Florida Dealer Sells Exclusively On eBay Motors

For Les Lunn, his experience with eBay Motors began in 2001 when a friend asked him to sell a Range Rover on the site. As Lunn kept a close eye on the auction, he noticed the price rise significantly on the final day of the auction. By the time bidding had ended, a buyer used the “Buy It Now” feature to purchase his vehicle for $48,900--a $17,000 jump from the price at the beginning of the day.

While working out the details of the transaction, Lunn struck up a friendship with the buyer from California. A week later, when the buyer received the Range Rover, he had gained more than a vehicle; he had gained a new friend.

“What a fun transaction for all involved! This was all I needed to get going on eBay,” Lunn said.

Today, eBay Motors is all Lunn knows. Car Club USA, located in Hollywood, Fla., currently sells almost all their inventory through eBay Motors.

“The only time we don’t sell on eBay is through a referral or a repeat customer,” Lunn said. “We’re committed to eBay and we’re going to stay on eBay. We don’t list our cars anywhere else.”

Since he began listing vehicles on the site in 2001, Lunn has seen an increase in business almost every month and believes in the model eBay Motors presents for dealers.

“It’s an amazing market where you are able to move product fast,” he said. “If you want to sell consistently and quickly, there’s no better place. I know it’s good for my business because my sales keep increasing every month.”

Lunn has discovered that eBay Motors is truly a global marketplace, as he recently shipped two Grand Cherokees to Iceland and sold an F-150 and a Mustang to customers in Germany. Since his first sale on eBay Motors, Car Club USA has sold vehicles to almost all 50 states and has sold overseas to Senegal, Italy, Ukraine, Finland and Ireland, among others.

eBay Motors helped Lunn succeed in slow economic times as well. He found when industry sales were slow after Sept. 11, 2001, his sales on eBay were still strong.

“Many of the buyers at the auctions and people in general felt the economy was in for a wild tailspin,” he said. “We noticed a strange thing; people were still buying cars on eBay.”

As buyers at auctions lost confidence in being able to move inventory, Lunn started buying more cars then he ever had previously. In fact, he had to apply for more floor plan buying power since he was not able to keep pace with how fast he was selling cars on eBay.

He now lists over 100 cars a month on eBay Motors and says price is the key to sales on eBay. He prides himself on offering great deals that allow him to move inventory.

While setting a reasonable price is number one, Lunn has several other tips about using eBay Motors.

“Your presentation is very important,” he said. “You want to be as honest as possible. You should list every flaw that you don’t want to recon or repair. Do your own thorough CarFax report, and check the complete history. Ignorance is no excuse.”

Lunn said he makes it a practice to include as many pictures as needed to accurately show the vehicle.

Another key for Lunn is communication.

“You have to answer your e-mails as quickly as possible,” he said. “Treat it like it’s a phone call into the dealership.”

Lunn said he loves his dealings on eBay and enjoys the time he invests in communicating with sellers and making sure he has satisfied customers.

“I really love what I do now on a daily basis, and it reflects in other areas,” he said. “My energy level is always up. Goals that I have, that before seemed distant, now seem reachable because I have finally found a selling medium that works consistently.”

Vol 1, Issue 2