Why not take your eBay selling
expertise, and offer your services to car dealers
in your local area?
You know how to create auctions, take and upload
photos, and manage auctions. The dealers have
vehicles which are getting a tiny fraction of
the exposure which eBay could offer.
You might decide to offer this to
dealers on a no-cost basis. In other words,
you bear the cost of eBay's listing and selling
fees. The benefit here is that there is no reason
why the dealer shouldn't give you the go-ahead.
They could get a sale without cost to them and
no extra effort on their behalf. That's what I
call a no-brainer!
Alternatively, you could pass on the fees to the
dealer on the basis that they would be spending
money anyway on press advertising.
The other commercial arrangements are simple.
You could work on a commission, where you get
a percentage of the sale price. Or you could agree
a price which the dealer will accept for the sale
of the car, and anything you can get above that
price is your profit. This would work particularly
well if the dealer has had a vehicle for some
time, and has no interest in it.
The best types of cars to sell
on eBay are those that are unusual for
one reason or another. It might be vintage or
classic vehicles, sports cars or high value models.
You're best to avoid what might be termed "normal"
cars. It also depends on the kind of dealers you
have in your area.
One of the major potential problems is easily
handled. You can't expect the dealer to cease
trying to sell a vehicle which you have on eBay
auction. In every auction you run for a car,
you state that the vehicle is also on sale in
other ways, and that you reserve the right to
withdraw it before the end of the auction period.
You will see such statements on many eBay car
auctions.
This idea doesn't have to be limited to cars.
There are big ticket item opportunities in several
categories. You're looking for retail outlets
which tend to concentrate on local advertising
and local trade. Examples of this would be jewelers,
antique traders and real estate operations.
With big ticket items, just one or two sales per
week could make a significant difference to you.
Worth thinking about!
Brian McGregor is an internet entrepreneur specializing
in leveraging the power of eBay. He is author
of ‘The eBay Formula’ on how to sell successfully
on eBay time after time, and is editor of the
eBay Auction Newsletter. Brian is also creator
of Keyword Pro, the software which enables sellers
to find the top keywords by category currently
on eBay. His website is www.workwinners.com
