May 27, 2004

Almaden’s Post Net serves as eBay drop-off spot

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Post Net owners Sandra Payton and Amha Habteyes have become firm believers in the classic garage sale-ing mantra, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Recently, their store was chosen along with 12 other Post Net franchises as trial Trading Posts for eBay’s ever expanding e-commerce auctioning dominance. For Payton and Habteyes, this translates into a great opportunity, generating revenue off eBay to supplement their existing Create, Duplicate, Deliver services.

“We’ve already had some sales and phone calls,” said Habteyes of the fledgling program. In anticipation of more to come, Payton and Habteyes have set a construction project underway. Currently, the back of the store is evolving into a storage unit, safe and spacious enough to hold an Almaden Valley swap meet.

According to Habteyes, Post Net trading posts will be successful for one reason: no hassle. “In the Almaden Valley, people want to use eBay and get rid of unwanted items, but they are just too busy. With the Trading Post, we provide a service that takes care of everything. The only thing required of the customer is drop off. We take care of the rest.”

Currently, customers must log onto eBay and read the electric grail of e-commerce in order to master the auctioning process. In addition to tricky packaging and postage information, a savvy seller must learn to write the appropriate ad copy for the item. Selling on eBay has become so competitive that creative marketing of your item is essential for a quick sale at top dollar.

Post Net offers a simple alternative to the usual eBay modus operandi. “Post Net professionals are paid to improve sales efficiency on eBay,” said Habteyes. “They’re paid to make it easy to sell something on eBay.”

After leaving an item at the Trading Post, Post Net takes the picture, opens a reusable customer account, enters a preliminary description and submits the picture and description to headquarters. There, administrators re-evaluate the item and make necessary changes to both ad copy and photos. After approval, the item is posted on eBay, without ever physically leaving the Post Net location in Almaden.

“Items will never be posted without approval from the eBay marketing professionals that we hired at Post Net,” said Habteyes. “The service is very helpful. When you don’t have time, you don’t get the right wording or picture and then the item won’t sell as quickly or as high. It’s very simple. The customer just brings in the item and we send you a check in the mail after the item sells.”

For more information on using Post Net as an eBay Trading Post, contact Amha Habteyes at (408) 997-0944. Post Net is located at 6950 Almaden Expressway in the Almaden Via Valiente Plaza.