Is EBAY worth it?

[Dulcidog2]

Thinking of listing a car there. Looking for experiences,pro/con
I see a lot of the same cars there all the time.Wondering if things actually sell
Thanks’Bill

[jaxops]

I've never tried to sell a car there but it is fraught with potential issues.  I do sell antiques and things but it is almost impossible to make a profit with all of the relisting fees until it sells.  I would recommend Hemmings, Classic Car Autotrader, and other classic car sites before eBay.

[Scot Minesinger]

Recently I sold cars using e-bay. 

The days of auction and even buy it now are over.  There is no regulation by e-bay about users no enforcement of their policies.  e-bay is an advertising platform only now.

If you decide to sell using e-bay and just put up a normal listing like you would 5 years ago, what might be bored teenagers bid high prices with no intention of ever paying as a fun sport.  Or you get the thief who asks if there is any rust, you write no, they buy the car with pay-pal, photograph the under carriage and say there is rust, buyer goes to pay pal and gets refund (they favor buyer heavy), and then the thief has your car and your money.  Never accept pay pal as a means of payment for a car.

My e-bay advertisement reads like this:

19xx Make Model blah blah...  No bids from customers with less than 25 transactions will be accepted.  I will not sell the car to anyone who does not inspect and drive the car.  If you want to buy this car call me at seven zero 3 twenty-eight 3 xxxx (spelling out the phone number in some clever way.  I am using this listing as an a means to an advertisement not an auction because a bunch of spammers bid on it with no intention of paying.  Ignore the bid up to prices.  The price I want for the car is $x,xxx.

I hear Craig's list works like this already anyway.  I did buy a Criag's list car in 2012 and an e-bay car in 2012 too (owner was just 5 miles away).

Good luck!

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I didn't realise that ebay had changed so much, which is a nuisance.

I have purchased 3 cars via ebay, but that was 10 years ago, and was very satisfied with the whole transaction and interaction with the sellers.

Up till a few years ago, I had purchased lots of parts for my cars, but now that USPS only sends stuff outside USA by Air Mail, the cost is getting too high.

Bruce.

[Cadillac Jack 82]

I sold my 1940 Chevrolet and 2015 Indian via Ebay and I never had an issue.  I either asked for a cashiers check or cash for payment.  You can opt to use PayPal for a deposit but as Scot says if they decided to be flaky it can be troublesome.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Thinking of listing a car there. Looking for experiences,pro/con
I see a lot of the same cars there all the time.Wondering if things actually sell
Thanks’Bill

Some sell; some don't. Check "sold" listings to get an idea what sold, although even some of those deals fall apart.

Is ebay an effective selling/marketing tool? Absolutely! And the cost is a pittance compared with the typical 10% sales commission of most auction houses (not to mention another 10% imposed upon the buyer)

Where else are you going to sell a $100K car for a total of $200 in fees, with worldwide exposure? 

[cadillac ken]

E-bay is a shadow of what it used to be.  I agree with Scot here. 

E-bay is fraught with fraud. Friends bidding up cars for friends, selling at no reserve only to have an "acquaintance" bidding to cover the seller if the price is too low at the end of the auction. If you check bid history on any item you will often find a bidder that has not bid on any item but the one listed-- a buyer with no history ever bidding on anything else. A friend of the seller?  Probably.  I have had sellers personally tell me that they do this when selling their car on e-bay.  Not that it effects you as a seller, but the fraud in my experience is rampant.

In reality as a seller you may have a multitude of issues with various buyers looking to get one over on you.  It used to be "buyers beware" now it's "sellers beware" as it has been said, e-bay heavily favors the antics of the buyers.

I would also suggest CL or Hemmings. 

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Nobody is forcing anybody to bid higher than they choose. It's like saying "I'm only willing to pay x if someone else is willing to pay y." What difference does that make? And it certainly doesn't make any difference if reserve hadn't been met anyway.

And how about when a car is sold for significantly less than what a bidder was willing to pay? That happens too! Was the seller defrauded then? And if a seller directs shill bids to be placed when reserve is off, he is running the risk of losing his real bidder if he doesn't increase his bid over the shill. So that cuts both ways too.

In the final analysis, all that matters is what the maximum high bidder is willing to pay and what the seller is willing to accept. The actions/inactions of all other auction participants is irrelevant.

It's not very difficult for a seller to safeguard against scam buyers with a modicum of common sense. 

[Dan LeBlanc]

I went through this with the 70.  Ended up doing a deal off eBay which is how my 77 Fleetwood Brougham entered the fold.  The exposure on eBay I got was great.  Was a cheap marketing tool.  Listed it twice, cost me $150.00 total.

If you read the purchase protection plan, it basically says anything over 25 years old, and the purchase protection plan covers nothing.  So, for anything older than 1993, you're fine.  PayPal only allows you to accept a deposit on the car, not the full purchase price.  In my instance, the deal was my car for the 77 and cash my way.  You can send up to $60k in a single transaction via PayPal to friends and family where the buyer pays the fees.

In the end, I got my cash in 4 PayPal deposits with the final one being received the day before I delivered the 70 and picked up the 77.  It all went off without a hitch.

[76eldo]

eBay is by far the best option to sell a car.

List it with lots of photos.
Start the bid price low of you have a reserve or with no reserve make the price what your minimum is.
You can also do a Buy It Now with or without a best offer option.

Just don't release the car until you are paid with cash or a wire transfer.
I wouldn't take a cashiers check unless it's drawn on a bank with branches in your area and they will cash or for you.

I've sold dozens of cars over the years on eBay.  I'm about to put two cars on eBay soon.  Craig's list is also a good way to sell the car and you are more likely to get a local person with cash.

You can't get ripped off if the car doesn't leave until you have the money in hand or in your account.

[Dan LeBlanc]

Brian makes an EXCELLENT point.  Funds have to be in your account at the time paperwork and vehicle change hands. 

["Cadillac Kid" Greg Surfas 15364]

Double ditto to what Brian has said.
Greg Surfas

[kgreen]

I've bought cars through eBay and the deal went just fine.  But then as "buyer" I was the protected one.  I also buy parts through ebay and that can be a real roller coaster.  I bid on a service manual for my car last week and got outrageously outbid at $91 for the book.  I then found another "buy now" for $30 and took it.  The point being is that as a seller you can expect any range of reaction from no interest to overly interested.  All that considering the comments above with regard to protecting yourself from scammers.  My experience is that eBay is a good place for exposure over a longer period of time in which an interested buyer will have time to take note of your car.

Another option is Bring a Trailer (BaT).  You can set a reserve or not.  That is a shorter time frame for exposure and you may have the right buyer looking at the time you list, but you might not.  Check this listing:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1957-cadillac-eldorado/

[35-709]

I have purchased no less than 5 cars (4 Cadillacs, 1 Jaguar sedan) through eBay and have sold 3, one of which went to Germany.  I have also purchased many parts (new and used), shop manuals, and other items not car related, over a period of years --- and have had to return a couple of items.  So far, I have been satisfied with the final outcome of both sales and purchases (and returns) and consider eBay a prime go-to source.

Agree with Brian Rachlin, and "bringatrailer" is another good option for cars.

[Joe V]

eBay is by far the best option to sell a car.
List it with lots of photos.

. 
Your not going to get better world/country-wide exposure for the sale of your car than ebay as noted.

Sell it the way commercial dealers sell their cars on ebay - set an extremely low starting bid, don't use Buy It Now, set a very high (dealer-like) reserve price that never gets met, list as also available for sale locally, require full payment in a short amount of time or large down payment in 24 hours, place an add in your local craigslist with the real price so a interested buyer can find it from your location info in the auction, and let people bid away.  Anyone truly interested will reach out to you, want to see the car and work out a deal.  Truly interested high bidders that do not exceed the reserve will likely reach out to find our your price after the auction and you can work our your deal.  If you happen to get a good buyer, you can make a second chance offer if you want to work through ebay or work out a deal outside of ebay.  That way you are using ebay for what it is best at - advertising and exposure, never pay any fees when not meeting the high reserve, not having to deal with jokers, and not at risk for refunds.

Here is an example of a commercial outfit that always has excellent cars listed along with their real site as advertised in the auction.  These guys list their cars until they sell, the cars never reach the reserved price, and they never appear to actually sell a car via ebay.  I doubt they are selling anywhere near listed price and I bet they get plenty of leads.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cadillac-DeVille-with-Only-3046-hundred-Actual-Miles-ot-miss-print/332823042719?hash=item4d7dcc9a9f:g:tu0AAOSwXy1brmeY&vxp=mtr

https://www.primoclassicsllc.com/1977-cadillac-deville-c-753.htm

[Jay Friedman]

Years ago, in the early days of ebay, before paypal becamse the standard payment method, I bought an item for about $35 but was cheated and never received it.  Ebay couldn't do anything about it since I had paid with a money order.  That experience made me a bit paranoid, so now, even with paypal, I only buy Cadillac parts and other items on ebay that don't cost more than $200 or so.

I don't have a seller's account, but have sold 1 or 2 expensive old car items that a friend who is experienced in ebay selling handled for me.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Years ago, in the early days of ebay, before paypal becamse the standard payment method, I bought an item for about $35 but was cheated and never received it.  Ebay couldn't do anything about it since I had paid with a money order.  That experience made me a bit paranoid, so now, even with paypal, I only buy Cadillac parts and other items on ebay that don't cost more than $200 or so.

If you pay with a credit card through PayPal, it's almost impossible to have a problem like that. Ebay is notoriously zealous when it comes to protecting the buyer.

[Art Director]

CLC members get free* advertising privileges in The Self-Starter. Why not sell your car in the classifieds to another CLC member? It's too late for the November-December issue, which deadlined two hours ago, but you can get into the January 2019 issue.

*Three free ads per calendar year up to nine lines. Photos $20 extra per month.

[kgreen]

CLC members get free* advertising privileges in The Self-Starter. Why not sell your car in the classifieds to another CLC member? It's too late for the November-December issue, which deadlined two hours ago, but you can get into the January 2019 issue.

*Three free ads per calendar year up to nine lines. Photos $20 extra per month.

There you go!  A great option.

[novetti]

Bought 3 vehicles myself (two cadillacs, one lincoln) in Ebay all unseen from overseas.

It's a gamble but it worked for me. All were under the 15k mark price. All were projects or original with scratches and wear and tear as expected.

But I wouldn't buy anything above that price mark unseen or expecting it to be perfect, no scratches etc.
If I had 50k to buy a car a plane ticket and a bit of travel to see in person would be the least of my worries.

For parts sometimes is the only source if you are from overseas.

my 2 centavos