Ebay. It has been around for a long time. In fact, it has been around since the same year Ralph and I were born. The founder was the same age that we are now – 28 years old. And they’ve done a stellar job, expanding and growing their business for consumers around the world.
For many, its become the go to platform to sell your car, but from our experience, its the go to place to get messed around. On the surface it looks like a done deal – a big audience of users buying everything from clothes pegs to bed sheets and then a motor on top. But how many are really doing the latter?
Well, given its not prohibitively expensive to sell, its generally cheap and project cars that you’ll find on there. But on the odd occasion we still see some high calibre cars, big ticket vehicles on there? But why? eBay isn’t where the motivated petrolheads go to buy a clean, well maintained car. Hence, the rise of digital auction houses and classified sites, including ours.
So this article is intended to remind you, that the real place to sell your car starts here.
Ebay fees explained:
Classified listing fee: £19.99
Auction listing fee: £14.99 + 1% of the final transaction (min. £25 and max £45)
On top of this, you have to pay for ‘Gallery Plus’ at £2.99 for all sales routes (Auction and Classified), as well as £0.49p for a subtitle in your listing… Crazy right!?
In addition you now have to pay for a reserve price with their auction function, which sets you back £10.00. For a buy it now option, its £6.99.
So for all these options when selling at auction, you’re looking at £35.49 + up to £45 as a max final transaction fee, so all in all you’re spending a maximum of £80.49. Quite a lot to have a no show or someone that tries to haggle, only for you to have to go again for another £80.49 and more of your time.
So ask yourself, how much do you value your time?
The problems with selling a car on eBay:
Tyre Kickers:
We’ve all been there. Someone has won the auction on your car, committed to come and collect it based on all the information you’ve supplied. But it just hasn’t been good enough. They haggle despite committing to pay the final amount at auction, claiming there’s something wrong with the car and want money off despite their obligations as part of the terms and conditions.
eBay don’t care, they’ve got their money and reporting the buyer doesn’t have any impact. They might get banned for a few months, but they can just set up another account from a different phone number. They’ve made no attempts to stop this behaviour.
Listing Detail:
Selling a car is hard as the detail is key. Taking high calibre photos that show off the true condition of the car, creating a video of each and every element of the vehicle are both activities that require skill. Knowing what to write in the description and anticipating the questions the buyer has is also something you need to prepare. All of this takes time which is difficult when you’re getting constant messages from prospects over the phone, messenger app and more.
This is why having a third party screen these questions and offers takes the pressure off… Something TCC is expert at.
So, how much does it cost to sell on The Cool Classics?
So, how much does it cost to sell on The Cool Classics?It’s Free.
We’ll capture all the photography of your car, curate the description with all the right information so the buyer doesn’t need to ask too many questions. We’ll screen any offers before even putting them to you (classifieds) for consideration – if they don’t meet your minimum price, we won’t waste your time asking.
How we differ from eBay and other auction houses:
The Buyer’s Cool Commission: We only charge 5% to the buyer, which is capped, so they won’t haggle as much as they would on other well known auction sites that charge anywhere between 7% and 15% to both the seller and/or buyer.
No Pressure: We don’t push you to sell below your minimum reserve. We’re not trying to hit sales targets, just put your car in the hands of the right buyer, so both of you are happy.
Transparency: We’re passionate about the best calibre cars. We want the buyer and seller to be happy and enjoy their experience.
We stand for something: Ralph and I started this site to override the wheeler dealer activity of the classic car scene, and also inspire younger generations to drive and invest in cool classics.
If these aren’t good enough reasons, send one of us an email and we’d be happy to discuss your feedback and apply any improvements.
Cars we have sold:
Since launching our platform we have sold an array of vehicles, ranging from Series 2A Land Rovers, a classic Alpine A110, a Morgan Aeromax and many more – some of which have sold before going up on our website.
What are you waiting for?
Get the highest return for your vehicle and save yourself the annoyance of dealing with the wrong buyers. Sell Cool with TCC today.
