TBSS Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 The AV went 10 days on EBay and didn't even get a $20K bid, much less the $30K I had for Buy it Now. The reserve was set for $28K, but the highest bid was $16,100. Does anyone have any hints for how to sell this thing? I was trying to tout it as the perfect family/tow/vacation vehicle, with all the mods I made as increasing the safety and reliability (not just power and performance) of the vehicle. Apparently this strategy was a bust. Maybe I just didn't reach the target market. Perhaps ad placement and features (i.e. bold, highlight, capitalization) wasn't as good as it could have been. Hmm. Some people have recommended obscure places like Craig's list. Another possible explanation is that it just hasn't been on the market long enough so the right people can find it. I am obviously looking for a special buyer - someone who can appreciate the care that went into picking the mods, as well as how much time and money it would take to do the same things themselves. Another issue is trust - most people (myself included) would be very leery of buying someone else's performance vehicle. I would think that it has been abused. I tried to overcome that in the ad, but perhaps I didn't. I would really not like to have to de-mod the vehicle. If it came down to that, I would probably just pull the blower off and sell the rest of the stuff on there. It wouldn't be worth it for me to pull the sway bars, springs, spindles, etc. off and try to get money from them. Here is the ad I had up for EBay. Any comments or input would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcairns Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Current gas prices are probably steering some buyers to smaller vehicles. GM's "employee pricing" sale are probably hurting you too. Lots of folks buying new, trading in used vehicles, makes for a glut on the used market. Probably not the best time to be selling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posi12Bolt Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 I've had great luck with craigslist although for every 10 phone calls you get.... 9 of them are flakes!! I gave ya your first bid on the AV... sorry to see it just didnt pull what you wanted, I've had that happen before also on vehicles that have way more than asking price invested! Autotrader.com has also been good to me.... cars.com has worked well too... remember I've sold 300+ cars over the last 10 years so I've had my share of wasted advertising money... also try NOT using a buy it now... it turns potential bidders OFF because they see that high price right there in front of 'em, you can offer a buy it now if they wanna buy it outside of auction but I only use them when its a cheaper vehicle! hopefully that helps some! ~Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rays B4U Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Current gas prices are probably steering some buyers to smaller vehicles. GM's "employee pricing" sale are probably hurting you too. Lots of folks buying new, trading in used vehicles, makes for a glut on the used market. Probably not the best time to be selling. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Glad I'm not needing or wanting to sell my SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Silv Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Possibly the older buyers are overwhelmed by the supercharger. I wouldn't think there are many people who are going to buy a family vehicle with an after marker supercharger. I know all over us on here would, but you have to think about others who dont think like us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHIEFZUSAF Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 05 Avalanche 2WDs and 4WDs are going for 9000 - 13000 off sticker here in SA which brings sales price to about 26000 - 33000. Not only are you competing with these prices, you are also competing with vehicles with full warranties as well. Please don't take this personally but when I was reading your write the following are what I made a note of: 1. Don't tell people what the truck didn't come with or didn't have 2. Don't use negative connotations such as "get rid off" 3. Don't tell people you upgraded stuff because you thought they weren't good enought from the factory. You may just want to stick to "I love working on vehicles and so I modified the following items. Good Luck http://www.gunnauto.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2drTahoe Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 As a searcher, I like Autotrader alot. Best one out there. What about painting it a hot color, something rare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBSS Posted October 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 I appreciate everyone's comments, thank you, this is extremely helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big O Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Man that's a real nice AV ( NAKED ). I guess I don't remember why you were getting rid of it? Looks like a perfect setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBSS Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Really, it's too big, I never use it for what it was intended for (in 2 years I have never towed with it), and I rarely ever have a passenger. Plus, if I drive it like I want to drive it, I get 12 MPG. (I know, you SS guys are thinking, "So? What's your point?" Right? ) Just as an example, I had to look for 6 months to find a place with a garage big enough for the truck. Now that I'm looking for a car that gets 30 MPG for a DD, I realize that there isnt' even enough room in the 2-car garage for another vehicle, except maybe a motorcycle. Anyway, thanks for the compliments on the truck. It is, in fact, exactly what I would want in a vehicle. It drives amazingly well - I am very impressed with how everything has turned out on it. If I didn't have the other constraints, I would probably keep it. Please, keep the comments coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MN C5 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Naked, that is a nice truck. But you rarely get your money back from any modifications you do. And most the 03's rolling through the auction in MN aren't fetching 20k loaded, low miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hot rod truck Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Nice truck! Please don't take any offense to my comments as they are not intended that way. Shorten the ad, it's too long of a read. Most people won't take the time to read all of it. List the mods/improvements with minor details about each. A lot of the detail is above the average buyer's bank of knowledge. The pics are good. I believe most AV buyers will be family oriented, more interested in creature comforts, accessories,etc., which your truck has all the bells and whistles. The performance improvements will not be appreciated as much as the creature comforts by the average buyer versus those of us here John Q. Public assumes performance means more problems Now, a perspective buyer may get his wife interested because it's a good looking truck with alll the options, plus a few EXTRA performance options, that he may not tell her about, and she can't read about with a more concise, condensed ad ;). Emphasize only the positive, no negative, you want them to buy your truck, not another one You got my interest in your truck, because you had a very detailed description but I don't think the average buyer appreciates what all you have done to it. Price seems fair Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big O Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Too bad you weren't looking for a 2003 Honda Civic as a DD lol Wife is expecting and we are looking for a bigger vehicle. Good luck .... I will spread the word around my part of the world see if I can stir up some interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBSS Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Naked, that is a nice truck. But you rarely get your money back from any modifications you do. And most the 03's rolling through the auction in MN aren't fetching 20k loaded, low miles. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for this info. I have a friend who goes to auction every other week or so, so I'll ask him as well, but I'm guessing you're experience is representative of the market. The next iteration of the Blue Book comes out next week, so I'll lose a couple thousand more there, but actually, it's the market that's dictating price now more than the KBB. Three months of employee pricing combined with $3/gal gas and this is what we've got. The time to sell would have been in May or June, but who could have predicted GM would have been giving their vehicles away for a whole quarter. Going forward, I think we're stuck with our trucks, or taking heavy hits....big picture, I'm expecting GM & Ford to follow Delphi to BK court. Back to me....if only I had a 2 1/2 car garage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBSS Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Nice truck! Please don't take any offense to my comments as they are not intended that way. Shorten the ad, it's too long of a read. Most people won't take the time to read all of it. List the mods/improvements with minor details about each. A lot of the detail is above the average buyer's bank of knowledge. The pics are good. I believe most AV buyers will be family oriented, more interested in creature comforts, accessories,etc., which your truck has all the bells and whistles. The performance improvements will not be appreciated as much as the creature comforts by the average buyer versus those of us here John Q. Public assumes performance means more problems Now, a perspective buyer may get his wife interested because it's a good looking truck with alll the options, plus a few EXTRA performance options, that he may not tell her about, and she can't read about with a more concise, condensed ad ;). Emphasize only the positive, no negative, you want them to buy your truck, not another one You got my interest in your truck, because you had a very detailed description but I don't think the average buyer appreciates what all you have done to it. Price seems fair Hope this helps <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks, this helps. I think you're right on most if not all counts. Makes me think the thing to do is take off the blower and sell it separately, then sell the vehicle as exactly what you are describing. I just wish I could get some people to drive the damn thing....I know it would be like seeing Julie Stackhouse for the first time in high school - instant love. (yes, that was her real name, and boy did she live up to it ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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