Time on market

[pnut_lee]

Strictly academic since I have seen so many cars between here and RL that have been bumped way too many times.

How long before sellers need to take a hint that the asking prices might not be aligned with current market demand?

I think after 4 weeks it’s time to re-evaluate either the way the ad is written, or provide higher quality and quantity of photos......maybe a slight price adjustment. After 8 weeks, time to consider a 10% drop. Nearing 3 months on market.........put the car away until either market catches up or you accept reality and price accordingly.

I have no issues with people starting high, but obsessing with that high number hoping to cash in just looks silly. I don’t understand these sellers. Maybe this is just the effect of a cooling market. Sellers bummed that they didn’t sell a year ago, and still hanging on to those prices.........

[NYNick]

Pelican represents a fraction of the market, and a well informed fraction at that. I contend it might not be the best (or only) place to sell. Plenty of vocal critics who know their stuff. For middle of the road cars that have been well maintained, maybe. For either end of the spectrum however, not so much.

I think people should always go local first. There are plenty of buyers out there. You're not necessarily gonna squeeze the last thousand out of a buyer here. JMO.

[Matt Monson]

I think 4 weeks too long. If no real nibbles in 2 weeks adjust 5%.

[Patrick3000]

I’ve sold about 25 P cars and BMW M cars in the last 15/20 years and it takes about eight weeks to complete a full price sale, much longer than you would think. If you want a quick sale, discounts are the way to go.

[hichamaziz]

youre thread very useful thanks.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Originally Posted by pnut_lee

Strictly academic since I have seen so many cars between here and RL that have been bumped way too many times.

How long before sellers need to take a hint that the asking prices might not be aligned with current market demand?

I think after 4 weeks it’s time to re-evaluate either the way the ad is written, or provide higher quality and quantity of photos......maybe a slight price adjustment. After 8 weeks, time to consider a 10% drop. Nearing 3 months on market.........put the car away until either market catches up or you accept reality and price accordingly.

I have no issues with people starting high, but obsessing with that high number hoping to cash in just looks silly. I don’t understand these sellers. Maybe this is just the effect of a cooling market. Sellers bummed that they didn’t sell a year ago, and still hanging on to those prices.........

You'll find lots of car that are over-priced on most of the selling platforms, these are usually dealers that are hawking consigned cars. So they don't lower the price because they can't, it's not their car. This gives an artificial view of the market, making it look stagnant when it isn't. If you price a Porsche right, it sells quickly, my inventory never lasts long.
---Adam

[LorenzoH]

I feel like many of these sellers have no intention of selling but simply want to try to influence the market.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Originally Posted by LorenzoH

I feel like many of these sellers have no intention of selling but simply want to try to influence the market.

They also like filling their showrooms with pretty cars, hoping someone will sell them one. It's annoying because it creates a false impression of values, so when a guy like me goes to buy a car, people say, "They are selling for XXXX" . I politely remind them that the cars they are using as comps are not actually selling. Then I show them several real comps of cars I've sold or seen sold. Sometimes they see the truth, many times they don't.

---Adam

[drauz]

Adam, could you provide some context to your experience? To whit;
- X% of my buying & selling is 356s.
- the cars I buy &/or sell avg Y on Hagerty’s 1-6 condition scale.
- in selling 356s, my cars avg time on market is W weeks.
I am curious... do any / some sellers ultimately sell their cars above your offer? This would help me to understand the nature of niches within the 356 mkt. TIA.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Originally Posted by drauz

Adam, could you provide some context to your experience? To whit;
- X% of my buying & selling is 356s.
- the cars I buy &/or sell avg Y on Hagerty’s 1-6 condition scale.
- in selling 356s, my cars avg time on market is W weeks.
I am curious... do any / some sellers ultimately sell their cars above your offer? This would help me to understand the nature of niches within the 356 mkt. TIA.

Couple or more things to remember here.
1. I get several calls a day from people asking me how to value their car, many times they want full retail so I can't buy it, so I honestly tell them, the car sells so I get to see how much I understand the market, and I'm usually right.
2. My cars, if they sell on the open market, normally sell on ebay, and 90% meet the reserves, so they are normally on the market for 1 week. I price to sell, not make new records in the market. Jim at EASY taught me a valuable mantra when I first got into this game, "I'm not running a F&%King museum, I'm selling Porsche parts!"
The same applies to cars.
3. Many of my cars sell privately, so they never hit the market. Like the twin grill Roadster in my video the other day, one call did it all. I got the car, called a regular buyer in Austria, a week later he is sitting in his new car, one of 249 ever built.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j2h290tCIQ&t=1s

4. My cars run the gamut in terms of condition, I've sold concours cars and ones that get loaded in pieces, I buy what I can make money on, and it always sells. I had a guy at my place recently and he was kind of poo-poo'ing my cars saying this guy had more S's, and this guy had some Speedsters. I pointed out that both those guys rarely sell cars, so their stock is not really moving. If I had every cool car I had sold I could stack them up in a wall around the shop like the Citroen Factory does outside of Paris.

Bottom line, if it's a Porsche and I can buy it right, honestly describe it and sell it, I'll buy it, and it will sell. These two pics are a window into what I do. You see three Roadsters in each pic, in all varying conditions, were they all money makers, you betcha, would some guys be ashamed to sell a couple of them, you betcha, would I buy and sell them all again, you double betcha!

And as far is what I sell more of, 356's or 9 series, it comes in waves, right now I've been grabbing a bunch of 9's, last week alone a 67S and a 67 normale, but two weeks before was three 356's, 2 A's and a B. The last picture shows the waves.

---Adam