Troubled iSold It Continues to Promote eBay Drop-off Franchises Elsewhere

by sean on April 14th, 2007

If the leading eBay drop-off franchise chain iSold It is closing stores and fighting off bankruptcy due to problems with its business model, why are they still selling franchises in Canada, Australia and the UK? Does the concept work better outside the U.S…. or have the unsuspecting citizens abroad just not gotten the word?

Ken Sully, CEO of troubled eBay drop-off store franchise chain iSold It, has acknowledged publicly that there are serious flaws with the iSold It franchise concept. In an open letter published on Franchise Pick ( An Open Letter to iSold It Franchisees from CEO Ken Sully), Sully admits that 60 stores have closed and many more are struggling to survive. States Sully:

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.

Sully continues to warn that the company could be on the brink of insolvency. And while he feels very badly for anyone who lost money, he contends that iSold It “presented this concept fairly from the beginning.”

In fairness, Franchise Pick believes Ken Sully deserves credit for openly acknowledging the problems facing iSold It and the struggling iSold It franchisees. It was the right move to suspend U.S. franchise sales, and to focus all efforts and resources on assisting current iSold franchisees.

However, even if iSold It had, as Ken Sully stated, “presented this concept fairly” when selling franchises in the past, are they doing so now in Canada, Australia and the U.K. where they continue to offer franchises?

Are prospective franchisees in those countries being told the truth about the performance of the iSold It franchises in the U.S. that, we assume, use the same business model? Franchise Pick took a look at some of the claims that appear, as of 4/14/07, on those sites. Here’s our take:

iSold It Canada: A Franchise Too Good To Be True?

iSold It Australia Franchise: eBay Plunder Down Under?

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH the iSOLD IT EBAY DROP-OFF FRANCHISE? LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE YOUR OPINION.

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Tip of the hat to:

Franchise Pick reader Iona left this comment on a previous post ( Has iSold It Halted Franchise Sales? ) “i-SOLD It is definately selling franchises in Canada. I spoke with Mark Clifton at the Canadian head office in Kelowna British…”

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