Best location for price on eBay

[black_box]

Finally have time to head down to TN to pickup my new-to-me 987S from a family member (and stay a week or so), but still haven't seriously tried selling my 2000 986S so as to have a space to park the recent acquisition.

I think I will put her up on eBay to guarantee a quick sale, but am not sure whether it's best to list the car in Tennessee, then drive down and meet the buyer there while picking up the new one or to list the car here (in NYC) and then fly / drive to pickup once sold.

Will there be significant price / demand difference for a nice 2000 S model between the two places? I'm trying to get around $13k after fees. I'd really love to get one more roadtrip out of her while driving through Appalachia...

[BruceH]

I doubt there would be a significant difference in price, but what do I know? If you want one last drive, then list it for TN pick up. Keep in mind, you might get a buyer that wants it shipped so with that in mind TN is a bit more central. Just some thoughts.

[soucorp]

Originally Posted by black_box

Finally have time to head down to TN to pickup my new-to-me 987S from a family member (and stay a week or so), but still haven't seriously tried selling my 2000 986S so as to have a space to park the recent acquisition.

I think I will put her up on eBay to guarantee a quick sale, but am not sure whether it's best to list the car in Tennessee, then drive down and meet the buyer there while picking up the new one or to list the car here (in NYC) and then fly / drive to pickup once sold.

Will there be significant price / demand difference for a nice 2000 S model between the two places? I'm trying to get around $13k after fees. I'd really love to get one more roadtrip out of her while driving through Appalachia...

Since you only have a week, I would wait until you pick up your 987 first before selling your 986. Porsches, especially a Boxster is a disposable income luxury item vehicle for the young yuppie/hip type or the family man needing a toy car for the weekends. Sell it in NYC, there's more people with money there than TN where most folks prefer pickups and don't care about Porsches, no offense but its true. You'll also have more time to wait in case it takes a while to sell and at the same time, get bragging rights to say I have two Porsches in my front yard.
If you need to sell first to raise the money to buy the 987, well, do what you gotta do !

Best

[thstone]

eBay is a national selling market and as such, most eBay car buyers are not local but they do tend to be "regional" in terms of the US market, e.g., a NY car will probably stay somewhere in the northeast but not necessarily in NY state. Same for a car in Georgia, it is more likely to stay in the southeast but not necessarily in GA. With that being said, local buys do happen and so do coast-to-coast deals.

Also take pricing into consideration. eBay car buyers are not well known for paying top dollar and a "quick" sale, such as selling on eBay with no reserve, usually does not mean "highest sale price".

[Perfectlap]

I discovered my car on Ebay. Ironically it was only 15 minutes from my home at a local dealer that picked it up as a trade in with barely 9K miles. I worked out a deal with them offline and then to take advantage of some discounts and lemon guarantees from both Ebay and the finance company we relisted it on Ebay motors and I hit buy it now from their offices.
If that hadn't panned through I would have done something similar to what I guy in my local AX club has done, basically I would look for an excellent price on a still in warranty Boxster or Carrera, plenty of these type deals back in 2009 and 2010, called my local dealer told them I found a car and a seller, they could buy back the car, CPO it, I pay a bit more but get the extra coverage and whatever financing perks they were offering. The dealer makes money on the CPO for doing nothing and whatever other incentives on their end.

All that being said, while I would buy from Ebay again, I would not sell a car on there as a first course of action. Their commissions are unecessary if you can sell it locally on Craigslist or in the Porsche forum classifieds or even if you run and ad in a Porsche magazine.

Now something a bit underhanded that occurred to me once, but that I didn't do, was perhaps listing the car on Ebay with a very high buy it now option, one that would cover all fees and your best asking price. A price unlikely to prompt a sale. Then in one of the photos of your car posting a for sale sign in the car's window dash or seat, that had your email address (one you would set up just for this sale) and "or best offer after auction". This would get you some extra interest from someone who was really interested in the car. And of course you would make no mention of this in the ad's text despcription. Ebay might pull the auction but they would most likely return your $10 or whatever listing fee.

[black_box]

The 987 is already paid for, over a month now it's been sitting there waiting....

I can't have both Boxsters in NYC though... I already spend $450/month garaging the two cars I already have here!

I am actually willing to drive the car to a buyer anywhere from the Northeast to Austin, TX since I have work down there in July as well!

[BruceH]

I would also list the car here and on Excellence Magazine. PCA has a great on line listing as well to avoid the eBay fees.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by black_box

The 987 is already paid for, over a month now it's been sitting there waiting....

I can't have both Boxsters in NYC though... I already spend $450/month garaging the two cars I already have here!

I am actually willing to drive the car to a buyer anywhere from the Northeast to Austin, TX since I have work down there in July as well!

Definitely post an ad in Craiglist Texas. From what I've seen of their listings their sellers won't part with their Boxsters and Carreras for low to medium asking prices. One member on here posted a not every highly optioned base 986 (no 18" wheels, no Litronics, no aero, no major interior upgrades) and sold the car within three days for about $14K if I'm not mistaken. I think mileage was under 50K. I guess Texas people rather pay up than travel far.

p.s.
Have the car's interior and paint professionally detailed. This doesn't mean a car wash with a wax job area.
Paint correction and a thorough interior carpet cleaning before any photos are taken will prompt a much quicker and profitable sale.

[soucorp]

Originally Posted by black_box

The 987 is already paid for, over a month now it's been sitting there waiting....

I can't have both Boxsters in NYC though... I already spend $450/month garaging the two cars I already have here!

I am actually willing to drive the car to a buyer anywhere from the Northeast to Austin, TX since I have work down there in July as well!

The extra detail you have provide only suggest one thing, place ad on eBay for TN location, drive the 986 to TN to pick up your 987 to drive back to NYC. See what pans out and if you need longer time, your family member I'm sure can watch over the 986 for you until it gets picked up for new buyer. I just sold my restored 69 MG on ebay for a huge profit, the buyer paid for and arranged for transport so not a big deal. Either way, I think we can agree there's no space in NYC to store the car and unless you know someone in TX, TN is your best bet!

Best

[TeamOxford]

Originally Posted by thstone

eBay car buyers are not well known for paying top dollar and a "quick" sale, such as selling on eBay with no reserve, usually does not mean "highest sale price".

Agreed.

IMHO, a national listing on Autotrader, Car Gurus, or PCA would probably yield you a better offer.

My mechanic once told me that the best markets for selling Porsches are:
1. Beverly Hills, CA
2. Miami, FL
3. Dallas, TX

If you do advertise nationally, don't be surprised if your buyer is from one of those areas.

TO