Quote:
Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy
Denis, I’m curious how you say that a car can’t be sold out from under you. Having listed two cars there myself there is nothing that keeps a seller from selling a car to someone else post auction. They take the seller fee up front, the buyer fee on the backside, and they are done. After that point the transaction is entirely between the buyer and seller just like any other sale. Also worth noting that if you buy a car on BaT and it fails inspection, you are SOL. And if the seller wins the auction and flakes out (which has happened), BaT won’t re-list your car.
You obviously love the site, which is great. But ultimately it’s just another auction, they have simply done the best job of utilizing the internet as their sales vehicle. Personally I still have no trouble finding cool and unique cars utilizing other classified sites, and saving a lot of money in the process. Also, I still write more detailed ads then they do.  |
If you are the top bidder and the item meets reserve, it’s yours. If it doesn’t meet reserve, that 7-day auction is over and it’s back on the open market, yes. Unlike eBay, where good cars constantly get sold outside the auction
during the auction, that cannot happen on BaT. If a car gets pulled by the seller during the auction or if other substantial evidence of misrepresentation occurs, BaT will pull it and usually ban the seller from ever buying/selling or participating on the site. Show me where they do that on other online sales sites. On eBay and other sites, a dealer can run an auction while also marketing the car on several other portals plus sell it on the street or their lot. BaT is massively different.
Buyers do occasionally flake but they lose their buyers fee and may be permanently banned from the site, depending on circumstances. I agree w their policy of not re-listing cars, it would be a cesspool like eBay if they did.
Sure, you can find good cars and deals anywhere. I find them all the time and I’ve never bought on BaT. I’ve bid on cars that I regret not going higher on, however, and regret not bidding at all on others. A few extra dollars for something exceptional is a fair trade anytime. The world is choked w “deals” on schitty, average used cars.