How To Make Money With Online Car

Auctions

Introduction

Car auctions can be a lucrative way to make money and this has now become even easier thanks to the explosive growth of online car auctions. You do not need to be an expert to make money online with car auctions any one can do it providing you have done your research and are willing to invest a little starting capital into your business.

We have written a beginners guide examining how to make money with online car auctions and with some practical hints, tips and tricks to help you maximise your time and investment.

1. Know Your Market

The importance of research is crucial if you want to make money online with car auctions. This can all be done online from the comfort of your own home and you do not need to go and view cars in person. It is worth browsing online auction sites and classified pages or trade magazines, like exchange and mart, to get an idea for the types of cars that are commonly sought after. We have devised a really simple system to help you find the perfect care niche, but is requires effort over a month long period on your part.

a) Avoid the For Sale section and instead go straight to the Wanted section. This is because we are looking for what is actually in demand, not what types of cars are being supplied by sellers. Go through the pages of adverts presented by these online car auction sites and write down the car make and the number of times the car is requested. Do this for a month long period once per week and you will build up a picture of the types of cars that are regularly requested by other buyers.

b) Now you have built up a profile of cars in demand go to the sellers section of the site and type in some of the car manufacturers and vehicle types. This will return a number of results which you can browse through and you can record the average car prices next to the cars that you have previously identified as being in demand.

You should now have a list of car make, the number of times it is requested and the average price of each on the car auction site.

2. Selecting Your Market

The obvious option would be to buy and sell those cars with the highest demand; however this is not always the best option. It could be that the most popular car offers very little profit and so you will need to sell a larger volume of these to make a respectable profit. Using your spreadsheet of statistics look to find car makes that could potentially offer you the best return on your efforts by multiplying the number of times it was requested by the average asking price. This will then provide you with a car that will supply you with the optimum profit margin which you should consider building your online car auction business around. It is important that you regularly review your statistics at least every three months to ensure that you respond to changes in demand and buying trends with online car auction sites.

Now that you have researched your market you can begin buying and selling via online car auction sites.

3. Choosing An Online Car Auction Site

It is important that you feel confident using an online auction site to host your car auctions and there are a range of sites available. We have listed a few of the popular ones below;
  • AutoeBid.com is an innovative, award winning UK car auction site works on a reverse bid auction approach. You set an amount that you want to pay for your chosen car and then watch as Uk dealerships fight to match the price you want to pay. AutoeBid.com has over 1,300 reputable suppliers registered on their site and you can relax in the knowledge that these are firms with a reputation to maintain, rather than merely private sellers. Visit Now

  • Ebay online car auctions are a well known name in the online auction business and they have an excellent car auction section. You need to be a little careful what you buy and many of the vehicles are offered from individuals rather than businesses, meaning that you can often find even bigger bargains. Visit Now

  • Autorola online car auctions provide cars and other vehicles to consumers that are unwanted vehicle leasing models or have come to the end of their car leasing term. Usually these are only 2-3 years old and you can pick up some real bargains. Visit Now

  • British online car auctions are the largest online car and vehicle auction sites in Europe. They provide vehicles direct from dealerships, companies or car leasing companies which they are looking to re sell to consumers. They have over 100 auctions every single week and provide a wide variety of choice, for those looking to find an ideal car. Visit Now

To help you make a more informed decision we have also listed some of the key features we think are important in an online auction site.

  1. Size of audience. The larger the audience the higher the probability of increasing your online car auction sales, so look for established sites that have lots of activity.

  2. Range of Payment Options. It is important to make it as easy as possible for your customers to purchase stock from your car auctions, so ensure that the online car auction site you choose has a good range of payment methods including; credit and debt cards, Pay Pal and even cheques. Also look for the secure site logo's which ensure that customer transactions will be encrypted in order to reduce the chances of fraud.

  3. Vat Free. Where possible look for online car auction sites where you do not have to pay value added tax as this is 17.5% and you will have to pass this cost onto your customer.

  4. Customisation. If you are setting up for own online car auction business it is essential to have the option to create a customised store front, which enables you to brand your business. Most online auction transactions have no branding for the customer, but sites like ebay allow you to upload your own logo and images which are clearly visible to the customer when they visit your car auction store via the online auction site. This will help customers to find your online car auction store more quickly and provide you with invaluable repeat business.

  5. Free Or Reduced Fees. Try to find online auction sites that offer you free or reduce fees for listing your cars and which do not charge and additional percentage after the car has been sold via your online car auction. These are known as end of item fees.

These simple measures will help you keep your costs low and allow you to offer more competitive prices to customers or enable you to maximise your profits.

4. Buying At Online Car Auctions

Before you can create your online car auction you first need some stock. It is important that you set yourself a budget and this should be based upon the figures gleaned from your research statistics. It is entirely possible to start your own online car auction with as little as £1,000 of stock, which might be one or two cars. It is not a question of how much you have to spend on stock, it is more a question of how good your research has been and hence your ability to sell your stock, make a profit and re-invest this in your online car auction business. Once you have decided upon your budget and the make of the car you want to purchase, now you can start buying at online car auctions.

a) Create a Shortlist.

Browse through the online car auction listings and identify the specific cars you want to purchase and make a list or add them to your Watch Item page if using ebay.

b) Read Carefully.

Go back and read through each online car auction listing in your shortlist carefully and look for some of the following;

  • Length of car tax
  • Length of MOT
  • Identified faults
  • Location
  • Log Book Details available

All of these are important because they will directly influence the amount of profit you could make when try to sell the car on to a client.

c) Check the Seller Rating

The seller rating is critical because it will tell you how reliable they are. Look for sellers with multiple transactions that still maintain a high seller rating, usually marked out of 100%.

d) Identify your Car Stock

Once you have gone through this process choose a car or number of cars that you would like to bid on and remove all the other cars from your shortlist, or watch item list if using ebay.

e) Bidding

Bidding in online car auctions or any auction site is like a game of poker. If you reveal your hand too soon someone will out perform you. Do not place a bid straight away; instead make a note of the end time of the online car auctions in which the cars you want to purchase appear in. Log back in at least 10 minutes before the end of the auction and go to the bidding page and type in the maximum amount you are prepared to offer, but don't click the Place Bid button yet. Wait for 30 seconds before the end of the auction and hit the Place Bid button. This will place your bid and give other bidders no time to make a counter bid, which means that providing you have typed in a maximum bid that is above what others are willing to pay, you will win the item. There are also professional bidders who will do this for you for a fee, you can find some at. Repeat this process until you have acquired your car stock. Now you are ready to get selling!

5. Selling at Online Car Auctions

The two biggest keys to selling your car at an online car auction are knowing your market, which you will already have explored, and also how you present your car stock to potential buyers.

Because a potential buyer only has your car auction store front from which to view a car it is critical that your car is presented well. Ensure that you upload at least one picture of the car you are selling. Although ideally you should upload pictures of your car from at least four angles. Also make sure the title is succinct and provides the buyer with the information they need so Silver Vauxhall Corsa is not helpful. 1999 Sliver Vauxhall Corsa Breeze 1.6 is much better as it gives the buyer a clear description and this will stand out in the auction site listings that buyers browse through.

Also ensure that you write a good clear and concise description of the vehicle, which above all is accurate and honest. Remember that under consumer rights law buyers are entitled to a full refund if something they purchase is faulty or inaccurately represented. Try to use bullet points to list all the positive features and leave any faults until towards the end of your description, so that a potential buyer is not put off at the beginning.

Also put a comment at the end of the description like Questions welcomed or, Do not hesitate to contact me with further questions , as this will give the buyer confidence that they are dealing with a professional individual and may make them more likely to make a purchase. Following these simple steps can help you make money using online car auctions.

Estimated Earnings: (guideline only)

This can be variable depending upon the niche you decide to operate your online car auction business within. However here is a guideline we have put togther.

£1000 per month. This based on a profit margin of 40% which is obtained by selling 5 cars per month for £700 each, after purchasing them for £500 each. This is very realistic and is a high return for what is a relatively simple process.

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