173. List Your Vehicle BEFORE YOU BEGIN 128 About the eBay Sell Your Item Page 172 Use the "Sell Your Vehicle" Checklist
SEE ALSO 137 Review and Post Your Auction
After you've completed the seller's checklist, you're ready to list your vehicle on eBay Motors. Give yourself plenty of time for this task because how you handle it will determine whether your car sells and what its eventual selling price will be. When you sell a vehicle, you use the same general page you do to create listings for other items, although some differences exist. For more information about selling items on eBay and filling out an auction page, go to 124 About Selling on eBay . | 1. | Open the Auction Form Click the Sell link at the top of any eBay Motors page and then click Sell Your Item on eBay Motors Now! . If you're not logged in to eBay, you must log in before you can continue. After you log in, click Sell Item at Online Auction . NOTE If you want to sell your vehicle at a fixed price, select Sell at a Fixed Price . | | 2. | Choose Categories and Enter a VIN First, select whether the vehicle you want to list is a passenger vehicle, motorcycle, and so on. Then select the vehicle's manufacturer and model. When you're done, click Continue . On the next page, enter your vehicle's VIN and click Continue . When you do this, your auction page is automatically populated with specific information about your vehicle, based on its VIN. NOTE If you're selling a car older than a 1991 model, it won't have a VIN that can be used to automatically fill in auction information. In that case, or in an instance in which you can't locate the VIN, in the Listing a 1991 or Older Vehicle? section of the page, click Continue and fill out information about the car. | | 3. | Write the Auction Title and Description You come to a page on which you write the auction title and a description of the vehicle. If you entered a VIN for a 1992 or newer vehicle, some information will already be filled in. For basic information about how to write a title and description, turn to 130 Write the Title and Description ; to learn how to use HTML to format the description, turn to 131 Format Your Description with eBay's HTML Editor . And for more advice on how to create titles and descriptions that sell, see 156 About Writing Effective Ad Copy, 157 Jazz Up Text and Headlines with HTML , and 158 Colorize and Change Fonts and Add Effects with HTML . Use the information from your seller's checklist, as detailed in 172 Use the "Sell Your Vehicle" Checklist to fill out the page, including equipment, mileage, whether there is a warranty and title, and so on. 173. List Your Vehicle When writing a description and history of a vehicle, there are some special things you should include or be aware of. Put yourself in the shoes of the buyer and imagine what you would want to know about a used car. In particular, consider these tips: -
Include the car's ownership and maintenance history, as far as you know it. -
Highlight any special features, options, or equipment such as a sunroof or special sound system. -
If you have a warranty that can be transferred, mention that and include details. -
Note any damage, wear and tear, and mechanical or cosmetic problems with the vehicle. -
If your car has been in an accident , mention that. TIP It's important to be as accurate and honest as possible in your description so you don't later run into problems after the sale has been madeyou don't want the buyer claiming you misrepresented the condition of the car. In the Terms of Sale section of the auction page, you should include the terms of the sale. Again, be as explicit as possible here. Do you have any requirements that a deposit (or partial payment) be made? If so, how long does the buyer have to make the deposit? Sellers frequently ask that a partial payment be made within 2472 hours. How will you accept payment? PayPal is an excellent way to accept payment and has become the standard on eBay. (For more information, go to www.paypal.com.) Will you accept escrow payments? Will you ship the car, and if so, who will pay for shipping costs? How will the title be transferredin person or some other way? NOTE Consider having your vehicle inspected before selling it and making the inspection available online to potential buyers . A posted inspection makes people more likely to bid on the vehicle. For details, go to http://pages.ebay.com/ebaymotors/services/inspection/inspection.html. If you do have an inspection done, enable the Vehicle Has Been Inspected check box on the auction creation page and provide information about the inspection in your description. When you're done filling in the Describe Your Item page of the auction-creation form, click the Continue button located at the bottom of the page. | | 4. | Include Pictures and Details
Next, you select the details of your auction, including its length, starting price, whether you want a reserve price, and similar information. You fill out this page just as you do a normal eBay auction. For details, see 132 Choose Pricing, Duration, and Location . Make sure that you include pictures; without them, it's unlikely that anyone will buy your vehicle. It's best to include several photos, with a variety of views, as outlined in the seller's checklist. For information on how to post pictures to your auction page, see 134 Add Pictures to Your Auction .
When you're done with the Provide Pictures & Item Details page of the auction-creation form, click Continue . There might be a slight delay as your pictures upload.
| | 5. | Choose Payment and Shipping Information On the Enter Payment & Shipping page, you detail the terms of the sale. Be as explicit as possible here. Do you have any requirements that a deposit (or a partial payment) be made? If so, how long does the buyer have to make the deposit? Sellers frequently ask that a partial payment be made within 2472 hours after the auction ends. How will you accept payment? PayPal is an excellent way to accept payment and has become the standard on eBay. (For more information, go to www.paypal.com.) Will you accept escrow payments using an escrow service such as www.escrows.com? Will you ship the car, and if so, who will pay for shipping costs? How will the title be transferredin person or some other way? After you fill out the Enter Payment & Shipping page, click the Continue button at the bottom of the page. NOTE There are two places on the selling form where you enter payment and shipping information. Double-check that the information is consistent in both places and that you don't contradict yourself. | | 6. | Review and Submit Your Auction
The next page you see asks whether the vehicle has been modified in any special way or whether it's what eBay considers a "special vehicle type." (The special vehicle types are listed on the page.) If the vehicle has not been modified and is not a special vehicle, it qualifies for the eBay warranty. (For details, go to http://pages.motors.ebay.com/services/assurance.html.) When you're done with the page, click Continue .
You come to a page that shows the completed auction, including your eBay fees. Review the page and click the Back button if you want to change any details. When you're done, click the Submit Listing button at the bottom of the page. Make absolutely sure that everything is the way you want it before submitting the listing. For details, see 137 Review and Post Your Auction .
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