Store sells the commonplace, unusual

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers SOLD- Matthew Hawkins is a co-owner of the iSold It on eBay store at 5021 Verdugo Way in Camarillo. Matthew Hawkins has sold some strange objects over the Internet since opening an online consignment store four months ago.

Take, for instance, the framed sculpture made from human hair circa 1889 that sold for $36.

Unusual folk art aside, the store is a clearinghouse for nearly anything a person can carry. Hawkins and three partners, including his wife, Amy, chose to open the county's only iSold It on eBay franchise because of Camarillo's attractive demographics.

"Camarillo is just a really great town," said Hawkins, a former resident.

Before accepting an item to sell on eBay, Hawkins researches online the sales history of similar objects. If it's determined that it may sell for $40 or more, he or one of the store's four employees photographs the item from several angles and enters in a description for a seven-day auction. They check the customer's identification and take their fingerprints to ensure the article isn't stolen property.

"We'll consider everything, but we won't take everything," Hawkins said.

The store acts as a third party, he said, because they describe everything they know about the object, including its faults. If it sells, they take about 30 percent of the selling price. If it doesn't, Hawkins charges nothing.

From vintage bicycles and tanning beds to neon signs and baby strollers, Hawkins prices nearly everything for auction at $9.99.

"Our job here is 50 percent marketing," he said.

It's a proven marketing strategy that the sooner an item receives a bid the higher its final selling price, he said. Once a person enters a bid, they have an emotional investment in the item, and that can result in others bidding on it too. But it's getting someone to make the first bid that's the biggest hurdle, Hawkins said, and that's why almost everything starts out at $9.99.

For example, a vintage amplifier for electric guitars ended up selling for more than $400, Hawkins said.

Although there are exceptions to the under-$10 rule, the principle of listing auction items at incredibly low prices still applies. An expensive chestnut roaster that started at $800 sold for nearly four times as much. And a book about the stock exchange, which received no bids when first listed at $699, was re-entered at $299 and sold for $810. Nearly anything that weighs less than 150 pounds and takes up no more than 165 inches of total space can be sold through the iSold It store. Exceptions are tractors and other heavy machinery, hot-ticket items on eBay.

Other vigorous online sellers are collectibles, electronics and certain name-brand clothing. Hawkins said it all depends on the demands and whims of the online market.

Neal Spearman, a business major at Cal State University at Channel Islands, came in to sell a dozen or so textbooks after a friend recommended the store.

"I figured these guys do quite a good job," he said.

After an item sells, iSold It ships it out and collects the money. They deduct all fees, pay the buyer and resolve any problems or complaints that arise, including claims over shipping damage.

Hawkins doesn't accept every item a customer brings in, just those that will net the customer enough money to make it worth their while. He wants them to walk away with more money in their pocket than what's deducted to pay the store, eBay and an online escrow account, he said.

Despite or perhaps because of that policy, the store has been doing well. Hawkins said he and his partners plan to open another iSold It franchise later this year in Ventura.