Bootstrapping to Million PROFITABLY w/ Shawn Allen (M@C Discount)

Shawn Allen is the co-founder of M@C Discount. Previously, he was President and GM of Asset Auctions, COO of AssetNation and Senior Product Manager of Giftcards.com which were all successful internet marketplace businesses.

M@C Discount stands for Merchandise at Cost. The company buys truckloads of closeouts merchandise and customer returns from major retailers. They receive "New"​ and "Used"​ items that are sold individually at aggressive discounts, in-store and online. What’s great is that all items in their online auctions start at $1 with no reserve price.

His background in reverse logistics started by working at another company that was acquired by FedEx. The shipping company lost interest in that portion of the business, which was dealing with the returned items many retail stores accumulate. Shawn used his background in auctioneering and his partner Kellen’s expertise in buying products in designing their current business model.

In this episode, Aaron and Shawn talk about the rapid growth of his company, how they have done it profitably, and why auctions are such a great model for selling online.

Shawn Allen’s Challenge: When you have the opportunity, give people you’re on the fence with a second chance

Timestamps:
00:54 - 01:14 Shawn Allen Growth Trajectory
01:20 - 01:56 What's being sold on MAC Discount?
02:51 - 04:08 How Did Shawn Allen discover this business opportunity
04:28 - 05:35 Why Auction is a big opportunity
05:56 - 06:24 MAC Discount Marketing Strategy
07:24 - 07:59 Shawn Allen's Playbook
08:38 - 10:34 MAC Discount's Future
10:54 - 14:32 Workflow of MAC Discount
18:01 - 20:48 The constraints that MAC Discount is facing
21:08 - 22:10 MAC Discount's Software Developers
22:30 - 23:26 Creating the media that get the goods sold
24:31 - 26:02 Learnings from customers
27:25 - 28:55 How Shawn Allen Started
29:20 - 30:28 Fixing ever problems faced
30:52 - 31:45 The Importance of Having Connection with the community
33:26 - 33:43 Shawn Allen's Call To Action