eBay Motors is known as the Crème de la crème for buying and selling vehicles online. The platform has a staggering monthly traffic of 7.5 million unique visitors a month. Even more flabbergasting, a car or truck sells on eBay Motors every 3 minutes. It is the Hercules of the industry, allowing users to make sales using free advertising.
If you ever took a macroeconomics course, you should be familiar with the term “supply and demand.” The more users showing interest in your listing can correlate with settling on a higher ask price.
However, despite some benefits, you should consider switching from Hercules to Goliath. What factors make eBay the worse way to sell your car online? From malicious scammers to a negative consumer experience, here is why you should never do a transaction on eBay Motors.
The SCAMMERS
When using an online platform to buy or sell anything, you are very likely doing business with a complete stranger. This is going to cause the user to rely on an important metric, feedback! Feedback allows the buyer or seller to evaluate the experience of past transactions. However, what people do not consider is that eBay constantly has accounts that get hacked.
One of the most prominent scams on eBay Motors is malicious hackers gaining access to accounts with great feedback. This allows the hacker to gain trust with whom they are dealing with. After successfully gaining access to the account, hackers will then use fake images of vehicles for their listings. With thousands of 5 star reviews, and professional images taken of the vehicle. There is no way of knowing that you are about to fall victim to a scam.
eBay motors can be known as paradise for scammers. With a vehicle being sold every 3 minutes there is no shortage of victims to capitalize on. If you decide to still use the platform, always do your research! And be aware of vehicles selling at a price that is too good to be true.
The Fees
eBay is notorious for fees. This is still the case when it comes to eBay Motors. The fee format is split into packagers for low and high volume sellers. The most common package bought is the “premium package.” Unless you sell 6 vehicles in a calendar year to be labeled as a high volume seller, there is no avoiding the package fee of $79. Also, did I mention that even if your car does not sell there will be no refund of the fee. On top of that, if your vehicle does not sell and you want to extend the auction 30 more days, well that’s $50 out of your pocket again.
Even better is optional listing fees! Having a “buy it now” button included on the auction is an extra $10. If you want a bold title that is an extra $5, and if you want more than 12 pictures on the listing this will cost you extra as well. Also, eBay Motors has a deposit processing fee when you list a vehicle on eBay with a deposit requirement. This fee is 2.8% of the deposit amount when the vehicle sells and the buyer pays the deposit in checkout. All the fees eBay motors implements can be extremely detrimental when trying to maximize your profits. There are much more profitable routes to consider than using the platform.
Return Policy
There are multiple issues for consumers in the eBay Motors return policy. If the policy is reviewed diligently it greatly favors eBay rather than you. The most basic part of the policy is that a reimbursement request must be made no later than 45 days after the listing end date. If the vehicle breaks down on day 46, you will not be covered for reimbursement and forced to fix any issues. Now, if you do submit a reimbursement request in the 45-day time frame, eBay still has to approve you for the reimbursement. This completely puts the outcome in the hands of eBay, and if denied there you incur the loss of all your money.
There are also scenarios that are not even covered by eBay. The following list are included in eBay’s no return policy. Any damage on vehicles 10 years old or older, any damage to a vehicle listed with anything but a “clean” title, and damage or loss caused during shipping or otherwise after purchase. These are just a few clauses in the fine print! The massive platform is always going to care more about protecting itself compared to its customers.
If you want full responsibility and authority throughout the entire transaction, we highly suggest using a different platform. If you are currently using eBay motors, we recommend reading through all the fine print to understand the consequences that can occur.
Customer Support
There are some companies like Amazon, or Chewy with amazing customer support. However, there are companies known for poor customer service and eBay motors is one. Just like you, I would rather avoid having a call with a customer representative and ending the call with a migraine. The customer service at eBay motors performs their calls strictly based off scripts. There are specific guidelines eBay employees must follow, and certain topics they have to avoid.
From a legality standpoint, eBay motors will implement strict protocols employees must follow. The company has an estimated revenue of $11.7 billion. Therefore, eBay Motors can face great consequences and liability if they have a legal issue. The results of this is eBay employees will not go off script to help. They will strictly operate by the book. If you are looking for a human interaction, we advise you to use a different platform.
Enhanced Pictures
This points out the obvious, however when your audience is 7.5 million unique visitors a month, sellers will definitely want their vehicle to stand out. This can result in transactions where the buyer is unhappy with the purchase. Many eBay car sellers have reported that the winning bidder has arranged to pick up the car. However, they are very disappointed when looking at the car in person. The massive eBay Motor platform is too large to evaluate the quality of listings.
This also has been reported as an issue with mileage. A user may display mileage on the listing, however, it is completely different in person. During picking up the vehicle you may face an awkward confrontation about condition and or mileage that was not shown in the listing.
Transparent Shipping
Hopefully this list gave you some insight into the world on eBay Motors. If you need to transport your vehicle to a specific destination, a vehicle transport company can help. Make sure your vehicle is in good hands by selecting a reputable and experienced company.
Are you ready to ship your car? Nationwide Transportation Specialists is here to cover all your transportation needs. If you are looking for a reliable transportation company that offers open trailer shipping, enclosed trailer shipping, and door to door shipping. NTS is here to ensure a safe delivery.
Contact us at 954-641-8660 or keep exploring to learn more about vehicle transportation.
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