Today was an experience.
I’ve sold a car on eBay previously, though it was a six-year-old Ford Ka in 2005, and I had expected to get around £500 for it (although it ended up selling for £1,800). Selling my Freelander on eBay gave me a completely different feeling. I was hoping for £8,000 and when the auction ended with the car being unsold, I realised my strategy was a bad one – I had set the reserve price to £7,795 and the Buy-It-Now price to £8,695. The highest bid only fell £245 short of the reserve.
I offered the car to each of the bidders who made a realistic bid, and one arranged to view the car the next day. But didn’t turn up.
After listing the car again on a 1-day listing with a £8,000 Buy-It-Now price and a starting bid of £7,600 with no reserve, I was sure that only serious bidders would be tempted, and happy that the first bid would see the car sold for at least £600 more than the dealership offered as part exchange.
So, to today’s experience.
The winning bidder had contacted me and told me he was in the vehicle export business and was interested in my car. He had an accent, and although it shouldn’t make a difference, it made me wary that he might be operating from out of the country. He then went on to say he couldn’t pay with PayPal because his registered credit card had expired and PayPal’s card registration process would take a few days – a few days that I had already admitted I didn’t have, seeing as I am paying the balance on my new car tomorrow. He said he would have to transfer the money electronically once he had seen the car.
Alarm bells rang, but just like so many other alarm bells, they were ignored. My reaction was similar to that of the workers in an office block when the fire alarm sounds – a brief glance at the bell to confirm yes, it is ringing, then it is dismissed and everyone acts as if no alarm is ringing at all. Apart from Dave, who is on the phone, and is overheard to say, “That? Oh yes, it’s the fire alarm being tested – can you hear me ok?” This only serves to reinforce the assumption it’s just a test.
I’m not sure how one would reconcile the fact that Dave said the alarm was only being tested, while one is slowly burned alive at one’s desk. At what point does one think that perhaps Dave was wrong?
Anyway, alarm bells rang, were briefly acknowledged, then tuned out.
As it happens, it was just a test. The chap turned up, had a drive of the car, transferred the money to my account (which I checked online before handing over the keys) and the deal was done. A lovely £7,800 in my account ready for tomorrow.
It’s £1,900 less than Parker’s said the car is worth, but only £200 less than I had realistically hoped to get. I do think, however, that I should have just accepted the dealership’s part exchange offer of £7,000 and save myself all the hassle – all that car cleaning, two eBay listings, failed viewing attempts, an odd final sale, and a train journey to Basingstoke tomorrow. A tomorrow which, by the way, can’t come soon enough!
