Forum Buying/Selling Guide Suggestions

[1QuikWS6]

After 20+ years of experience with Buying/Selling on Trans Am, Corvette, (& now BMW) forums, I thought I would post up some of the guidelines that have led me to many successful deals over the years for the benefit of newer members (& some seasoned) of forums (any type).

You may not agree with all the items, but following them has led me to many sales & acquired good quality parts at good prices, so take them for what they’re worth…

BUYING

• Have in mind specifically what you are looking for – no impulse buying (impulse buying may lead you to find you really don’t want the part you have just bought once you get it, then you will have to re-sell and lose money)

• Research pricing of items from several sources – Forum Vendors, eBay, Internet, OEM dealers (Know before buying the absolute lowest price item can be had for including shipping – just because a seller lists an original price he paid, and selling price is much less, doesn’t mean the deal is good. Seller may have not done his research 1st when he bought and paid way more than necessary)

• Surf multiple different forum Classifieds Sections if possible (larger database to pull from)

• Surf Classifieds Sections early (lot of people post items for sale late at nite)

• Surf Classifieds Sections often (self explanatory)

• Surf Classifieds using ‘Search’ option and key words (help you find what you are looking for more rapidly without reading thru numerous posts that are not what you’re looking for. For sale post titles are often vague, or do not encompass all that is for sale in post due to size limitations)

• If asking price is reasonable, don’t lowball – just go with it (lowball only insults seller & makes them uncooperative)

• Never buy a New item from individual at a price that only saves you a couple dollars, or price of shipping, over Vendor price (minimal savings not worth the fact that you won’t have any warranty to speak of. If you are that hard up for $$ then you shouldn’t be buying parts anyway-save up until you have enough)

• Never buy Used Painted Exterior parts (no matter how ‘lightly’ used the description states, you will probably find you have to repaint, which will cost you more in the long run)

• Have a Max price in mind you will pay for an item-be it New, Used, or 2nd Hand New (never let seller talk you in to going over your max price-no matter what he states. His is not the only item that will ever be for sale, if seller will not come down to your price be patient, another more motivated seller will come along eventually)

• Don’t jerk seller around – no ‘window shopping’ unless you are definitely serious in buying (I know as a seller I hate to answer 100 questions, or have someone state they will buy an item, and then never hear from them again)

• Finally, never ‘tip your hand’ that you are interested in an item publicly on the forum (do all your pre-sale dealings by PM. Don’t ask questions publicly that will help other ‘rival’ buyers make their decision before you. Don’t even post ‘Sent you a PM’ unless it was a PM stating that you definitely want the item)

SELLING

• Don’t sell parts you may need at a later date when ‘De-Modding’ simply pack them away in a safe place (selling parts you may need later just to try and supplement your income will cost you more in the long run, as you will need to re-purchase these same parts later and possibly pay more than what you sold for)

• Research Current Pricing of parts you have for sale (especially check eBay and Forum Vendor deals as these will be the 1st people your pricing will be compared to)

• Post your item for sale in the appropriate section (makes it easier for potential buyers to find)

• Put detailed description of item for sale in your post (think of info you would want to know if you were buying, i.e. part number, model, applications supported. It will only help you out in the long run to alleviate 100+ questions and sell your item faster)

• Include numerous, GOOD, actual pics (a picture is worth a thousand words when selling. Use clear, hi res pics from different angles – no crappy cell phone pics. If you don’t have a camera, then borrow one. Nothing worse than crappy out of focus pics to ruin a for sale post. Don’t bother posting item for sale until you have those pics-you can bet your life that if you don’t include pics, the 1st question will be to see some – so might as well do it to begin with. It may be assumed that everyone ‘knows’ what the item looks like – but as a buyer, I want to see actual pics of item I am buying, so simply including only mfg,. or some other vendor’s pics, of same item doesn’t cut it. Just copy/pasting others pics, instead of actual, leads buyers to think you have something to hide as to condition of parts you are selling)

• Price your parts reasonably whether they are New or Used (an informed buyer is not gonna buy a New item from an individual over a vendor just to save a couple dollars-losing their ability to have a warranty. Contrary to popular belief, Used parts are NOT worth $5-$10 less than new. In the end, used is used, no matter how long, even if only installed & then removed immediately. A new car loses thousands of dollars as soon as you drive it off the lot-so it is with parts, but to a lesser extent. Set a price only slightly higher than what you actually want to allow for ‘haggling room’ to make buyer feel good about getting a good deal, or set as ‘Price Firm’ and stick to it)

• Don’t go into a sale thinking Your parts are worth more than they are (unreasonably high initial asking prices only turn buyers off from your item, and if you then have to lower your price multiple times it appears you are desperate to sell)

• Keep up good & frequent communication with your buyer all the way thru the deal to shipping (people like snappy replies & frequent updates-if that is too much trouble for you, then you shouldn’t be selling. When shipping, always spend the measly xtra 50 cents to get Tracking# - buyers like proof, over just your word, that item was shipped)

• If you don’t have time to monitor your For Sale posts on a regular basis – then don’t bother posting (everyone hates the seller that posts an item, gets tons of questions, but you never hear from them again after initial post – if item is no longer for sale, then delete the post. Doing this repeatedly will only ruin your seller rep as buyers will remember)

• Finally, post your item ‘To the Top’ not more than once per day (anyone that feels that THEIR part is SO important that it needs to be at the top of the list above all others continuously, either comes off as an asshole or desperate. Everyone selling parts feels their ad is important – so have some friggen courtesy)

[Express]

facts

[DevJ]

Good thread! Should be a sticky in the fs section..

[1QuikWS6]

Thanx!

I know it looks like a lot of typing, but actually only took me 15min - I got used to typing fast after having to do so many Engineering Reports...