Classic Buys: Sight Unseen
April 1, 2005
Furthermore, with eBay’s standard of vehicle documentation
(dealer Brian Hanold says he provides up to 60 high-quality photos of each
vehicle) and the feedback ratings system sellers and buyers use to build
reputations, the online marketplace may be more transparent than its traditional
counterparts. Hanold, whom eBay currently ranks as a Titanium PowerSeller for
his volume, avers that in the land of eBay, reputation is king. “Not one vehicle
sale is worth damaging my reputation,” he says.
In addition to its rating
system, eBay implements measures such as Vehicle Purchase Protection, which
covers the value of an automobile up to $20,000. Higher-end consumers can
opt to use third-party escrow agents, but according to Rothman, they often feel
they don’t have to. eBay dealers fight hard to win bidders’ trust—it is, after
all, a winning proposition. Each morning before 9 am, eBay Motors sells more
cars than the average dealership sells in a year. With such sales volume,
dealers like Hanold can afford to offer bidders’ guarantees. “Ninety percent of
my sales are sight unseen,” Hanold says, “but if my customer wants to fly or
drive into the town of the vehicle’s location and is not thrilled, his or her
deposit will be refunded.”
eBay Motors opened Hanold’s business to the
world. His eBay-linked web site, www.hotautoweb.com, sells high-end vehicles
to customers throughout North America, Australia, and Europe. eBay serves
bidders in a similar fashion. Says Seattle-based Thoreson, “Buying on eBay
brought the marketplace to me, in the comfort of my home, at my convenience.
This allowed me to be exposed to cars that I normally would not have any access
to because of the limited supply in any one geographic region.”
advertisement
