Auto Trader or Ebay
by: Cherie Szilvagyi
For Auto Dealers across the nation, today’s market is
getting harder and harder to handle. Sales are seeing a downturn after such
a long up swing in the market. To counteract the ever increasing expense of
running and maintaining a profitable dealership, dealers need to be savvy in
today’s market.
New trends are emerging in today’s market. Down turn markets always seem to
bring out the new ideas and help to hone them. Internet sales, once a hard
to handle and mysterious market, are on the upswing. Sites like Ebay and
Auto Trader are actually selling cars. In fact they are both selling so many
cars that it is getting impossible to ignore selling online. With Auto
Trader and Ebay Motors doing over half of the online sales for vehicles, it
is apparent that dealers are figuring out how to sell online with the help
of these emerging two giants.
The ease and success of selling online has been evolving and today’s savvy
dealer is using both Ebay and Auto Trader to boost sales and gain profit
margin in an ever tightening market. The conventional newspaper
advertisement is being replaced on the advertising budget with an online
sales budget. Sales percentages are showing that they are dollars well
spent.
Some dealers have gone so far as to hire and train their own internet
department. Other dealers are taking the smart way and hiring a consulting
firm that is well versed in online sales. Whether the dealer is handling
online sales in house or hiring it out, the bottom line is the same, better
use of the advertising dollar.
Conventional newspaper advertisements have less than 4 people look at a
particular vehicle. Most people are not even looking at the auto
advertisements; they are reading the paper for something else. 11% of all
buyers attribute the Internet as the source that led them to the vehicle
they purchased versus 9% for newspapers. Internet customers are looking for
a vehicle when they look online. Could this be why so many are purchasing
online?
Ecommerce for the Auto Dealer is becoming more and more necessary. Being an
expert in selling cars and being an internet expert is no longer necessary.
Hiring a consultant firm that is both reasonable in fees and knowledgeable
in online auto sales is becoming a must for the successful auto dealer.
Consulting firms for online sales work after the dealer closes for the day
and provides sales support 7 days a week. Helping the dealer to sell online
even when they are closed.
Checking out references and sell through percentages is necessary when
choosing your internet consulting firm. Consider which venues they sell on
and are familiar with. Auto Trader is responsible for 35% of the cars sold
online, Ebay is responsible for 22% of the cars sold online. With over half
of the market, the online consulting firm a dealer hires needs to be well
versed in both.
Today’s market demands the best for online sales from auto dealers.
About The Author
Cherie Szilvagyi is the CEO of
www.AutomobileClearingHouse.com
cherie@automobileclearinghouse.com
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