Selling my van in an unusual way.Your thoughts please.

[GeorgeandAde]

Hi.

I have today put a deposit on a caravan from a dealers and they are going to hold it for up to 5 weeks for us,but require 2 weeks notice before we are going to collect it so that they can "PDI" the caravan.

We now have to sell our own van but have a 4 day break on the 4th July.

By selling private and not part exchanging,will save us about £800-£1000 so this is the way i will proceed.

By the time we come back from our break,there will be only 2 weeks and 2 days left to notify the dealer that we wish to collect and pay the balance for our van.

Do you think it would be acceptable to advertise the caravan on a well known auction site next week for say 10 days,and state in the advert that the winning bidder will have to collect the van after our break.

Obviously,a deposit would be paid and then the cleared balance paid on collection.

Do you think we would be wrong in asking them to pay a deposit and then wait for our return to collect the caravan?

 

[mcghee]

i hate to p*** in your fire but i sold my caravan through the "well known" auction site you're probably thinking of and it took me four weeks to eventually get around

 

[landypete]

x2 with mcghee fleabay is full of wasters cost me a small fortune in timewasters try preloved or caravan finder

what ever way you sell it good luck and enjoy your new van

 

[johnfred20]

i hate to p*** in your fire but i sold my caravan through the "well known" auction site you're probably thinking of and it took me four weeks to eventually get around

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thanks for the replies.

I sold my last caravan this way and couldnt of wished for a smother transaction.(Must have been lucky that time).

Do you think its a bit of a cheek though to sell the van but ask the buyer to wait until we return from our break to pay and collect the caravan?

 

[landypete]

if thay relly want it thay may wait if you explaine what is going on i dont think its cheeky if you tell them before hand

 

[drsorento]

Hi Adrian

I personally would have no problem with your intentions, as long as you state in the listing so as everyone is clear of the terms and conditions of your sale.

In the listing I would put that if the winning bidder cannot adhere to the terms and conditions then they should not bid.

The previouse posts are quite correct on both sides of the argument, there are some idiots on that sites but there are also some genuine bidders, it is a game of chance.

Good lock which ever road you decide to go down with this, hope all goes as you wish it to.

 

[LMH]

Hi Adrian

I've seen quite a lot of listings which state, 'deposit must be paid by winning bidder after listing has ended' along with stating, 'caravan will not be available for collection until....... due to us using it for a pre-booked holiday etc'

I can't see a problem with that.

I don't tend to use ebay for anything over

 

[Surfer]

I wouldn't bother with the auction site as many caravans are nrto reaching their reserve price. We advertised ours on the Practicla caravan site and had far more genuine inquiries than from any other site. The first buyer wanted the caravan but coudl not meet our price. The second buyer came, had a squiz around the caravan and gave us a deposit pending full payment.

After that we still had several more inquiries within a very short space of time. I would recomend the website for selling as we got the price we wanted with no quibbling.

 

[Andrew_374564758]

Hi, i trade on ebay and although you get idiots you also get many genuine buyers and sellers. This time of year start the auction so it ends on a weekday (not friday) evening as many people are away over the weekends - particularly caravanners. Encourage people to come and look, and if someone offers you a fair price before the auction ends take it and end the listing early - saves any fees and avoids the risk of non paying bidders. I got a phone call from a polish guy 10 minutes after advertising my lunar the other month, i have to admit that I thought i'd probably never hear anything more from him despite agreeing a price, but i was surprised to find 3 days later he rang me saying his driver would be with me in 30minutes with the cash - apparently he was buying caravans on ebay to export! If you describe the caravan carefully including the negative bits you should have no problem - people would rather bid on something that they know the faults of, rather than an item with no proper description - they just assume your hiding something. A good description also puts off the timewasters - the kind who bid on a 20yr old van expecting it to be as new for

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thanks for all your advice.

I have now actually listed the caravan for sale and have been 100% honest with the description.

Ive stated at the start of the advert about collecting after our break and not to bid if they wouldnt agree to this.

So fingers crossed for a hassle free sale.

Our last van sold within 3 days of listing and buyer paid with cash so i may be lucky again this time.

Thanks once again

 

[whitetop]

I sold my last van on Ebay and listed it with a reserve price slightly lower than what the dealer offered as a part exchange...

I mentioned this in the listing........

Eventually got

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thank you David R.

Ive listed it honestly and in great detail.

Unfortunatly ive just had to revise the advert as my car was hit from behind on Sunday and has damaged the towbar so i am unable to bring the van home for any viewings.Going into Fords tomorrow.

Someone "up there" certainly isnt looking down on me at the moment.

 

[Surfer]

Sounds like our saga. Customer bought the caravan and when we went to deliver it the skylight had blown off. Suspect that someone else had opened it and never latched it down properly.

 

[Vicki15]

Hi George and Ade, I use the site you mention all the time, very few probs, sold our last caravan on there no prob at all, last year sold 3 river cruisers , each time buyer came, liked ,paid and took away.I find that you usually get someone who will want to come before end and make an offer there and then, much easier and i'd recommend this rather than hanging out for a bit more, you can always end the aution early if this happens even if theres bids on it and if youve also advertised elsewhere add that to description saying you reserve the right to end item early if sells elsewhere then your covered.

Yes there are loads of timewasters too but you can check buyers out too via their feedback. Ive met some lovely people through e--y so i think its worth a try and so easy.

I think if you take really good photo's add the max (12), a really good description , give away few extra's etc then should be fine, having said all that local papers are brilliant and you could add not available til .... most people now prob looking ready for a Aug hol so wont mind.

Also like someone else said, Preloved is a brilliant site , i also use that but i would def become a full member, it costs

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thank you Vicki.

Yes ive given it a good description,added 12 pictures,a few extras included and been totally honest.

I have 4 days left with 12 people "watching" so far so fingers crossed.

Adrian

 

[LADA]

Have also got my caravan for sale on e--y. It's been on for 6 days now with currently 34 watchers but no bids.

Have you tried Practical Mags selling section or how about C4caravans? Have put mine on both of these now so hoping to sell soon as we've already bought a new 'van but having the one for sale on the drive is worrying as I like my van in storage.

In over 5 years buying and selling on e--y I've only ever had one bad payer so must agree that the vast majority of buyers are genuine - or am I just lucky?

 

[barndoor54]

Have also got my caravan for sale on e--y. It's been on for 6 days now with currently 34 watchers but no bids.

Have you tried Practical Mags selling section or how about C4caravans? Have put mine on both of these now so hoping to sell soon as we've already bought a new 'van but having the one for sale on the drive is worrying as I like my van in storage.

In over 5 years buying and selling on e--y I've only ever had one bad payer so must agree that the vast majority of buyers are genuine - or am I just lucky?

I have bought and sold lots on Ebay, there are many timewasters but also as many genuine people too. Any timewasters you come across report then hopefully get rid of a few.

Btw good luck

 

[LADA]

Sold caravan and it was collected today by a really nice buyer who drove all the way from Wales to Darlington! Paid a deposit as per listing then sent a mobile caravan 'technician' to check it out for him as he lives so far away. As expected caravan passed every test, including damp check and the guy arrived two days later with cash. Easy enough transaction and just goes to show if you are honest with your description and don't hide anything then buyers will be confident in what they are buying - although being Scots, SHMBO insisted I check every

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thank you for your comments LADA.

Our van was advrtised for 10 days and had 500 views with 12 "watching" but unfortunatly didnt sell.

I had it listed as a buy it now or nearest offer.

Its now been re-listed but this time its on with a staring price(the absolute lowest we would accept) so hopefully it will sell this time.

We pick our new van up in 3 weeks time so if it doesnt sell,the dealer is taking it in part exchange.

Adrian

 

[Surfer]

LADA hopefully not the old style

 

[David_374578801]

With larger items I always look on ebay as a big classified adds page. How many people will actually buy a caravan without having a look first?

A work colleague bought a van through eBay, but only after looking at the vans on offer. He said there was some rubbish at silly prices. However, because of the choice he got what he wanted in a reasonable state or repair at a fair price.

 

[LADA]

Had to laugh at your comment surfer...yes the notes are safely banked and still legal tender.

Good idea to list your van at the least you will accept George& Ade - that's what I did and although I had 36 watchers it was only within the last hour of the sale that the eventual buyer called me to see if I would sell at that price if he bid in the last few seconds.

Well it had to go so I accepted (had a lump in my throat watching her being towed down the street)but I'm sure she'll be well looked after by her new owner.

Good luck and hope you're successful this time. PS Have you advertised free on this site? I did and had a few calls but after the sale had gone through on auction site.