Need advice on selling on e-bay

[speedracer]

Hey guys I'm planing on selling my 36 Olds street rod on e-bay.  Any advice on what to do and not to do!   I really hate letting her go but I got medical bills piling up.  Hope everyone has a better 06 than 05.
Thanks, Johnny

[purplepickup]

I've never sold a car but I've had good luck selling parts.  I think that very clear pictures are extremely important.  I usually pay extra for supersized pictures so that people can click on the pic and clearly see details.  The "Picture Pack" option is worth it.  Make sure you resize and crop your pictures to make the best use out of the 800 X 800 size they offer.

If there are flaws I point them out which I think lets people know you are trying to be as honest as possible and not trying to cover anything up.  A good history of positive feedback helps too.  Here's three examples of parts auctions I've recently had.  Example 1  Example 2  Example 3  My auctions brought more than similar items listed at the same time that had poor quality pictures.  

If you have to get a certain amount out of your car, make sure you put a reserve on it or just start the bidding at whatever your lowest price is.   Even if no one bids on it or they don't meet the reserve, I think the exposure is worth it.  People might contact you with offers after the auction ends.  

I have good luck starting things out real low to get people's attention and hopefully get them to start bidding but that has backfired on me too.  I've had to sell things for a lot less than they were worth.  I usually only set a low starting price if I don't care what I get out of the item.  I've been surprised how high some things have gone that I was going to throw away.

Also, I've found that listing your auction to end at around 9 or 10PM (Eastern time) in the evening helps because there are lots of people on the computer at that time across the country and most of the bids are placed in the last few minutes of the auctions.  Sometimes you'll get lucky and have a couple of people bidding early on which really jacks the price up but usually it's the last minute bidders that end up winning.

Good luck

[Uncle Bob]

I'll second George's comment on pictures, it's the number 1 factor.  Remember, you're expecting people to buy "blind" in essence.  Ebay has a 24 picture pack, use it to take pics of all four sides, top, bottom interior from different angles, engine compartment.  Even detail shots of strong and weak points (helps with the honesty factor).  And whatever you do, take the pictures outside or in a large inside area.  I saw one the other day that was the height of poor salesmanship.  Guy had a single buy price of $100k, and the car was tucked in the corner of his garage.  A complete waste of time!

Always address the rust issue first in your description, it's the number 1 question on the minds of most serious buyers.  Then the issue of a title, even though in the summary at the top of the listing you've answered the question.  After that just do as thorough a job of describing it as you can.  Think like a buyer when you do your description.  More info is better than less.  Some make the mistake of thinking they'll scare away serious buyers.  I don't think so.  You might scare away bidders, but buyers want info and will read all you give them.  

Be prepared for some negatives.  You'll likely get some number of scam emails trying to get you to sell off auction to a guy in Africa or wherever.  You've probably heard of these already.  And make sure you get legitimate payment before the car and title leaves you hands.  Unfortunately there's a lot of forgery of money orders/cashiers checks out there.  Verification is an ABSOLUTE must.

[TJ's Dad]

G'day .... here in Oz Rods dont seem to sell on eBay but its the exposure you get .

I deal quite a bit both buying and selling thru eBay and have found in selling honesty pays off , if a car has a rust spot take a pic of it and show them , if it needs some TLC tell them , highlight its good points but mention the downside. The other thing i do is only put cars on for 5 days but ensure they are on over a weekend (more lookers at the W/end) 10 days is too long as ppl forget even if they have you in their watch list , finishing time is also important , not a lot of sense finishing an item if buyers are at work and cant make the last minute bid , i try to end mine around evening meal times as i feel most are home.
Good Luck !

.

[soldermonkey]

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures! High quality pictures will help you tell your story the best. When you make your pictures remember you are using them to tell a story, namely "This is my Street Rod for sale" .  The best time to take good pictures outside is on a completely overcast day, the lighting is subdued and even with no harsh shadows. The next best is under open shade. Open shade is the shade created by a large tree or man made object that is high enough to not interfere with the photo. With open shade sometimes a fill flash can be used to advantage. Try to describe your car so that the description can be seen in the pictures and also offer to take additional pictures as requested. On large items I also tell the bidders that if they wish I will call them at my expense to discuss the item, just email me your phone number or if preferred I will send them mine. Reserve prices are best on expensive items, you don't want to give that vintage blower away at some ridiculous price.
When I sold my coupe I talked to the eventual buyer and answered a lot of questions that were to help complete the deal.
He also at my request paid for the car with a cashiers check and informed me of the bank and check number before he came for the car. I was able to call the bank and verify the check by number, routing number, style or design of check and the amount. The bank faxed me a copy of a blank voided cashiers check to further help me identify the check. When he arrived I compared all the info from the bank, copied his drivers lic. and had him sign the bill of sale before a notary.

That was for a car but my success on smaller items has been good as well. Some of the things I have sold have amazed me with the high price they bring but I have also darn near given a few things away.

My packing is professional and I have never had an item broken even when extremely fragile.

I also research items before I list them to see what to expect and to also see what other sellers do to describe an item that sold well.

Sell your junk, I sold two used OEM temp sensors for 140 HP Corvairs that had been sitting in a junk drawer for over 20 years and were almost thrown away several times, price, $200.00 for the pair plus shipping.

Timing is critical and sometimes the luck of the draw. I do think the auctions ending in the evening are best. Some people think Sundays are best also. Whatever you do avoid holidays and Friday evenings as they seem to be the worst.

Be friendly in your auction conditions(shipping, handling, etc). I have seen auctions where the price was low and the only thing wrong was a conditions statement that was combative and insulting, results low auction proceeds. Remember you want a customer not an enemy.

Remember leave good feedback that describes your experience, don't be lazy and just grunt a simple OK or some similar worthless statement. You want to solicit good feedback from your buyer.

Last but not least, be honest, if it has warts, then say so.

My $.02

dave

[speedracer]

THANKS DAVE!
Oh one last thing, how much does e-bay charge me and how?
Thanks again, Johnny

[speedracer]

I'll second George's comment on pictures, it's the number 1 factor.  Remember, you're expecting people to buy "blind" in essence.  Ebay has a 24 picture pack, use it to take pics of all four sides, top, bottom interior from different angles, engine compartment.  Even detail shots of strong and weak points (helps with the honesty factor).  And whatever you do, take the pictures outside or in a large inside area.  I saw one the other day that was the height of poor salesmanship.  Guy had a single buy price of $100k, and the car was tucked in the corner of his garage.  A complete waste of time!

Always address the rust issue first in your description, it's the number 1 question on the minds of most serious buyers.  Then the issue of a title, even though in the summary at the top of the listing you've answered the question.  After that just do as thorough a job of describing it as you can.  Think like a buyer when you do your description.  More info is better than less.  Some make the mistake of thinking they'll scare away serious buyers.  I don't think so.  You might scare away bidders, but buyers want info and will read all you give them.  

Be prepared for some negatives.  You'll likely get some number of scam emails trying to get you to sell off auction to a guy in Africa or wherever.  You've probably heard of these already.  And make sure you get legitimate payment before the car and title leaves you hands.  Unfortunately there's a lot of forgery of money orders/cashiers checks out there.  Verification is an ABSOLUTE must.

THANKS BOB
I askedDave already but I'll ask you too, how does e-bay get there money and how?   Thanks, johnny

[soldermonkey]

Johnny the way Ebay gets their money is through your credit card or debit card that you authorize for payment. They have a pricing structure that is detailed on their website. The charge for selling cars is a fixed fee with an initial charge for the listing and then an additional charge when you get your first bid if no reserve value is stated or if there is a reserve then the second charge does not apply until the reserve is met.
On items that are not a car or realestate then there is a fee for listing that varies with the options the seller selects and then there is a final value fee when the item is sold. This is all covered on the Ebay site in more clear language than I am able to do. The different options that run the cost up are enhansements to your pictures, delayed start times, reserve prices, display options, etc. Ebay sends you email to notify you before they debit your account, and they also keep records of all account acivity for you to view on line. After a while you might want to go to a photo listing site in order to save on listing fees but you really need some regular activity as a seller to justify this step, for the casual seller the Ebay picture service is best.

Let me know if you still have questions.

dave

[58 Yeoman]

The last car that I sold on ebay was last year.  The listing fee was $40, then after the car was sold, it was another $40.  I use their special picture deal where you get more pix, plus the ability to make them larger.