eBay Used Car Buying Tips Part Two

What is the biggest advantage of buying a car on eBay? Price of course. Yes, I understand for some folks the biggest advantage of buying a used car on eBay might just be not having to spend the better part of their day with someone like myself, but in the interest of keeping my ego intact I'm voting for price. (Besides, the "price" topic will take much less time to type than the "why one wouldn't want to spend their day with a used car salesperson" topic would.)

So we've established price is the most compelling reason to buy a car on eBay. That's great and all, but what does it mean? Do dealers recognize eBay Motors is all about value and price their inventory accordingly? Do you, the used car buyer, just click on the buy-it-now button, secure in your knowledge that eBay Motors is about value therefore it must be the best price? Better still, do you just merrily bid away on your desired car's auction, again secure in the knowledge that eBay is about value and surely the market would never allow you to overpay? Probably not so much.

How does one get the best price on eBay Motors? Simple, you ask for it! I know, I know, I'm patronizing you just a little bit. Seriously though, paying the best price possible for your next car on eBay Motors is just as simple as asking for it. What's the catch? The catch is you have to know what the best price is to ask for it! Actually, you need to know how to determine a fair price for your next used car.

How do you determine a fair price? eBay Motors' new design provides you with a great starting point. In the top right corner of the vehicle listing pages eBay conveniently provides both a Kelly Blue Book price range as well as a range that the vehicle in question has sold for recently on eBay. I know my fellow dealers will wish to kill me for saying this but folks, unless you've found the "print check" button on the Kelly Blue Book website you should not pay too much attention to those numbers. They are generally just not based in reality. It is really a shame too, because I would dearly love to sell all of you a used car for Kelly Blue Book's suggested retail. eBay's numbers however are very relevant but you must keep in mind that those prices represent a large disparity in terms of the overall quality and condition of the used cars being sold on the Motors website.

I like to have three sources of information to fall back on when determining price. In addition to eBay Motor's numbers I would also suggest you look up your desired used car at the N.A.D.A. consumer website as well as on Cars.com or AutoTrader.com. Pay attention to the miles and equipment listed on the cars your viewing as they will most certainly vary. Make sure your comparing apples to apples to the best of your ability.

Once you've written down the varying price ranges you've found during your quick research you have two choices on how to proceed. You can average the numbers out to arrive at a fair offering price or you can approach the eBay dealer or seller with the lowest number and allow yourself to be moved upwards a bit. Seeing as selling used cars is my profession I enjoy negotiating so I tend to come in low and work from there. If, like most used car buyers, your not comfortable with negotiating, then I would suggest the average route. Call, don't email, your eBay dealer or seller and present him or her your offer. At this point the dealer will know you are a committed buyer because you've already paid someone money to have his or her car inspected. If both you and the dealer are realistic you should quickly come to an agreement.

Does that sound overly simplistic to you? It is. I've given you a good foundation of knowledge from which to get started but a blog is just not a realistic venue to provide you with a detailed step-by-step analysis on how to obtain the best price for your next car from eBay Motors. For instance, I don't have the room to conveniently show you the reasoning and methods behind what I am telling you here. I could fill an entire book on pricing strategy alone so I've kept this as simple and relevant as possible.

If you chose to apply my advice while purchasing your next used car from eBay Motors please be aware that negotiating a sale outside of eBay is strictly against eBay rules. Most, but not all, eBay used car dealers and sellers will close the sale outside of the auction forum. As a buyer, you are giving up all protections offered by eBay Motors if you do not complete the sale on eBay Motors. Please make sure you have done your due diligence. If your reading my blog, I'm confident you have. Thanks for stopping and see you next time!