a complete mess of the software situation, and provided little to no support for existing franchisees.

  I can’t decide if it was outright evil intentions from the beginning or just the most massive case of incompetence I have seen in 20+ years of business. How on earth does the CEO rent way too much space for corporate offices and then say “If I’d known we were going to need to downsize, I never would have rented a space this big…” !!!???

  Absolutely astounding that he still has a job…

• eyes wide open
  May 5, 2007 at 3:19 pm

  All of this is so true- it will be interesting to see when the newer franchises see the true colors of this operation . The software issues are deplorable at best and unneeded when other software offers all the features need to run a TRUE consignment store for 1/2 the price! Wasn’t the business model a consignment store?

  Besides the people at Auction Sound are the most pleasant ,customer service people on the planet- a few people out there could take lessons from them

• former zee
  May 5, 2007 at 5:30 pm

  AuctionSound is the only competent drop off store consignment store on the market. You have channel advisor and others. Infopia is basically an inventory mgmt software program. Looking back, why Ken Sully is still at the helm of ISI is beyond me. His business decisions have proven somewhat fatal to the franchise.

  The one thing I want to know. If iSoldit is not selling new franchises, Do they have to issue a UFOC? and if they don’t have to issue a UFOC are the still considered a Franchised company per se?

• former zee
  May 5, 2007 at 5:33 pm

  oops. I made a mistake! AuctionSound ISN’T the only competent drop off store software available.

• Chance
  May 6, 2007 at 9:33 am

  You are right “former zee”. I understand that Auction wagon is a pretty good piece of software as well, and considering that the zees from foreign countries use it, it must have some pretty good features.
  And “Gardener”, I find it interesting that the 3.0 software issues are so similar to the 1.0 to 2.0 issues, and that Corp. powers have done NOTHING but make it someone elses problem. It appears the CEO has smoozed more than just franchisees. I can assure you they would not have some of the LEGAL problems that they have now had they fired him!

• Chance
  May 6, 2007 at 10:04 am

  “Former Zee”, and anyone one else interested, here is a link to a great site reviewing software.
  http://www.auctionsoftwarereview.com/
  We still reccomend Auction sound, but there sure is plenty out there these days to choose from!

• TryingHard2007
  May 7, 2007 at 8:23 am

  Any updates from Vegas?

• former zee
  May 7, 2007 at 10:41 pm

  What type of updates? I would think that if anything Sully would promote a United We Stand - Divided We fall type of Platform to the troops, as not to respond to outside forums like this one. But I don’t know. Ex-Franchisess were not invited! All I would like to know for my former colleagues is one ? Is Infopia rebating any monies from the problems that besieged the software last month? At least when Andale had its “outage” We were not charged half our fees for two months.

• samantha
  May 10, 2007 at 8:46 am

  Does any one know what happens if the franchisor (ISold-IT) actually doesn’t do something that is clearly listed in their FOC.

• chance
  May 10, 2007 at 10:51 am

  Samantha:
  There is alot of good information at http://www.amitheonlyone.org. Gene and Karen will do their best to advise you on the situation if you share it with them confidentially. Give them a try, chances are they have been there and done that, with all the zees they have helped in the past!