Selling my car on ebay - Which option?
Discussion
Anyone had any extensive experience of selling cars on ebay? Looking for a bit of advice on a dilemma of mine - I'll soon be listing my car on there as an auction, now I have a price I won't go below but I was wondering if there is any statistical difference in the success rate / sale price of cars based on the following two options:
1) Start at the price I won't go below with no reserve - Say £3k start price and no reserve.
2) Start the auction at 99p with the reserve set at £3k.
I realise of course they're exactly the same essentially, however people bidding on ebay do seem to do so based on their own unique perception of getting a good deal... So my question is which of the above options is more likely to get people bidding (and thus in that ebay competitive bidding loop which could result in a higher sale price).
1) Start at the price I won't go below with no reserve - Say £3k start price and no reserve.
2) Start the auction at 99p with the reserve set at £3k.
I realise of course they're exactly the same essentially, however people bidding on ebay do seem to do so based on their own unique perception of getting a good deal... So my question is which of the above options is more likely to get people bidding (and thus in that ebay competitive bidding loop which could result in a higher sale price).
0.99p start £3K reserve, or could be worth you setting the reserve at £2900, once the car has actually MET it's reserve people are more likely to bid than be just reserve hunters IMO.
Do a well structured advert and make sure you proof read. As many photos as possible - showing the good bits and the imperfections. Research and write about the car specific problems that your does not have.
I set the reserve on mine for lower than I really want to take to reach the reserve fast and I've never sold a car for only the reserve price, always higher.
Make sure that you put the terms and conditions of sale and your telephone number on the ad.
Do a well structured advert and make sure you proof read. As many photos as possible - showing the good bits and the imperfections. Research and write about the car specific problems that your does not have.
I set the reserve on mine for lower than I really want to take to reach the reserve fast and I've never sold a car for only the reserve price, always higher.
Make sure that you put the terms and conditions of sale and your telephone number on the ad.
My experience:
Unless you are selling something special / unique to which normal rules don't apply then;
Option 1: You will get no bids until auction end - why should they - they know what you want and will wait until the last second to bid in the hope of stealing it for £3000.01p.
Option 2; You force people to bid if they are interested. They have no way of acertaining you reserve and have to push the bids to find it.
You'll still get the 'what's the reserve mate' and 'will you take xxx today' muppets whichever option you chose.
Option 3: fixed price classified ad on Ebay. State your price with buy it now. Actually a cheapish way of advertising.
Alternatively:
Pistonheads classified - it will sell if you price it correctly.
Unless you are selling something special / unique to which normal rules don't apply then;
Option 1: You will get no bids until auction end - why should they - they know what you want and will wait until the last second to bid in the hope of stealing it for £3000.01p.
Option 2; You force people to bid if they are interested. They have no way of acertaining you reserve and have to push the bids to find it.
You'll still get the 'what's the reserve mate' and 'will you take xxx today' muppets whichever option you chose.
Option 3: fixed price classified ad on Ebay. State your price with buy it now. Actually a cheapish way of advertising.
Alternatively:
Pistonheads classified - it will sell if you price it correctly.
I’d say that if it’s worth more than £2k not to bother with an auction.
(other opinions exist).
Put it up as a classified.
It’ll cost you about £30.
Anyone who sees the advert and wants the car will contact you and make an offer.
Some you can ignore, some might be worth accepting.
On an auction you’ll need to wait for the auction to end.
On a classified you might sell it within 3 days for a sensible price.
Ebay will refund you the rest of the classified fee if you cancel the advert early too.
(other opinions exist).
Put it up as a classified.
It’ll cost you about £30.
Anyone who sees the advert and wants the car will contact you and make an offer.
Some you can ignore, some might be worth accepting.
On an auction you’ll need to wait for the auction to end.
On a classified you might sell it within 3 days for a sensible price.
Ebay will refund you the rest of the classified fee if you cancel the advert early too.
Snowboy said:
I’d say that if it’s worth more than £2k not to bother with an auction.
(other opinions exist).
Put it up as a classified.
It’ll cost you about £30.
Anyone who sees the advert and wants the car will contact you and make an offer.
Some you can ignore, some might be worth accepting.
On an auction you’ll need to wait for the auction to end.
On a classified you might sell it within 3 days for a sensible price.
Ebay will refund you the rest of the classified fee if you cancel the advert early too.
Absolute rubbish. I've sold cars up to £9,000 on ebay using the auction system for more than I would have asked as a classified.(other opinions exist).
Put it up as a classified.
It’ll cost you about £30.
Anyone who sees the advert and wants the car will contact you and make an offer.
Some you can ignore, some might be worth accepting.
On an auction you’ll need to wait for the auction to end.
On a classified you might sell it within 3 days for a sensible price.
Ebay will refund you the rest of the classified fee if you cancel the advert early too.
I always use ebay to sell my cars and always get good prices. My cars are usually 1960's-1970's cars and I've never had any hassle. So, whether or not that has a bearing I don't know. Have used the same format twice to sell cars for my parents - one resulted in being unsold (though I think that was more to do with 2 bidders cancelling because they'd already found another car and the reserve being too high in the first place) and one they got top, top money for. These were modern cars.
Bit more info - I don't want to go into too much detail as I don't want to risk the thread impacting the sale in any way. It is an early 70's classic car, so fairly unique - Haven't had much luck with conventional methods and looking at ebay similar cars seem to be selling more effectively as auctions instead of fixed price.
My reserve is going to be pretty low but that doesn't mean I want to give it away and obviously want the best price possible.
My reserve is going to be pretty low but that doesn't mean I want to give it away and obviously want the best price possible.
milfordkong said:
Bit more info - I don't want to go into too much detail as I don't want to risk the thread impacting the sale in any way. It is an early 70's classic car, so fairly unique - Haven't had much luck with conventional methods and looking at ebay similar cars seem to be selling more effectively as auctions instead of fixed price.
My reserve is going to be pretty low but that doesn't mean I want to give it away and obviously want the best price possible.
PM me My reserve is going to be pretty low but that doesn't mean I want to give it away and obviously want the best price possible.
I'm always looking for new toys. I've been ok with selling stuff on e-bay classifieds - never tried an auction for a car, not had a cause to I guess. I suppose that £15 up-front for the classified ends up costing less than the % of the auction?
Other than that I'll be putting one onto PH and then a further ad onto an enthusiasts forum
Other than that I'll be putting one onto PH and then a further ad onto an enthusiasts forum
I'd normally do a "Classified ad with best offer" or "BIN with best offer"... Kind of nails your colours to the mast with regards ballpark price but allows people to make reasonable offers.
Starting at £3000 generally garners little interest TBH if the car is roughly worth that. Ebayers want a bargain.
Starting at £3000 generally garners little interest TBH if the car is roughly worth that. Ebayers want a bargain.
I always 99p start with no reserve as this encourages people to bid - I never watch a car that has a reserve because it's always set too high (experience from sending mails asking).
Setting the auction with no reserve and 99p start, I have actually got more for 3 of my previous cars than I was going to accept as an offer or reserve amount. It might be psychological but it's worked for me in the past.
There is an element of manning up and biting your nails but unless it's some total turd with no pics, poor write up and nothing going for it, you'll be surprised what they fetch.
It's worked so well for me I've sold 4 friends cars in exactly the same way - one great example was £7,700 for a 54 plate A4 Quattro Sport Avant just over a year ago. It was a great example of the car but you could get a newer shape car (maybe not quite the spec) for less money. I was offered £6500 and when I turned it down I received the reply 'that's the best you'll get, any more and you're dreaming'.
Lad paid up 3 days after and has since mailed saying how faultless it's been in the last 12 months.
Setting the auction with no reserve and 99p start, I have actually got more for 3 of my previous cars than I was going to accept as an offer or reserve amount. It might be psychological but it's worked for me in the past.
There is an element of manning up and biting your nails but unless it's some total turd with no pics, poor write up and nothing going for it, you'll be surprised what they fetch.
It's worked so well for me I've sold 4 friends cars in exactly the same way - one great example was £7,700 for a 54 plate A4 Quattro Sport Avant just over a year ago. It was a great example of the car but you could get a newer shape car (maybe not quite the spec) for less money. I was offered £6500 and when I turned it down I received the reply 'that's the best you'll get, any more and you're dreaming'.
Lad paid up 3 days after and has since mailed saying how faultless it's been in the last 12 months.
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