Just curious - as I am considering selling my new VMC Speedster (seal grey/baseball brown interior - brake under the dash etc) in the early new year. Is it better to sell it on this site via the classified, or do readers prefer BAT or other auction sites. It only has 700 miles on it; I have personal reasons for the sale.
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Disregard my private message telling you to post a general thread rahter than a classified so people can reply.
My experience says very few cars change hands on this site, try BAT, ebay or Pcar and put a link to it on this site. Good luck.
Thank you for your advice.
@Desert Canuck posted:Thank you for your advice.
BAT will get the going price and this list will get you " advice"....Troy Sloan may "add expertise....".
@David Stroud IM Roadster D posted:BAT will get the going price and this list will get you " advice"....Troy Sloan may "add expertise....".
Yeah but Troy is usually away this time of year; certainly not skating on the Rideau Canal....more like Spain I think.
@Desert Canuck posted:Yeah but Troy is usually away this time of year; certainly not skating on the Rideau Canal....more like Spain I think.
He's in Puerto Vallarta again this year. He checks in on the website though.
What I don't like is BAT dictating what the reserve should be, twice they replied with a reserve quite a bit less than what I wanted They have no rhyme or reason to their valuations and will not renegotiate that number. I have successfully sold two speedsters and two dune buggies on BAT . The cars that BAT would not list at my reserve amount, I did sell at my price on eBay.
Good to know. Thanks.
if U dont lower reserve do U get $99 back...Im guessing no.
@barncobob posted:if U dont lower reserve do U get $99 back...Im guessing no.
No. The $99 fee is for listing your car. They prefer that it sells so they get their vigorish, but if it doesn't sell they still got paid.
I'll preface this with the fact that I've never used BaT. So please tell me if I have it correct.
You submit your car with your desired minimum price/reserve, pictures, etc.
BaT comes back with a lower reserve. You don't agree. No money is charged as the car hasn't been listed.
You then list it on P-car Market or Ebay or whatever.
I don't get the reasoning behind BaT's inflexibility with respect to the reserve process.
The goal is to sell cars and make their percentage rather than just a listing fee and a RNM(reserve not met).
I suppose that they think that enough people think their site is so powerful that they can get away with it.
In spite of that, there are some ridiculous deals done on the site.
It would be interesting to see an analysis of actual sales vs. RNM to see what their "failure rate" is.
@DannyP posted:I'll preface this with the fact that I've never used BaT. So please tell me if I have it correct.
You submit your car with your desired minimum price/reserve, pictures, etc.
BaT comes back with a lower reserve. You don't agree. No money is charged as the car hasn't been listed.
You then list it on P-car Market or Ebay or whatever.
I don't get the reasoning behind BaT's inflexibility with respect to the reserve process.
The goal is to sell cars and make their percentage rather than just a listing fee and a RNM(reserve not met).
They prefer the lower reserves so every car sells. Their interest isn't in if YOU get your desired amount. They just want every car to sell so their goal is the lowest reserve that you're comfortable with.
My recent experience with BAT : Dune buggy reserve was set at $15,000. The auction only went to $14,500 and ended. Then in a few seconds it say's Sold....Huh? A minute later I get an email from my BAT Auction assistant that states BAT chipped in the $500 difference ,,a week later a check for the $500 arrived.
The fellow who helped me sell the Coupe on BaT (well worth the fee) mentioned that unspoken policy. In my case I proposed fairly high reserve and BaT didn't bat an eye (see what I did there?). Of course we eventually had to drop the reserve to sell, but it worked out well enough.
@Robert M posted:They prefer the lower reserves so every car sells. Their interest isn't in if YOU get your desired amount. They just want every car to sell so their goal is the lowest reserve that you're comfortable with.
I totally understand that. So now the phrase is "seller beware"? LOL!
I was really only trying to make the point that unless the seller agrees with the auction folks, there is no $99 listing fee as far as I can tell.
@DannyP posted:I'll preface this with the fact that I've never used BaT. So please tell me if I have it correct.
You submit your car with your desired minimum price/reserve, pictures, etc.
BaT comes back with a lower reserve. You don't agree. No money is charged as the car hasn't been listed.
You then list it on P-car Market or Ebay or whatever.
I don't get the reasoning behind BaT's inflexibility with respect to the reserve process.
The goal is to sell cars and make their percentage rather than just a listing fee and a RNM(reserve not met).
Danny,
I think anyone contemplating selling on BaT should acquire an understanding of the business arrangement. It is not like EBAY, that makes its money on seller's fees when listed. BaT makes only makes money on buyer's fees (commissions) when sold.
First of all, and most important, BaT is NOT your agent. They don't represent you. Their business arrangement with you is limited only to listing your car on their site if they like it.
Thus, since the value to a seller to be listed on BaT is generally unquestionable, it is in the seller's interest to do everything in order to impress BaT to like your car enough to list it.
For BaT, as you posted above: "The goal is to sell cars and make their percentage rather than just a listing fee and a RNM(reserve not met)."
They have a fixed limited space for the number of auctions they can support. They want to utilize that space with cars that they have assured confidence will actually sell. They only make money (commission) if the car sells.
Negotiating a 'reserve' disparity with BaT is counterproductive for BaT. Their interest isn't in what you think your car is worth (remember, they don't represent you). Their interest is an income opportunity with one of their limited auction slots. Their idea of a 'reserve' is a price that will protect the seller from a total disaster but will surely be exceeded during the auction. If your idea of a 'reserve' synonymous with what you would list on Ebay as buy-it-now, are probably on the wrong site.
So, on BaT, maybe you won't get quite as much as you dreamed for but you are virtually assured a sale. On Ebay, you can set your price at anything you want, but maybe you won't get a sale.
@RS-60 mark posted:Danny,
I think anyone contemplating selling on BaT should acquire an understanding of the business arrangement. It is not like EBAY, that makes its money on seller's fees when listed. BaT makes only makes money on buyer's fees (commissions) when sold.
First of all, and most important, BaT is NOT your agent. They don't represent you. Their business arrangement with you is limited only to listing your car on their site if they like it.
Thus, since the value to a seller to be listed on BaT is generally unquestionable, it is in the seller's interest to do everything in order to impress BaT to like your car enough to list it.
For BaT, as you posted above: "The goal is to sell cars and make their percentage rather than just a listing fee and a RNM(reserve not met)."
They have a fixed limited space for the number of auctions they can support. They want to utilize that space with cars that they have assured confidence will actually sell. They only make money (commission) if the car sells.
Negotiating a 'reserve' disparity with BaT is counterproductive for BaT. Their interest isn't in what you think your car is worth (remember, they don't represent you). Their interest is an income opportunity with one of their limited auction slots. Their idea of a 'reserve' is a price that will protect the seller from a total disaster but will surely be exceeded during the auction. If your idea of a 'reserve' synonymous with what you would list on Ebay as buy-it-now, are probably on the wrong site.
So, on BaT, maybe you won't get quite as much as you dreamed for but you are virtually assured a sale. On Ebay, you can set your price at anything you want, but maybe you won't get a sale.
Can you explain how they have a fixed, limited space for the number of auctions they can support? As I see it, they could support any number of auctions. Whether or not they want to is a different question, as maybe they are trying to sell an exclusivity brand.
@LI-Rick posted:maybe they are trying to sell an exclusivity brand.
I think it’s exactly that, and think they're succeeding at it. Cars on BaT bring more money than any other online auction site, and they’re dragging the rest of the market with them.
As maddening as it is (and I think it’s idiotic), they’re actually a market maker -- especially as it pertains to VMC speedsters.
All of our cars are worth more than they were pre-BaT.
@LI-Rick posted:Can you explain how they have a fixed, limited space for the number of auctions they can support? As I see it, they could support any number of auctions. Whether or not they want to is a different question, as maybe they are trying to sell an exclusivity brand.
I can't really profess if it is true or not, but in my worldly experience of one BaT sale I formed the conclusion that they only have a fixed limit capacity. It doesn't have anything to do with the unlimited bandwidth of the worldwide web, it has to do more specifically with employee headcount.
Each seller's request for listing first has to pass an in-house 'interesting/worthwhile' review, and then some cursory evaluation for possible fraud or misrepresentation before it is assigned a coordinator. Every listing has a coordinator. This person invests considerable time in communication with the seller, digitally collecting and organizing the pictures and videos, writing all of the text for the listing, and then producing the publishing layout for the listing (altogether a hell-of-a-lot more than $99 worth!). Then this person follows the listing through its on-line posting period, frequently updating the listing with new information, providing viewer comment administration, and then at the close of the auction; finalizing the details of the deal like making the hook-up connection between the seller and buyer and collecting the commission.
All of this obviously requires a considerable amount of time, and, time = people. So, I've concluded that the listings capacity on BaT is limited by the headcount of coordinators to 'write' and 'service' the listings. Similarly, the daily listings count carrying capacity is limited by how many closings can be serviced on the last day.
In other words, its not like Ebay, with unlimited capacity to post listings.
What I think makes BaT so successful is the fact that it is NOT Ebay. If all you want is a classified ad; go to Ebay. On the other hand, BaT is successful by offering a completely different model; its interactive, interesting, and often exciting. Precisely, they've nailed the market because they ARE selective. Like, who wants to see a Prius on BaT?
"Like, who wants to see a Prius on BaT?"
And yet once in a while they do something like that. I haven't figured out their algorithm yet.
@Lane Anderson posted:"Like, who wants to see a Prius on BaT?"
And yet once in a while they do something like that. I haven't figured out their algorithm yet.
Algorithm? It's called "let's throw these guys a loop so they have something to talk about".
