Seller of old treasures needs votes to win Dell contest
Although Renee Poole has dealt in antiques for more than 20 years, she thinks that her office computer running Windows 97 is a little too dated.
She still occasionally writes out receipts by hand rather than make customers wait for a printout.
Eager to make a leap forward in business technology, Poole and her daughter, Jessica, will spend the next few days campaigning for votes needed to win an online contest offering computers and money to a deserving small business.
Judges in the nationwide competition sponsored by Dell picked Call Renee Estate Liquidation as one of 10 finalists for $25,000 worth of Dell computers loaded with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 7 and a MasterCard good for $50,000. The winner will be selected through a popular vote, with balloting through Oct. 9 at www.youtube.com/dellbusiness.
Applicants were required to submit a video explaining what they would do with the assistance. Submissions from all 10 finalists are posted on YouTube.
The judges didn't say how many business owners applied, or how finalists were chosen.
The winner will star in a six-part reality show to be shown on YouTube.
"We have been fortunate just to keep going in this economy so we have not been able spend on anything," Renee Poole said.
Poole's consignment store, which she opened seven years ago, snakes though several rooms covering 12,000 square feet in an industrial section of Western Avenue. Although the dishes, furniture and figurines appear to be arranged almost at random, she insists there's "unified chaos," with certain rooms having certain themes.
She has liquidated estates for more than 20 years, first in Los Angeles and then in Las Vegas after coming to the valley 15 years ago.
In the online voting, she admits that she is a novice compared with some of her rivals, and is much more familiar with handing fliers to customers than sending out Twitter messages. But she is trying to learn in a hurry, hoping that the money could make possible improvements in "just basic stuff," such as a new phone system or even a fresh coat of paint.
Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
