FutureShop: How the New Auction Culture Will Revolutionize the Way We Buy, Sell, and Get the Things We Really Want

A bold forecast of how the coming auction culture revolution will radically transform what, how, and why we buy Visionary entrepreneur Daniel Nissanoff breaks the news that the eBay auction phenomenon is about to explode in a big new way, revolutionizing how all consumers-not just eBay mavens-do their shopping, not only online but offline as well. The big payoff of this revolution is for consumers: They will be able to "trade up" more often to buy the brands they most want by embracing a new norm of temporary ownership: We will be able to buy more of the things we really want, because we'll also be regularly selling off the things we no longer want or need. We'll be transformed from an "accumulation nation" into an "auction culture." Consider this intriguing fact: In the new auction culture, Manolo Blahnik shoes, a Louis Vuitton handbag, a Hermès tie, or a Bugaboo baby stroller will actually be the better deals. As huge as eBay has become-it is now the tenth-largest retailer in America-it has only scratched the surface of the potential for online buying and selling. In 2004, only 5 percent of all those who had bought something on eBay had also sold something on the site. But that is about to change-dramatically. Nissanoff reveals that a massive growth of online auction "facilitators" is under way that will make buying and selling online so hassle-free, so reliable, and so lucrative that the masses of consumers who have stayed away will jump aboard. Most prominent among the facilitators are dropshops, where you can bring your goods for sale and they'll handle the whole auction and shipping process. Thousands of such locations have opened in the last two years; they will soon be as pervasive as Starbucks shops. And that's only the beginning. Daniel Nissanoff, who is at the center of the revolution as the co-founder of one of the leading-edge facilitator companies, introduces the full range of services cropping up-dropshops, authenticators, refurbishers and repackagers, personal reselling assistants, and closet cullers, as well as a wide variety of online shops that lease products, such as the hottest designer handbags and the latest-model golf clubs. He also reveals how all consumers can take advantage of these services for optimal shopping satisfaction and how entrepreneurs can get in on the booming business opportunities. Even as the auction culture offers consumers and entrepreneurs a wealth of new opportunities, it will also pose serious challenges for retailers and brand managers. Nissanoff analyzes the challenges they will face and presents an ingenous set of strategies companies can employ to turn the challenges of the auction culture to their advantage. Nissanoff writes, "Temporary ownership means just saying no to second-best and letting yourself reach for the things that will thrill you over and over again-guilt-free." Readers, start your auctions.