GM to selled used cars on eBay

NYSpeed Automotive
1

Interesting

General Motors to sell used cars on eBay
Report: Move may radically change the U.S. used-car business

General Motors said Friday that 3,900 auto dealers who sell GM’s Certified Used Cars will list their entire inventories on eBay Motors, according to industry publication Automotive News.

The listings will be free for dealers, the report said, and could radically alter the used-car business.

Mark Matthews, GM’s director of used-vehicle activities, told Automotive News that the certified used-vehicle inventory of dealers who sell GM Certified-brand vehicles will be listed on the third-party classified site starting in the second quarter.

GM’s brands include used Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac and Oldsmobile vehicles. Cadillac, Hummer, Saab and Saturn have separate certified used-vehicle programs, but their certified-used inventories will be listed on the site, too, Matthews told the publication.

The eBay Motors Web site has 11 million unique users and the agreement with GM allows dealers who sell GM brands to show their certified-used inventory to them. The program will become even more attractive to dealers and consumers if other manufacturers post their certified-used inventory on the site, too, Matthews told Automotive News.

GM is still working with eBay Motors to finish the site, according to the report, which also noted that GM’s certified-used vehicle inventory is already listed on more than 300 Web sites, including AutoTrader.com and Cars.com.

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http://finance.google.com/finance?client=ob&q=EBAY

Do it now.

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Lots of dealers do this already so I don’t see it “radically changing the used car industry” or anything like that.

If anything, GM is just catching to what most of their dealers do already, either through ebay motors or autotrader.com.

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The difference between “lots” and 3900 is a lot, me thinks.

If it is truly successful for GM on the whole, I guarantee other will follow suit with their "Certified"s…

However, I don’t think it’ll be super successful. I think that alot of GMs Cert Used market are not the type to spend 10k via ebay. However, having a big name (GM) actively backing the program & publicizing it may help quite a bit.

With respect to eBay, having such a large recognizable “old industry” name like GM throwing its branding & weight into it would validate ebay for ALOT of fence sitting consumers who aren’t exactly early adopters.

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I don’t see it catching on and I think they would have been better off putting their money behind autotrader.com.

Very few people are going to buy a car with eBay’s model, either through bidding or with their Buy It Now. You use the internet to find the car, research it, then contact the dealer to negotiate either via email, phone, or more often in person. And when it comes to searching autotrader’s interface > eBay.

The last 3 cars I bought came from autotrader (expedition, fiero, gto). The ranger before that was a dealer walk in, and the tracker before that was from the old autotrader magazine. I can’t remember how we found the wife’s old prizm at the dealer in cheektowaga.

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Fuck that. Scumbag eBay doesnt deserve the income. Selfish, money hungry, piece of shit company that doesnt care about anything but the bottom line.

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Ebay motors is vastly improved lately, I think its pretty cool. The interface and searches and stuff…

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Agreed that autotrader would’ve been a better investment.
I don’t see eBay going over very well - what I mean to say is that if it catches on, others will surely follow suit. Meaning great acceptance of eBay and its wares.
My stance is more from an ebay stock POV, not the used car market. As far as the used car market, again, autotrader & cars.com would’ve been “wiser” investments… although I can see GM “trying to be cool”, or “edgy”, or w/e… because its press.

Very few people are going to buy a car with eBay’s model, either through bidding or with their Buy It Now. You use the internet to find the car, research it, then contact the dealer to negotiate either via email, phone, or more often in person. And when it comes to searching autotrader’s interface > eBay.
Yea… I’m wondering if it will be an auction w/reserve, or simply buy it now. If it’s buy it now, then why bother? Should’ve stuck with the usual formats. If its auctions, I can see it generating more hits (vs buy it now), because people get hyped up thinking they’re getting a bargain. However, I think auctions will scare more people away then it would generate.
The last 3 cars I bought came from autotrader (expedition, fiero, gto). The ranger before that was a dealer walk in, and the tracker before that was from the old autotrader magazine. I can’t remember how we found the wife’s old prizm at the dealer in cheektowaga.
Eh, my last 3 DDs have been from the same dealer, because I really appreciate the experience that I had there the first time… and he’ll work a mean deal.

You’ve gotta remember, this is not going to completely supplant the brick & mortar approach, nor the local marketing approach. I’m sure this is simply “another” channel. In which case, any sales generated via this will be entirely a bonus / improvement.
Especially considering that its free to the dealer, so the overhead can’t be very much.

You’re the dealer. You’re paying someone to list a car in the local papers & on ebay.
You’re paying them to take pics & write up a description either way. Only now you’re paying them for an extra 5 minutes to list the car on ebay.

:gotme:

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LOL
I can’t wait to read the customer feedback when GM unloads all their
“buy backs” as in, the ybuy your car back to avoid registering the car as a lemon.

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The ebay search is definately better now but they charge wayyy too much for item sales. GM should save money and put everything on craigslist, fuck ebay.

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JayS and I seem to agree on a lot of things and this is definitely one of them. We have been putting our inventories online with autotrader and ebay basically since they appearred on the internet. we pay autotrader a fee each month for a certain amount of posts (higher the #number of cars posted, the higher the fee). I don’t think there is any reason why GM should spend their money on autotrader as well if all of the dealers are doing it anyway. I’d bet there are more dealers with their entire inventories posted on autotrader than there are with the entire inventory on ebay, its just a lot easier on autotrader.

Ebay is more for rare/specialty cars and autotrader is better for mass posting.

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Wow! You just described every company in existence. You must buy nothing.

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I am waiting for GMAC and paypal to get in bed together