Auction Information

There are thousands of used cars for sale on eBay everysingle day. In fact, eBay Motors is the most profitablesales division on eBay and naturally there are manyentrepreneurs who are interested in jumping into thismarket. For instance, eBay claims it sells an SUV every nineseconds and is the biggest online car dealer in America,exceeding the traditional car companies. In fact, there are15 million cars sold over the Internet each year - andgrowing.

The recent rapid growth of the consignment business modelhas made the used car market even more enticing. Manysellers are able to sell cars they have never even seen andwith no more risk than the cost of the auction listing. Somenegotiators even persuade the car owner to pay for the ad,thereby risking no more than their time.

The biggest single issue for this business model is thetrust of prospective buyers. After all, paying thousands ortens of thousands of dollars for a car sight unseen is anawesome leap of faith. Even buying for a plane ticket to gosee a car before paying causes buyers to be uncomfortable.

The best way sellers can overcome this fear is to use anescrow service. eBay has a preferred service, and it'seasiest to use that one.

An escrow service acts as a neutral third party. In anexchange of merchandise, the buyer sends his money to theescrow service and the seller ships the product to thebuyer. The buyer usually has two days to inspect hispurchase, and if he is happy, he notifies the escrow companywho releases the money to the seller, minus its fee. If thebuyer is dissatisfied, he returns the undamaged merchandiseto the seller, and after the seller receives his merchandiseback (in satisfactory condition), the escrow service returnsthe buyer's money. Thus both sides in the transaction areprotected. The buyer almost always pays the fees for this,although sometimes buyer and seller split the cost.

eBay's offers a "Vehicle Services Division" specifically fordealing with the used cars, trucks, SUVs and almost anythingelse with wheels and a motor. The buyer can request a 160point inspection performed before agreeing to the purchase.This is an inexpensive service and certainly will save thepurchaser many headaches.

* The buyer pays a $125 fee that is non-refundable
* The seller is contacted and the inspection is carried outv* The buyer receives a reportv* The buyer chooses to go ahead with the purchase - or not

Another choice for the buyer is to deposit his payment withthe escrow service and then take delivery of the vehicle.The seller ships the car after he knows the money hissecure. The seller must provide tracking information, whichis then verified.

The buyer has between one and 30 days to thoroughly inspecthis new purchase (the period is negotiated between the twoparties ahead of time). If this time expires and the escrowcompany has not heard from the buyer, it assumes he is happyand gives the purchase price to the seller.

The buyer may return his vehicle if he isn't happy andsometimes buyers and sellers work out partial paymentagreements, the buyer being satisfied with some parts of thetransaction, but not with others. If a dispute arises, it issettled by the American Arbitration Association.

The fee for this service is:

* $0 - $7,500 = value of vehicle: $125
* $7,500.01 to $15,000: $170
* $15,000.01 to $30,000: $200
* $30,000.01 to $50,000: $275
* $50,000+ = 6% of the value

Once both parties have agreed, the title transfer processbegins and the escrow service will guarantee this too, for afee of $95. The fee, naturally, doesn't include any transfercosts - it is only insurance that the title will beexpedited to the satisfaction of both parties.

eBay's escrow service also offers a service that will shipcars almost anywhere in the world and will gather an autohistory report to inform sellers if their new chariot hasbeen salvaged or stolen, suffered flood or hail damage, beenin a fire or accident, has had an odometer rollback or hasbeen used as a police car, a rental or a taxi.

Anyone considering offering used cars for sale on eBay wouldbe well advised to thoroughly learn the escrow servicesavailable and offer those to prospective buyers. The trustfactor will skyrocket and your chances of completing saleswill dramatically increase.

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