Autotrader & Ebay

[Devils Advocate]

I`ll be putting the ST3 up for sale soon but as ive never stuck a vehicle on autotrader i need some opinions from those that have.

Does autotrader attract more serious buyers than ebay does?
Ebay`s good, sold lots of stuff on there really quickly, but i never seem to get the right price for anything i list.Someone always gets a bargain!!

So where do you think is the best place to advertise a car like an ST3?
its a minter,late model-low mileage, so i want what its really worth not what someones willing to pay (or steal it for in an auction).

[ms51ves3]

My dad always advertises his vehicles on AutoTrader and always sells them within the first week.

I've always thought that people looking at eBay want a bargain, so you can ask for more on AutoTrader than on eBay.

[mooserx]

I'm the reverse to chives, i advertise on both, always seemed to sell through the bay and got what i wanted, of course u get stupid questions on e-bay, but then again i advertised my focus st170 on autotrader and got plagued by knob ends. personal preference really.

[mistergixer]

What i hate about auto-trader is the number of people ringing up to try the old 'we're a finance company with a number of buyers waiting, send us money and we'll put them in touch' scam.
Keep in mind that your cars only real worth is what someone is willing to pay for it, so if you have an inflated value for your vehicle (as many sellers do) and are not prepared to be flexible, then you may be waiting a long time to find a buyer - especially in the current economic climate & time of year.
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[The Shaggy D.A.]

I've sold a couple of bikes, listing them on both eBay and Autotrader. Both times they've been sold long before the Autotrader punters wake up. As far as getting a good price is concerned, list it for the price you want plus a bit more for haggle room, then be patient. It won't sell if you put a stupid price, are arrogant, have crap pictures or word the ad like a 12 year old chav.
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Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[Devils Advocate]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Well, you either want the money quick or you want a decent price - it's not eBay's fault you can't wait.
____________________
Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[Devils Advocate]

[LordShaftesbu...]

Ebay seems a bit scammy to me. Every time I try to sell something I get peanuts for it, but when I want to buy even secondhand items they seem to be pretty much full price. Something dodgy going on.

Autotrader just seems a bit less suspicious, in that I've never really noticed any funny business. Except when people list things for £1 and then put the real price in the text; that's annoying, but at least it's obvious.

[effit]

Mind the costs as well...
Autotrader you pay about 40 quid for two weeks, Egay you get charged for listing, then I`m sure there is a selling fee they charge you when the transaction is complete.
Pistonheads might be worth a try also...

[MarJay]

[Mr.Everready]

[Devils Advocate]

About ebay fees.

Lets just say that i put 2 ads up, 1 on ebay and 1 on autotrader/elsewhere.
If i find a buyer through autotrader/elsewhere and then cancel the ebay listing early, will ebay still charge me anyway despite me not selling through them?

[Syx]

eBay charge you a fee to list the item (so if you take it down you've still paid that) then another fee once it's sold based on the final price. So you can get out of paying the latter if you cancel the auction, but they've already taken your listing fee.

[LordShaftesbu...]

[MarJay]

[Sparks!]

I listed my car on ebay at 2pm this afternoon for £6500... within half an hour I had 1 phone call, by 330 I had someone else coming to view it at 6pm... by 5 I had more phone calls, by 6:30 I have £6250 cash in my hand!

I am seriously amazed, either I've seriously undervalued my truck, just got really lucky or ebay is amazing....

The key is to keep the description short but informative, use bullet lists.... people want key facts not an essay.... put some DECENT large sized images on and pay the extra £1 for supersize pictures.

As much as I HATE ebays monopoly and its ridiculous fees, it puts you in touch with a LOT of buyers really easily.

If your description is good, pictures are good and the price is reasonable then you should get people calling you up
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Current Toys: 06 Yamaha WR250F | Nissan 350Z GT | Tech 4 Homes

[Devils Advocate]

[Sparks!]

[Charlie]

Same story with my brothers RS125 and my Dad's Land Rover. He put them as a classified advert on eBay. Phone didn't stop ringing and people coming to visit as soon as possible.
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Past: Honda x8rs, Honda City fly, Honda Hornet 250, Honda VFR750, Yamaha xt600e.
Current: Honda CBR929RR & Yamaha XT660Z Tenere

[delvey91]

[MarJay]

Ok.

MarJay's guide to buying and selling vehicles on ebay.

Selling:

Selling is the easy part but you need to remember a number of things:

Golden rule: Realistic pricing. Ebay is not magic, and it won't mysteriously get you ten grand for your old C90. Pick the absolute minimum you want for the vehicle, the amount that you would accept if push came to shove. This is likely to be closer to the actual value of the vehicle than what you *think* its worth. Its human nature I'm afraid. This value will be your auction start price. I don't hold much sway with the idea of 99p no reserve, its too uncertain for a non-gambler like me.

Ok. So you've picked the lowest price you'd accept for your car or bike. Now you need to list it. The best way to do this is to list it with no reserve (a reserve puts buyers off) and on a ten day auction starting on a Thursday evening about 9pm. This gives you two whole weekends for people to view the vehicle before bidding. You need to make your starting price as the minimum price you want for the vehicle.

Description. Start by giving a brief overview of the make and model for someone who knows nothing about it at all. Just two lines about what makes it a good car or bike, how popular it was and what reviewers said etc. This is for selling the bike so be positive.

Describe the bike or car accurately. Do not leave anything out of the description that will be immediately obvious to the buyer when they turn up and examine the bike or car closely. Do not lie, describe it accurately. Any dents, scratches or imperfections need to be described with photos. Try to anticipate any questions that buyers might ask and answer them. Tell them about the condition of the tyres, the mileage, and service history etc. Accentuate the good parts, and explain why the bad parts aren't a complete disaster (eg "Tyres are a bit worn, but there is plenty of life left in them" etc).

Use all of the available 12 free photos on ebay. Take good photos from the front, back, both sides, the odometer, the imperfections, the wheels, 1 of all documents (with your details hidden) and interior if it is a car. If you don't use your 12 photos... why not? They are free, and each photo encourages more buyers. Its all about making potential bidders trust that what you've said is accurate. If they distrust you they won't bid - simple. Choose a reasonable location for your photos, and try to take them on a sunny day after having washed the vehicle. Never take photos of a vehicle whilst it is standing in the same spot as when you've washed it as people will notice you've just washed it! What I sometimes do with bikes is take it up to a local industrial estate with a fountain and a lake. I put the bike with the lake and fountain in the background as it looks nicer than a block of garages. This isn't essential, but it does help to make the photos look that bit better. Take the front rear and side photos from as low angle as you can get without having your face in the dirt. This makes the photos look better too. I suggest using a proper digital camera and not a phone camera as on the whole phone cameras are rubbish.

At the end of the description point out strenuously that there is plenty of time to view the vehicle before the auction end, and you are prepared to arrange viewing. This is doubly important, but I will come to the reason later. Say that they are bidding to buy and not kick tyres, especially as you've deliberately left time for people to view the vehicle. This means there is less chance of the buyer wheedling their way out if they snipe it.

I usually put a little blurb about delivery (I don't do it but its up to you) I also say I will not accept west-on -onion (ebay won't allow auctions which contain the words "Western Union") , no bankers drafts, cheques or anything like that. I want a deposit using Paypal and the rest in cold hard cash in person. I will not hand over the vehicle to anybody other than the buyer - so no courier nonsense. I want to be in posession of the cash before I let anyone take it. This includes bank transfers etc; I don't trust them. I want the money in my hand. I also say I don't want scammers, agencies, tyre kickers or test pilots. I outline my policy on test driving/riding very carefully. You are welcome to let people test ride or drive but its up to you. I personally will take people out in a car and perhaps let them drive it if I trust them but I'm always wary of any bike testing. Maybe thats just me. If you've got the whole cash amount in verfied notes which aren't forgeries then I don't see an issue, although it is an offense to knowingly allow someone who doesn't have proper insurance drive your vehicle. If you ask them and they say yes I've got insurance I think that is enough. You took reasonable steps to ensure they had insurance.

So, you've got your ten day auction, with an accurate description, great photos and a brief blurb about what you do not want to see from a bidder. You've got your start price, and you've said there is plenty of time to view the vehicle and you are willing to arrange viewing at reasonable times during the auction run. The auction could go one of two ways:

1.) Someone comes to look at the vehicle and they like it. They will ask you to end the auction early. This is a good thing for you as you will miss out on final value fees. Don't let the buyer know this is a good thing. Tell them you have a number of watchers and you think it will go above the start price by some margin. Usually buyers will offer you a couple of hundred quid above the start price, which is cool because its the amount of money you want for it right? Haggle carefully, but aim to sell the vehicle to them if possible, especially if they seem trustworthy. Its much easier to size someone up in person than it is via ebay.

2.) Nobody comes to view the vehicle, or people view but don't seem that interested. If you've got enough watchers, somebody will snipe at the last minute. If you are lucky, a couple of people will and will start a minor bidding war. You'll get what you want but you won't be able to size up the buyer before it goes. Hopefully this doesn't matter because you've already explained to people that they are bidding to buy, not to kick tyres and you've given them ample opportunity to view before bidding.

I reckon I've sold about eight vehicles that way and its never failed.

Buying:

This is much harder because you have to spot the right item. Something that is badly listed but you can still see that it is a gem. Don't get fixated, don't get into bidding wars and don't bid in any other way than sniping. Try not to get upset if you miss that item.

The ideal thing to do is always to view the vehicle before you buy. Go local, don't travel too far. Play it cool, don't seem too interested. Offer the seller a sensible amount for the vehicle, but don't insult them. If they want to wait it out until the end of the auction then fine - try for a snipe. If you don't win it, no bother there's plenty more fish in the sea.

I use JBidwatcher to snipe auctions, but generally use it for non vehicle stuff because sniping on a vehicle is a much much riskier proposition, especially if it is a non runner or you can't get insurance or something.

Always do your homework when buying.

Don't get shiney bike syndrome. Take a mate with you with a cynical eye to help out with it.

Overall, have fun!
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Devils Advocate]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Good post Marj, and a quick addendum.

If you've got a few bidders close to the asking price once the auction has finished, send them a message saying they were close and would they still be interested if there's a problem with the winner. This mainly because if the winner turns out to be a kid bidding with his mum's account (don't ask) eBay may pull the auction completely, leaving you with no idea who the runners up were, no trace of your auction and you have to start all over again. If you've made contact with them, you'll still have their messages in your ebay mailbox. Send a copy to your own inbox too, to be sure.
____________________
Chances are quite high you are not in my Monkeysphere, and I don't care about you. Don't take it personally.
Currently : Royal Enfield 350 Meteor
Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[Sparks!]