How to sell on eBay Classified - Local (Now called Close5)
You probably aren't trying to sell your car to someone on the other side of the country, especially if it's not perfect. No one wants to pay to haul it from Florida to California. So selling in local (within 200 miles) classifieds on eBay is a good option. They recently changed their format and are now known as Close5. You have a respected company and their advertising dollars behind you and best of all they don't charge a fee.
Please note, this is not the same as eBay Motors, which is a little more promoted and costs money. Basically, eBay Classified (Close 5) is the overflow from eBay Motors. People look there first. And when they find out the cars are out of their price range, they are directed toward your listing. It's really a great strategy since so many eBay users want low prices. And, they are willing to take "damaged goods" to save lots of money. Like any classifieds, selling a car on Close5 takes a lot of time and patience.
How Close5 works
Create your listing. Close5 (aka eBay) gives you a checklist to fill out. Remember to be truthful and detailed about any:
- cosmetic damage (i.e. several shopping cart dings on the side and the paint is discolored and chipping from parking under a tree for 5 years)
- maintenance that you delayed (i.e. The brake pads are thin but it still brakes) ... If it doesn't stop, I would strongly recommend that you replace them before a test drive.
- things you know are wrong with it (i.e. the passenger door won't open from the outside)
- things that are missing (i.e. the coin holder drawer broke off and there is no knob on the AC)
And beyond that describe your car in technical terms
- Make
- Model
- Year
- Style
- Color (interior & exterior)
- Seat (cloth/leather)
- Any extra features
- Price you want
- The value of the car. This can be hard to determine if the car is damaged or has mechanical problems. To see what your car is worth, click the button below.
Upload plenty of pictures. Close5 has a checklist for this as well. You will be taking 10-20 pictures. Be sure to showcase any problems. It will save you hassle and embarrassment later.
Post your listing.
Monitor it.
Work with Buyers. You will receive an email notification when someone tries to contact you. Many people may contact you, but a lot will just be wasting your time, trying to get an unreasonably low price or trying to scam you (unfortunately it happens). Respond accordingly to queries. You don't want to miss the right sale. Feel the person out. Answer any questions, and if they sound legit, set up a test drive. If your car doesn't run, you may not need one. But you probably aren't selling a car that does not run on eBay. For that, just sell your car to DamagedCars.com.
Conduct a test drive. You will likely only do a couple of these if you were honest and have an ability to tell when you are working with a con-artist. Here are test drive tips which will apply to each of these sell methods.
- Make sure your car has theft coverage.
- Meet in a public place that you can both easily find like a library parking lot.
- Do not ride with the person. They could be a maniac. It is not worth your life to protect this hunk of iron and plastic.
- Take a hi-res pic of their license. And write down the license number in case you can't read it in the pic.
- They will probably drive around for about 15 minutes. Call the police if they are gone for over an hour.
- When they return, talk through any concerns, and adjust price down if needed.
- Be careful of how you get paid. Checks can be faked. eBay offers some great options for trustworthy fund transfer.
How to Sell a Car on Craigslist
Craigslist is a bit of a mess. But a lot of people love to buy things on there. And it's free. So, if you need to sell for free, you should list here and Close5 to get the most interest. But be ready to weed out the time-wasters and tire-kickers on both sites. It's just par for the course when you are selling for free on these sites.
How it works
Create a listing. You can use the eBay checklist and the information above if you don't know what to include. Just like with eBay Classified, be really honest or it will come back to bite you. None of this: I hope they don't notice that my bumper is held on with bungees and duct tape painted to match my car. They'll notice. They always do.
With Craigslist, the buyers will not receive your actual email. They communicate through a system that masks it, so that if you do run into problematic people, they can't stalk you once you take the listing down. Many people will ask for your phone right off the bat. Don't do it. They may be legit or they may be trying to get your personal info for a scam. Feel them out first. And then, talk on the phone if you think they're alright.
Set up a test drive just like above. And follow the above steps. Craigslist does not offer any payment options. Visit our How to Sell a Car on Craigslist blog post for advice on payment.
How to Sell Your Car the Old School Way (sort of)
People still find success with putting a for sale sign in the window in their front yard. People still drive around and buy cars like this. But in the Internet age, there is a slightly better way to do this.
How it works
Create a free website on wix.com. It's not hard to do. But get your granddaughter/son to do it if you aren't very tech savvy. You know - kids these days.
Use their templates to create lists of features and defects.Upload lots of pictures. You can create a photo gallery and actually make it look nice. You can add a contact form on the page. This works like Craigslist, sending their message to your email without giving them your email address. Add a visit counter to see if you are getting any interest.
Make the web address something really simple and easy. Put the address on the sign on your car in really big letters -- maybe across the whole windshield.
From there, follow through much like Craigslist and Close5.
Now... How to Sell Your Car Fast and Free with No Hassles
Selling your car for free isn't really free because your time is money and you need a lot of it. But that's not the case with DamagedCars.com. Unlike the buyers on other sites, we love cars with problems -- even ones that don't run. It's what we do. We buy less-than-perfect cars. And, we make the process easy with guaranteed offers -- no trying to lowball you at the last minute.
How it works
Visit DamagedCars.com. And get a free, no-obligation, guaranteed offer through our online system. We'll ask you some questions about your car and need your honest answers. We may ask for a few pictures to get a clear idea of the condition of your car.
You may get and instant offer online, or a buyer will contact you with a quote. You can take it or leave it. All of our offers are no-obligation.
If you like our offer, we'll get a little more info to verify you own the car and then schedule a FREE pickup of your vehicle. We always strive to work around your schedule to be as convenient as possible.
On the day our friendly service provider is scheduled to pick up the car, they will have a check made out for the exact amount of your offer. Be sure to have the title on hand. We can’t pick up the car or give you the check without the title.
Check us out on Yelp and Facebook and you'll see why so many customers trust us to give them the best offers, no hassles, free pickup, friendly service and a great experience.
If you really want to sell your car for free, this is the way to do it. Click the button below to get started with our no obligations easy quote system.