- 28 February, 2005 -

Since establishing an eBay drop-off store in Green Hills in October 2003, the founder of Snappy Auctions has spread her concept far and wide signing 40 franchise agreements in 10 states. Ten Snappy Auctions franchise stores are now open and about eight more are slated to open soon, said Snappy Auctions founder and owner Debbie Gordon. The flagship corporate-owned store at 2014 Glen Echo Road was profitable within six weeks of operation, she said. "I set up another company for the franchising. That was established in May, and we were profitable in November, six months later," she said. Word of Snappy's franchises which list, package and ship items for customers has spread by way of Gordon's attendance at a couple of trade shows, through mentions in national business magazines, and even through customers themselves. Rick English, a Nashville shopping center developer, was so impressed with the professionalism of Gordon and her staff that he recommended the franchise to a friend, Pam Brown, who recently opened a Snappy drop-off center at 626 West Main St. in Hendersonville. A car collector, English said he has sold at least four items through Snappy. The company accepts items priced at $50 or above, and takes up to 35 percent commission off sales, passing along eBay fees. "It really takes all the brain damage out of selling, because they collect the money, they ship it for you, and all you do is get a check," English said. Snappy is one of more than 100 stores in the United States that cater to people willing to pay a third party to sell their merchandise on eBay, which doesn't own or control the stores, but welcomes their assistance. Gordon attributes a big part of her success to a software program she designed and had programmed by CentreSource that communicates in real-time to eBay, FedEx, and PayPal and streamlines all the processes involved in running the business. Starting a Snappy franchise requires an investment of about $40,000, including an initial $15,000 franchising fee, and a retail facility of between 1,200 and 1,500 square feet, Gordon said. The corporation takes four percent of gross annual revenues, which are estimated to be about $500,000. In exchange, Snappy Auctions' franchise company will help with site selection, grand opening, marketing, technological guidelines and training. It's all paid off for Brown and her new Hendersonville store. "We're doing good. Just the reception that we've gotten from the community of Hendersonville, they just come in and say this is a great idea, and they're having so much fun," Brown said. For more information, visit the Web site snappyauctions.com.

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