Sunday, August 01, 2004

When it's Gotta Go

By STEPHANIE COYNE, Sun Correspondent

BILLERICA Sad as it may be, there are those who throw away precious goods rather than hawk them through a private sale.

Instead of going through the details of obtaining appraisals, taking pictures and designing advertisements, people lose money due to inexperience or lack of time and interest in selling off old, unused items.

Sensing a solution, Tammi Gott and her partner created Gotta Go Consignments, a business geared toward assisting merchants with the fine points of selling their wares.

"Before you throw your cash in the trash contact us," she said.

Gott runs the newly opened business from her Billerica home, along with her brother, Derek Dell'Arciprete of Billerica.

"We each bring something different to the table," Gott said. Derek Dell'Arciprete is an information technology manager at a local store.

Gotta Go Consignments is a virtual consignment company that's geared toward assisting people with the fine points of selling their wares over the Internet.

Gott earned her bachelor's degree in paralegal studies and worked as an eBay trading assistant for five years before opening Gotta Go.

Working from their respective homes, the trio travels to the homes of potential customers where they digitally photograph the goods before uploading the pictures on the Internet.

Both Gott and Dell'Arciprete are registered sellers of eBay an Internet auction marketplace which sells virtually every item imaginable on the World Wide Web.

Despite still being in its infancy, Gott said Gotta Go has cornered the market in the eastern United States by assisting sellers with the fine points of achieving a successful sale.

"We heard about these companies out in California, but there is nothing like them around our part of the country," she said. "We can provide people the opportunity to show their items to 95 million registered eBay users around the world."

For a percentage of the selling price, GottaGo will handle all aspects of the sale, from pictures and receiving payments to packaging and shipping.

"We are a virtual consignment store," said Gott, who is originally from Wakefield. "We are for people who are not computer literate or just don't have time."

Gott had her first experience with eBay when she purchased a Jeff Gordon peddle-push race car for her son a few years ago.

"It's a unique item I could not find it anywhere in stores," she said. "That's the unique thing about eBay, someone's got what you're looking for out there."

She has profited from quite a few transactions so far, including sales from the cleaning out of her own home and unloading many unused items on the Internet.

Gott recently sold a customer's 2003 Infiniti for $29,000 and her grandmother's single teacup for $66.

"Each of us went through our attics to see what we could get," she said. "We made a killing off our Beatles records."

She also recently picked up a used high-definition television receiver for $33 at a garage sale and sold it for $400 online.

"People know their items are of value but they are limited to having yard sales or garage sales," she explained. "Our primary goal is to sell people's stuff for them."

The partners hope to open a store in the near future so customers can drop off their items and all the sale preparations can be done in one central location as opposed to working separately from their individual homes.

	GottaGO Consignments is an authorized eBay Trading Assistant. We strive to maintain 100% customer satisfaction to both buyers and sellers. We are dedicated in ensuring that all items are listed, shipped, and paid promptly. In order to maintain 100% positive feedback, GottaGO Consignments practices accurate and honest item descriptions, and condition.
	GottaGo Consignments is proud to be a eBay Gold Power Seller. PowerSellers are eBay top sellers who have sustained a consistent high volume of monthly sales and a high level of total feedback with 98% positive or better. As such, these sellers rank among the most successful sellers in terms of product sales and customer satisfaction on eBay.
	GottaGO Consignments is PayPal Verified. PayPal encourages members to become Verified to increase trust and safety in our community. Because financial institutions screen their account holders, PayPal's verification process increases security when you pay parties you do not know.
	GottaGO Consignments is a SquareTrade Seal Member in good standing since 08-05-2004.
		Identity and/or Contact Information Verified.
		Continues to meet strict Seal Membership Criteria
		Committed to Dispute Resolution and Mediation.
	The SquareTrade Seal, along with other factors, can substantially lower the risks of buying online. The Seal is not a guarantee of a successful transaction or of a Seller's performance.