Costs and Process of Private Selling in ON

[sirAQUAMAN64]

So... listed the car on Craigslist and Auto Trader for $8,800. Had more inquiries from Craigslist than from the Trader! Almost had the car sold to a guy in NYC for some good coin (about $7,800) but he didn't want to pay the duty and go through the hassle - he insisted on getting his lawyer involved in the paperwork, which I thought unnecessary.

Locally, have an offer of $6,500 and yesterday $6,800.

Just listed in on eBay Motors though. Noticed some others fetching good coin, and since I've never tried eBay before, thought I'd send some some pennies Wing's way (by clicking on the ads to the right on CTC) and try it. I'm an eBay newbie, so this will be somewhat interesting to me. Unfortunately, I wanted to set a 'buy it now' price to speed things along, but you need to have at least 10 Feedback Ratings to do so  . The fee for listing on eBay.ca Motors is only $5 compared to $50 in the US as I guess they want to increase usage.

Here's my good 'ole Golf itemized if anyone wants to follow along...
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160003090209
(bidding starts tonight at 8pm EST, so you may not be able to see it now)

You know, now that I've replaced the windshield and fixed the A/C and cleaned 'er up some, I think I'm a bit of a knob for selling it. I guess the km's are getting up there, but it's been a great car for me and I know I'll be spending way more gas on the GTI. Also, it's still tight and a joy to drive, and if I kept it for another year I could still get something for it with no monthly payments. But, c'est la vie and I already have the new one signed for and I'm sure I'll love that too.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

eBay suspended my account for whatever reason(s) and it's like a brick wall trying to get a response from them! 

Meanwhile, got another call at lunch on the car tonight by a guy in my neighbouring city. Since I can't get any response from eBay and I want to see some closure on selling the car, he's coming tonight at 7 to look at it (and is ready to buy for $7Gs as-is). He's moving back to Germany (works for an aerospace firm - Airbus or something?) and said it would fit in the containership and so my car would be going back to its' homeland.

[quadzilla]

I think that would make a great ending to your car’s life with you…..back to the motherland. 

I know how you feel about selling your car.  When I traded in the P5 for the 6-Wgn it was really tough as there wasn’t anything wrong with the P5 and it only had 150KM’s on it.  I still miss it when I carve through the twisties but forget about it when I hit the loud pedal.

I think the only time you will miss your car is when cruising down the freeway and say: “I’ve only gone 450kms, there is no reason to stop for gas yet...oh ya, I forgot”

Can’t wait to see the new GTI though.

[UmroAyyar]

Deutscheland is Fatherland.  whats better than it going back to fatherland? and looks like on a good price as well.

You'll be smoking tires in that beautiful GTI.   

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Car was sold last Friday. That's all I'll say on that one.

In the past 2 weeks I had a call here and there. Sold it before going to Ottawa so I wouldn't have to think about it. But since Sunday, I've had at least half-dozen anxious calls on it, probably from people who traveled over the week-end and saw how much fuel cost them. 

I thought that might happen but didn't want to wait till the last minute. Anyway, it's done now. 

[dr_spock]

Congrats on selling the TDi.   Would you go through selling another privately again? 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Congrats on selling the TDi.   Would you go through selling another privately again? 

Depends on the car and the time with which to sell. If I had a 1.8T or 2.0L non-special edition VW I would have probably traded, but I knew there's some diesel fanatics out there that might pay more for the car. And there are.

If in exceptional shape, has low km's, or I felt I was getting ripped off by trading it, then I'd probably private sale it. Or test the waters by placing an ad for it at least. But if the car I'm trading is given fair value and is worth enough, I think I'd proabably just trade it and take the tax incentive to do so.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Haha, this is pathetic.

eBay eMails me saying my account is suspended due to '"Abusing eBay".

I inquired why my account was suspended, as I read the User Agreement and couldn't see where the issue was. This was the response after about 4 days:

Dear eBay Member,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to the suspension of your account.

I have reviewed your account and determined that you were suspended
under the "Abusing eBay" section of the eBay User Agreement. This
section states that eBay may immediately warn, temporarily suspend,
indefinitely suspend, or terminate your membership if we believe that
your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability to you, our
users, or us. You can review the eBay User Agreement at the following
Web page:

I then replied with "Please close my account as I do not intend to use this service in the future", and this was the response:

Dear eBay Member,

Thank you for writing eBay in regards to the suspension of your account.

We have received your request for an account closure.  However, at this
time we are unable to honor your request.  Accounts that are suspended
are not eligible for closure until the suspension is resolved.  If you
would like to appeal this suspension please follow the steps outlined in
the previous email, otherwise you may leave your account suspended
indefinitely.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation, and wish you luck with
your future eBay transactions.

Sincerely,

Jon

eBay Customer Support

What a joke! 
I just responded again with something a little more coloured... am wondering what I'll get in response this time.

[Bullet Blue]

How is posting an ad for a car "abusing" the system? Don't they have loads of car ads on ebay?

[sirAQUAMAN64]

The banner at right on my screen would indicate so.

[Beetlejuice]

Car was sold last Friday. That's all I'll say on that one.

I have to ask SirA.  Did you have some sort of negative experience?

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I have to ask SirA.  Did you have some sort of negative experience?

Nah, not really. Just, it was coming to the time I wanted to pick-up the new one and about 3 potentially great offers fell through.

Also, just think about things. Sold the car and everything appeared fine with it, but what happens if something goes on it tomorrow and the person thinks I sold them a lemon? Don't want anyone coming back on me accusing or damaging my property, etc. Just thoughts.

[Beetlejuice]

Yeah, I'd think that I would have those issues as well.  That's a good reason to just trade it and be done with it.  There's no way to trace the car back to you.  I guess it would be unwise to sell your car to a relative as well.  You'd probably always be on the hook, one way or another.

Don't worry SirA, I'm sure the ol' diesel will satisfy the new owners.  BTW, you're gonna have to update your profile now. 

[Brigitte]

Haha, this is pathetic.

eBay eMails me saying my account is suspended due to '"Abusing eBay".

I inquired why my account was suspended, as I read the User Agreement and couldn't see where the issue was. This was the response after about 4 days:

Dear eBay Member,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to the suspension of your account.

I have reviewed your account and determined that you were suspended
under the "Abusing eBay" section of the eBay User Agreement. This
section states that eBay may immediately warn, temporarily suspend,
indefinitely suspend, or terminate your membership if we believe that
your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability to you, our
users, or us. You can review the eBay User Agreement at the following
Web page:

I then replied with "Please close my account as I do not intend to use this service in the future", and this was the response:

Dear eBay Member,

Thank you for writing eBay in regards to the suspension of your account.

We have received your request for an account closure.  However, at this
time we are unable to honor your request.  Accounts that are suspended
are not eligible for closure until the suspension is resolved.  If you
would like to appeal this suspension please follow the steps outlined in
the previous email, otherwise you may leave your account suspended
indefinitely.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation, and wish you luck with
your future eBay transactions.

Sincerely,

Jon

eBay Customer Support

What a joke! 
I just responded again with something a little more coloured... am wondering what I'll get in response this time.

That's just bizarre, Erik.     How could you have abused it if the bidding hadn't started???  I guess it doesn't matter at this point, but it's still amusing.

Congrats on selling the car!  Now update your damn profile, will ya?   

[Beetlejuice]

I'm dying to know what eBay rule was abused as well.  SirA, you gotta keep on them and get us an answer.  Those responses you received seemed canned as well.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

And so it continues...

If I could supply them with information I would do so... if I was told which information to supply!
Useless.

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to the suspension of your account.

As you may know, eBay is taking a tougher stand to prevent fraud on our
site. Regretfully, in that process, a few honest members may be required
to take one or two extra steps before they are allowed to participate on
eBay.

For security reasons we are unable to be more specific about the details
that led to this action.  If you would like to have the account
considered for reinstatement then we require that you proceed with the
appeals process as previously outlined.

If you would like to have the account considered for reinstatement then
we require that you proceed with the appeals process as previously
outlined.  We fully understand if you would not like to follow through
with your suspension appeal.  However, if you decide to not provide the
information that we have requested, your account will remain in the
blocked status that it is currently in.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Gibsen
eBay Customer Support

=====================================================
If responding, please include a copy of this message.
=====================================================

Whether you're new to eBay or an experienced buyer and seller, the eBay
Security & Resolution Center can help you protect yourself on eBay and
online. For more information, please click the "Security Center" link at
the bottom of most eBay pages.
_____________________________________________

For our latest announcements, please check:

 http://www2.ebay.com/aw/announce.shtml

_____________________________________________

Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Co-operation on what, exactly? I don't have any information to co-operate with. None of the information sent by eBay to explain my suspension is worthwhile, as your User Agreement is far too comprehensive to determine where, precisely I have violated. I don't believe I have, and have reviewed the agreement and cannot find where.

I had simply asked to close my account and this request was not granted.

This is a joke. I cannot get a transparant or detailed response from eBay, which is unacceptable. I should be able to close my account like I would at a financial institution or anywhere else. I do not wish eBay to have my personal information for any purpose any longer.

Do you understand???

ERIK

[Beetlejuice]

Here is the response you'll probably get...

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to the suspension of your account.  Sorry, we do not understand, but if you would like us to understand, please provide us with more information so that we may add it to the ever growing criminal file that we have on you.

Your account will never be removed! Never...NEVER!!!! HAHAHA!!!

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Gibsen
eBay Customer Support

[dorin]

Erik, there is a live chat option for help on eBay.  I used it once when they screwed me over for some listing fees and it really helped to have a live person on the other end.  Just go to the ebay.ca page and click on Live Help.  Be prepared to be a little patient, but it might provide answers.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

I used Live Chat when selling, but couldn't find it again because the page kept asking for my Username.

I'll try that page you have there later and will report back.
This is kind of interesting tho. How not to run a business.

[wing]

and an ebay on the side as I read this