PostNet Selects Marketworks to Launch an eBay 'Drop Off' Business
New 'Distributed Selling' Technology Allows Multiple Location Retailers to Easily Sell Inventory Online
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 28, 2004--When 105 million registered users, with money in hand, are browsing eBay, the $25 billion a year Internet site becomes a selling venue that most retailers can no longer overlook. Marketworks, the Atlanta-based leading provider of sales automation software and marketing services for online selling, has launched a new "Distributed Selling" technology that allows retailers to sell inventory on eBay from multiple locations.
PostNet, a large postal and business services provider with 850+ franchise stores, has selected Marketworks software to power its new eBay drop-off business, allowing customers to bring items into a PostNet location for sale on eBay. PostNet handles everything required to sell the product on eBay and mails the customer a check for a portion of the sales proceeds. This strategy draws incremental traffic to stores and creates a new revenue stream for PostNet.
"Marketworks and our new drop off business have brought together the massive market reach of eBay and our core capabilities around packing and shipping services," says Brian Spindel, COO of PostNet, "More importantly, 90% of customers bringing items into our stores for sale are new customers to PostNet."
The Marketworks distributed selling solution for eBay is broadly applicable to retailers whose inventory is dispersed across multiple locations. Whether it is used for items that consumers bring in, or for inventory already in store locations (e.g., returned, open-box, or excess inventory), Marketworks' solution facilitates the collection and selling of items at the store level, and the administration and reporting at the corporate level.
"eBay is an excellent channel for large brick and mortar retailers to extend their business online and to move excess or 'imperfect' inventory." explains Paula Rosenblum, Director of Retail Research at the Aberdeen Group, "Solutions like Marketworks can help retailers efficiently reach and serve different consumers than they might ordinarily attract and improve their own bottom line at the same time."
Marketworks' software allows individual retail locations to create inventory records and manage the fulfillment of orders once product is sold, while a central location conducts quality assurance checks and launches listings on eBay. Marketworks' customized reporting allows central tracking of performance by location and helps manage the disbursement of proceeds to individual locations.
"Retailers of all sizes are looking for new ways to generate store traffic and drive incremental business," says Kyle Antcliff, Vice President of Corporate Development for Marketworks, "We believe, and our experience with PostNet demonstrates, this model to be part of the next generation of retailing and our software makes this opportunity a reality."
About Marketworks:
Marketworks is the leading provider of sales automation software and marketing services for multi-channel online selling. As eBay's largest Certified Solution Provider, and with an international presence in six countries, Marketworks is committed to driving customers' sales and profits by eliminating operational, channel and geographic barriers associated with selling online. For further information on the Atlanta-based company, please go to www.marketworks.com.
Contacts
For Marketworks, Atlanta
Alison Ilg, 770-565-5440
Alisonipr@aol.com
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