I have read many comments on this site about selling/buying things on EBay.

We have heard the words "Ebait" and "shill bidding" and several other terms. I am going to tell you a story about this truck...

2006 GMC Box Truck. EBay Listing Link



I know it isn't a Barth but it has some relevance to anyone thinking of selling their coach on EBay.

I purchased this truck in May of 2005 and it was delivered to me with a 2006 registration/title. I used this truck for about 2 years. It has sat empty and occasionally used for the last 5 months to move some stuff around. It's 2 1/2 years old and it has 6 months left on a factory warranty.

I was offered 12k to 14k for this truck at several dealerships. I decided that I wanted to see what this truck was really worth. You know, "What the market would bear".

I figured if I got anything above 14k it would be a bonus. Anything less and someone had gotten a good deal and I learned a costly lesson.

There was no safety net, I did not have a "Shill bidder" and I was not going to yank it. I started the bidding at $1.00 to get interest going in the sale and there was "No reserve".

The dealerships that offered me 12-14k wanted to know if I was crazy, several people who responded to my ad wanted to know why I would take a gamble. I felt that this truck sitting in my backyard wasn't doing me or the truck any good.

What do you think this truck would go for in 2 months? A 2005 truck (2006 Model) being sold in 2008. What if I waited until May when the 2009 Models were delivered?

Just some food for thought... Why hold onto something if it's just sitting there wasting away? While this Barth is an extreme example, we all know of something like it.

The person who bought this is shipping it to California for his dad. He is paying $1350 to "5 Star Auto Shipping" for transporting this truck to Cerritos, CA 90703

Why did I post this? I don't think that everyone selling on EBay is crooked. I believe that sometimes you can get a good deal and other times you can get a better price by putting it on EBay.

Myself? I just wanted to see what it was "Really Worth".

[edit: 11/5/2010 to add picture]

The best thing about eBay is that the selling price is not a big secret.

Usually, we see a Barth advertised for a pretty high price, but we never know what it actually sold for. The selling price is useful to buyer and seller alike, as the asking price is quite often not a real-world figure, just a starting point or an ego-feeder.

As with the 30 Breakaway in WA, a reasonably-priced Barth moves quickly, and I would bet pretty close to the asking price.

I spent a year shopping for our Barth, and, even with free air travel and a flexible work schedule, I did not bother to look at several that had really high prices. Later, some of the coaches sold for less than I would have paid. One, in particular, would have really suited us, but the owner didn't get his reality check until later. His high price ended up costing him thousands of dollars.

Accurate information on selling prices would serve both buyer and seller here.

Glad you had such a great experience as a seller, Bill. I assume have the money for that truck, and the "check has cleared" so to speak? I've seen lots of auctions end at or above market value, but who knows if the intended buyer actually follows through. There's a particular RV just like mine that I keep seeing listed (probably 5 times now) and I think it has "sold" 3 of those times. But obviously nobody's showing up to pay. And the crazy thing is that the seller keeps raising the price (starting bid)... I guess he figures a real sucker is going to come along one of these times.

Personally, I'm about a 90% and 10% seller on eBay. I strive and have good luck finding those great deals on gifts and often everyday items I need. I have sold some things and made out well, but I've also had problems with buyers (mostly beyond my control) and in one case it cost me negative feedback... my one and only negative strike on 345 transactions thus far. That's kind of a bitter pill, especially since I was doing an eBay-illiterate coworker a favor and selling an item for them at the time (something I will never do again).

You're right about reserve auctions though, as a buyer it's a complete turn-off. Nobody wants to get mentally or emotionally involved in a potential item (it really does happen!) just to have their best bid not meet reserve, and the whole thing's a wash. Reserve prices are often artificially high too, so the above situation is a good likelihood.

So anyway, well done on your former box truck! It was a well-researched gamble that paid off, no doubt about it.

As most of you know, Donna and I bought our 93 Regency on Ebay from a dealer in Arizona. It was a no reserve auction and while paying $25,000 for something I had never seen and 2,200 miles away caused more than a little concern it turned out okay. The coach was fairly accurately described and we went into it knowing we were going to have to spend more on it to get the coach we wanted. We just decided we couldn't pass up a BARTH diesel pusher that had the exact floor plan we wanted for the price. In summary, I think we would do it again.
Nick

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Cagle:
We just decided we couldn't pass up a BARTH diesel pusher that had the exact floor plan we wanted for the price. In summary, I think we would do it again.
Nick

You done good. By knowing EXACTLY what floor plan you wanted, you were way ahead of so many buyers. It took us a long time to learn what we shoulda bought. Finally did it right.

BTW-How about posting your floor plan and your opinions on that thread?

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:

BTW-How about posting your floor plan and your opinions on that thread?

Bill, I posted a comment on the floor plan thread, but we have the rear twin beds with the bath in the middle, kitchen on the drivers side. I wanted twins because my grown sons and I go on Golf vacations. The wife kinda puts up with the twins when it is just she and I.
Nick

The guy that owned your coach before you told me he rigged the twins into one bed some way. I think he said he either slid them together or turned the beds 90 degrees to each other.

When we had rear twin beds, I put a temporary plywood panel between them and used a standard double bed mattress. It was good for sleeping, but not good for moving around.

If I went out without the wife, I would have considered two twins on sliding pedestals to be either together or apart. That would have made the water tank, plumbing, and underbed ice chest compartment a little more creative, though.

quote:

Originally posted by scottydl:
I assume have the money for that truck, and the "check has cleared" so to speak?

I was sent $500.00 via PayPal within 48 hours. I was then sent a cashier's check from a foreign bank that has a branch in California.

Hanmi Bank on Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA

My bank said - "We need to let it clear before we'll release the funds" it seems that a "Cashier's Check" from that bank is no better then a personal check from Mr. Hong.

quote:

Originally posted by scottydl:
So anyway, well done on your former box truck! It was a well-researched gamble that paid off, no doubt about it.

I think that this individual might have been struck by the fact that it was a 2006 vehicle being sold in 2007. Some people loose sight of the "Model Year" not being the same as the build year.

Then again, maybe he knew. The Vin number is posted on the sale and he did say that he contacted a friend at GMC who researched the truck for him. I had one factory warranty issue and he knew about it.

This truck is 2 1/2 years old, but when you say a "2006 GMC Truck" and the current year is 2007, it just sounds better. I also knew that if I waited until January it wouldn't sound as good.

I did have 2 additional people contact me after the sale. Another one from California "Active Forklift Repair" and someone from Canada. Both said that if this guy backs out to put it back on EBay for the sale price and list it as a "Buy it Now" and they would buy it. So I wasn't really sweating Mr. Hong not following thru.

It would have been nice if those 2 would have bidded it up higher, but they didn't. Maybe that's how some people get a good deal too. Wait for the "No Buyers" that bid on Ebay. I would have given "The winner" a negative feedback if it didn't go thru. I have a 100% with over 200+ feedbacks, I'm not really worried about 1 negative now.

The engine is a 4 cyl. 190 hp. Isuzu Diesel - these engines will go 250,000 miles or more. He bought himself a nice truck that was maintained and it should last for many years to come. And, it's still under factory warranty.

Hi Bill,

Congratulations on your successful auction on eBay.

I'd like to chime in, if I may. Most sellers and buyers on eBay are honest but there are a lot, considering how many use eBay, that give everyone a bad name. I have 128 auctions under my belt and, pending an expected very positive feedback for #128, I'm still 100% positive.

I have had a couple of bad experiences including one guy who practically refused to ship the item after I won the auction and paid for it. PayPal forced him to ship although problems don't always end the way you want them to. My very first auction on eBay was buying a Cadillac Eldorado, sight unseen from Acura of Pompano Beach FL. I felt I would be safe buying from such an establishment.

I won't get into the details but, what a rip-off. They blatantly lied about so many things and refused to take care of it. Unfortunately for me, it was my first auction and I didn't know how to follow up. Although I complained to eBay, the only thing that happened was the Acura dealership never sold another vehicle on eBay - under that user ID anyway.

I learned the hard way right out of the gate. As long as you are cautious, you should fare well. With changes made on eBay, it has gotten a lot safer too. No longer do I see an item I had up for auction be duplicated and put up for auction on eBay sites all over the world by scam artists.

You will see many auctions that still keep buyers identities private even though eBay does this automatically for higher priced items. I would recommend staying away from these auctions since it could very well be a haven for shill bidding.

My best recommendation is to ask lots of questions and hold the sellers feet to the fire until they answer. If they don't answer to your satisfaction, run away. This is what happened with the Barth, formally owned by Don Scalzo, that I was very interested in. The seller would not truthfully answer questions and, when I posted his responses, you should have seen the nasty emails I got from him. I ended up buying a coach that was on eBay twice and listed here also. The coach did not meet the reserve so a deal was struck privately with the help of many members here.

I too have seen two different coaches that have been up for sale for a very long time, one on eBay several times. I'd recommend staying away from these since they are both diesels. A lack of use is not a friend of diesel engine vehicles.

One thing to remember is to protect yourself whether it is eBay or by other means. The scammers are everywhere, more on that later. Good luck to anyone looking for a Barth, happy hunting!

I just finished a very distasteful experience on ebay selling a 2004 VW Jetta diesel wagon under factory warrenty. Right below my listing was a similar listing, 9000 more miles, 1 year newer. Under 'title' they said "other". In the fine print the seller said the vehicle was considered as "rebuilt" by the state of Florida. Under ebay rules, the 'title' should have said "salvage". I notified ebay several times, had 4 live chats. They admitted that the listing was fradulent and said that they would remove it. They had 3 days to do it. They never did. It drained bidders away from my item. I'll never use ebay to sell another vehicle. They're too big for their own britches.

"This truck is 2 1/2 years old, but when you say a "2006 GMC Truck" and the current year is 2007, it just sounds better...."
"My bank said - "We need to let it clear before we'll release the funds" it seems that a "Cashier's Check" from that bank is no better then a personal check from Mr. Hong."

"E-Bay" hasn't changed horse trading.

Bill, NY congratulations on the sale. I hope things work out for you on that sale. My nephew here is a local real estate attorney, and they will not accept a cashiers check anymore because of foregery and etc. thye will not close a real estate deal with out a inter bank transfer to their account. The local banks here has warngings posted at all the tellers stating that to be on the alert on cashiers checks from anywhere and no monies will be released for so many days.
I wish you the best on this and let us know how it worked out. If you rememer, I bought my Barth in Alberquerque and went with the owner to his bank and had title and such notarized there, and called by banks and had transferred funds to his bank within thirty minutes.
One time a few years ago whice in the real estate business, I had sold a home to a couple from Florida, and they came up here to close their new to them home with a check drawn on a title company in Florida for $68,000, where they had sold their home, and was ready to move in, so we took the check and closed the transaction and a few weeks later the check was returned for insuffieient funds.
It was a scary month or so before it was straightened out.
Godd luck and happy motoring. sky

An update: Mr Hong sent DHL to pick up his bank check. After he received his check back he then sent me a bank wire for the remainder minus $100.00 for his troubles and added expenses.

His wire transfer cleared the next day and he sent DHL again to pick up the title and lein release forms. I still have the truck in my backyard.

It seems that the quote was for, what the shipping company thought, a 5500 HD GMC pickup truck. Still waiting on transporting to get back to us for pickup.

He might fly out here or get another shipping company to arrange transport. Although I have been paid, I do not think this sale is done until I receive positive feedback. I hope he is happy with his purchase and I look forward to selling something else on ebay in the future.

I guess, at this rate, I should put fuel conditioners/additives in the tank, it still has summer fuel in it and the temps keep dropping...