Past eBay sellers, looking for input

I saw the post: "Wow! Lotsa HAMBers cars on Epay..."

And it got me thinking...

How many of you have had sold your ride on eBay? I've heard mostly horror stories consisting mainly of:

1) High bidder has no feedback...and doesn't follow thru. Big surprise.

2) High bidder never responds to his win- causing another $60 relist fee.

3) High bidder comes to pick up car, and changes his mind.

4) High bidder "makes plans" to pick up car, and decides car is too far away/doesn't want to pay for shipping AFTER he/she wins auction.

For the record, I have a 100% feedback rating on eBay-that I'm proud of. I'm not out to screw anyone...but one loser that lists you as "negative" can have a big impact on such a low score...so I'm cautious...

I have a car that I would like to be rid of, and eBay is tempting...but I hate to spend the TIME & money on the auction only to get burned by some out of state LOSER. I'm trying to have a gauge here for everyone thinking about posting a car for sale on 'the bay'. Might be useful info to others too- hence the post. I've learned a lot from hearing other peoples stories, in terms of things to be aware of that I hadn't even considered...so...

Fire away:

 

I have had good luck selling on Ebay. I sold my 37 Willys sedan a couple of months ago. Deal went real smoth and the new owner loves it. Also sold an old motor home to a guy in Canada, he and his whole family flew down and drove it back and made a mini vacation out of the trip, took in a NASCAR event on the way back.

28oak

 

my brother just sold a car on there two weeks ago and no problems.
not always that lucky though, i've heard some stories about people never getting their car because its "overseas" but they already sent money for it but have never heard from the seller since.

 

I have sold 2 cars and bought one on ebay. The first was a 59 Elky I sold for my uncle to a guy in California. The guy had less than 10 feedbacks all good, but I was concerned because the car sold for just under $20K. Made contact he sent a cashiers check via FedEx the next day. He set up transport and they came about 7 days later and picked it up with the title. No problems, turns out the guy was a wheel at PAW Automotive. I then sold a 67 Tempest I had to a guy in Ohio, had good communication throughout the deal, he showed up with cash in hand. No haggling at the exchange at all. I bought a 71 Buick convertible a couple years ago from a guy in Iowa who had little feedback (all good) and a piss-poor discription with 2 pictures. I made contact and talked to the guy and had a good feel about the deal. I took all cash over on pick up and closed the deal..no haggling. I would use the ebay escrow if you have doubts or wire transfers through your bank. I'm sure guys here have been screwed but this has been my experience. I trust my instincts on any deal, if it doesn't feel right then I won't do it.

Bill

 

I have had good luck and really bad luck. For high priced items I always requested a phone number. I sold my 56 Chevy to a guy with Zero Feedback and it went awesome... It was always the cheaper items that caused me grief.

 

I have had both sides of the fence. I have sold about 9 - 10 cars on the EPAY. 80% shootin for me. here are some tips Make it a private sale, Make it where you will cancel there bid unless they call and you aproove them first, and finally post so many gawl damn pics they have no reason to back out. also don't be afraid to show anything thats fucked up. Rust, dents, scratches everything. Yes, yes you might drive a few bidders away, and you might not get as much as a cherry version of the car but it is what it is. Hope this helps

 

I've sold a few big ticket($20k+) items on there. My old roadster, and used machine tools mostly(lathes, mills, etc). Never had a problem.

 

j have sold some stuff there,and have always been lucky so far....

 

I don't know what a phone number will do for you from a bidder, they could say anything and you wouldn't know the difference. There is a dispute console if someone doesn't pay for an item or doesn't contact you then you can file a dispute and recover some of the fees lost. I'm not sure what fees are refunded on cars, but one smaller stuff they refund the final fees charged to your account, but not the initial cost to run the auction.

I say put a feedback limit on there, and shoot for broke. If you tell the truth and don't hide anything back there's no reason for them to back out. Plus you can always take them on people's court, the hottest judge on television always has em in her court room!!!

 

So far, this is the kind of dialogue I was hoping for...so far...

I think a lot of the eBay posts and subsequent links on the HAMB generally turn into "how I got screwed" or "how god-awful ugly is this turd" stories...but thus far, in short order, this thread proves that there are some trustworthy people out there... keep on with the stories.

I did have one and only one car dealing with a guy-- I was the high bidder on his car 2 days before the auction ended. He was a local guy, the ONLY reason I bid on it...well, that and a lot of booze and prodding from my then girlfriend...anyway, it went fine. We agreed on a time for him to drive the car over to my house, gave him the cash- easy.

I won the auction, he had a car I wanted, he was close, the car was represented well in the pics, and even nicer in person. For the money, I stole it, or so I thought. Done Deal. Didn't know what the hell I was going to do with it, but it was fun for a couple years, and I even sold it later for a small profit.

I'm not out to say all eBay deals are bad...but I'm sure a lot are. I think it's helpful to potential sellers (myself included) if they hear from past experiences. I know that not one deal serves as a model for others, but like I said in my first post....we all stand to learn a thing or two when dealing with complete strangers.

 

I have sold several cars on ebay....the most entertaining were the 55 that went to the netherlands and a cuda that went to canada....The 55 was scary cause it was a buy it now.....I don't recomend that as people will hit that button without thinking it through....That particular deal worked out fine, but have had others where it was kids messing around etc..Definetly take pictures of the bad areas, chances are the person looking at the auction already knows what that car looks like. I allways list them as if I was looking at buying it. The cuda was the funniest thing I ever sold on ebay......The guy was from canada, but he was Pakistani.....He wanted to try to cover up the cost of the car to keep the taxes low. I told him I would only take U.S. cash.....So he rents a trailer and U-haul truck and is on his way. So my wife says......."let me get this straight, you have a Pakistan native that is driving a rental truck and trailer that is going to cross the border with a very large amount of cash?" when she put it that way.....yes, he got detained overnight to check his story out. What really makes this funny, is he tried to lie about the price of the car when he returned to canada and they detained him again!!! Most important is making sure the funds are in you hand or in the bank and the bank says they are good before you let the car go. Ebay will not help if the deal goes bad.......

 

About two years my wife wanted to get her high school ride up and running again and sell it on ebay. It was a 1967 Ford Fairlane. It was in decent shape. We did all the necessary repairs to get it up and running and safe to drive. We then took about 30 pics of the car from every angle. We also explained to the "T" The ins, and the outs, and all that was wrong, and right with it. Well after a last second snag bid. This chump (notice the name I have called him.. you see where this is going). drove all the way to Cedar Hill TN from Cincinnati to pick up his newly bought Fairlane. Cedar Hill was where the car was being stored at the "crazy"in-laws house. My wife and I were working and could not be present for the following incident.
This chump picks the car apart while calling my wife "a big fat liar" several times. That really does not go well with a arsenal carrying crazy Father. After several polite attempts at asking this chump to leave his property, my paw-n-law pulls his argument ender from behind his favorite recliner, chucks one in the chamber and ask the chump one more time "politely" to leave his property. No arguments any more he leaves. Two days later we sell the car to the original winning bidder. No problems and a smooth transaction. I have since not sold any cars on Ebay. Sorry for the long winded post but I have never told that tale to anyone.
Thanks Guys,
J

 

gonna sell a car on ebay?? treat it like any other ad. yer gonna get flakes and weirdos, people who simply do not agree with your assessment of the vehicle no matter what you say and how many pics you take.NEVER take paypal as any type of payment. even for a deposit. there is no such thing as a non refundable deposit if paypal is involved. I've listed a parts car twice, which got bid up to $350.00 on a $700.00 reserve. I took another $300.00 worth of parts off it and sold it for $700.00 locally. my 65 mustang got bid up to $3500.oo 0n a $4500.00 reserve. sold it to a bidder about 600 miles away for $4,000.00 after the auction was over.for me ebay is not a good place to sell a car. I have better luck with the auto trader or craigs list.as for buying one.. I'd never give up a single dollar til I see it on person. I'd never bid till I've talked to the guy on the phone and had him email me a shitload pf pics.

 

Also ask for a non-refundable deposit, due asap or with in 24 hrs. I usally asked for $200 non-refundable.

 

I've had bad luck selling...lots of fun buying...but the big items are always a hassle...try craigs list first, then auto trader, then the forums, last E-RAPE!!

 

i have sold a few cars on there, all good luck with little exceptions...lately tho 3 runs of my 67 nova and all turned out to be flakes...cost me a ton.

 

ive had good luck selling cars on ebay, Ive sold 4 cars on ebay and everytime everything went smooth. Always get the money before they come get it. I would never buy a car on ebay because I never buy anything without looking at it in person. And if you get wierd messages asking you to cancel the auction ahead of time because they really want to get it soon, always never end the action.

 

ebay rules for me, both buying and selling...i have bought big ticket items no probs and sold a lot also no probs, maybe i got lucky

 

I sell a lot on ebay, probably 2,000-2,500 transactions since '99. I have had just a small handful of bad mojo. Mostly from stupid people, some from my mistakes.....not many.
I have easily sold 100 cars on there. Only a few bad instances where someone didn't read something, or I missed something. Usually someone doesn't really understand what they are buying....like coming with no trailer to drive home a car without a motor. DUH! Or mistaking a parts car shown in photos on four flats, rusted in half and stuck motor, discribed as strickly a parts car as an easy "project" car. Hello?!?

My official stance on ebay is that they SUCK...but if you want to sell something quick and get pretty good $$ for it, where else are you going to go? Craig's list is a pain in the ass. You get 100 scam emails or tire kickers for every 1 serious buyer. Trader sucks as well. On average, it takes me 3-4 months to sell something...ebay takes 1-3 weeks. We won't even mention the overpriced toliet paper they drop on the doorstep each morning.

Ebay is the best of the worst in my eyes.

 

I bought my Model A on eBay. No problems no surprises. I just sold this Model A yesterday on eBay. I had about a million questions and people calling me. 90% were just tire kickers. The guy that bought my car is a NASCAR crew chief. He called me before bidding asking all the right questions. So I guess I feel pretty comfortable with eBay, but I am always careful with my dealings.

 

I've bought a couple cars off of e-gay with no real problems...and I sold my old 49 on there THREE DIFFERENT TIMES!!

Ha Ha...all three times, somebody "won" the car, and then sent me e-mails saying things like "My kid bid on that for me as a joke", or "On second thought, it's too far to travel to haul a car back here" and such.

Now, curiously...all three people who 'won' the car agreed to reimburse me for my listing fees and all three of them ACTUALLY CAME THROUGH WITH THAT PROMISE! It beats me why they'd bid on a car, change their mind, but then happily pay me all of my listing fees and have nothing to show for it...but I guess everyone enjoys the hobby in their own unique way?!

I finally gave up on e-gay and just offed the car to RacerRick...who gave it a good home and some much needed love!

So long as the weirdo bidders out there who win your car and then change their minds pay for your listing fees and such, I guess it's not such a BAD thing...but it gets old re-listing the car several times!!

 

I have sold about 10 cars on ebay, probably another 5 for friends, all times the deal was great. I sell a ton of parts too, and rarley do I ever have a problem. If I do, it's usually no big deal. If you sell a car and then the buyer backs out, you can get your money back for the list, but it takes a lot of jumping through hoops.

 

I've only sold one car there, but had a really good experience with it.

I sold a '69 Charger last summer with NO problems at all. I posted as many clear photos as possible, described the car REALLY well (mentioning EVERYTHING that could possibly be considered bad - a happy buyer is better than a pissed one), set a feedback limit on bidders, required a non-refundable $500 deposit within 24 or 48 hours of auction close (can't remember which), and demanded full payment BEFORE pickup. They guy sent me a cashier's check within a day or two for the full amount, was pleased as punch when he picked it up one week later. I also had a line in the auction saying I would re-sell the vehicle if it wasn't off my property within 30 days of auction end.
It went really well, and I THINK that's because I made sure everyone knew exactly what they were bidding on and made it clear that they would be giving me all the money before they ever got their hands on the car.
And by the way, the guy who bought it only had about 10 feedbacks, but all positive. One warning that did bite me in the ass: if you're selling something that might go above $15,000, put something in the description telling bidders to get pre-approved by eBay. A guy who called me just before the auction ended planned to buy it and couldn't bid because time ran out before he had a chance to get pre-approved.
I also put no reserve on the auction and started at a really low price, which made for some nerves the first day or two of the auction but by day 3 it was up to what I was willing to sell it for and after that I just relaxed and ignored all the e-mails asking me to sell it to them for some flat price. (My response was always "If you want to buy it, bid on it. If you can't wait 3 more days, you don't want it.)

 

I've sold a few cars and bought a high ticket truck on Ebay....after they missed the reserve. I always include my phone number so the buyer can talk to me directly. I sold a Chevy SW with a buy it now price after the buyer talked to me on the phone.

If I'm seriously interested in a high ticket item, I email the seller and ask for a phone number in a way that lets them know I'm serious. Emails can be composed and edited like novels. Pure BS. A live conversation will root out the BSers. If the guy is too glib, I shy away. It took a couple of trans-continental phone calls before I felt comfortable enough to send, what was big bucks to me, across country. I'm glad I did.

I sold my P/U 6 months after it ran on Ebay. He had to shop around before he committed.

There is no way that I could pay the Ebay prices on cars based on a few pictures.

I have only one neutral feedback. Apparently excellent used condition means it must be NOS perfect to the buyer even after the minor flaws were noted.

 

I've bought 2 cars on eBay. The 62 Falcon wagon was not quite as nice as described, but still a very fair deal and the Model A Tudor was much nicer than described and a smokin deal!

I have a friend who has bought and sold countless cars on eBay . . . some deals work out well . . . others . . . well . . . not so much. Do your homework is the best advice I can give . . . as buyer or seller.

 

The thing ebout ebay is you never know how hot a given item is going to be. I've sold a Riviera, a H-D, an old Dodge pick-up, and bought/sold tons of misc. items. Also saved about 7K on a late model Cummins Dodge.

I always list with no reserve and a minimal starting bid, because as a bidder, reserves piss me off as they are usually a fair final selling price. On large and/or expensive items, the deposit is a good idea.

My only semi-negative experience was when I sold my shovel H-D. The guy sent the required $2,500 deposit, then sent some "old school biker expert" down to pick it up with a large truck. The expert proceeded to pick the thing apart (keep in mind he wasn't the buyer) and criticize the purchase price. I finally told the guy to either pay the balance or f**k off. Then he didn't even use the truck to haul it home. His partner drove the truck and he rode the thing home (1,500 miles). The deal turned out fine, but man did I hate to watch that a**hole ride off on my bike!

 

I've bought a car (the one in my pic) and a motorcycle on eBay and know quite a few people who have sold cars on eBay. I don't think there are nearly as many problems as one would think. You just hear about the bad ones. There are a ton of cars sold on eBay every week. The majority go fine.

Make sure you emphasis that there will be no dickering after the sale. Do a very thorough job of describing everything. Have alot of good pics. As noted, no Paypal.

Be patient as you likely will get tons of questions, but odds are it will be a positive experience. You can also post it here first and see if there are any takers.

 

I haven't sold a car on ebay but a bunch of other stuff. I've also bought five cars that were on ebay. If you are a seller, you can specify that noone with less than 10 positive feedbacks can bid and that anyone with less than 98% positive who bids will have it dismissed.

Most importantly though is YOUR DESCRIPTION. If you are forthright and put up good pics to detail what you say, then you'll get honest folk. As a buyer, especially since I've been burned once, if the car is not exactly as described, I would walk away and leave you holding the bag regardless of what it does to my feedback. How you conduct your auction will determine how well you are treated in return.

 

A friend of mine here in Oklahoma has sold more than 200 cars and bunch of parts since last October on ebay and it has worked out pretty good for hum. He did have a couple of wierd deals happen though. He has two cars sitting right now that the people paid for and have never shown up to pick up them up.

Having said that, I don't like the new deal they have where they charge you for listing up front. It is like thay are getting greedy. Maybe they were getting ripped off by people who would drop listings and sell off line.

cb_chief

 

I have had good luck with e-bay. I have purchased 2 cars and a motorcycle on there and sold one car and a bike on there. No problems so far.

the only problems I have had lately is getting second chance offers lately on stuff I had bid on from the person that wasnt selling the item.

Post the car here if it is old enough and help a HAMBer out before you post it on the bay.