MTFCA Forum

I recently advertised (not on here) our '21 Touring for sale. At 8900.00 the price was lower than most similar examples I saw listed. After two weeks I changed my mind and decided we would keep the car. While it was listed I got several responses, some interesting. I got low-ball offers for 5000.00, an offer to trade for a powered parachute and one to trade for an expensive pair of hearing aids. No one actually came to look at the car.

Over the years, I have sold a lot of cars, parts, automobilia, antiques, etc. through flea markets, yard sales, on-line ads, end of driveway display, etc. etc. I have found that the most important thing to determine where to sell your item, especially if it something that does not have universal appeal, is to determine where your "niche market" is and target that market. The narrower the "nich market" the more accurate your targeting must be to hit it. Model T's certainly fit in the category of a niche market and that niche is getting smaller all the time. As a result, if I were selling a Model T, I would use things like this club's classifieds (specific market), Hemming's (a little wider market), etc. Other methods of advertising will hit progressively less members of the tartget market (potential customers) The other consideration is your geographic market. For example, since I live in Canada, I would have less success in advertising in a US resource since not everybody wants to deal with the difficulties associated with buying an item remotely and the issues asoociated with moving the item after it is purchased. I would therefore probably try more local club publications first and then move on to resources that hit a larger but more generalized market geographically. In summary, pick the resource that will hit the largest nich market that is closest to you and work out from there. Offering perks like "I can bring it to Hershey" will increase the number of potential customers in the niche market that you are targeting. In simple terms, the greater the number of "POTENTIAL' customers that you can hit with your advertising, the higher your chance of success. Good luck! Your succes/experience may vary. This is my opinion only and I have no formal marketing training.

"A niche market is a very specific segment of consumers who share characteristics and, because of those characteristics, are likely to buy a particular product or service. As a result, niche markets comprise small, highly specific groups, within a broader target market, you may be trying to reach"

Its been a hard year to try to sell anything in my experience. I had a bike and a car I tried to sell this summer that I know in past years would have sold quick for the asks. I have had good luck with ebay selling spare parts and other low cost stuff but not much on marketplace or craigslist. For those two sites I state no trades in the ad and that the price is firm. I dont put any negatives in there like I wont reply if you ask if still available or about scammers, just a simple straightforward ad. I have sold a car on an ebay auction, and it was easy, the buyer didnt inspect before buying.

I have never sold anything on eBay, that may be a different kind of beast. But I have sold many things on website classifieds. Your experience is not unusual. I never get upset over low ball offers on the phone, I simply reply I will consider all offers in person. When would you like to come see it? If they are serious, they will come. If not, that will end the conversation.