Reserve or no reserve? ebay strategies

[herbivor]

What are your thoughts of selling a car at no reserve on ebay? Feels like a risk, but also like no reserve could bring more attention and more money. I know I tend to get more excited when I see a car for no reserve. I'm considering to test this theory on my own car when it goes up for auction this Sunday.

[eduTechnic]

Trust your feelings Luke. eBay is about the thrill of the hunt and the possibility of a jack pot. They being said you've also got to cover your costs. Start at 0 with an honest reserve, but you are on eBay so you're subject to the crows.

Sent from my Note 2

[TurboJake]

Reserves are for people that think their things are worth their weight in gold plated adamantium.

Case in point. Rusty non running shot interior square tail 2002 that I won for $200. Didn't meet reserve. Person emails me and says "I'll sell it to ya for 4k."

Ever since then, I've never bid on anything with a reserve.

[flyboyx]

yeah....i pretty much agree with jake on this one. here is what i would do: try running it as an auction with a reserve if you need to. then, when it doesn't sell, you can try doing a buy it now auction with best offer. you will get some low balls for sure but you can set the buy it now to automatically decline an offer if it is below a certain price. if you try to run a no reserve auction after you try a reserve one, it has been my experience that it won't go that well normally because most of the bidders watched it not sell the first time.

[eduTechnic]

It depends on the item. High value items with a poor audience or low views could mean you lose a lot of money and get negative feedback because maybe you'd have to back out of the sale. Low-to-mid value items, sure roll the dice. There are trade offs to both

Sent from my Note 2

[graveshaker]

No reserve will bring action a lot sooner and is more entertaining for the seller. Many times seller's get scared at the finale 12 hour mark and end the auction. These sellers don't realize how many last second bidders are out there just waiting to place bids. That said, list with no reserve and also start the bid at $1.00 and stay in for the long haul. Be as descriptive and honest as possible with many pics highlighting every detail. Use proper english with good punctuation and you should make out fine.

[Cabriolet]

screw dealing with ebay. i buy and sell nearly exclusively on craigslist.
and i always get my "reserve" price or higher.
bought a 91 cabriolet 2100, drove fixed up sold 2400. bought a 325es from friend drove sold for 2700 in the low of the e30 market. bought a 91 mtech2 for 4300, put 14k into it, sold for 10800, 2 weeks ago.
it's all about writing a good detailed add, quality grammar, and excellent photos.

[graveshaker]

screw dealing with ebay. i buy and sell nearly exclusively on craigslist.
and i always get my "reserve" price or higher.
bought a 91 cabriolet 2100, drove fixed up sold 2400. bought a 325es from friend drove sold for 2700 in the low of the e30 market. bought a 91 mtech2 for 4300, put 14k into it, sold for 10800, 2 weeks ago.
it's all about writing a good detailed add, quality grammar, and excellent photos.

So true, but ebay works if you don't live in a very populated area or the market is not good in your area.

[10Toes]

I believe that for selling cars on Ebay the winning bid is non binding, so if it goes for less then you want you want you don't have to sell it.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/non-binding-bid.html

In most cases, a bid on eBay is a legally binding contract between the buyer and the seller. Due to state laws and the complexities of real estate and vehicle transactions, bids in those categories are non-binding.

[naplesE30]

I would set a reserve at the lowest possible price you could bare. Don't set a buy it now as it devalues the car imho. I see buy it now I say to myself that is the high water mark for a car and simply try to negotiate down from that price if its even remotely faily priced(as they are on the silly side many times). Setting a low reserve ensures you of at least a sale, and encourages bids. Give a proper description with pics of flaws no matter how small(gives buyer a sense of a honest seller) and it should sell for a fair price for both parties.

I have had good success with cl on my 318is bought for 3k drove for 60k miles and sold for 4.5k which was asking price, and a fair price at that. Also bought a 325ic with hard top and spare m30b35 and sold hard top separate from car made a few hundred and kept the m30. I am always up front of what the car is and what I will sell it for before a showing. If anything I always understate the quality of the product/car as you will never sell when someone shows up and is immediately disappointed that the product whatever it is, is not what they were led to believe. The 318is I sold to the first person to see it, the 325ic went to the second showing of it... It saves a lot of time and grief to just be very frank about what you expect to be paid for a car.

Link to your ebay listing when you sell.

[dubdub]

I agree with the first section above... I'd list it with a reserve as the lowest point you'd possibly sell the car for. Not what you want, not what you hope for... a legitimate posting of where you'd be sorta irritated to let it go so low. That way you still get a price you can live with, but you also protect against all the E30 bidders being away that week on vacation and getting too low of bids on a no reserve auction.

I agree with what many others have said, CL is a waste of time. If your E30 is nice, you won't find the right market there... less likely at least. The only problem with the CCA is that it can take some time. With that said, if you have the time to get it in and wait for the next month to be published, that is where you'll find the best buyers.