From a post-COVID stock scramble to a $40,000 leap into liquidation, Bert Leffel, CEO of AuctionFuel and Listernaut, has seen what occurs while you go all in.
Lately, he’s not simply flipping product – he’s constructing software program, consulting with auctioneers, and serving to others transfer quick and suppose smarter with AI. We talked about the place it began, what’s modified, and why he thinks the actual alternative in resale continues to be forward.
Enterprise Evolution
- November 2021: Bert and his enterprise companions, Jeff Kaplan and Melissa Shepherd, bought a bankrupt e-commerce enterprise and re-launched as AuctionFuel
- November 2022: AuctionFuel is up and operating on HiBid, a web-based public sale platform
- August 2023: Software program instrument, Listernaut, is developed
- Current: Consults auctioneers on scaling through AI software program adoption
Alternative Presents Itself: From Athletic Tape to Truckloads
Like many companies, Bert’s was hit by main provide chain disruptions and product shortages throughout COVID; his situation occurred to be securing athletic tape, which was their best-selling product on the time. “There was an ink scarcity for athletic tape, of all issues,” Bert stated. Instantly, they had been left with simply plain white tape and no alternate options.
Bert thought of stockpiling the stock at wholesale costs to remain forward, nevertheless it was a significant funding. That’s when he found B-Inventory and determined to take an opportunity. As a substitute of shopping for his traditional quantity of product – about 7 pallets – he went all in: “We determined… let’s take what we might usually spend in a month on wholesale and make investments that in B-Inventory.” What confirmed up? Seven full semi-trucks of stock.
“It nearly gave me a coronary heart assault,” he joked. “I broke out in hives.” However within the chaos got here an enormous alternative. That huge cargo, which price about $40,000, helped launch his enterprise, AuctionFuel, ahead. “It was like a present from the gods,” Bert stated.
Since then, Bert has targeted on constructing a extra constant and predictable system for sourcing. The ups and downs of the market are a part of the sport, however he’s realized to show previous frustrations into smarter shopping for methods.
From Income to Software program Growth
With the success of AuctionFuel and promoting retail returns, Bert determined to reinvest his earnings into creating software program that might permit the corporate to maneuver stock sooner by way of the usage of AI, picture recognition capabilities, and machine studying. After capturing a photograph of the merchandise, the software program leverages AI to explain what the product is, present a really useful resale worth, and checklist dimensions, weights, and extra. One of the best half? The software program can even map the merchandise to totally different marketplaces.
With AuctionFuel as a check middle for the brand new software program, Bert moved into this subsequent part of entrepreneurship: monetizing it by enabling different resellers to leverage the software program. “B-Inventory is actually a trusted ally in what we’re doing,” he stated.
“We work with among the fastest-moving auctioneers within the nation to permit them to create listings for merchandise on [reselling] platforms, wherever from one to 10 seconds per merchandise.”
What’s the #1 piece of recommendation you’d give to different folks?
“I completely inform everybody I speak to now to perceive your unit economics.
Do you perceive how a lot it prices you to create a list, to promote it as a reseller? And for those who don’t, it’s good to discover that out sooner fairly than later as a result of most certainly, that’s consuming your corporation alive. Merchandise that don’t have a resale worth of over $20 are costing most firms cash.”
The instance he gave was this: Take into consideration a $10 merchandise. If it’s costing you $7 to get that product shipped, listed, and offered, versus 30 to 50 cents utilizing a list instrument that does the heavy lifting for you…that’s an enormous distinction in revenue margins! And precisely why he developed this software program – to additional empower the public sale trade to do what he did and turn out to be extra environment friendly and worthwhile.
Assume the Market’s Too Crowded? Assume Once more.
Many individuals assume the resale market is simply too saturated, however that couldn’t be farther from the reality. “It’s a $2.2 trillion market, and it retains going up yearly,” Bert defined. And even the most important gamers are simply scratching the floor.
“These [big liquidators] transfer hundreds of thousands of things a 12 months,” however to really deal with the amount of retail returns, “we’d want roughly 247,000 extra of them,” he figures. In different phrases, there’s nonetheless a large alternative.
In the event you’re organized, perceive your numbers, and are able to hustle, “you may completely flip a worthwhile enterprise very quickly – with little or no down,” Bert affirms.
Planning for What’s Subsequent
Every time instances are robust, folks look to avoid wasting a greenback wherever they’ll, and auctions are that space.
Tariff Outlook: Trip Out the Storm
With all of the macroeconomic and provide chain points, stockpiling product appears to be the secret proper now. Massive gamers like Residence Depot and Amazon are a couple of of the retailers which have frontloaded stock. In accordance with Bert, “They see forward 10 steps. They’re ordering greater than they’re gonna want at this time, they usually’re gonna trip by way of the storm.”
Per Bert, resellers would possibly need to apply the identical methodology:
“You recognize, from B-Inventory particularly, it’s a very good product – for those who purchase it, you’re going to generate income on it. It’s only a matter of how briskly you need to promote it, the place you need to promote it, and what’s the perfect technique to show by way of the product.”
We cowl extra about tariffs on this weblog→ Why Tariffs May Be a Golden Alternative for Resellers.
Auctions for Shopper Procuring?
Even with the success of eBay, auctions haven’t turn out to be the norm for a way most shoppers store. Bert has hope that this will change in time. In his phrases, “I simply suppose there’s not a transparent trade chief by way of client consciousness so far as a platform is anxious as of but.”
From athletic tape shortages to truckloads of stock, Bert turned sudden challenges into main wins. By leaning into public sale sourcing and investing in smarter instruments for stock administration, he’s not solely constructed a thriving enterprise however helps others do the identical. His journey proves there’s nonetheless loads of room (and revenue) within the resale house for these prepared to adapt, keep sharp, and suppose large.
Are you a B-Inventory purchaser who needs to inform us extra about your reselling enterprise? Tell us, and we will characteristic you!
