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SmartieParts

My smart for sale in the great US of A

106 posts in this topic

I thought you were going to unload yours....why would you want another used one?

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At $5000 or $15000... why wouldn't you? If you could possibly get it for either of those then it would be worth it just to flip it. Thank the eBay gods for reserves (although I hate reserves, it beats getting screwed on big ticket items)

- Steven

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I am *open* to the idea of not keeping my first smart car. I have contemplated it's value, and my values/priorities, and I'm trying to look at it with an open mind.

I'd be happy with $15000 USD for mine, *if* I were to sell it.

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Then you should sell it now, because there are lots of people that would be even happier to pay that!

- Steven

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I'll see where yours goes to and plan accordingly.

I'm still under obligation with the wrap through to at least March 31 if the OTC is killed off. If it isn't, then June 30th is the end of my obligation. I may cook up another wrap deal yet...

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$26675! CDN!

Gotta be getting close! The anticipation of Steve driving to Peru is killing me!

I may have to sell mine and get a LE too!

S

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man... now I'm getting nervous. I didn't actually ever expect it to sell to be perfectly honest. It is 92.4% of the way to the admittedly very high reserve with over 4 days of bidding to go!

59 bids!

156 watcher!

6441 unique viewers!

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Just an idea Steve, hire E-3 to deliver it for you, should only cost a case of jackjuice and a pillow. Good chance to make a little on the delivery charge$. :speechless:

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Wow... ok guys, I need some quick advice (well, not that quick cause I'm heading out for a few hours anyway)

I got a guy phoning me today offering me US$26,000. Good timing because i had a "solid" offer of US$25,000 and he emailed me today to say he's backing out. Ebay still has about 4 days to go and its at US$23,100 right now.

After talking to this guy, I know he knows the risks involved (possibly can't register) and doesn't care because he says it would be worth it just to have it sit in his garage. Another bonus is he lives relatively close to my brother who I haven't seen in about a year. Another bonus is he's not THAT far away... Central California is a lot closer than Southern Florida!

The risk I take by letting the eBay thing go is that I get a winning bidder that decides to bail out. The leading bidder right now has a zero feedback (yikes!) rating.

The risk of taking this guy's offer, of course, is that if I leave it who knows how high it may get!? in my experience with eBay (granted, never sold a big ticket item before) the "frenzy" happens in the dying hours and minutes and it can account for a huge percentage of the final value.

I used to sell custom crafted butcher blocks on eBay... they would typically go from $0.99 up to around $30 in the first 6 days and shoot up to over $200 in the final hour!

WHAT SHOULD I DO???

- Steven

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Either way you still may not even make it across the border at this point....

You probably know as much about the private offer as you do about your leading bidder. A zero rating means they may be wanting a smart car and were eBay lurkers until you came along. Doesn't mean they might not pay you cash in hand! The guy on the phone has a zero feedback rating to you as well if you think about it.

Its a risk either way. Your mission here is to get a grandstyle...either offer will get you there...the question is how greed plays in here. Don't count your $$ until you are sitting at the airport...back in Vancouver.

Good Luck! Either way its looking like something is going to happen.

S

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Ethically, i don't like it when people end auctions early with a better "offline" offer. That's not bargaining in good faith.

I'd be nervous about dealing with a "zero feedback" bidder on such a big-ticket item. Mind you, my first eBay transaction was for a US$1200 guitar and it was the seller's first transaction, too. Everybody's got to start somewhere.

California is one of those states where it would be almost 100% certain that a diesel smart would NOT be able to be registered. They have the most strict emissions regulations there. I don't even think VW can sell any TDIs there.

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Well Steve what was your original goal and what is your goal now.

Is the Cali. buyer willing to forward you a refundable (unless he backs out) deposit before you leave for delivery, if he is serious he should be willing, or perhaps leaving it with a third party to hold until you deliver the car.

If it's about how high will it go then roll the dice.

If it's about getting the grandstyle then have a nice trip.

PS: Either way it appears that you are after more green then you have now. :cheeky:

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Either way you still may not even make it across the border at this point....

Exactly right, but that's not really that big of a deal. Either they let me or they don't. I have family right by the border so I won't be that disappointed. I get keep the car I love and see the ones I love... can't lose.

You probably know as much about the private offer as you do about your leading bidder. A zero rating means they may be wanting a smart car and were eBay lurkers until you came along. Doesn't mean they might not pay you cash in hand! The guy on the phone has a zero feedback rating to you as well if you think about it.

True enough!

Its a risk either way. Your mission here is to get a grandstyle...either offer will get you there...the question is how greed plays in here. Don't count your $$ until you are sitting at the airport...back in Vancouver.

"greed" isn't the word I would use.... taking advantage of an opportunity. Not quite the same thing. Now, if I were the sole supplier of smart cars in the market place and I offered them at huge premiums because I knew nobody else was satisfying the demand, then you could call it greed. Otherwise, its simple supply and demand. And you are absolutely right about not counting the $$ too early... it is still relatively unlikely this deal will go down and I know that.

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Ethically, i don't like it when people end auctions early with a better "offline" offer. That's not bargaining in good faith.

I hadn't thought of it as a question of ethics... but it also isn't a "better" offer anyway. There's really very little incentive in a normal auction to take an offline offer - just tell them to place their bid. In this case, it is calculated risk at play too... it isn't ethically right for someone to win the auction and bail on me but it could very well happen.

I'd be nervous about dealing with a "zero feedback" bidder on such a big-ticket item. Mind you, my first eBay transaction was for a US$1200 guitar and it was the seller's first transaction, too. Everybody's got to start somewhere.

True. When placing the ad I was afforded the opportunity to limit bidders to a certain feedback rating or higher. I thought about it and chose to go with zero (but no negative) because there are many first-time eBayers out there. That said, I'd be much happier with a +10000 :)

California is one of those states where it would be almost 100% certain that a diesel smart would NOT be able to be registered. They have the most strict emissions regulations there. I don't even think VW can sell any TDIs there.

That's what I told him. He said he requires a diesel for his purposes, which he did not elaborate. I think he wants to convert for vegetable oil fuel but that's just speculation. The guy acknowledged that he may not get it registered but didn't seem bothered by that. He said he investigated bringing one in what he referred to as a "show and shine visa" (exhibition visa I think) but then there would be no way he could keep it for longer than a few months.

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Well Steve what was your original goal and what is your goal now.

Is the Cali. buyer willing to forward you a refundable (unless he backs out) deposit before you leave for delivery, if he is serious he should be willing, or perhaps leaving it with a third party to hold until you deliver the car.

If it's about how high will it go then roll the dice.

If it's about getting the grandstyle then have a nice trip.

PS: Either way it appears that you are after more green then you have now. :cheeky:

My "goal" was to get as much as I could for the car, with a minimum being the price of a Grandstyle. Is that too much? Well, by the bids I'd say "no" :) But even if it was, that's my price regardless of what the car is "worth" because if I didn't get that I'd be 100% happy keeping my car. That goal has not stayed the same, however as it becomes closer to being realized I'm starting to think about the details more. Admittedly, I hadn't really before as I really wasn't expecting this to be even close to this successful - hoping, sure... but not expecting.

Yes, he said he would wire me a deposit within hours of me accepting his offer and that he understand the only reason it would be refunded is if I can't successfully make delivery. The deposit will cover my deposit on a Grandstyle and part of my travel expenses.

Thanks for the comments all! Man, this is exciting!

- Steven

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I see a road trip in your future! Hey look at it this way, YOu can get a BRAND new one and pocket some change!

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No no, I mean, if you sell your current fortwo, and the grandstyle has to be ordered, what will you drive between now and when the grandstyle arrives?

(100 km since October? I've driven 14 000 km since the begining of December :))

-Iain

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Just an idea Steve, hire E-3 to deliver it for you, should only cost a case of jackjuice and a pillow. Good chance to make a little on the delivery charge$. :speechless:

Did someone say ROAD TRIP???? :P

Eddie

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No no, I mean, if you sell your current fortwo, and the grandstyle has to be ordered, what will you drive between now and when the grandstyle arrives?

(100 km since October? I've driven 14 000 km since the begining of December :))

-Iain

Yeah I know... what I meant was I'm hardly driving at all right now so I'm not overly concerned about not having a car in the meantime. For local things I can use my g/f's car and for longer trips there's GreyHound. Obviously an inconvenience but not a huge deal for me.

- Steven

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