Your recommendations please: how to sell an a/c on e-bay?

[mhorowit]

If you have ever sold an a/c on e-bay, I'd like to hear your strategy, mistakes to watch out for - Mike

[Rick_Utley]

Re: Your recommendations please: how to sell an a/c on e-bay?

Place a 7 day ad starting early afternoon Sunday. That way people are home to watch the close.

List it for your lowest acceptable price so if a sniper steals it for that you will still be okay with it.

Disclose everything, list your conditions clearly.

Show the numbers. TTAF. TTE, SMOH STOH Compressions etc.

Don't leave any room for misunderstandings.

[VictorBravo]

Re: Your recommendations please: how to sell an a/c on e-bay?

Rick is correct. I have sold airplanes on ebay successfully, and I can add the following to his advice.

Write out a very very detailed description, with equal time given to the bad news as the good news. If the reader/bidder feels that he is being given the straight story, they will be more comfortable committing money online.

Provide online and offline contact info for people to ask you questions. Make yourself available by phone, e-mail, etc. easily.

Pay the extra buck or two and put in severalp hotos, good quality ones. If there is a damaged area, a serious bidder wants to see it.

Do NOT use the "buy it now" feature. I had a good auction de-railed by a shcoolkid who "bought" a learjet, a rolls-royce, and my airplane just for fun.

Do NOT make your minimum sale amount the opening bid. Make the opening bid 99 cents or something, and the RESERVE amount your miminum sale price.

Have a strong policy of not disclosing your reserve price before the auction ends. You'll get a dozen e-mails asking for it. Just say "reserve price is under the retail market value" and leave it at that.

Publicize the auction on the rec.aviation newsgroups, and put up ads on every free aviation classified website you can get on. Barnstormers is the best by far, but you cannot use the word ebay in your ad! She will take your ad off. I have succeeded in circumventing this by putting up an ad and choosing "for sale to the highest bidder" from the menu of "action phrases". In the text of the ad, just say that the plane is up for grabs at auction, and will go to the highest bidder, and to contact you for bidding information. People will know to look on ebay.

Bill

[WLT]

Re: Your recommendations please: how to sell an a/c on e-bay?

Thanks for the advice.