Everyday more and more people turn to eBay to buy and sell products online and eBay Motors, the branch of the company created to sell vehicles is no different. I have bought and sold vehicles at eBay Motors and have had some great and some no so great experiences on both sides of the fence but either way it was always learning experience that helped me later on.
Obviously if you’re trying to sell a car online at eBay Motors you’re probably looking for the best possible price. Here are a few tips that you can use to get the best price when selling your car online. First and foremost, you must clean and fully detail your car so that it appears as close to perfect as possible depending on its overall condition and you should never try to conceal any minor flaws. When people are depending on pictures to buy a car they don’t want to guess what’s under the dirt or try to figure out how bad a flaw really is. Being brutally honest might net you a little less but it will prevent any headaches later on in the dealing process.
Never try and skimp on your auction description and pictures. As mentioned earlier, people are buying a car and potentially spending a bunch of cash so if they see anything they don’t like they will pass your auction or listing in a heartbeat. It is much better to take as many pictures as possible, a good rule of thumb is to provide as many pictures as you would like to see if you were the buyer. Also post them up as a slideshow or a collage and cover all the angles, don’t put up one picture and say email me for more, many people will not go through the trouble of requesting more photos for any mainstream model car.
I recommend that you take pictures of the following angles to help the potential car buyer understand what kind of shape your car is in. Keep your pictures flowing around the car to ensure you don’t miss anything and it will help the buyer realize that you’ve covered everything they’re looking for?
Start at the driver’s side and take a shot at an angle shooting toward the headlight but showing the entire driver’s side in the photo then move around the vehicle taking the side, rear, passenger, and then straight on front. Taking the long angles is very helpful to show that your car body is true and doesn’t have waves from a bad body job. Be sure to take close ups of any damage or flaws and point them out in your auction or listing description as well. Once you’ve covered the exterior of the vehicle take clear pictures of the interior including each of the seats, floor mats and under the floor mats, the headliner, and the dashboard. When you take a picture of the dashboard make sure you take a solo shot of the odometer to verify the mileage.
Moving on you want to take pictures of the engine compartment which is why it is crucial that it has been detailed nicely. One trick my friend uses that not many people think of is to take the dipstick out and take a close up of the oil to show that is fresh and clean. This might or might not help but the more you show the less hassle you’ll get in the selling process.
Now that you have the exterior, interior and engine covered you will want to add some pictures of the under carriage of your car. This is becoming the more and more the norm when people are looking at used vehicles online, they want to ensure they aren’t missing anything. To take away all their fears of damage and rust issues you should capture images of the front portion, mid portion and the back portion and make sure you include the muffler, catalytic converter and the wheel wells and any other areas that you feel should be covered. A lot of car enthusiasts will take shots with their wheels off to show the brake rotors or take shots of the shocks and so on but that’s up to you. You’ll usually see this if the seller is showing that they just changed or upgraded to new parts.
The last tip I will recommend is something I think is extremely important for any sale but especially if you’re selling a classic or vintage car and that is the cars documents. That is the original owner’s documents and manual with any repairs and regular maintenance. Also include any preventative maintenance documents like rust proofing or any improvements that you’ve made since buying the car.
Provide your phone number and email so people can call or contact you with questions. If you make sure you answer any email or phone requests promptly and courteously and include what’s been outlined above, I’m positive you’ll get the best deal possible for your car without any major problems during the whole car selling process.