RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Cydney Redman, 22, decided not to wait until she finished her Batchelor’s degree at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan Flagler School of Business to start a going concern.
Redman launched “Even the Kitchen Sink,” in March as an online eBay consignment shop that will sell — well, even the kitchen sink — for a fee. Redman, who graduates in December, says her customers vary from a retail shop regularly selling collectibles such as old cigarette and beer advertisements and signs to automotive parts and accessories.
“I’ll sell anything and everything from clothing to a car,” she tells LTW. She says she hasn’t sold a car yet, “But I’d love to.”
The company takes from 23 percent to 10 percent of the sale on top of eBay’s commission. Clothing won’t bring much she says, and it has to be sold in lots to make any decent money. “It’s better than a yard sale but not really going to bring in much,” she says.
Auto parts, such as head or taillights for a Honda Acura or other imports, on the other hand, fetch a premium price over $200.
Redman says she got the idea for the site from an article in the Wall Street Journal talking about the phenomenon of eBay consignment shops on the west coast, which noted there were few or none on the east coast. Many retail shops on the west coast are using the consignment shops to generate substantial dollars, the WSJ article noted.
Redman has had up to 70 items up on her site, but says the site is in a slight downturn right now.
She notes that a business can provide more than pecuniary pleasures. “You do help people,” she says. “Even if it’s only a little bit. A guy came to me and said he needed money for his family and his current job wasn’t doing it for him. We sold 15 to 20 items for a total over $400 and it was like Christmas day to him.”
Redman says her father, who is an accountant and a friend who is a graphic designer, and other have helped her with the site. She says she wants to build the business before trying to seek backing to expand.
Even the Kitchen Sink: www.i-d-n.com/home.html
