I have bought & sold......a number of cars on CL & no where else for years. Had a few whackos involved, but no real problems.....I think it much depends on location.

Agreed. The air-cooled market is still hot, if a car is marketed well but not selling, there's only one reason why. I sold a 1989 930 cab for a six figure price within two weeks on Pelican, I guarantee that the market for a car like that is much more limited than a sub-$50k 993.

Rick, your ad copy looks better. IMO, and already suggested, your photos are not selling the car either. I would ditch all pictures on your driveway and in the garage. Drive the car to a great outdoor setting and take all the pictures there. Avoid redundant shots. Take a look at some of Matt's examples for reference.

It has 92 watchers on eBay now and a bid at $35k, but I'll keep it before I sell it for that.

Give it a few more days...

Do you have the original parts to go with it? If yes, you might want to add that to your listing.

Selling for $35k would not be smart. I still think new pics would help. Rotate the speedo back. You don't want it to look like you've been going 150 across the desert every weekend. (even though the car probably would like that more than sitting!).

G

I need to research how and when to end an auction that already has bids without incurring additional fees. I'd like to message the bidder to tell him, but that probably opens me up to some kind of sanctions.

Just put a reserve on the auction, FFS! What is so complicated about this? Jesus...:rolleyes:

You will not know how much someone will bid for it until the auction is over. If no one hits your reserve, it will not be sold, (on eBay), but you will get messages and offers. If you pull the auction, people will assume that the car is sold and not contact you.

It's not rocket science. If you're so broke or cheap that you can't bring yourself to spend $18 or whatever it is to have a reserve, you are shooting yourself in the foot.

The car looks pretty but pictures are not great. The value will suffers some for the mods like different color seats, rims, etc., (unless you still have the stock parts).

Spend a hundred bucks and get some center caps for those wheels and find a used spare tire.

Lots of mods on this car that may or may not be to the taste of potential buyers, so unfortunately you'll have to sit on it until the right buyer comes along. Fortunately, it is a very desirable model, so you are getting lots of lookers.

It'll sell, give it time.

Rick, honestly, you're concerned about paying $18 worth of fees on a car that you hope to sell for $50k? On an average month I spend around $500/mo to advertise cars for sale, you gotta pay to play.

I have the center caps and think it looks better without them. I don't mind paying the reserve auction fee, just figured I'd get some free advertising and make a deal outside of eBay. Current bidder has not contacted me at all.

Why would the bidder try and contact you? The auction isn't over. I think you're on the hook now for fees on at least 35k if you want to end this early.

Maybe there's a loophole, but I couldn't find it.

Well, you're doing it all wrong. People who know the game are trying to help you and you seem to be immune to good advice. Without a reserve, you may not be getting the right bidders.

Exactly. Without a reserve, you now have an "item will sell" bid on it. Brilliant.

I can end the auction or revise the listing at anytime up to 24 hrs. before the end. And the final fee for selling a car for a "low-volume seller" is $125.

Speeder, you're really getting obnoxious and unhelpful. Take a few days off and then come back and keep reassuring everyone how happy you really are.

You can revise the listing, but since you have a bid, it's too late to add a reserve.
Like Denis said, there are people like Matt that are trying to help you with this.
You have a nice, desirable car, but you need to market it properly in order to make top dollar.
Lots of little things really start to add up, good and bad.

When have I ever had to "reassure everyone how happy (I really am)?? :confused:

You are confusing my frustration with...how can I say this nicely...the foolishness you are displaying in trying to sell your car. You started a thread basically seeking advice on marketing it and when given good advice, you schit the bed. If you end the auction early, (with the always stupid "advertised locally/may end early" text in listing), people will assume the car is sold.

Ive tried to help you here, as have others. It's a waste of time. Good luck, you will need it. :cool:

I'm not gonna bother researching the countless threads where you've gotten into a pissing match and then had to reassure people you weren't angry.

Anyway, I have acted on most of the advice in this thread - I cut the ad copy way down to basics, did not pay for an upgraded listing on Autotrader, put it back on eBay (fees be damned) and am now having to consider ending the auction early and pissing off the bidder(s) or waiting until 12 (I was mistaken, it's not 24) hours until auction end and then seeing where things are. Final listing fee is normally charged for ending an auction early that has bids on it. But you get one freebie per calendar year and I've never done it before. So, the worst that can happen is I piss off one bidder. I'll contact him anyway and explain it all to him. Again, I wasn't really planning to sell on eBay; just to generate some interest and hope folks contacted me here or on CL.

OK, I apologize for my lack of patience. It's not one of my virtues. As for my happiness, I don't need to convince a bunch of strangers online that I'm happy. That's silly.

You will never know what someone will bid on it or how many people already have proxy/snipe bids in on it until the gavel drops and the auction has run its course. That is the problem with the way you are doing it. You need to list it w a reserve and let it run all the way. :cool:

I see reserve not met - and move the auction to the back of my tabs behind the sellers that actually want to sell the car.

Without knowing what the reserve is?? That's a strange way of doing business. Many people "actually want to sell their car" but like Mr. Lee, want a certain minimum price for it. That would cover just about 100% of everyone who has ever sold a car on earth.

The key from a seller's standpoint is to be realistic about the value of the item if you do actually want to sell it. :cool:

Reserves are undisclosed unless they've changed that?

Put a starting price of your minimum, any bidder above one is a bonus, sale done.

This. Most reserve prices are unrealistic. In contrast, having no reserve makes it a legit auction in bidder's minds, and they get serious about the car, b/c this car is going to sell, and not get relisted in perpetuity.
One vote to not cancel the auction. Let it ride, you may be surprised.

Most guys shopping for Porsches want stock and original. When I purchased my 993 I spent a lot of time and money returning it to factory stock, but I also spent quite a bit less than your asking price to obtain it in the first place.

Little things like a crooked speedo and missing caps, while minor, are immediate turn-offs to prospective buyers. If I'm looking for a 993 one of the very first things I see on your car is missing wheel caps (remember, I'm a buyer and I don't care if you have them but like the look with them off). Did you lose them? Do you not care that they are gone? Can't afford replacements? It's a first impression thing and you've missed it. The less explaining you have to do the better.

Also... despite the other comment, Midnight Blue is gorgeous on a 993.

$40,100.

And all the action happened in the last half hour of the auction, like it usually does. Someone wanted the car and bid wisely. I hope that you are happy with this, I think it's a good price with all things considered.

I agree. It seems to be a good price for this car as it's represented in this ad.

Congratulations, Rick.

Agreed, that is exactly what I would expect this car to sell for.

+1 The 993 market has spoken.

I would have thought a couple K more but oh well. Rick, that's a long way off of your original asking price. Are you satisfied with the outcome?

FWIW, I sold my parents RoadTrek motorhome about 4 months ago. Local buyer offered $40K, I went online at $74K. Got some traffic with real losers wasting my time but I managed to find someone who was solid. Sold cash for $66K. Buyers felt they got a great deal cause I was willing to work the price. BTW, the final price was $3K over my bottom line. If you want it gone it has to be gone. Different ballpark entirely.

I haven't sold a car on autotrader in probably 7-8 years... think social media... if I were you I'd pick your best picture and use a phot editor to write for sale on the pic... enter in a few details, price and contact info the hash tag the heck out of it on instagram... Also find group pages on Facebook to post it in...and of course Craigslist...remember to renew the ad every 2 or 3 days

Ahhhh.....errrr...he sold it a few posts up. :)

Aren't ebay "watchers" just a count of page hits within the last however much time?

No, when you are shopping on Ebay you click a button that says "watch this item". It then adds the item to your watch list, which is like a favorites list. That way you can see how much it sells for or save it for bidding later.

What are the odds he doesn't do the deal at $40k ?

The guy could sue him for more than the difference between $40k and whatever he thinks more he could get and probably prevail. Since Rick let the auction run, he knew that the high bidder would win the car. :cool: