United Auction Brokers launches eBay pick-up service

In a new round of competition for eBay drop-off stores, United Auction Brokers LLC is launching a home and office pick-up service for clients who want to sell something on eBay.com. “Our research shows clients would rather have someone come to them and not have to take their eBay items to a drop-off center,” says CEO and co-founder Ray Whitmer.

Like more than 20 other eBay services companies that have launched in recent months, United Auction Brokers handles everything related to listing a product on eBay, including shipping it and settling payment with the buyer. The seller just waits for a check for the final selling price minus whatever commissions and fees are passed on by the listing agent.

But United Auction—operated by the same family that, since 1870, has run Prestige Finishing LLC, a company that gathers and re-finishes antiques, boats and other items for sale at traditional auction houses—figures it can stand out among eBay services companies by focusing on its pick-up service, Whitmer says. The service became available last week in parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee, areas serviced by the 15-person staff at United Auction’s headquarters in Lexington, KY. Its strategy of expanding with a network of brokers rather than building a chain of stores leaves it with lower operating costs that should help it compete over the long term, Whitmer says.

“We don’t have to pay for a brick-and-mortar infrastructure, but we’ll have more reps than others will have in their stores,” Whitmer says. United Auction lists selling agent contacts at UnitedAuctionBrokers.com. It also operates JustConsignments.com, which also lists auctions by the same team of United Auction agents.

United Auction, however, is not the first to provide an eBay pick-up service. One of its main competitors, San Carlos, CA-based AuctionDrop, tried offering a pick-up service last year and found it unpopular, a spokeswoman says. “We found that people would rather drop off an item on their own time rather than have to arrange to have someone come to their home or office," she says.

AuctionDrop, backed by venture capital from Mobius Venture Capital and Draper Associates, has also found a way to avoid the infrastructure costs of building a network of stores. Last month, it started accepting eBay drop-off items at 3,400 UPS Stores.

While many eBay drop-off companies are selling store franchises for $50,000 or more plus commissions, United Auction figures it will be able to build more successful relationships with brokers who pay relatively little to begin doing business. Brokers, who must have some business and computer experience and provide their own computer along with office and storage space, pay United Auction about $2,000 per year, Whitmer says. That includes an annual registration fee of $850, plus $100 per month for a web site hosted by United Auction.

Sellers, who must meet a minimum per-listing selling value of $50, pay a $19.99 listing fee, plus a sliding scale percentage of the final selling price: 35% on the first $200, 30% on the next $300, 20% on the next $500, and 10% on any selling price over $1,000.