New(ish) car auction sites - what am I missing?
Discussion
I’m sure it will frowned upon to name the specific site so we’ll just say that this one has been set up to sell cars, not ‘collecting’ them.
However, I am missing something obvious? Unless your car is worth spectacular money or mightily rare why does this platform or selling model work?
I (thought) understood the model before engaging with them but this was my experience.
With the current secondhand car market being so volatile I’ve watched cars similar to mine sell on various platforms in the past 2 months as well as watching any not selling and their prices. Irrespective of what I think my car is worth the above has given me a good idea of where to price my car. £28-£32k spec and condition depending. (These are sold prices, not advertised).
I decided to make contact with this auction site where, after a few minutes on the phone I became frustrated.
- The first thing I was forced to do was lower my reserve to £25k so I would likely get a sale as “unsold cars are not good for business”. It later dawned on me the the model means that while it might be a *buyers* premium of a % of sale +Vat this is just taken out of the sellers pocket as the car will inherently achieve less.
- If I was to put it up for sale then it had to be exclusive and for a set period of time. As a model, I understand this however in reality and for most people I see this a blocker.
- If I was to advertise with the site I would have to arrange with one of their freelance photographers and pay them £150.00 for the pleasure of around 100 pictures.
I was left feeling as if I would get c10-15% less for my car and they would pocket this for maybe a insta advert of a site that unless you’ve heard of it wouldn’t come across the site or socials.
Why would I advertise with them? I get less money without guaranteed sale and have to pay for the privilege.
However, I am missing something obvious? Unless your car is worth spectacular money or mightily rare why does this platform or selling model work?
I (thought) understood the model before engaging with them but this was my experience.
With the current secondhand car market being so volatile I’ve watched cars similar to mine sell on various platforms in the past 2 months as well as watching any not selling and their prices. Irrespective of what I think my car is worth the above has given me a good idea of where to price my car. £28-£32k spec and condition depending. (These are sold prices, not advertised).
I decided to make contact with this auction site where, after a few minutes on the phone I became frustrated.
- The first thing I was forced to do was lower my reserve to £25k so I would likely get a sale as “unsold cars are not good for business”. It later dawned on me the the model means that while it might be a *buyers* premium of a % of sale +Vat this is just taken out of the sellers pocket as the car will inherently achieve less.
- If I was to put it up for sale then it had to be exclusive and for a set period of time. As a model, I understand this however in reality and for most people I see this a blocker.
- If I was to advertise with the site I would have to arrange with one of their freelance photographers and pay them £150.00 for the pleasure of around 100 pictures.
I was left feeling as if I would get c10-15% less for my car and they would pocket this for maybe a insta advert of a site that unless you’ve heard of it wouldn’t come across the site or socials.
Why would I advertise with them? I get less money without guaranteed sale and have to pay for the privilege.
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