LONDON: Dropshop, a Munich-based start-up that auctions products on the Internet for those too lazy or perplexed to do it themselves, has raised 9 million euros ($10.9 million) from investors including Benchmark Capital and Index Ventures.

Dropshop, which launched last October in Munich, said on Monday it planned to use the funding to expand in Germany and enter the British market over the next year.

The company has the somewhat novel business model of selling for people their discarded possessions and collectibles on auction Web sites eBay and Amazon.com.

"We do have plans to expand to five more metro markets in Germany in the coming months," said Bart Swanson, co-founder and chief executive officer.

"If we are not in 25 stores in Germany and the UK over the next 12 months I'd be surprised," he added.

Dropshop takes a cut of the proceeds that ranges up to 30 percent of the final sale price. In the past year, it has sold more than 15,000 items from an antique clock for 2,410.51 euros on eBay to DVDs and CDs on Amazon's Marketplace, the company said.

Customers can drop the products off at a Dropshop store in a city location or, for larger items, at a Dropshop storage facility. Dropshop will determine the bidding price for non-branded items such as antique furniture; the seller can set the price for branded products such as a Canon digital camera.

The runaway success of online auctions has triggered a host of side businesses for independent retailers and would-be entrepreneurs who quit their day jobs to sell products full-time over the Internet.

Only recently has it grown big enough to attract investors. Silicon Valley-based AuctionDrop, a pioneer in this field, operates in the same manner in the United States. It has raised over $6.6 million from Mobius Venture Capital and Draper Associates.