Secrets of the eBay

142 Secrets of the eBay Millionaires
drive one and a half hours to get to us—even from as far away as Wisconsin
and Southern Illinois. We often have people drive in from the suburbs of
Chicago to bring us stuff to sell. They have drop-off stores out there, but
they say they’ve had bad experiences with those stores.
“We really feel no competition from places that are also located on
the North Side of Chicago,” says Ellen. When the local Fox News channel
did an undercover investigation of three drop-off stores in this area,
ExpressDrop was reported to be the most reputable establishment. Their
primary competitors are bigger drop-off store chains such as AuctionDrop,
QuickDrop, and iSold It. Navarro, left, and Mayer are shown in Figure 7-4
in front of the ExpressDrop store at 1900 West Belmont in Chicago.
FIGURE 7-4 These two twenty-something entrepreneurs chose the
location of their brick-and-mortar store carefully.
Before you put down money on a location for your store, make sure the
zoning classification for that address allows you to resell used merchandise.
City ordinances might restrict such activities. Also check your state and local regulations
on dealers of secondhand merchandise to make sure you comply with them.
“People Get Caught Up in the Romance of Selling on
eBay, and They Don’t Do the Business Projections”
ExpressDrop was buzzing with activity when I visited on a Tuesday
afternoon. A police officer was there with some merchandise to sell;