Chad Polk

Dealer Certified Warranties on Dealer Websites and eBay Motors!

Posted by Chad Polk  |  Dealer Websites, eBay Motors  |  Monday January 12, 2009 at 12:53 pm

Dealer CertifiedDo you have your own dealer certification program?  Now you can show it on your AutoRevo dealer website and more!  Upload your own certified logo (or have our design team design you one), describe the warranty, and display on each vehicle. 

OEM Certified car sales have become increasingly popular across almost all major brands.  So popular that many of our dealer groups have created an in-house certification on units that would not qualify for the OEM certification.  Many of these dealer certified cars come with a short-term warranty and/or guarantee (1 month / 1,000 miles, satisfaction guarantee, free service, etc).

So how easy is it to setup in AutoRevo?

  1. Go to Settings > Warranties in your AutoRevo account
  2. Upload your dealer certified logo
  3. When loading or editing a vehicle select Dealer Certified

Done!  Now it appears on your dealer website and eBay Motors listings.

Want to know more?  Call a representative today at 888.311.REVO (7386)!


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Chad Polk

eBay Motors Dealer Trainer Spends the Day at AutoRevo

Posted by Chad Polk  |  News & Events, eBay Motors  |  Thursday November 20, 2008 at 8:19 am

The extremely talented, extremely knowledgeable eBay Motors dealer trainer Clayton Stanfield spent the day training and discussing eBayMotors.com with our sales and support teams at AutoRevo.  The guy just flat knows his stuff and even better he was a dealer!
clayton1
Clayton with some of the sales and support teams.

clayton2
Bill Berry, Clayton Stanfield, and Chad Polk

Clayton does a great job with eBay Motors University, dealer group ,and OEM training.  If you can get one ounce of his knowledge it will make a monumental difference in your dealership.

Thanks Clayton!


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Chad Polk

Stuck on an Elevator at eBay Motors U

Posted by Chad Polk  |  eBay Motors  |  Friday October 24, 2008 at 10:36 am

elevator

So here is a now hilarious story (wasn’t then) about getting stuck on the 39th floor in an elevator at eBay Motors University for over 30 minutes.

Enjoying a great lunch sponsored by eBay on the 42nd floor of the convention center and we all decided to adjourn.  One of our team members had already gone down, but the remaining 4 of us board the elevator along with 2 other dealers to rejoin the conference.  As the elevator doors are closing another group of 5 dealers hit the button, the doors quickly reopen, but as they step on one of the guys sells the group on just taking the next one (we had been packing on elevators all morning like a New York City rush hour, shoulder to shoulder with no personal space left).

Finally we have a comfortable descent for 6 passengers down three floors and then all of the sudden lots of jerking and a quick stop!  An automated voice comes over the speaker, “We have experienced technical difficulty.”  Our software developers would have been proud that they gracefully handled the error, but as many error messages are, it offered no reason or solution.

I turn around and looked at the dealer in the back as his eyes are the size of silver dollars with white knuckles gripping the railing.  He later informs us that earlier this morning he missed his plane from Houston.  Not a good time to be stuck on an elevator with a guy having a bad luck day.  We push the security call button but no answer….

At this point it had been 8 minutes stuck in a steel box in an elevator shaft.  Not a good mental picture in this situation.  Plus, I had been drinking coffee all morning and had 2 glasses of tea at lunch.  Pardon my language, but needless to say I needed to pee.  Soon after the security voice comes over the speaker and we describe the situation, etc.  We exchange for a few seconds and then he finishes by saying the building engineer is coming to “pry” the doors open.  Yes, he used the word “pry”.  Several minutes later, he comes back on to say that Otis (the elevator company) is in route.  In Route!!!  Can’t the building engineer override the system with a key or something?  So we patiently wait a few more minutes until I can’t stand it any more and push the button to talk with the security guy.  I said, “Hey, we need you to keep us informed every few minutes.  Not telling us anything builds tension.”

In the meantime, Bill Berry (National Sales Director) is on the ground floor texting us inappropriate messages such as “take small breaths”.

Now we have people on the floor above us able to talk to us.  Their voices are faint in volume so we now think we are stuck between floors.  Great…I’m thinking at this point, “Is this going to be a 45 minute deal or 3 hours?”

At about the 28th minute, security comes back on saying Otis is on the property!  Step one to solving the problem….we got the right guy to fix it.  Several minutes later the elevator starts moving again and opens at the next floor!  Yes, we are spared!  As we are greeted by additional security staff they take us to another elevator to go down.  MORE ELEVATORS!  No, I’m not getting on another elevator today.  I’m thinking 40 flights of stairs instead.  We converse for a few seconds and finally are talked into getting on another elevator which successfully took us to the ground floor.

Melissa, marketing director at AutoRevo, now informs us that she is extremely claustrophobic and can get panic stricken.  The dealer in the back also tells everyone that he has an extreme fear of heights.  Needless to say we all go outside for a view of wide open spaces and fresh air.  What an eventful day.


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Chad Polk

eBay Motors is Coming to Dallas

Posted by Chad Polk  |  eBay Motors  |  Friday October 10, 2008 at 9:14 am

ebaymotors


eBay Motors
will be hosting a FREE training seminar in Dallas in just 2 weeks!  Thursday October 23, 2008

Please sign up today at (866) 322-9227 This event is geared specifically for Auto Dealers.

Come spend the day with our team of experts.  We will cover:

  1. Sell more cars and at a higher gross
  2. Learn how to reach eBay Motors 13 Million monthly unique visitors
  3. Learn how to increase your visibility in search on eBay, Google and Yahoo!
  4. See how to avoid wholesaling cars by selling them on eBay Motors
  5. Learn how to create first class listings with great conversion ratios

This is a great opportunity to learn more about selling on eBay Motors.  Whether you are a beginner or seasoned eBay seller there will be plenty of great information for you

October 23rd- Dallas, TX
Cityplace Conference Center
2711 N. Haskell Avenue
Dallas, TX  75204
(214) 515-5100

Time for each event is 9:30am – 3:30pm    -    Admission is FREE and Lunch is Provided

Please call 866.322.9227 to RSVP and hold your seat.


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Chad Polk

Three eBay University for Motors Remain

Posted by Chad Polk  |  eBay Motors  |  Thursday August 21, 2008 at 2:37 pm

May want to get one of these eBay Motors University events on your calendar.

http://pages.ebay.com/motors/services/dealer_center/university.html

Here is one of the lead speakers:
Steve Lindhorst

In Spring 2000, Steve began working at eBay’s San Jose Headquarters as eBay’s Advertising Operations Manager.

In Feb. 2002 he was invited to become one of only six contracted eBay University Instructors. Since then he’s traveled to all parts of the U.S. and taught thousands how to use eBay for personal and business income through lectures and individual instruction.

Having a life-long love for cars, Steve was thrilled to be chosen as the sole outside instructor for eBay University for Motors. With personal experience in auto sales, he is able to effectively teach auto dealers to use eBay Motors as an additional sales channel. Steve continues to offer a Motors course for dealers, keeping the information fresh and up to date.

He currently offers group and individual instruction as an Education Specialist.


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Chad Polk

eBay Motors Expands Local Market Radius

Posted by Chad Polk  |  Industry News, eBay Motors  |  Wednesday August 20, 2008 at 8:41 am

eBay Motors is increasing the radius in which Local Market vehicles will be visible to potential buyers on the site. As of September 2nd, dealers will be able to submit listings with a 200 mile exposure (versus 100 miles currently). We anticipate increased exposure will translate to increased lead volume for your dealers!

AutoRevo’s eBay Motors products


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Chad Polk

No eBay Motors Insertion Fees, BUT…

Posted by Chad Polk  |  eBay Motors  |  Thursday August 14, 2008 at 8:11 pm

Ok, let’s take a quick dive into this new pricing model (assuming you read the previous post).  The scenario below assumes no listing enhancements (category featured, bold, highlight, icons, etc) for simplicity sake.

Pricing Today:
Dealer lists 10 cars on eBay Motors
Insertion fees $400 ($40/listing)
Successfully sell 4 cars on eBay Motors
Final valuation fees (aka Transaction Fees) $200 ($50/successful sale)
TOTAL Out-of-Pocket: $600

Pricing as of Sept 2:
Dealer lists 10 cars on eBay Motors
Insertion fee on first 4 cars $0
Insertion fee on next 6 cars $120
Successfully sell 4 cars on eBay Motors
Final valuation fee (aka Transaction Fees) $500 ($125/successful sale on first 4).
TOTAL Out-of-Pocket: $620

Not bad so far huh?  Now lets take in that eBay Motors old timer dealer who is a high volume seller on the site.

Pricing Today:
Dealer lists 30 cars on eBay Motors
Insertion fees $1200 ($40/listing)
Successfully sell 12 cars on eBay Motors
Final valuation fees $600 ($50/successful sale)
TOTAL Out-of-Pocket: $1800

Pricing as of Sept 2:
Dealer lists 30 cars on eBay Motors
Insertion fee on first 4 cars $0
Insertion fee on next 24 cars $480
Successfully sell 12 cars on eBay Motors
Final valuation fees $500 ($125/successful sale on first 4)
Final valuation fees $800 ($100/successful sale > 4)
TOTAL Out-of-Pocket: $1780

So what is this pricing designed to do?  First let me set somewhat of a timeline:

  1. 2007 NADA eBay Motors Local Market is launched to penetrate dealerships that they were previously not in.  List your entire inventory for $1000 in a 100 mile radius of your store.  Never really caught on and flooded the site with inventory and the same number of eyeballs (hurting existing eBay Motors faithfuls…classic supply and demand).
  2. eBay Motors 2.0 website is live.  This turned out to be a really good site for car shopping and more.
  3. eBay Motors team opens up the ability for any provider under the sun to send them a data file outside of the API.  Let’s just circumvent all of our longstanding Preferred Solution Providers (aka AutoRevo) and let mom & pop company post incomplete listings.
  4. eBay Motors teams up with OEMs to pump inventory to the site and lands GM.  Again more inventory same number of eyeballs.
  5. 2008 is full of top secret pricing promotions and evidently they found one they liked.

Ok, so what does this pricing do?

  1. Encourages new dealers to come to the site and list inventory.
  2. Increases the number of listings on the site (aka increases supply with same level of demand)
  3. Reduces the amount of clicks on existing eBay Motors dealer listings (now there is more inventory on the site).

With all of this said, I want to know 2 things:

  1. How are they going to get more viewers on eBay Motors?
  2. Why can’t Motors do what they were good at….advertising nationally for car dealers.  The geographic scope of selling cars is expanding everyday.  They were in that space and did it very well.  Plus no one else was in that space!!!???

At the end of the day where is the cost savings for existing customers, increase in sales, or added value created?

Comments anyone…

Current fee schedule: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/motorfees.html

New fee schedule: http://pages.motors.ebay.com/pricing/vehicles0903/


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Chad Polk

eBay Motors Price Change

Posted by Chad Polk  |  eBay Motors  |  Thursday August 14, 2008 at 7:18 pm

On Tuesday September 2, 2008 at Midnight Pacific Time, the new eBay Motors pricing schedule goes into effect. It is a permanent change.

Insertion Fees Cut Dramatically

eBay Motors is eliminating Insertion Fees on the first four vehicles you list in a 12 month period. For a car or truck, this amounts to an upfront savings of $40 per listing compared with the old pricing plan. Starting with the fifth vehicle you list, the Insertion Fee is $20 (a savings of 50% compared with the old plan).

After 12 months, the counter resets and you get another four vehicle listings with zero Insertion Fees.

Only Pay if You Are Successful
A successful listing is defined as any one of the following:

  • The listing ends with a bid greater than reserve
  • A bid is placed on a no reserve auction-style listing
  • A buyer clicks and confirms the Buy-it-Now button
  • The seller accepts a submitted Best Offer

When one of these events occurs, eBay will charge the seller a Successful Listing Fee. In short, we only succeed when you succeed.

Also note, the Successful Listing Fee varies with the type of vehicle. Like the Insertion Fee, the amount charged depends on how many vehicles you list in a 12-month period. For example, with Cars & Trucks, the Successful Listing Fee on the first four vehicles is $125. After the first four listings, the fee drops to $100.

Please see the table below for full details.

All Vehicles and Transaction Formats Included
With the first four listings, Insertion Fees will be zero for all types of vehicles. Starting with the fifth vehicle listing, Insertion Fees are significantly reduced from the old pricing plan and vary with the type of vehicle. See table below for details. As mentioned above, Successful Listing Fees vary with the type of vehicle and they drop starting with your fifth vehicle listing. See table below for details.

While specific prices vary by type of vehicle and seller activity, this new fee structure applies to any vehicle listed on eBay Motors. It also applies whether the seller uses an Auction-style, Fixed Price, or Best Offer format.

Why We’re Changing Our Prices
Extensive tests earlier this year showed sellers greatly prefer this fee structure. And they proved it by listing more vehicles. Clearly, a more active market means more buyers and more successful listings.

Bottom line? No mandatory fees on your first four listings unless they’re successful.

Fees on the First Four Listings in a 12-month period*

Insertion Fees Successful Listing Fee Reserve Fee
Category Old New Old New Old New
Cars & Trucks,
Other Vehicles
$40.00 $0.00 $50.00 $125.00 $5.00 – $10.00 $7.00
Motorcycles $30.00 $0.00 $40.00 $100.00 $5.00 – $10.00 $7.00
Powersports $30.00 $0.00 $40.00 $100.00 $5.00 – $10.00 $7.00
Powersports Vehicles
Under 50cc
$3.00 $0.00 $3.00 $10.00 $2.00 $2.00
* Vehicles that are relisted using the official eBay Relist feature do not count towards the listing count.

Fees Starting with the Fifth Listing in a 12-month period

Insertion Fees Successful Listing Fee Reserve Fee
Category Old New Old New Old New
Cars & Trucks,
Other Vehicles
$40.00 $20.00 $50.00 $100.00 $5.00 – $10.00 $7.00
Motorcycles $30.00 $15.00 $40.00 $80.00 $5.00 – $10.00 $7.00
Powersports $30.00 $15.00 $40.00 $80.00 $5.00 – $10.00 $7.00
Powersports Vehicles
Under 50cc
$3.00 $0.00 $3.00 $10.00 $2.00 $2.00
All other fees (PayPal fees and all other optional listing upgrade fees) still apply. A description of optional listing upgrade fees is available here.

What’s excluded
Listings in eBay Motors Parts & Accessories categories, international eBay sites other than Canada, Live Auction listings, Professional Services, Motors Local Market listings, Store Inventory listings and listings on eBay.com are not eligible for this promotion.

Listings started before September 2, 2008 do not qualify for new pricing structure. Listings started before September 2, 2008 and revised after September 2, 2008 do not qualify for the new pricing structure.

For more information, see the FAQ page.


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Chad Polk

eBay Motors University Events Coming in Your Area

Posted by Chad Polk  |  eBay Motors  |  Thursday July 3, 2008 at 3:13 pm

ebaymotors

There are just 5 more eBay Motors Univeristy events left in 2008!

eBay Motors would like to invite you to join us for a day of food, fun, and most importantly how to sell on eBay.

No matter what level of eBay experience you may have, we will be providing exciting and educational workshops to maximize your success on eBay Motors.  Each event is geared specifically for Dealers.

July 24
Los Angeles, CA
Doubletree Guest Suites Anaheim Resort
2085 S. Harbor Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92802
August 21
San Francisco, CA
South San Francisco Conference Center
255 South Airport Boulevard
San Francisco, CA 94080
September 18
Chicago, IL
Doubletree Guest Suites & Conference Center
2111 Butterfield Road
Downers Grove, Ill 60515
October 23
Dallas, TX
Cityplace Conference Center
2711 N. Haskell
Dallas, TX 75204
November 13
Phoenix, AZ
Dave & Buster’s
Sonora Room
21001 N. Tatum Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85050

Time for each event is 9:30am – 3:30pm    -    Admission is FREE and Lunch is Provided

Please call 866.322.9227 to RSVP and hold your seat.


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Chad Polk

eBay Motors Trust & Safety on the Rise

Posted by Chad Polk  |  eBay Motors  |  Thursday July 3, 2008 at 3:01 pm

eBay Motors must have built a new report that displayed much more insight into their listings because everything related to Trust and Safety is on the rise.

- Local Market listing policy enforcement is going wild.  The biggest issue is dealers adding other phone numbers outside of their eBay (CallBright) issued toll-free numbers.  If I was selling cars I would put my cell phone on every listing too.  They do it on AutoTrader and Cars.com!

- One of the current big debates at eBay is whether or not to disallow outside links on eBay listings.  What a TERRIBLE idea to remove this ability!  This affects dealers linking out to their eBay Motors current listings, CARFAX history reports, warranty information related to that car, credit applications, financing information, etc.

- Another Local Market debate at eBay is to disallow 3rd party lead forms and links in the listings.  I’ll say it again….What a TERRIBLE idea to remove this ability!  They want everything to go through My eBay which is understandable, but that is not how the automotive industry operates.  Dealers live and die by lead forms and ILM tools.

- They are now requiring sellers to disclose any auction announced frame or unibody damage in their listing descriptions.  In order to ensure both minimum disclosure standards and allow sellers the option to disclose as either damaged or repaired, the following statement is now required:

“This vehicle currently or previously had frame or unibody damage or repair reported by an auction agency.”

That is all I can relay to our dealers for now.


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