EBAY help needed

[RollingsFarms]

With all the dealer financing programs being offered, most people wind up owing more on the vehicle than it is worth. Getting back what you owe on one is very rare these days on almost new vehicles because many are sold with little or no money down and low notes over an extended period of time. I have seen some new standard pickups selling for $13,000 and most people would rather buy a new one with less features than a used one for close to the same price. The day you drive the vehicle off the lot it depreciates in price several thousand dollars and it may be many months before you even pay off this price depreciation much less the diminished value of the used vehicle. It sounds like you have to lower the price to sell it even if the one on the dealers lot is priced higher because most people are willing to pay a dealer more than an individual.

I have bought and sold on ebay thousands of times and I hate reserve prices when I am shopping for something. I want to know what the seller wants for the merchandise with a buy it now price or an actual bid price that I may get it for. When I'm searching for something like a tractor in the $5000 range, I want to look at tractors that will be sold in this range, not a $20,000 tractor that is listed for $5000 with a hidden reserve price of $20,000. When I see a reserve price on an item I just skip to the next item.

i think thats what i'm going to do. im just going to list a buy it now price and see what happens. the main hurdle i have to jump is the fact that i have no feedback, no buying or selling experience, so its going to be almost impossible to sell it to serious buyers without them thinking its a scam. are there ways around that? would putting my cell number in the add help you think? how difficult is it to make an add to sell a vehicle for a first timer? are the steps pretty straight forward or is it confusing? i wish there were business or people in my area that would list stuff for ebay for you and charge a small fee.

 

[tallyho8]

i think thats what i'm going to do. im just going to list a buy it now price and see what happens. the main hurdle i have to jump is the fact that i have no feedback, no buying or selling experience, so its going to be almost impossible to sell it to serious buyers without them thinking its a scam. are there ways around that? would putting my cell number in the add help you think? how difficult is it to make an add to sell a vehicle for a first timer? are the steps pretty straight forward or is it confusing? i wish there were business or people in my area that would list stuff for ebay for you and charge a small fee.

Having no feedback is only a problem when you want people to send you money before they get their item. Selling the vehicle with no feedback will not be a hinderance if you state that they have to pay with cash on pickup at the bank's notary office within 3 days of the end of the sale and tell them that if it is not completely as you described it that you both agree to cancel the sale. If you request them to pay a deposit before coming to see it, then no feedback will hurt your sale. On your auction page state that they can contact you by "ask seller a question" and you will provide them with your phone number and answer any questions.

Ebay is pretty easy and straight forward to list items on and you can go to the help page to get info on listing and end of sale fees.

 

[RobJ]

I have bought and sold on ebay thousands of times and I hate reserve prices when I am shopping for something. I want to know what the seller wants for the merchandise with a buy it now price or an actual bid price that I may get it for. When I'm searching for something like a tractor in the $5000 range, I want to look at tractors that will be sold in this range, not a $20,000 tractor that is listed for $5000 with a hidden reserve price of $20,000. When I see a reserve price on an item I just skip to the next item.

If I see something with a reserve and want to bid I'll PM the guy and ask what is the reserve? Every time I've asked they have responded back and told me.

As you mentioned, easy to sell something, look at other ads, do what the masses do. I probably would not put my number in the listing. But if someone sends you a message, respond ASAP. Then give them your number offline to talk. Then everyone feels warm and fuzzy.

 

[California]

All good advice. I'll add a couple of comments FWIW.

I've read that if an item sells on Ebay the first time you list it, you set the reserve too low! Expect a couple of cycles at least.

You might set the reserve at what you need for it and the opening bid at say $10,000. Any bids you get from buyers who seem real (good feedback, real dealers, etc) might help you judge a more realistic sales price. For subsequent auctions you might need to move the reserve down below what you owe on it and make up the difference yourself, just to get rid of it.

Somebody out there wants it. But at their price.

 

[dooleysm]

I tried to sell my truck on eBay a few years ago. I think I had a reserve and a Buy It Now price on it. Nobody ever put a bid on it. I got many inquiries on the reserve (which was about $4k below blue book private party price, as I owned it and wanted to be rid of it). I had a couple people that were seriously interested and finally found a buyer. Between the time he agreed to buy it and when he wanted to pick it up I found a local buyer that paid $500 more, so I sold it to him.

It was frustrating to me that nobody wanted to use the eBay process, they all wanted to get around it for some reason. I don't see where that helped them, as a buyer, in any way. If the guy I had originally agreed to sell it to had used eBay he could have gotten the truck for about $1k less than what he agreed to pay.

 

[RollingsFarms]

does EBAY charge when you re-list an auction if it doesn't sell? i know there are initial charges, but are they only a one time thing?

 

[tallyho8]

does EBAY charge when you re-list an auction if it doesn't sell? i know there are initial charges, but are they only a one time thing?

There is no charge for relisting it one time if there were no bids on it and it sells the second time. This is from the ebay web site:
Normally, Insertion Fees are non-refundable. However, if your listing ends without a winning buyer or ends with an Unpaid Item (UPI), you may qualify for a credit by relisting the item. If the item sells the second time, eBay will refund the Insertion Fee for relisting.

 

[kenmac]

Have you thought about autotrader.com. Don't know if they are in your area or not but, I have sold several vehicles with them. They come out , take pictures , etc, It may be hard to sell that truck . I talked to a car dealer today & he said about the only thing selling right now is the 30- 30+ mpg vehicles

 

[riptides]

Have you thought about autotrader.com. Don't know if they are in your area or not but, I have sold several vehicles with them. They come out , take pictures , etc, It may be hard to sell that truck . I talked to a car dealer today & he said about the only thing selling right now is the 30- 30+ mpg vehicles

So my F250 Super Duty Diesel with the crew cab ain't gonna move anytime soon?

Autotrader is a great idea. They are online and have paper in stores too.

 

[Podunkadunk]

I know you said you had problems with Craig'slist, but it's always worked for me. I've sold 2 motorcycles and a lot of "junk" on there.

One thing is I don't put an email or phone number or name in the posting. Let them contact you via craig'slist, then if you feel they're legit, email them a number to contact you. Worked for me. Those "professional" car sellers peruse Craig'slist looking for contact numbers to call. They usually won't take the time to go through the process of contacting you via the server first and waiting for you to get back with them. They are looking for an "easy" sell.

Good luck with Ebay...I consider the site a last resort, just like you mentioned. Too many fees since they are publicly traded.

Podunk