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...I think my mistake is that I mention in the ad that I need to sell asap, and people take advantage of that and lowball me. I will change that and maybe raise the price a little bit, that way I will leave room for negotiations for those that don't know a good deal when they see it
Thats a good idea. Flippers, curbstoners, and private car dealers love reading the words like "needs to go", "moving very soon" etc...
Maybe its possible you may be having a strike of bad luck, I don't know.
When I sell my cars, I list theme as "firm price" and take lots of detailed pictures. This gives the idea that people know what they are looking into, both the price and the general condition of the car. I will probably be scolded here for having an non-negotiable sale, but its worked out really good for me.
I look up KBB's recommended private selling price, and I also search for other similar cars for sale - the same make/model and year range, and see how much they are asking (I guess they call this "market price"). I usually just sell at a good price and call it a day. I host larger, and better quality photos on Photobucket or Imageshak instead of uploading theme to Craigslists. My cars are usually always really clean, that's just my personality, but if need be I clean the car.
In my experience the car sales quickly, I've been lucky that I don't deal with any 'tire-kickers', and I also come out ahead of what the dealer offers for trade-in.
Buying/selling on Craigslist should never become personal. Don't get insulted, don't get frustrated.
1. Price it correctly - you can be slightly on the high end, but just slightly. Pricing it too high would turn off many potential buyers.
2. Have a good and accurate description with lots of good pictures taken with a good camera using a steady hand. Do not use your cellphone to take the pictures.
3. Put your phone number in the ad. People who call will typically be more serious than those who email, in my experience.
4. Simply ignore the low-ball offers if you are not in a hurry. Don't try to counter them.
5. Other than the VIN and carfax, I generally ignore all other questions.
I've had a great time selling vehicles on Craigslist following the above rules, the most recent of which was two weeks ago, where I got the full KBB private party "excellent" price for a used Toyota Prius. There were quite a few people who were interested, but most were flakes. Many offers of $2000 less than asking price with promises of "I'll buy it today with cash". I simply ignored them. It took a month for me to sell the car but I was in no hurry, and in the end found a buyer who was plenty happy with the car and the price he paid.
So, I'm trying to sell a van (priced very reasonably and it's a good running vehicle-but that's besides the point) and I had several people that came out to look at it and dozens more interested that never showed up.
The "no-shows" are very common. Why they do this is beyond me but I'm guessing they either 1. don't have the funds and just want to talk cars or 2. they thought they were interested but are having 2nd thoughts or 3. their spouse/mommy told them "no" and they don't have the kahunas to call you back....it's a multitude of reasons...
Potential buyer 1: really liked the van and only thing that "bothered" him was that it has 4 seats and a bench-he was looking for 2 seats (driver and passenger) and 2 bench type seats. The pictures I posted clearly showed the interior and he knew from the beginning that only one of the seats was a bench.
Sounds like this guy has attention span problems....typical in most buyers as Ive found
P.B 2: Drove 2 hours to see the van with his wife and kids. His wife and kids never got out of their car, he liked the van and told me he would talk to his wife (she didn't even come out to see the van) and get back to me. He never did.
He might have been interested but didn't have the funds or maybe his wife talked him out of it. I call these folks the "dreamers".
P.B 3: Inspected the van for about an hour, took it for a test drive and he seemed to like it. Called me a few days later and offered me less than half of what I was asking because "it will need new tires soon and carpet needs cleaning"-carpet did indeed need cleaning but tires were in pretty descent shape.
Sounds like a low baller to me....and a weak one at that....if he called over the phone trying to haggle you down I'd tell him to stick it in his rear and keep walking. If you're going to lowball someone, you don't do it over the phone, you do it in person, and you wave the green backs in their face to let them know you're serious on your counter offer.
Also if the tires weren't up to his snuff you should call him on it and ask what he sees that you don't. What you might call "the tires were in pretty decent shape" might be just before the wear bars in the grooves....I call those "needing replaced". Yes this happened to me, last car I bought, the dealer said the tires were fine, but the tread was almost to the wear bars.
P.B 4: Had looked at the van and wanted me to get it smogged before he buys it. I did smog it but lost his number and didn't call him. I changed the price in my ad asking $500 less, then he contacts me again asking if the van was still available. I told him I had someone to come look at it and if he didn't buy I'd call back (and I did have someone interested). When I didn't sell it I called him back and he wanted me to take another $300 off the price, I told him I'd meet him in the middle and take $150 off as long as he came to buy same or next day. He told me he 'd rather wait because he's actually looking for a smaller car(!).
IDK what to say on this one, must be another low baller of some sorts that back peddles when back in the corner. He probably was in reality looking for a cheaper smaller car but was willing to settle for your van if you'd take less.
P.B 5: Had several post it notes of questions he wanted to ask me. One of them was "when you take it to pass smog and have a full tank of gas, do you smell any fumes?" I nicely told him to not waste my time and left.
LOL.....what? Well I suppose if you had a leaky gas cap or the charcoal filter needed replaced, this might be a valid question. Otherwise, I've never heard of anyone asking something like this.
I had a couple other similar experiences with in-person potential buyers, and some via e-mail. Is this type of behavior from potential buyers "normal" when selling online (Craigslist)? Why are people wasting my time and their time, and are so hesitant to buy a car that's obviously clean and at a reasonable price? I understand the urge to negotiate, but how can you offer me half or 1/3 of my asking price and expect me to agree, especially if you have not even seen the car in person? I'm thinking of charging $5 to anyone who wants to come look at it/test drive it, then in return sell it to them with a full tank of gas if they do end up buying. Hopefully that way I'll filter out those that have no intention of buying
Get used to it my friend, if you haven't found out already, anytime you sell a car, be it at a dealer, or on CL, or in your yard, etc....the idiots and the low ballers all come out of the woodwork. Be prepared to be bombarded with a multitude of stupid questions, and especially be ready for people to ask what your bottom dollar is even before they see the car. Why they do this is beyond me. I can understand wanting a deal, but dang I'd rather do the negotiating after I've seen the car....heck in some cases if i feel I'm already getting a deal, I won't bother trying to haggle anymore....you never know when the seller will become offended and then not sell you the car for the price that might have already been good to start with.
If selling on CL I like to omit my email and just leave a ph# instead. It seems to weed out the riff raffs asking if it's still f/s and such. Try not to leave your text number though, I've recently learned if they can't email you with stupid questions, they'll gladly text you with them, but they almost always reluctant to call and ask those same stupid questions.
I re-wrote and renewed my ad, I made sure not to show that I'm desperate or in a hurry to sell and mentioned twice that I don't want to deal with flakes and low ballers. I was this close to writting "if you have to ask your wife and get back to me, remind her who wears the pants in your house", but I decided not to in order stay professional and not offend the whipped ones out there (and i'm not saying you shouldn't discuss it with your wife, but at least have her take a look at it too and don't contact me unless you both agree you 're looking for a van).
Thanks for all the help, I have a good feeling I will sell it this time
Problem is we have no idea if your price is a good one or not. Post a few pictures here and tell us more about it and believe me people here will tell you what to expect to get for it. You evidently don't know and the experts here will and the advice will be free.
I sold my '04 Chevy Venture on Craigslist after about 3 weeks, and I got the full asking price. Mine was low milaege, and I had every single service receipt including oil changes since new, I made sure to mention this in the ad. I made sure the interior was spotless, and the exterior had a fresh wash and wax before anyone came and looked at it.
I actually had car dealers calling me and wanting me to sell it to them at wholesale value. One of them emailed me 5 times and when I didn't respond he sent me a nasty email.
Problem is we have no idea if your price is a good one or not. Post a few pictures here and tell us more about it and believe me people here will tell you what to expect to get for it. You evidently don't know and the experts here will and the advice will be free.
You 're right. I was thinking of posting a link to my ad but decided not to because of the phone # listed. I get enough spam mail/calls as it is. Here's a couple pictures of the exterior, don't have any of the interior on this computer but it's just as clean. I'm the 2nd owner, clean title, everything works, smogged, 125k miles and I was asking $2600obo. I am aware that's several hundred more than the kbb value, but in most cases the kbb value is just way too low, plus similar vans go for more in my area. There's only one van just like mine that looks cleaner and is cheaper, but has a blown head. I think i'm being reasonable in my price, what do you guys think?
I sold my '04 Chevy Venture on Craigslist after about 3 weeks, and I got the full asking price. Mine was low milaege, and I had every single service receipt including oil changes since new, I made sure to mention this in the ad. I made sure the interior was spotless, and the exterior had a fresh wash and wax before anyone came and looked at it.
I actually had car dealers calling me and wanting me to sell it to them at wholesale value. One of them emailed me 5 times and when I didn't respond he sent me a nasty email.
Unfortunately I don't have all service receipts, but it has been well taken care of. I do wash it/vacuum before anyone sees it and I make sure I am presentable myself. I got a couple phone calls today, showing it Tuesday, let's see....
" in most cases the kbb value is just way too low" ... lol, first time I've heard that KBB value is too low.
What year and engine is it?
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One of them emailed me 5 times and when I didn't respond he sent me a nasty email.
