Bonus #3
Sample Letters
Here are samples of several letters you can use to contact attorneys, business owners, charities and others who are prospects for your consignment business.
I have included the body of the letter only. Your letter should be on letterhead and prepared to look like a professional business letter.
Where possible, research the specific name of business owners and send them a personal letter. You should type the letters –but hand-address the envelopes as this separates them from the junk mail in basket.
When you don’t know a name you can address it to Dear Business Owner or Dear Storeowner. As for attorneys, I would always send it to an individual name. These are easily found in the yellow pages.
To use a letter simply copy/paste it into a blank document or into your letterhead template. Then go through the letter and personalize it with your name, business name, location, etc.
I have marked the copy to change in red.
Letter to an Estate and/or Bankruptcy attorney:
Brewster Hamilton, Esq.
150 Main Street
Suite 550
Anytown, PA, 20601
Dear Mr. Hamilton:
Online Consignment Sales provides a professional eBay selling service to the legal community in Western Pennsylvania. We handle estate sales, bankruptcy sales and the liquidation of distressed merchandise.
Most law firms traditionally use local auction houses for these needs. You may, however, want to explore the opportunity provided by eBay, the world’s largest online auction to realize consistently higher prices than local auctioneers.
eBay currently has over 35 million registered users in the US and over 50 million worldwide. Over $200 million worth of merchandise is sold on eBay every week. At this moment there are over 12 million items listed on eBay and the eBay site will receive over 50,000 page views in the time it takes to read this letter.
Goods and merchandise sell on eBay at values far in excess of what could be realized at a local auction house.
Online Consignment Sales will handle all aspects of your mandated auctions including creating and launching the auctions, receiving payment, and packaging and shipping the goods. Your client’s goods are not shipped until payment is received.
I have a ten-minute, fact-filled presentation that will demonstrate the benefits to you and your clients of selling on eBay. I will call you early next week for anappointment. If you have any questions or would like to speak with me sooner, please call me directly at 505-555-1111.
Sincerely yours,
Harrison Ford
Online Consignment Sales, Inc.
Letter to local business owners outlining your services:
Dear Sir or Madam:
Online Consignment Sales, Inc is a local company providing an eBay online auction venue for Northern Virginia businesses. We handle all aspects of selling your surplus or obsolete merchandise or equipment on eBay, the world’s largest auction site.
If you are not familiar with eBay, please review the enclosed information. The advantages of selling on eBay are many:
- We can launch auctions within 24 hours of receiving the merchandise. You do not have to wait weeks for an auction house to schedule their next auction.
- Millions of potential bidders from all over the country and the world will see your goods and bid on them –not just the few dozen that attend a local auction
- The higher number of bidders will guarantee you receive top dollar for your goods.
Online Consignment Sales, Inc. will handle all aspects of selling your goods on eBay including creating and launching the auctions, receiving payment, and packaging and shipping the goods.
Please review the enclosed material. I have a ten-minute fact-filled presentation that will demonstrate the benefits of selling your merchandise on eBay. I will call you early next week for an appointment. If you have any questions or would like to speak with me sooner, please call me directly at 505-555-1111
Sincerely yours,
Annie Smith
Online Consignment Sales, Inc.
Letter to a retail storeowner:
Dear Sir or Madam:[1]
Are you tired of selling your overstock and surplus merchandise to a closeout dealer for pennies on the dollar?
Sell On Line (SOL) is a local company that helps retailers sell their excess inventory directly to end users on eBay, the world’s largest auction site. We charge a modest fee for our service that includes photographing the merchandise, launching and monitoring the auctions, receiving payment, and packing and shipping the product.
If you are not familiar with eBay, please review the enclosed information. The advantages of selling on eBay are many:
- Even after paying our modest fees, you will net far more for your goods than from a closeout dealer or wholesale auctioneer.
- We can launch auctions within 24 hours of receiving the merchandise.
- Millions of potential bidders from all over the country, and the world, will see your goods and bid on them –not just the few dozen that attend a local auction
- The higher number of bidders will guarantee you receive top dollar for your goods.
Please review the enclosed material. I have a ten-minute fact-filled presentation that will demonstrate the benefits you will realize from selling your merchandise on eBay. I will call you early next week for an appointment. If you have any questions or would like to speak with me sooner, please call me directly at 505-555-1111
Sincerely,
Brian O’Brian
Sell on Line, Inc.
Letter to a charity
Dear Sir/Madam:
Is your organization looking for a unique way to raise funds with no investment on your part?
Sell On Line (SOL) is a local company that helps charities raise money on eBay, the world’s largest auction site.
Here is how it works: You contact your members and regular donors and ask them to donate something of value that you can auction off on eBay. We do all the rest.
We charge a modest fee for our service that includes photographing the merchandise, launching and monitoring the auctions, receiving payment, and packing and shipping the product.
The advantages of selling on eBay are many:
- Even after paying our modest fees, you will net far more for your goods than you would at a flea market or tag sale.
- We can launch auctions within 24 hours of receiving the merchandise.
- Millions of potential bidders from all over the country, and the world, will see your donated goods and bid on them –not just the few dozen that attend local sales and events.
- The higher number of bidders will guarantee you receive top dollar for your donated goods.
Please review the enclosed material. I have a ten-minute fact-filled presentation that will demonstrate the benefits you will realize from raising money on eBay. I will call you early next week for an appointment. If you have any questions or would like to speak with me sooner, please call me directly at 505-555-1111. I would be pleased to give you a list of other charities who have use our service to their advantage.
Sincerely,
Brian O’Brian
Sell on Line, Inc.
[1] Use the storeowners actual name if you have it