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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay

Hi,

im thinking of selling a pretty unique truck on eBay.  The truck is 14 years old.  I've never sold a car or truck on eBay and - even after reading everything I can find - I'm still intimidated.

 

My biggest concern is protection as a seller.  I want to fully disclose everything about the truck and want to sell, "as is - no warranty".  I just don't want anyone to come back to me after the sell.

 

I also don't know whether to go local or national and the safest way to accept payment.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay

You'll probably get better advice on the eBay Motors board rather than here on the Selling board.

Personally, I would sell locally for cash via a newspaper or online classified ad. Or maybe directly to a used-car dealer. Definitely local pick-up or delivery, no shipping.

~~C~~
My Glass Duchess
Quoting Mom: In polite society, "hey" is for horses.
Message 2 of 30
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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay

There is no seller protection for cash sales, on eBay or anywhere else.

 

Bids on vehicles are non-binding.  Selling a vehicle on eBay is considered to be sort of an introduction of a potential buyer to a potential seller.  You get national exposure in exchange for a small sum.

 

Vehicle transport is very common, and the buyer pays for it.  Expect the buyer to want the truck checked out by a qualified mechanic/body man, etc.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. ~ Anais Nin
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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay

My biggest concern is protection as a seller.  I want to fully disclose everything about the truck and want to sell, "as is - no warranty".  I just don't want anyone to come back to me after the sell.

 

Ebays Money Back Guarantee does not cover vehicles sold on eBay Motors, and neither does Paypal.

 

As for a buyer "coming back to me..."

 

There is nothing in the world that will stop a buyer, who doesn't understand what "As-is" means, from contacting the seller and complaining about an issue that they didn't discover when they inspected the vehicle, or developed after they paid for the vehicle.

 

There will always be "those people," who don't understand "As-is," or fail to inspect the vehicle, or don't hire a third party to inspect it for them, or they believe that the seller knew that some item like the plastic coolant recovery tank was on its last legs, or that the left rear brake light only had a hour of two left in its life.

 

Some buyers expect more car than they paid for, and if the car develops a problem, they take it to the nearest new car dealer, not realizing that the guy behind the counter's job is to maximize profits, and trust me, he knows how to do that or he wouldn't have that job, so they get a list of everything wrong with that 15 year old vehicle they purchased for a thousand dollars below wholesale, and expect the seller to pony up the costs to make the vehicle perfect.

You are protected of course, as used vehicles are sold "As-Is," but that does not mean that the buyer won't be a pain in the behind.

 

There is also a good chance that the buyer will know what they are doing, inspect the vehicle, realize that they are purchasing a used vehicle that may have issues down the road and knows what "As-is" means, so you more than likely will have a smooth transaction.

 

Consider it a newspaper advertisement, nothing more.

 

 

 

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay


@snelling7 wrote:

 

im thinking of selling a pretty unique truck on eBay.  The truck is 14 years old.  


Trying to think what 14 year old truck is pretty unique. Maybe the Chevy SSR? Anyway, there is no difference in seller protection if you list it on Ebay or Craigslist or the local paper. Nupty buyers can give you grief either way. At least on Ebay if they are 1000 miles away, there is less of a chance that it becomes a problem. Best to list nationally starting low at like $100 and a reserve, plus put in a Buy It Now price as well.

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay

There was a lot of good advice on this discussion. Like what type of payment to take, whether or not to use a reserve, etc. What happened to it?

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay

I've bought two cars on eBay and love eBay Motors. 

 

The important thing to know is that most eBay rules do not apply to car sales, which are regulated by state DMVs and to which eBay is not legally permitted to do much of their famous meddling.

 

Think of eBay as the same thing as cars.com, the Thrifty Nickel, Auto Trader, or whatever your local swap rag is. Your bid on eBay is not legally binding, and either party can back out for a number of reasons.

 

The types of sales I prefer as a buyer are "local pickup only, cash only." If your auction has a winner and the buyer decides to decline after inspecting, I think eBay will give you your final value fees back.

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay


@omgitlightsup wrote:

 

Think of eBay as the same thing as cars.com, the Thrifty Nickel, Auto Trader, or whatever your local swap rag is. Your bid on eBay is not legally binding, and either party can back out for a number of reasons.


There is nothing to compare, completely different venues. There is no bidding or winning a car on cars.com or Auto Trader. If somebody wants the car, looks at the car and then doesn't take it, your ad is still up and you can still sell to someone else. 

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay


@omgitlightsup wrote:

 

The types of sales I prefer as a buyer are "local pickup only, cash only." If your auction has a winner and the buyer decides to decline after inspecting, I think eBay will give you your final value fees back.


That's only if you list less than 6 cars a year, otherwise you pay a listing fee up front.

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay


@atikovi wrote:

@omgitlightsup wrote:

 

Think of eBay as the same thing as cars.com, the Thrifty Nickel, Auto Trader, or whatever your local swap rag is. Your bid on eBay is not legally binding, and either party can back out for a number of reasons.


There is nothing to compare, completely different venues. There is no bidding or winning a car on cars.com or Auto Trader. If somebody wants the car, looks at the car and then doesn't take it, your ad is still up and you can still sell to someone else. 


There are some minor differences, sure.

 

 

But if someone is interested in your car listed on eBay, they are always free to come inspect it, just like you would in those other venues. You don't have to take the listing down for that.

 

And if someone commits, then backs out, you can always re-list.

 

Most people sell one or two cars every five years. If you're selling six or more a year, you're probably good to handle some listing fees.

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay


@omgitlightsup wrote:
But if someone is interested in your car listed on eBay, they are always free to come inspect it, just like you would in those other venues. You don't have to take the listing down for that.

 


The thing is that most people bid and win the car first, THEN want to inspect.

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay


@omgitlightsup wrote:
And if someone commits, then backs out, you can always re-list.

Yea sure, at another $100+ a pop. Not to mention any other bidders that may have bought the car and have since bought somewhere else or are turned off by a relisted car.

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay


@omgitlightsup wrote:
Most people sell one or two cars every five years. If you're selling six or more a year, you're probably good to handle some listing fees.

So nice of you for telling me I should enjoy getting screwed over.

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay

Yeah, imagine if this went on at a real-life/live auction: People bid on the cars, then decide that they don't want them, and could walk away scot-free. Half the cars would be unsold; you'd have to bring your car back next week, or pay to store it there; and the auction house would be out of bidness 🙂 in about a month. Winning bidders could strong-arm you by offering way less than what they bid, and saying "Take it, or I'll walk, and you'll have to run it again next time!".

 

Only snowflake internet nerds with no real-life auction, much less automotive experience would devise a system with such inequalities, and do absolutely NOTHING to hold bidders accountable- especially on big-ticket items! And not even allow the possibility of leaving them negative feedback, no less!

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Pitfalls of selling car on eBay


@atikovi wrote:

@omgitlightsup wrote:
Most people sell one or two cars every five years. If you're selling six or more a year, you're probably good to handle some listing fees.

So nice of you for telling me I should enjoy getting screwed over.


I don't know what else to say. Are you a car dealer? Do you want to be one? You can always get a license, buy advertising on the radio, put on a ridiculous suit and come up with a catchphrase...

 

eBay offers pretty reasonable terms for most people who want to sell a car. It's not outrageous for them to charge a little more for people who are in the business of selling cars. It's one area where their fee structure is actually half decent.

 

If you're going to sell a car a month, you will have to judge for yourself what overhead you can afford and how you can best put eBay to use for you. But if you're asking for eBay to lock buyers into transactions in spite of them having no legal power to do so, you're not gonna get what you want.

 

Even if eBay did enforce a transaction, how would you like to waste a whole day in court every time someone decides they want a refund for a rip they didn't see in the upholstery?

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