Selling a car on Ebay

[jdpolzin]

Hey guys, is it a good idea to sell a car on Ebay? Is it worth it? Will I get my price? Is it not really worth the complications or would it be better to go for the AutoTrader route? What experiences have you guys encountered? Thanks -----Jeremy

 

[87gninpa]

i sell many cars on ebay and its a double edged sword. The good thing is you generally get more money for the car because of the wider audience, and also its sold in a week as opposed to waiting god knows how long in auto trader. Bad things are dealing with shipping the car, and also people who come to get the car and give you a hard time(they always try to get you to take money off for the stupidest things, so you just learn to accept it) and lastly, sometimes buyers dont come through, but ive never actually had that problem. let me know if theres anything else youd liek to know

 

[Little6pack]

I would agree.. It gives you a BIG audience of DREAMERS with Ebay & the hassels of long distance shipping.

I would opt for a regional section of car trader for the area you live in. Why reinvent the wheel selling coast to coast.

 

[jdpolzin]

True, is there an extra charge to have a Buy It Now or a reserve price? My car is a very nice 87 with 34K. I have it listed in the car for sale section and I want $17.2 no less. What is the best strategy on Ebay? Go for no reserve? Start the bid low or high? Thanks----Jeremy

 

[Gary Wells]

FWIW & IMHO:
I have no experience either selling or buying on E-bay but these are my viewpoints from observing a lot of transactions, good and some not so good.
Reserve: It would be wise to set a reserve, in my opinion, to avoid being forced to sell if the bidding does not go as high as you expected it to go.
Disclaimer: A notation that you have the car advertised locally and reserve the right to sell locally.
Start bid: Setting too high might keep people from bidding and if you end up with no bids, it would seem to me to be harmful the next time you run the car, if you do. A low starting bid would be much better for you than a high starting bid.
Please keep in mind that I have no actual experience buying or selling off of E-bay, these are just my thoughts in general on such.
HTH

 

[87gninpa]

what i do is start the car at $1, but put a reserve on it. that way people are more likely to bid on the car. it also costs a whole lot less than starting a car at say 17.2k like you want for it. ive had very good luck with starting at $1 with a reserve.

 

[Gary Wells]

Here's a good example of what can happen when you forget to set a reserve amount.



http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159906

 

[slow 87]

I sold a TTA on ebay earlier in the year. Total cost was $84.10
Reserve fee was $2 didn't have a "Buy it Now" but I have on other things and it was $0.25

I am getting ready to put a 87 GN 66k mi on there this week.
Things that help sell are really good clear pics, very good description and $500 deposit or less
Also start the bidding off low. I started mine at $19.89 and sold for just over 10k with a $9.5k reserve. Had alot of people bidding until it hit the reserve then it was a bidding war in the last 30 seconds with three different people.

Bryan

 

[jdpolzin]

I am also wondering when the best time to put it on there is. I know its not a good idea when there are say- a bunch of other low mileage GN's on there. From what I've seen, it goes in shifts. Sometimes there are a bunch on there and other times, there aren't many. If the car doesn't meet the $17.2, how much is it going to cost me?

 

[87gninpa]

Best time to put the car on is anytime where the auction will end on a sunday evening. Its a fact that more people are home to get into a bidding war on a sunday night than any other, i have had very good luck with this practice. As for time of the year, this is the worst to sell that type of car. Int h past two weeks i have tried to sell both a 96 Trans Am and an 87 IROC and have gotten nowhere near what i was expectign for such nice cars. Sports car market is just not high at this time. If you list the car for $1 with a 17.2 reserve and it doent meet the 17.2, you will only payto list the car. Ebay does not charge3 you for things that dont meet your reserve and hence dont sell. I hope this helps, any other questions, just ask.

 

[jdpolzin]

So what day is it best to list an item so that it will end on a Sunday?

 

[87gninpa]

well they have 7 day, 5 day and 3 day auctions. i either list it the previous sunday or tuesday

 

[acoen]

I have never sold on ebay, but I do have a recommendation....Kirban's Website. $50 for the first month and $25 for the following months if it doesn't sell the first month. The car will appear on his website with a description and it will also be mentioned on his weekly emailer with will reach nearly 2000 GN/TR enthusiasts. My car sold in 3 weeks.

HTH

 

[87gninpa]

Kirban does seem like a good idea, but it doesnt reach nearly as wide an audience as ebay. also, cars on there seem to stay there for a while, due to very high prices....there are expetions however. I would try ebay first with a reserve and go form there

 

[jdpolzin]

Well, I listed the car on Ebay yesturday and confirmed and started today. Although, against 87GninPa's advice, I started it on Tuesday. I will just wait and see what happens. It's been on there for ruffly 15 hours and is up to $9100. I set the reserve at $17,2. Do I tell people what the reserve is or not? Thanks ----Jeremy