Selling a Car Online – Choosing the Best Website
eBay, Auto Trader or Craig's List - What’s the Better Option?
Sep 18, 2009
Selling a car online has a lot advantages over other advertising methods. Some of theadvantages of selling a car online include quicker listings and better quality pictures just to name a few. First and foremost before a car is listed is to determine how much the car is worth.
What’s the Best Website for Selling a Car Online?
There’s really no definitive answer to the question of which website is best for selling a car. There’s a lot of differences from one website to another. Some of it depends on personnel preference. Budget is another consideration when choosing a website. Below are some of the most common Internet sites for selling and buying cars and their attributes.
Selling a Car Online with eBay
With eBay there is also the option of auctioning a car versus selling it now. The listing depends on a lot of factors and can be confusing if listing for the first time. For example there’s extra fees for buy it now vs. auctions. The more pictures that are added the higher the fees. There’s also a higher fee if the vehicle is sold. There’s also a host of other options for additional fees.
Most buyers that don’t have experience with eBay can be apprehensive to look on eBay. In order to place a bid on a vehicle or buy it outright the buyer must have an account. EBay also forbids buyers and sellers from engaging in a sales transaction directly. Other car sales websites generally allow direct sales transaction between buyer and seller. Still eBay has a huge following and should not be excluded as a viable source.
Search and Sort Criteria
- By make, model and year
- Sorts by distance from a zip code
- Can sort by price but auction price starting bid shows up first
- Can sort by car mileage
- Can sort by listing time remaining\
- Allows a host of other search criteria like color, fuel type, transmission type and more
Selling a Car Online with Autotrader
Autotrader is an exclusive website for selling and buying vehicles. Craig’s List and eBay sell all kinds of other products. Autotrader is easy to navigate and has a good search and sort navigation. They have package listings with 3 standard packages to choice from, plus a VIP package that is a bit over the top for a private seller. The least expensive (standard) packages less than $30 and includes a 3 week listing with 3 photos.
Search and Sort Criteria
- Search by body styles
- Search and sort by make, model and year
- Vehicle mileage range search and sort
- Search by price range minimum - maximum
- Sort by price range
- Search including/excluding dealers and/or private sellers
- Allow buyers to search and sort the distance in miles from a zip code
Selling a Car Online with Craig’s List
The best attribute of listing a car on Craig’s List is it’s free! It doesn’t have features specifically designed for selling cars. There’s also a maximum limit of 4 pictures with a limited amount of information that can be listed. The seller first picks the geographical area then picks the selling category. Considering the listings are free the search criteria is decent. Craig’s List has a huge following and it’s user friendly.
If the seller isn’t in a hurry to sell the vehicle and listing cost is a concern, Craig’s List is a good option. If the seller doesn’t mind spending a little money, Autotrader is a good choice. Listing on eBay is also a good choice if the seller is acclimated to using eBay. Listing a car only once with eBay may not be worth the hassle. Before the car is listed, find out some of the ways to attract potential buyers when placing an ad.
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