The articles in this series are designed to help the prospective eBay vehicle-seller to carry out a successful and low-risk/low-hassle sale. They include:
- Preparing to List Your Vehicle for Sale
- Listing Your Vehicle for Sale on eBay Motors
- Attending to Your Active Vehicle Listing
- Preparing to Conclude Your Vehicle Sale
- Transferring Payment and Vehicle Ownership
They're designed to be read in order, but can also be read individually for tips related to specific stages in the eBay Motors vehicle selling process.
Attending to an Active Vehicle Listing on eBay Motors
Once your listing is active and buyers are able to view it, be attentive to your eBay Motors vehicle auction. Since the stakes are higher in a motors vehicle listing (or, at least, ideally higher), it's more important to keep an eye on the listing for trouble and on your inbox for communication from prospective bidders or buyers, who probably won't bid or buy without some attention in return from you.
- Respond quickly to inquiries. Buyers thinking of putting thousands on
the line to buy a vehicle from a site like eBay are easily spooked by
sellers that seem to be distracted, undercommitted, or just plain sloppy. If
you want your vehicle to sell (or to sell at a good price if you've listed
it as an auction), be ready to provide
good customer service and responses to questions within hours,
if not sooner.
- Carefully monitor bids and bidders. If you're selling at auction, be
sure to click often on the link next to the current bid in your listing to
see the list of bids so far. Be very wary of bidders with zero feedback or
bids that go extravagantly high very quickly and consider
canceling these,
since the individuals placing them may not be serious about completing the
auction should they win.
- Stick to your guns about terms. You already thought about your terms and
conditions in the preparation stage; don't let the heat of the moment sway
you, since that usually turns out to be a serious mistake. Reply to all
wheeling-and-dealing types of messages with a polite reference to the terms
you've already included in the listing, and don't be swayed by other offers
of any kind; many of these are likely to be scammers or vehicle thieves.
- Don't get freaked out. Even if the vehicle isn't selling in the time
frame you'd like or the bid value seems to be low in an auction listing, be
patient. Bids and buys often occur late in a listing's lifetime (sometimes
in the final minutes). Remember that eBay Motors listings are one of only
two categories considered to be
non-binding (the other being real estate),
so if you're unhappy with the results, you're off the hook—though you
will be responsible for
fees of $60.00-$125.00 if you've listed nationally
and someone has bid on your vehicle, even if you decide not to complete the
sale.
- Avoid driving or using the vehicle. While your listing is active, try to minimize your use of the vehicle. Remember, eBay Motors vehicle listings are non-binding for buyer and seller alike, so your buyer will be able to inspect "the goods" before making their purchase final. To ensure that this process goes as smoothly as possible, you'll want the vehicle to be the one you showed off in your photos, description, and details, not the one from two weeks later that has new dents, broken interior features, or significantly different mileage.
Many first-time vehicle sellers assume that the sale of their vehicle is "about to be over" once the listing has ended with a high or winning bidder. In fact, there's a lot more to be done, and it's in coming stages that attention to detail, organization, and professionalism are most important.
Go on to the next step: Preparing to Conclude Your Vehicle Sale
