Wow, no body wants a nice 328. No, really, not a bid over 16K. Wow.

A few things........
I personally like your color combo, but most people will probably find it too bland for a ferrari(silver/red siver/tan seem to do better) While 59k miles is not super high mileage it is certainly not in the middle of the road 40k or so mileage range, which many people can stomach for a Ferrari. Lastly , while your price seems "fair" based on your description, it certainly is not cheap-and that is what it would take to sell that car right now-unfortunately. Hopefully you are not in a position where you NEED to sell. I do agree with you that it is worth more than 16k, however..........

 

I didnt see the date of the service, just the kms. Fancy pedals, wrong steering wheel and a big honkin amp on the spare tire are turn-offs. Admitted oil leaks and paint work. Taken out of context right here your car sounds like something to avoid. The color probably doesnt help either, just my opinion after reading your ad.

 

and it is missing the targa top....................

 

it sounds like you bought it,so now your the new owner

 

Also, it's poorly photographed -- can't really see the usual wear points.

$36K probably isn't out of line, but the car is in Santa Fe (basically a remote location for 99 percent of us), and as JayF posted it is a 60,000-mile car which is considered high mileage for these cars. There's a lot of "Drive them!" bluster on FChat, but when the time comes to write the check most guys want a lower mileage car.

I like the silver, better than red.

You might subscribe here and put it in FerrariAds. Otherwise it seems like you haven't been here that long and just stopped by to sell a car that you weren't happy with.

 

it's a very nifty car and if it had been a euro model, you woulda heard from me. i just bought a 308 from new mexico, so i don't have a problem with your location, and your car seems like a decent driver in the perfect color. well good luck with your sale, i don't think it's easy to sell cars that are not clearly outstanding right now.

john

 

Interior condition is a big selling point. The driver's seat bolster wears quickly, and the center console switches are susceptible to damage and expensive to replace.

You can also tell a lot about a 328 from its headliner and how clean it is.

 

silver cannot be fully appreciated until you see it person. it's a great color on these cars, but no one is accustomed to seeing them in this color.

 

Honestly, it's not the color. It's the mileage and remote location (most of us have to get on a plane to go to Santa Fe). Also, your description is longwinded: you could separate it with headings and serious buyers would be able to sort out what it needs.

For example, the first thing everyone asks is whether it is due for a major service ($5000+). The straightforward thing to do is say "Major service performed mm/dd/yy by {facility name}."

Finally, few eBay buyers really care that you're into motorcycles or need to sell. It's a distraction. Talk about the car's history. If you're an experienced Ferrari owner, talk about that. I'm an experienced Ferrari owner and I would guess there's no place to get a car serviced in New Mexico.

 

That's a big part of it, IMO. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but it's a bizarre thing with Ferraris, at 60K they just seem to take a huge hit in price and sell-ability. At 80-100K, they seem almost unsellable. It's a weird thing, because 60K on an 80s car is considered LOW miles for pretty much any other car (a Porsche, for example). Yet is "over the hill" for a Ferrari.

It's kind of a self fulfilling prophesy, because even if a buyer believes it's a great car and the miles are reasonable, a lot fear that if they put 10K miles on it, and put it up to 70K+ miles, they will have a very difficult time ever selling it. So they hold out for the typical 30-40K mile car.

But if you did a no reserve auction, you certainly would have ultimately received bids much higher than $16K.

 

I'll start where eBay left off

$16,200

 

Unrealistic(IMO)buy-it-now = weak bidding on Ebay. Set a realistic reserve and try it again. Anyone really interested usually calls and asks what it takes to buy the car. In my experience with selling on Ebay sometimes it take listing the car 2 or 3 times to make a sale.

 

It IS a terrible time on the market.....that's the main rub....

Sorry you are having to sell........

Subscribe here and you'll find a whole lot higher ratio of knowledgable shoppers compared to FleaBay....putting an actual NICE car on there does it a huge disservice, IMO....

 

One other thing you might be missing is that a lot of people window shop on eBay expecting that the car isn't really for sale, or for sale at a reasonable price, is a scam, etc. A lot of cars are advertised on eBay with no intention of selling on eBay. It wouldn't surprise me if you get e-mail later by interested parties. Of course they will start at $16,200 where the bidding left off. Oh, wait, that's already happened. Also $16k might have been too little. "A 328 only bid to $16k? Must be a scam I don't know about, too good to be true, etc." Perhaps start the bidding at something closer to your reserve would make the auction seem more credible. In this regard your 100% rating means nothing, people's eBay accounts get hacked all the time apparently.

Keep advertising it. You'll find a buyer for a realistic price. Try craigslist. At least it's free, so it costs nothing to try.

 

I was considering the car, I actually like the silver. The miles did concern me for the reasons others have already shared.

I also ran the CARFAX and the comments by a previous buyer that inspected the car raised some questions as well. The interior respray from red to black not a big selling point. Potential oil in radiator and other leaks were also items for concern.

Having said that, I was surprised that bidding didn't go higher. The market is definately tighter especially for less than great examples. Recently another Fchat member bought a 15k mile black 328 with recent service for $42.5k.

People see the $36k Buy It Now and assume you want very close to that number. In many cases if they are not willing to go to that level, they won't bid at all. That is the case for me, I really don't like eBay and wont bid on items that I am not likely to win just to drive the price up.

As Bullfighter said, work on the readability of your ad and be specific about service. Based on your ad I assumed that it needs a major now. So to me your car looked like $36k + $6-7k. IMO at $42k there are better examples out there.

 

Keep the Buy it now price and start the bidding @ 18k with reserve not met. Say that the car is advertised elsewhere so you have the right to end the auction early if you get a fair offer. This lets a buyer know that they can make you an offer outside of the auction. Also, put in a contact number. A serious buyer will have more questions and will want to probably discuss an offer by phone. Don't worry, your phone will not ring off the hook. For me, EBAY has always been the best 1 week classified ad in the world. I really don't look at it as an auction.

 

Those are all good points by BassMan.

For your new ad, I'd suggest:

1) When you do your re-write, break it down into paragraphs. Based on your original ad, and your posts in this thread, you don't seem to believe in them, but they really do make it much easier to read.

2) I agree with your disclosing the "bads," but in the ad, I'd focus on the "goods" first.

3) The pictures could be better, and you need at least twice as many. You can't underestimate the power of quality pictures in advertising a car on the Internet. A car is an emotional purchase for many, and the pictures form a huge first and lasting impression.

I would reformat it in a way that you don't have to click on the pictures to see the larger version, but instead had all the larger versions in the ad, where you can scroll down and see them without having to click and wait. You can put unlimited pictures on eBay, you just have to use HTML or some other method. Here is a random example of what I am talking about:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-:-Cayman_W0QQitemZ300309719862QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090423?IMSfp=TL0904231410008r35648

I don't think you need 170 pictures, but you do need at least 60, IMO, of this size and preferably quality. People like the detailed shots of the interior, especially, and the engine, etc.

4) But It Now cuts both ways. It is great if the price is very attractive. It is not so great if it the price is not realistic. For this kind of car, I personally would not use BIN.

Good luck!

 

If you have a realistic reserve, I have a realistic buyer. PM me what you're really looking to get rid of the car.

Ace

 

For sexy exterior intro photos, especially with the silver, shoot just after sunrise or as you head into sunset. Silver is going to reflect colors around it like a mirror so be cognizant of what the floor is (grass, road, dirt). Late sunset will bring yellows and oranges into the upward facing surfaces. Shoot in the highest resolution.

Have the car as perfectly clean and polished to within an inch of its life so that the reflections are crystal clear. If possible try wetting the floor; higher level of reflections. Also look for an interesting floor that might have a pattern (cobblestones, bricks, etc.) as these will enhance the reflection patterns in the downward facing surfaces.

Shoot from more than just standing eye level. Get low and also get on a stool or ladder to get views that are not standard.

Look closely at the photos to avoid background items that intrude into the car. A telephone pole in the middle of the car would be an example of something bad. Do not do the photo shoot in the driveway; don't care about your house, other cars, garage clutter or your kids.

Look at John Lamm photos; he has done fabulous work over the years.

For the detail shots make sure you show the stack of maintenance records, might even clearly show the last major service, all the manuals with booklet, the tool set unrolled, the vinyl top cover and the jack set unrolled. Make sure to show all the items that you want to call attention to as being in very good condition for the car; if all the console buttons are in great shape then show it. Make sure the oil filter is a UFI before taking photos of the engine compartment.

As Jon said, make sure to show the outboard driver side seat bolsters as these are a bad wear point. Hadn't though of it but Jon is also right to point out the interior side of the top - something I've never seen photo'd.

Ensure that all of the areas being photographed are clean and nicely detailed. To many dirty can be an indicator of an owner's lack of care. If they didn't bother to keep it clean and presentable then what else was neglected?

Jeff