My theory on pricing vehilces/items for sale .
 

I like to think I am a pretty well versed flipper . When I am selling something I own, I do a little re search, and price the item accordingly. I usually put a little more on top of what I am willing to sell for to leave room for negotiation .
My stuff is usually listed, and gone within a few days.
I get people who ask me to help them sell their stuff all the time. Some people like to start high, and drop the price weekly till they get a hit. This almost always seems to make the sale way tougher, as the ad gets stagnant, and they end up having to take less than if they would have just listed it properly in the first place .
I tired to help a guy unload a 3 series car, . I told him it was a $1200.00 car, but he insisted he could get $2500. After a year of messing around, he finally sold it for $650.
I am going through the same thing with a Dakota pick up . It has been stagnant for 2 weeks now, not a single inquiry. I just cut the price today, we will have to see what happens .

I tend to agree with you. I see it in a specific car dealership. They tend to overprice their cars. I figured their game out. The same with some private buyers. Pompous azzhats asking too much for their cars. However for air cooled 911's that is different coz they know they have something of real value...

Fred I agree......................... too often the "price it high so it sells for what I want" strategy is old news to even elementary school kids.

What I do: Research actual selling prices on a specific vehicle, make sure it's very presentable in every way, then list for just slightly under market. My approach yields a irresistible deal, represents value and most important short run times and a quick sale.

Often while I will entertain offers, but have the actual KBB / Hagerty or other value in hand to show them. I then say why should I take less when it is already under 'book' and a nice car? Now f you want to show me the cash and count it out in front of me....................................we can talk more about the price.

When I sold my trucks I did that thing you don't like. I did some research, and listed them on the high end of the range of prices I was seeing, planning to drop the prices if I didn't get any play. My Tundra sold within a week at a price well on the high end of the price bell curve. It took four months to sell the Silverado and I had to drop the price 25% before I even got a bite.
You never know.

People tend to look at prices on eBay and assume they can get the same top dollar from a Craigslist ad. (Even if the item on eBay didn't sell).

I just bought a nice Wisconsin engine for $400. I might get $2,000 on eBay. I sold it on C/L in a week for $1,000 and I'm happy.

I agree - nothing worse than wasting your time on selling a car. Daily driver type cars I usually sell in under a week. Key in my book is a good ad with good pictures and CLEANING the car up. You don't need a $500 detail but a good scrub, some wax and armor all gets them sold quick every time ... I have my kids help clean and they get a few bucks off the sale price. Teaches them something too ...

G

If patient, it's way easier to buy cheap and then sell cheap.......I don't have to squeeze every last dollar out of something if I want it gone.

When shopping, if they don't list a price, I know they want too much.

See, you gotta know your market. Toyota Pickups are hot items, command a premium, and not a huge pool to choose from. There at least 25 silverado's , and even more f 150's for sale on the list locally right now .
I do the same as Ashphalt, I always put mine slightly under market, make it look like a good deal, and bam, gone , move on to the next one .
You make your $ when you buy them is the reality of it all .

And this is super smart as well. I tried to go into business with someone selling p cars, and parts.
He was of the mindset that you just buy up everything that you see, and try to make a buck on it. Establish the market he used to say. Horseshat....
I was always more patient and tried to grab up stuff that I could add real value to and sell later at a profit.
I would rather not work, than to work cheap, or for free, just for the sake of moving inventory .

I think to list something properly, you need to go above and beyond on describing every aspect of the vehicle, with good pictures showing all the good (and bad) spots. My adds are generally several paragraphs long with at least 10 pictures. Complete honesty about answering specific questions, but not listing all the reasons it's a piece of junk.

It never fails to amuse me with the adds you see on Craigslist. Most people have no idea how to take a decent picture to save thier lives, and can't seem to put two words together, that don't have some glaring spelling or puncuation issue.

I just recently bought a 2004 GT Mustang convertible from a guy who mispspelled everything, and had 2 pictures of the car at dusk, under a blanket of snow (I actually had to ask him if it was a convertible)......nobody else seemed to want.

Had a guy working for me as a helper - and he had some previous experience in car sales.

One day I happened to mention the great deal I got on the purchase of some material for a job we were doing, and he said something I will never forget - "You make most of your profit on the front end of a deal, if you are doing it right."

The other comment I have is when you list a price - don't be afraid to say "Firm" and go ahead and put the price you want....sometimes it saves everyone a whole lot of speculation and jabbering. :)

I shy away from deals that say "Firm" unless it already is a smoking low price. Everything is negotiable when making a deal.

[QUOTE=ckelly78z;9042606]
It never fails to amuse me with the adds you see on Craigslist. Most people have no idea how to take a decent picture to save thier lives, and can't seem to put two words together, that don't have some glaring spelling or puncuation issue.

You were kidding right?

I just sold my '03 996 with 151K miles. I took a couple pictures with my phone and gave a decent review of the good and bad in the ad copy. I was totally honest in the car and (good) condition. It sold in 2 weeks on CL mostly due to my early phone conversation with the buyer. I wanted to sell the car and move forward. Getting top dollar would mean I would be investing a ton of time which I don't have lots of to begin with. I started with what I thought was a fair price, which was ~ $1500 less than the going rate and got full asking. Very little fuss. I prefer that method over endless haggling.

[QUOTE=Yorkie;9042820] No, not kidding at all, if you want to sell something, make an effort to represent the car as best as possible. I have seen many adds that say "car for sale" and have one dark picture, with no other description of any kind, and no price !

[QUOTE=ckelly78z;9042847] I'm reasonably certain he was referring to the spelling and sentence structure in your own post.

Eh firm is also plays on the basics of economics. When I sold my rusty free scout 800, firm was listed and firm is what I was paid.

It seems like every body asks for way too much these days for many items.

I experimented with setting a low firm price for a car once, it was a miserable failure. every potential buy knew the price was low but still wanted to negotiate. I ended up taking 50$ off the price of an 8k car even though as a matter of principal I was dead set against negotiation.

I'll never forget the Wheeler Dealers show where Mike is out in Palm Springs buying a Camaro.
He low balls the old lady selling it and she says "If I'd wanted to sell it for that I'd have asked that amount."

Never ceases to amaze me how dirty most cars are that people are trying to sell on C-list.

Scott - That was a classic line from an old lady. Was just getting ready to post that and you beat me to it....SmileWavy