WTF? How does everyone else make MONEY selling S#!T?

Kirk,

Very nice car, should get what you are asking for sure!!

I have been buying and selling on Ebay for 8 years now. One thing I've learned is that there's almost no rhyme or reason why things sell for what they sell for. A perfect example:

2 weeks ago, I put a dual quad tunnel ram intake with 2 Holley 600 carbs up for sale. $9.99 opening bid, $250.00 reserve and a $350.00 "buy-it-now" price. ZERO bids!!! Reposted it this week and it meet the reserve the first day of auction (which made the "buy-it-now" price disappear) and by the time the auction ended it went higher than the buy-it-now price, all the way to $455.00!!!!

I know it's expensive to sell (or try to sell) cars on ebay as they charge you all outdoors even if you don't sell, but that car will eventually sell when the right guys see it.

Good luck!!!

Matt

 

Start HIGH!!!! 16.5 !?!? People are gonna think theres something seriously wrong with it!!! Look, the people that want to buy kustoms, finished. They're gonna feel better if they spend a lot instead of a little. people with that kind of money aren't looking for a bargain. They aren't going to go bragging to their friends about what a deal they got.

That car is worth some scratch

 

I love the car.

I think you should use better key-words.

You listed it under 1947 Ford. I wouldn't have looked at that.

I would re-list it, and put 47 Ford Hot Rat Kustom

That way you're hitting more lists, so to speak.

Or, just leave it sit in your garage and I'll buy it by fall. If you agree, I will sell everything I own to raise the dough!

Deal? Huh? What's that? Okay then!

 

The only cars I've ever MADE money off of were the ones I bought in good running condition, drove for awhile, and flipped without any additional investment.

I lost my ass on every car I ever dumped money into.

 

Making money on a car is a fantasy I think.. the top cars go for top dollar because some buyers like to show off. The price we sell most of our cars are in the average joe price range. Most average joes dont have $15 to $20k to spend on something, that is why financiing is so popular and why folks start with $1000 shit piles and sink a ton of money only to have it worth half of whats into it (or that is all people are willing to pay.. they want to steal it). Money is hard to come by sometimes in large quantities.. and why so many folks want to trade. (no one will buy theirs, because no one has money, so trades are how they get something new..

I thought my Sedan was fairly priced, its got top quality parts on it... but haven't gotten a single offer.... I look on ebay and I see shitbox Model A get big money... WHY????

put it in the GG hauler and take it to every show... put a price tag on it about $25,000 and make sure everyone knows its a GG car (put your business card on it)... it will sell.. because someone will hope it will get them recognition and into the 'in' crowd...

 

If you had a 100% feedback rating, I might have bought it....

 

man o man KIRK i passed your car info along to my dad because he was looking to buy a killer custom. so instead he ignores my suggestion and ends up getting some "street rod" car with a bad 90's paint job. i was kinda looking foward to having your car in the family. oh well maybe next time. good luck on your sale but i kinda agree with everyone, i think you need to finish it and drive the hell out of it! it's a beautiful ride.

_travis

 

Come ON, Kirk! Your car is frowning. How can you try to attract the feeble minded and internet sheep if you don't have a barn find 32 or a bone stock 67 Camaro?

Honestly, though, I don't know whay eGay gets all the attention. How many cars do you see selling for $X.00 and two weeks later the seller is relisting it because of a deadbeat bidder? Or, like you said earlier, a POS model A frame with a 1972 Cadillac motor (and all the emissions attachments) linked up to a Ford Escort transmission with radial tires around rotten Cragars gets $20K. And it's a great shade of Astroturf green. While the next honest 27 turtledeck roadster can't even break reserve.

Better yet, sell it HERE. No listing fees, except a donation to Ryan, and you know you'll get it gone to a good home.

Stick it out, and get what you want for your ride, that's a bas ass scoot. Good luck.

 

I wish you guys would stop talking about my car...
...alright so as of now I'm about 10K short, but I'll get it...

...As to Ebay, it's really hit and miss. I've seen stuff go for way too much then like this car, I was real surprised it didn't sell...I think starting the bidding lower is a good way to go...but I guess that didn't work out. Go figure...I sold my Ranchero on there a while back and actually I was surprised what I got for it...so, I guess I really don't know shit...

Wish we could have worked out something on the Roadster...I'm still trying to get the money up...got a garage sale going on right now in the classifieds...Think I'll be putting the roadster up soon...

 

lotta good ideas here. but the one i most agree with is the pics. ive only seen the one shot of your car, the one you posted. this car is something i would normally really love, especially the grill. but i gotta tell you, that pic doesnt really showcase what a nice ride it probably is when seen in person (judging by all the comments of the people that have seen it in person). you must know a dozen excellent photographers. get some good pics that really do it justice.

 

KIRK, 12 rattle cans of flat black and a couple cans of red for the wheels and you can prolly pull $20K for it. Those freaks on e-bay go for the off beat things.

Seriously, as stated before, there is no real rhyme or reason. Offer it up here first, then the GG Gazette THEN e-bay as a last resort.

Vance

 

KIRK, Just some opions of mine, not ment to hurt your feelings. There is a limited group of buyers for every $5,000 step in a cars price. Most cars under $1,000 can be flipped and a buck made on them. You can spend $5,000. on some and get a small profit. Once you break 10-15 there are less people looking, and the ones that are will be looking for features they like. Personally I like pre 1940 vehicles, don't know if that is were the majority of interest is, if so there are less people looking at post war cars & trucks. The more you have tied up in a car the tougher it is to recover it. I know there are no answers in what I wrote, but that is how it looks to me.

 

I think the car is fine but I would would change a couple things before photographing as far as taking the rug or whatever that grey stuff is out of the car, lay a single color blanket over the seat and take the tape out of the back window holding the plate, after that I would completely rewrite the add, no offense to how it was written but when you sell on ebay you are a salesman and you need to be honest but also need to write in a careful manner, the whole "New" column was kinda of dragged out, put it writing not in a detailed list. also start the bid at $1000 with a contatct phone number so people can call you and you can sell them on any doubts or questions they may have at that time.

 

paint it and put an interior in it. Itle sell then

 

Like has been said, better photos, get it on a lift somewhere and take some of the undercarriage too. Show the inside of the top (more close-up). If this was a Woodie, it would be bid to $75K (go figure)... show the bottoms of the doors, rockers, running boards, etc. - pretend you never saw the car before in your life, but wanted it, and take photos of everything you'd look at. As much of the NEW stuff as possible. Close-ups of the gauges.

Give the buyer at least 10 days to come get it no charge, with an up-front storage charge policy if they don't show up. It takes a lot of time to get a hauler to pick up a car, especially if they're going with a cheap one.

Spend the $8 to run it 10 days, too. The more people have a chance to see it the better the chance of a bidder.

You can always start cheap with no reserve and just cancel it around 12 hours (after that the system doesn't let you cancel) from the end.


What I have been doing lately is running them once in a regular category then putting them under 'parts cars' in the eBay store (which requires it not be drivable, not an issue on most of my junk) which costs 3 cents a month.


eBay doesn't follow any rhyme or reason to stuff, sometimes you do better at a big-name auction. The car aught to easily bring $25,000 as-is (or maybe with side glass and the window garnish).

I'd spend the $200 or so to have some new side glass cut for it and put it in there, finish the garnish moldings, and fix the hood. The Auction title suggestions above are good, too, if you can fit in the title and subtitle or model "1947 Ford Kustom rat hot rod custom 1946 1948 46 47 48" and slip some keywords in the description ("built in the style of a George Barris or Gene Winfield custom") may help. Don't know that having Noyd's name in it helps much, but I guess it can't hurt.


Then again, maybe it just needs to be flat black with red steelies, that seems to be the current "resale red" ....


Cars are a slow market on there, parts do better. I can't get $2500 for a crappy '59 Impala convertible, but I could get $400 for the trim tag, $400 for the top, $100 for the wheel, $300 for what's left of the side stainless, etc. You'd think it'd be worth $2500 to someone to make what would be a $30K car when done (2dr ht) worth closer to $50K -

 

I don't think anyone else has said it but I hate "buy it nows" on vehicles at least. When you do that, people say "screw that" and move on without bidding. Let the public price your car. Even those douchebags who bid 100 bucks get the ball rolling. I haven't had any luck on ebay but have had buddies buy hotrods on there one week and make money by listing it the next. I had 27 bids on my last auction on my daily driver. They missed the reserve by dollars but I could tell people were getting emotional and trying to outbid the other guy. All it takes is two guys but the buy it now may scare people off. Just my .02

Mootz

 

Most of this is stuff I know but didn't folow my own knowledge. I've been selling very successfully on ebay fo almost ten years. Selling cars has always been my wak point on and off of ebay. I have lost money on every car I've sold.

 

You will sell it sooner or later. Just have to find the right person at the right time. Had a guy that I work with trying to sell a very nice restored 69 chevy c10 swb truck. After a year, he finally sold it to a local guy. He invested over 20k in it and wanted only 15K out of it. Saw it the other day, and the new owner has it up for sale. He's wanting 23,500.

 

Yeah, what HE said. Pics of the underside. I can't count how many times I've looked at eGay postings and just kept going if there wasn't a shot of the underneath of the car (a few good clean shots of it). Even if it has some cancer, it says you're honest about its condition.

 

I have had bad luck selling my cars there to. I tried moving a car on there well worth double the price. I guess it scared the bidders away like something was wrong with it and my feedback is 100% they just wouldnt bid.
They bid on the junk stuff but not mine.

 

16.5 with no side glass/paint/interior/bags that the kids want/needs a few grand worth of chroming/missing trim/busted hood that won't stay on so can't drive it home/ghetto taped on rear plate/no pics of all this new suspension you have on it/no pics of the workmanship used in your welding on the roof & floor etc and you haven't even bothered to throw a $5 mexican blanket over the ripped seats. Be real, brother, do you really WANTto sell this car? Cuz ya ain't trying very hard. Put the reserve at 12.5 and you'll sell it, otherwise, fix it up bro and take some more pics.

 

Like everyone says, ebay is really strange. I have sold three cars on ebay.
Two of them I broke even on and one I made 20k+ on. Who knows what it will do, however I am pretty happy with what I have sold (cars and parts). I dont buy that ebay buyers are mindless sheep like some say, but rather that with ebay people now have the chance to find the car or the part they always wanted and that is reflected in the price. I know that if I had seen my dream car and it was 5K overpriced but I knew I would never see another like it (and I had the means) I would do it. Sure as shit.
In regards to your car, I think 16K is a very fair price, however I would never bid 16k right out of the gate. It is all a game and you have to play it on ebay. The only other way is to list it on places like cars-on-line or autotrader and play the other game (tire-kickers and lookey-lou's).

Good luck... It is a cool car, I dont think it will last long at 16K.

Hyfire

 

I've been aggressive with selling my stuff since a bad experience a few years ago. I'm honest, but fuck being humble!

I sold my 64 GTO on Ebay, and I got killed. It had to go, I was sick of it, and needed some quick cash to get the 60 Catalina I just found.

The ad was honest, pointing out the flaws, etc. It sold for $3800. When the guy picked it up I loaded the car with extra parts, so much that I had to cram stuff under the car on the flatbed. Even though there was no reason he couldn't have driven it home.

A WEEK later, it was back on Ebay. This time all the parts were stripped, the new wheels/tires gone, no tach, swapped the crappy interior I gave him for the fresh one that was INSTALLED when I gave it to him, and a ton of other little things missing. The nice trim was gone, etc. Anyway, with all the easy to remove parts gone, the car sold for $6900! He wrote a good ad, pumped up the car for what it was, and kept for himself about $3000 in parts that he likely sold for 5k.

After that I stopped being humble. The 2nd buyer called me from Florida a few weeks later after he found me online. He didn't even realize this car was the same car he ignored in a different auction a week before. In my ad, the car looked like a gasser. In the new ad, it looked like a shell of a GTO with a matching engine.

Spend a week on it, get better pics, change the attitude of the ad, and raise your reserve to 20k. You'll get more.

 

"If you are not the winning bidder and would still like to own the product, please contact me in 3-4 days after closing. Occasionally a bidder has backed out and the product may still be available."

This would make me not bid on it.....Would make me think you are selling to the highest bidder even after the auction is over...

 

Point taken. I just have a hard time covering shit up that's not finished. I want the buyer to get EXACTLY what he sees in the auction when it shows up at his house. I have been fucked too many times by people who CONVENIENTLY forget to mention problems or HIDE fucked up shit. Then they hide behind the semantics of their vague description.

I WILL NOT screw someone when selling a car. THAT'S my biggest problem.

As far as the quality of the work goes, I am definitely lacking on showcasing that. I know that the work rules and was more concerned with telling the very few negatives and not focusing on the good. Assuming that people would assume it's good. I guess people assume the worst. That's more natural.

 

I have a mustang that's only worth half of what I have in it, it sucks, I think i've changed my mind about selling it. It's at a point where if I put just a bit more money (parts) and work into it, it would be worth quite a bit more.

BTW, I'll trade you 2 mustangs and $6k for it! I really dig that car, it's a knockout!

 

You asked for opinions and you may not like this one. I think the guys on here are taking it easy on you. In your ad you come across as a total dick. You talk down to me(the buyer)throughout the entire ad and then have the nerve to me for 16500. With the all caps in your answers it seems that you are annoyed that these people have the nerve to question YOU. If you walked up to someone selling a car at a show and he started answering questions that the guy before you asked in a smart ass tone you would walk away and probably say fuck you. You can't assume the same people that were watching your auction the first time are still around. If they were interested enough to still be watching they would have bid the first time. I'm not saying that you should be kissing ass but you are asking them for a pretty big chuck of change.You need to SELL the car in your ad. I'm not saying screw anyone But don't screw yourself either. You should spend at least twice as much space telling about all the cool custom stuff and new mechanicals and tell then what it still needs. Read this one paragraph and pretend you know nothing about the car and have never seen it. How does it come across to you? This is nothing personal on you and if you will take a left nut in trade I'd give mine up for this car. Clay


Here are some answers to questions that are being asked. YES, I have the garnish moldings. They just are not cut yet. YES, the side glass is flat glass, and I have the good original glass. YES, the garnish moldings and glass comes with the car. NO, I don't want to trade for your motorcycle or muscle car. NO, the hood is not currently attached to the car. I was beginning to make the necessary MINOR repairs but am currently traveling too much to do so. The damage is to the bolt holes for the locater pin cross piece. The cross piece with the locater pin needs reinforcing or replacing. The car will be shipped with the hood. YES, the repairs to the hood are ONLY underneath the hood. The outside of the hood is GREAT! YES, the car runs and drives fine. NO, it is not a $100,000 Boyd car. It's a very nicely done car that needs finishing but can definitely be enjoyed as is. YES, the dash is painted and cleared and perfect with ALL NEW chrome.

 

Interesting take...

The caps were meant as easier breaks for the sentences, not as yelling. Good point. Thanks.

 

I really appreciate the answers, observations and input. You guys have inadvertently (sp?) written a great selling manual for ebay.

I'm off to Nashville. See you guys in a week.

Thanks again!