Bold Bid

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

But if you're an entrepreneur with a new concept, hearing others say, "I wish I'd thought of that" would definitely run a close second.

Robert Russell, owner of 60 Minute Photo, has been hearing those words often lately, as he ramps up a business designed to make it easier for people for put items on the Internet auction site eBay. Known as Russell Auctions.com, the new venture, operated out of Russell's photo facilities in Tower Square, will handle all the steps of putting something on eBay - from photographing the item to shipping it to the successful bidder.

Opened about a month ago, the new business has already handled more than $10,000 in sales, taking commissions that range between 20% and 35% in the process. And while Russell is excited by the fast start, he is more intrigued by where this venture could go.

He is envisioning a broad market there are hundreds of thousands of items sold on eBay every day, and the consensus is that this number would swell considerably if the process was made more simple - with at least three components. First, there would be the consumer, or retail, side of the equation, said Russell, adding that there is strong potential for a commercial sector as well with items ranging from old office furniture to used restaurant equipment to excess inventory. Meanwhile, he believes there could be demand for a service that compiles items that could be auctioned for a designated charity.

"I think it would be easier to get people to donate items they no longer want or need than to get them to write a check," said Russell. "If you put together enough items, you could raise some money for a group and we would do all the work and for a small percentage."

Russell is already contemplating a chain of eBay auction locations, noting that photofinishing businesses are a natural site because the process of placing an item for sale on eBay starts with a photograph. The Russell chain currently has five stores scattered across the area. He may also create free-standing facilities that could be in other photo labs.

He understands that there will likely be a flood of people trying to enter this market, but he believes he has a solid leg up, between the infrastructure he has and the fact that he was the first one in - at least in this area.

"I'm very interested in going into the Connecticut area, and also closer to Boston and perhaps the Albany area," he said. "I see enormous growth potential; others are going to try to get into this, but they'll have much bigger hurdles to jump than I do."

Buy the Buy

Russell told BusinessWest that he began to think about his auction venture as the number of people coming to 60 Minute Photo for digital photographs of items they wanted to sell continued to grow.

The need for a business that would simplify the eBay process became clear as statistical and anecdotal evidence mounted that more people would put items up for auction if they had the time, energy, or know-how.

Russell said he was at a recent conference for the owners of photo labs and camera stores, at which one of the speakers, an eBay channel manager for consumer electronics. urged merchants to put certain items for sale on eBay. rather than have them Consume shelf space. "He showed us a slide showing how many active eBay buyers there are, and it's an astounding number," he said. "Then he put up a slide showing how many fewer sellers there are - and it struck a chord.

"For quite some time, I've had some articles in my store that I've thought I should put on eBay, but I've never gotten around to it, because it's time-consuming, it's not convenient - it's something I would put off forever," he continued. "I started connecting the dots, and thought, 'what if someone would offer this service at retail?'"

Thus far, Russell said the business is progressing as he expected, and he believes volume will increase as word-of-mouth and other promotional strategies increase the venture's visibility. He will dedicate an exhibit at this month's Market trade show to Russell Auctions.com, and has other marketing initiatives planned.

The key to success for a business that gets 30% commission on sales that average $100 is volume, said Russell, noting that the ability to select the right items to handle is also an important facet of an auction operation.

"You've got to have volume, and you've got to have a very streamlined processing system in place," he said. "And you have to have some serious training because you can't be taking in items from people that are not worth anything. It takes just as much time to put a Tiffany wedding ring on as it does a stack of comic books; the comic books might sell for $50, while the ring might go for $2,000."

To handle the auction venture, Russell hired Christopher Quackenbush, a computer specialist and self-described eBay veteran. He told BusinessWest that he has handled about 80 items to date, and that they have run the gamut, from jewelry and crystal to snowboards and Barbie dolls.

He said the process starts with an appraisal of the item to make sure the auction process is worth the seller's time and the company's time. Once an item is appraised - a step often completed by using eBay search items to see what similar items have fetched - it is photographed and then put on the eBay auction block. Most auctions run seven days, although some can go for 10, said Quackenbush, noting that, in either case, most action doesnt occur until the final hours, or minutes of an auction.

Russell Auctions.com monitors the auction to completion, collects the money, and ships it the item to the buyer. Quackenbush said the convenience factor is enormous, and in other parts of the country, similar operations are enjoying tremendous success.

"There are operations in California called auction drops that have more than 500 items on sale at any given time," he explained. "Here, though, this is a brand new business with a lot of potential."

Setting Sale

Russell told BusinessWest that he has no firm business plan in place for this new venture, although one is being developed. He said he will monitor his first operation carefully and, if sufficient volume is reached, will move to put similar facilities in other locations that are convenient to customers across the Valley.

In time, he suspects, technology and the coming to age of a generation weaned on computers will reduce the need for a company that can take the hassle out of putting an item on eBay. But that time is still a ways off, as evidenced by the number of people coming to Russell's door with Barbie dolls and old paintings.

And by the number of would-be entrepreneurs saying. 'I wish I had thought of that.'