From a post-COVID inventory scramble to a $40,000 leap into liquidation, Bert Leffel, CEO of AuctionFuel and Listernaut, has seen what happens when you go all in.
These days, he’s not just flipping product – he’s building software, consulting with auctioneers, and helping others move fast and think smarter with AI. We talked about where it all started, what’s changed, and why he thinks the real opportunity in resale is still ahead.
Business Evolution
November 2021: Bert and his business partners, Jeff Kaplan and Melissa Shepherd, purchased a bankrupt e-commerce business and re-launched as AuctionFuel
November 2022: AuctionFuel is up and running on HiBid, an online auction platform
August 2023: Software tool, Listernaut, is developed
Present: Consults auctioneers on scaling via AI software adoption
Opportunity Presents Itself: From Athletic Tape to Truckloads
Like many businesses, Bert’s was hit by major supply chain disruptions and product shortages during COVID; his issue happened to be securing athletic tape, which was their best-selling product at the time. “There was an ink shortage for athletic tape, of all things,” Bert said. Suddenly, they were left with just plain white tape and no alternatives.
Bert considered stockpiling the inventory at wholesale prices to stay ahead, but it was a major investment. That’s when he discovered B-Stock and decided to take a chance. Instead of buying his usual amount of product – about 7 pallets – he went all in: “We decided… let’s take what we would typically spend in a month on wholesale and invest that in B-Stock.” What showed up? Seven full semi-trucks of inventory.
“It almost gave me a heart attack,” he joked. “I broke out in hives.” But in the chaos came a huge opportunity. That massive shipment, which cost about $40,000, helped launch his business, AuctionFuel, forward. “It was like a gift from the gods,” Bert said.
Since then, Bert has focused on building a more consistent and predictable system for sourcing. The ups and downs of the market are part of the game, but he’s learned to turn past frustrations into smarter buying strategies.
From Profits to Software Development
With the success of AuctionFuel and selling retail returns, Bert decided to reinvest his profits into developing software that would allow the company to move inventory faster through the use of AI, photo recognition capabilities, and machine learning. After capturing a photo of the item, the software leverages AI to describe what the product is, provide a recommended resale price, and list dimensions, weights, and more. The best part? The software can also map the item to different marketplaces.
With AuctionFuel as a test center for the new software, Bert moved into this next phase of entrepreneurship: monetizing it by enabling other resellers to leverage the software. “B-Stock is certainly a trusted ally in what we’re doing,” he said.
“We work with some of the fastest-moving auctioneers in the country to allow them to create listings for products on [reselling] platforms, anywhere from one to 10 seconds per item.”
What is the #1 piece of advice you would give to other people?
“I absolutely tell everyone I talk to now to understand your unit economics.
Do you understand how much it costs you to create a listing, to sell it as a reseller? And if you don’t, you need to find that out sooner rather than later because most likely, that’s eating your business alive. Products that don’t have a resale price of over $20 are costing most companies money.”
The example he gave was this: Think about a $10 item. If it’s costing you $7 to get that product shipped, listed, and sold, versus 30 to 50 cents using a listing tool that does the heavy lifting for you…that’s a big difference in profit margins! And exactly why he developed this software – to further empower the auction industry to do what he did and become more efficient and profitable.
Think the Market’s Too Crowded? Think Again.
Many people assume the resale market is too saturated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. “It’s a $2.2 trillion market, and it keeps going up every year,” Bert explained. And even the biggest players are just scratching the surface.
“These [big liquidators] move millions of items a year,” but to truly handle the volume of retail returns, “we’d need roughly 247,000 more of them,” he figures. In other words, there’s still a massive opportunity.
If you’re organized, understand your numbers, and are ready to hustle, “you can absolutely turn a profitable business in no time – with very little down,” Bert affirms.
Planning for What’s Next
Whenever times are tough, people look to save a dollar wherever they can, and auctions are that area.
Tariff Outlook: Ride Out the Storm
With all the macroeconomic and supply chain issues, stockpiling product seems to be the name of the game right now. Big players like Home Depot and Amazon are a few of the retailers that have frontloaded inventory. According to Bert, “They see ahead 10 steps. They’re ordering more than they’re gonna need today, and they’re gonna ride through the storm.”
Per Bert, resellers might want to apply the same methodology:
“You know, from B-Stock specifically, it’s a good product – if you buy it, you’re going to make money on it. It’s just a matter of how fast you want to sell it, where you want to sell it, and what’s the best method to turn through the product.”
We cover more about tariffs in this blog→ Why Tariffs Might Be a Golden Opportunity for Resellers.
Auctions for Consumer Shopping?
Even with the success of eBay, auctions haven’t become the norm for how most consumers shop. Bert has hope that this can change in time. In his words, “I just think there’s not a clear industry leader in terms of consumer awareness as far as a platform is concerned as of yet.”
From athletic tape shortages to truckloads of inventory, Bert turned unexpected challenges into major wins. By leaning into auction sourcing and investing in smarter tools for inventory management, he’s not only built a thriving business but is helping others do the same. His journey proves there’s still plenty of room (and profit) in the resale space for those willing to adapt, stay sharp, and think big.
Are you a B-Stock buyer who wants to tell us more about your reselling business? Let us know, and we can feature you!
