Selling an C2 on E-Bay

[John Lokay]

I am thinking about listing a 67' convertible on E-Bay for sale however I am not at all familiar with E-Bay and how the process works. I would like to hear the pro's and con's from those of you on the DB who have sold or attempted to sell cars on E-Bay. Thanks

[William C.]

Re: Selling an C2 on E-Bay

I sold a Mustang for a fellow in town here a couple of years ago on eBay, I used lots of pictures and an accurate description of the car, coupled with a reasonable reserve and it sold. i thought we got all the $ there was for that particular car.

[John Lavelle]

Re: Selling an C2 on E-Bay

I agree, the most important thing is to make sure that you honestly describe the vehicle. I have purchased a 69 rs camaro convertible and sold a Chevy 454SS pickup, a Shelby Clone, and a bunch of car parts. Each time I had a good experience. Just watch out for the people that will be sending you e-mails with trades and offers outside of E-bay. Know what you want BEFORE you list it, because you will have all sorts of offers. Additionally, I cannot stress enough, make sure you acurately describe the vehicle. Put all the things your "proud" of in the description and then all the things that aren't so good, put them in the vehicle condition - the buyer should know and you can have a clean conscience when it goes. Describe how you expect to be paid (don't be bashful) and how much and how you will assist in shipping. I usually try to find a car that is similar and if I like the way they set up the auction, I use most of their ideas in my auction description. E-bay is a great source for selling cars, and it most of the people buying on the site are willing to pay what the car is worth.
One last piece of advise, most of the people that are gonna give offers before it sells, or offer you trades, are hoping that you are in a position that you absolutely need to sell it - so they can lowball you a bit and not have to worry about bidding against someone. I would at least let the auction run full length once and see how it goes. (much of the bidding is done in the last few minutes anyway) If it doesn't get your price, you still will have the e-mails from the guys that wanted to buy it and you can maybe work a deal after the auction is closed.

Good Luck

[Mike Cobine]

Re: Selling an C2 on E-Bay

1. Set a reserve. Don't worry if the reserve is a bit high, you can lower the reserve, but you can never raise it. Don't tell the reserve. The kid who think this is a game like to bid to just under the reserve for fun.

2. Use lots of pictures of decent quality. So many ads look like they used a Polaroid at dusk about 100 feet away. The pictures are $.15 extra each and you are trying to sell a $20,000 to $80,000 vehicle. Does it make sense to NOT have extra pictures? DON'T use a cheap digital camera. Use an editor to change the pictures to just under 100k in file size. Consider an alternate web site to post larger pictures.

3. Let it run, do not end it early. Most bidding happens in the last minute literally.

4. Know your product and be truthful. A lot of people will write you if you are wrong. Heck, it may show up on here with comments.

5. Be accurate and include all the bad. Much better to have someone not bid than to win and not take it when he sees it. If I made a trip to pick up the car I won, and it was greatly different, I not only would NOT take the car, but sue the seller to recover my money and my expenses for the trip.

6. Avoid zero feedback bidders.

7. Do not allow negative feedback bidders.

8. do you homework and see what the other similar cars are selling for on eBay.

9. Don't depend on it selling. Many sell, then the buyer doesn't pay, and you have to list it again.

10. Be familiar with eBay rules.

[mike yager]

Re: Selling an C2 on E-Bay

I would say just the opposite with respect to reserves - don't set one and start the bidding at the minimum you want from the car. I think you get more action as someone knows they will win. I have seen auctions die because someone puts an unreasonable reserve on a car. Bidding starts at a dollar. Potential buyers get frustrated.

If the car doesn't sell, either your price is too high or ebay is not the right venue. Also, I think the fees that ebay charges are lower than for cars with reserves.

Every item I have ever sold on ebay has been with no reserve and a starting price I would have been glad to get. Every item I have ever listed has always sold and for an amount far in excess than I would have expected. I can only attrubute this to the active bidding and the fact taht someone knew they would win. In my opinion, you are bidding against the seller until the reserve is met. With no reserve, you are always bidding against another buyer and many times the thrill of the auction gets the better of people.