If you’re looking for some extra cash this holiday season, a little auction action may be just the ticket.

A store called iSOLD It on eBay is up and running in the Calle Real Center, and word is traveling fast. Laurie and Michael Marans opened the store just three weeks ago.

"We don’t even have our sign up yet," Michael Marans said. "That’s how new we are. But we’re getting a lot of walk-in business. That’s one of the reasons we decided on this shopping center."

Marans said eBay did $30 billion of commerce last year."They [eBay] have defined the success story of an Internet company," Marans said. "They were definitely a survivor of the bust and a leader of the dot-com boom."

The Maranses were excited to get in on the ground floor of local "drop-off" stores.

The Goleta location is the 19th to open since October, when the company was founded in Pasadena. Fifty outlets are expected to be operating by the end of December. And iSOLD It expects to meet its target of 100 at the end of March.

"This is exploding, quickly, to say the least," Marans said.

Whether they’re selling musical instruments, sports equipment, cameras, books, clothes, collectibles, art or record albums, customers simply stop in and the staff does the rest.

Each item is checked in with an approximated expected return price. It is photographed, descriptive text is written, and the listing is posted on eBay. The store holds the item during a typical 7-day auction, takes care of collecting the payment from the winning bidder, and packs and ships the sold piece. The customer then gets a check.

That amounts to anywhere from 63 to 75 percent, on an upward-sliding commission scale. If an item sells for $100, the customer gets $63.23, or 63.2 percent. If something goes for $5,000, a check is in the mail for $3,735.98 — 74.7 percent.

Transactions are handled through credit cards only.

Marans said a thorough set of photographs and accurate descriptions are paramount in alleviating surprises and building a store’s reputation for doing honest business. Authentication is also a thorough process.

"When we create the listing, we’re very careful to show the pluses and defects of an item," Marans said. "In addition, there is a ‘feedback’ rating from the buyer and the seller for the whole world to see." Comments are also logged on the performance of each store.

Sellers can request a minimum starting point. But, in the case of a high-precision calibration "bath" used as a reference to test other temperature devices, the seller went with the store’s recommendation of opening at 99 cents.

The scientific industrial item crept up to around $500, then $1,000, after around six days. On the final day of bidding, the war heated up. As the clock ticked down, the buyers who’d been monitoring the action went wild.

"Two minutes before the auction closed, the price jumped $1,700," said Marans, showing a printout of the rapid-fire computer battle. "The really serious buyers, those with very sophisticated software, come in at the last split second with the winning bid."

The customer had expected around $300 and the item sold for $2,700.

Soon, iSOLD It will install special software to sell cars. Marans said one seller had already stopped in with plans to put a 1989 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow up for bid. It has 69,000 original miles.

Marans emphasized the franchises never actually take title of any vehicle, and with any transaction simply facilitate the process. But the Rolls could be yours if the price is right.

The store is located across the street from Trader Joe’s, between Presto Pasta and Carpet One. Call 692-1444 for more information.

Photo credit: Jeff Jones