We live in an era where life is infamously on the ‘fast track’. The growth and advancement in technology over the past few decades have been exponential. While there are some negative impacts of this technology, there are without a doubt far greater advantages. One of the most influential developments during this period has been the internet. The internet has brought people from all corners of the world onto a common platform. It allows for rapid flow of information and mass communication.
Online marketplaces are platforms that make apt use of these attributes of the internet.
If you wish to sell your car, rest assured that the process has never been easier than it is at present. The introduction of the internet, and subsequently, online marketing websites such as eBay Motors and Facebook Marketplace among others have streamlined the process significantly. Options such as selling to a local dealer or posting ads in the newspaper now seem far more tedious and much less profitable than choosing to sell online.
Here are some reasons why you should opt to sell your used car online.
Cut Out the Middlemen:
Perhaps the most common option taken by people in the past was to sell their car to a local dealer. Automobile dealers are simply middlemen and their job is to sell to the eventual users. They will buy a car for a reduced price so they can sell it for more and keep the profit. This means that if you choose to sell to a dealer you are bound to get lesser money for your car than if you sold it directly to a buyer. By selling your car online, you have multiple options to do just that.
You can advertise directly to consumers and cut out the middlemen. You no longer have to settle for the low prices offered by dealers. Not only that, buyers may be willing to offer more for a car sold directly by the owner than one sold by a dealer. This is because buyers generally tend to distrust dealers as they are notorious for sweet-talking customers into bad decisions. Even if you wish to make a quick sale to a dealer, by using online platforms you are not restricted to just those in your vicinity. Therefore, selling your car online is bound to get you the best value no matter which way you decide to go.
Free/Cheaper Advertisements:
If you decide to sell your car directly rather than through a middleman, you will have to get the word out. Most people used to do this by listing an ad in the daily newspaper. Posting an ad, even if it is just a few lines long, is very expensive. As there is a new newspaper printed every day, your ad is basically inactive the next day, unless of course, you are willing to splash even more cash to keep your ad running for a few more days. This is decidedly not the best-case scenario. Most online marketplaces let you post your ad absolutely free of charge. If you are required to pay a fee, it is only to broadcast your message to a wider market. This makes it more worth the cost than paying a similar (if not greater) amount to post in a newspaper.
Ad Reaches More Viewers:
Another major disadvantage of listing your ad in a local newspaper is that it reaches only a fraction of the potential customers – those too in a limited geographical radius. Newspapers are fast becoming obsolete as everything they have to offer is now available on your phones’ screen.
It makes no sense to advertise by this means when you have the option of posting an ad online and reaching a much wider spectrum of viewers. The relatively few people who do read the paper don’t do so with the intention of casually shopping for cars. Those who reach your ad online do so by searching for that specific product in that price range. This means that not only does your ad get more views, it gets more meaningful views. So, the overall chances of being contacted by a serious buyer are much greater if you post an ad online.
Convenient:
Not only does selling online fetch a better price, it is much more convenient. You don’t need to go to a newspaper agent to register your ad nor do you need to drive your car up to a dealer to sell it. All you have to do is wash up your car to make it look presentable and take several pictures of it for your ad. Then you can simply upload the ad, from home, along with the pictures using your phone or computer/laptop. Because of the fact that these ads have pictures, buyers can get a good idea about the car and decide if they want to buy it. Thus, the probability of getting responses by genuinely interested buyers is higher. You can also share more pictures over Facebook or WhatsApp if that’s what the purchaser wants. The eventual party that comes to test the car out will be one that has more or less made up his mind about buying the car. This means you won’t have to chaperone too many prospective buyers around in those tedious test drives. All in all, the process is considerably streamlined and efficient.
Selling Damaged Cars Possible:
If you have a damaged car or one that has run its course, it is extremely unlikely that any user or dealer will take it off your hands. Where in the past you would have had to dispose of the car or sell it to be scrapped for a nominal amount, you needn’t worry anymore. There are online services that will buy your car, regardless of its condition, including those for scrap. Services such as we buy cars today offer much fairer prices for such cars than anyone else would.