Bringing together the online realms of retailing and auctioning, Shopperschoice.com LLC has launched ShoppersChoiceAuctions.com. The company’s goal for the new site is to create an avenue for selling “scratch-and-dent” and slow-moving merchandise at lower prices.
At first the plan was simply to create a site for moving returned, scratch-and-dent products, says CEO Michael Hackley. But it evolved into something more.
“The new site enables us to move products that are not new so we do not lose money,” Hackley says. “Moving forward we see this as a revenue source by letting consumers list items on the site for a small fee. If we get 100,000 to 200,000 product listings from consumers, search engines will pick those up and that will help drive new shoppers to ShoppersChoice.com.”
ShoppersChoiceAuctions.com will allow shoppers to begin posting items for auction by May. Company executives have yet to determine the posting fee. The company, No. 371 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, has decided to become more lenient with its return policy. Posting problematic returned items to the auction site enables this increased leniency.
In the future the pure-play will be integrating aspects of the two sites to offer shoppers different buying options. For example, if a shopper cannot afford a $3,000 new barbeque grill on ShoppersChoice.com, the page that particular grill is on will include a link to a page on ShoppersChoiceAuctions.com showcasing a dented grill for $2,000.
ShoppersChoice.com owns 150 domains and offers more than 2.4 million products through its dozens of specialty retail stores. Products include BBQ grills, power tools, barware, pots and pans, and appliances. Last year the store launched new sites for products ranging from daybeds to dog houses to dart boards. “Our goal is by the end of the year to have more than 10 million products by adding more new brands and items,” Hackley says.
Comments
Sign In to Make a Comment
Comments are moderated by Internet Retailer and can be removed.