Brentwood - 22 June, 2005 -

If you've got Granny's inherited silver tea service or your childhood baseball cards crowding your attic space, you can now rid yourself of no-longer-needed goods on eBay without ever having to log in. The first Snappy Auctions office is open in Brentwood with promises that the Cool Springs area is next to get the Internet auction-friendly consignment center. ZIP code where you park at night. Do you currently have auto insurance? Yes No Have you had a U.S driver's license for more than 3 years? Yes No Has any driver in your household had 2 or more accidents or moving violations in the last 3 years? Yes No The choice for the first Williamson County site was a natural, said Brentwood storeowner Loren Hall. "I live in Franklin but my wife teaches in Brentwood, so we know the area well. We chose Brentwood because it's convenient and a great community. It's also an affluent area and people are more likely to have things they don't need anymore," he said. The brainchild of Debbie Gordon, the first Snappy Auctions storefront opened in 2003. The Nashville-based business has since expanded to 70 franchises in 14 states. "Typically our stores are in areas that have a higher amount of disposable income. They tend to have more high-end, valuable things. And they replace things more often that they don't use anymore," said the Snappy Auctions president and CEO. The Brentwood office in the Church Street Center near Brantley's salon opened June 13. If all goes well, a Cool Springs-area office could open by late August or early September. Another franchisee is interested in starting a Snappy Auctions office in Franklin around the Columbia Avenue area, Gordon said. Currently, the company presence in Middle Tennessee is filled at the original Green Hills store and one in Hendersonville. A Bellevue site will open next month. Hall would also like to grow into Murfreesboro. The Snappy Auctions concept works like this: Employees research each item to be listed, take digital photographs of each item, download them and post the listing with a starting price. Then they answer buyers' e-mails, take care of all the financials after the selling, pack and ship the item, and then mail a check to the seller. "Typically, the items we work with have more than a $60 value. We're looking at things that are considered a little more valuable, not things that would go into a garage sale," she said, items like antiques, golf clubs, high-end collectibles, china, electronics, business equipment and designer purses. There's even a market for cars, boats and RVs through Snappy Auctions, which runs on a commission basis that's between 15% and 35%, depending on the item's value. The business end comes in when customers don't have time or the knowledge to follow all the fine points of eBay, which has about 45,000 sales categories. "This is a way for everyone to use the power of eBay. Everybody loves to buy, but selling takes more time. That's why people choose to use our services. We're the experts," Gordon said. Hall, the Brentwood office's owner, has been an eBay fan for six years. Then he read an article about Snappy Auctions and decided he'd enjoy it as a vocation. "I figured this is what I've been doing for fun. Why don't I do it for a living?" he said. So he and his oldest daughter, Paige, decided to go for the gusto in a 1,200-square-foot space in Brentwood. In addition to those who just want to clean house, Snappy Auctions' other customers come from those who may be moving to a new house or downsizing, businesses who have excess inventory or no-longer-needed equipment, and those selling through estate sales. The Brentwood Snappy Auctions is at 8005 Church St. For more information, call 309-8886.

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