Monday, August 10th, 2009
UPDATED: eBay and GM to Deliver “Click and Buy” Promotion
Ink readers already saw an initial post from Usher Lieberman earlier last month regarding a possible initiative coming from GM and eBay. As reported by the AP last night, and confirmed by the two companies this morning in a press release, a joint program between the two will allow eBay customers to “click and buy” new Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac cars, crossovers and trucks online from more than 225 GM California dealers. The promotion begins tomorrow at gm.ebay.com and will run through September 8.
From the press release:
Consumers will be able to browse hundreds of California dealer online showrooms, ask questions, negotiate prices, and arrange financing and payment to purchase a new 2008, 2009 or select 2010 car, crossover or truck online. With more than 225 GM dealers in California participating, at any given time shoppers can expect to see a wide selection of up to 20,000 new GM vehicles at very competitive prices. Vehicles will be offered through eBay Motors’ traditional formats such as “Buy It Now” (where shoppers agree to pay the advertised price) and eBay’s
innovative “Best Offer” option (where buyers indicate the price they are willing to pay and can negotiate online with the dealer for the vehicle).The site also incorporates features that will allow consumers to compare pricing across models or participating dealerships, get tips and advice with a Buyer Checklist, and determine the value of their trade-in or whether their current vehicle may also qualify for government funded ‘Cash For Clunkers’ incentives.
Since the addition of our second child, Quincy, late last year, my wife and I have been starting to look at possibly replacing our current car with – dare I say it – a more practical one. I must admit for me, as the size of the purchase grows, so does the apparent need to be able to physically interact with the product I’m buying. I’ve always felt that test-driving a car before buying it is no different than walking through a home before one decides to commit to rent or purchase – essential. However, the advances made with online commerce have made it very easy for us to narrow down our choice. I purchased my last car in 2005 and I selected the model, paint, interior, and preferred features all before walking into the showroom. The Internet had made it possible for me to go into a car dealership knowing exactly what I wanted and how much I was willing to pay for it (with facts/figures to back it up).
This promotion seems to build even further upon this. So Allie and I are going to take a look at this promotion and see if it is feasible for us to take the plunge. Like I said, we have a relatively new car, in good condition, that we would be trading in. If it is something we’re able to do, I’ll be sure to chronicle our experience here on the blog.
UPDATED 8/10/09: 3:40pm PT
In the meantime, I took my flip-cam and tracked down Rob Chesney, vice president of eBay Motors today to ask him some more questions about this program. [Editor's note: I'm still getting used to using this camera so I promise to improve this segment moving forward - thanks to Rob for taking the time to sit down with me for the Ink audience].
Rob Chesney gives an overview of the “Click to Buy” promotion:
Rob explains why California was the first choice to test this promotion. I also ask him if we plan on rolling this out elsewhere if successful:
Given the recent hardships faced by the US automotive industry, why launch this program now?
Rob talks about how eBay Motors has addressed the “Cash for Clunkers” program:
Cheers,
RBH
Tagged: buyers, ebay, ebay auctions, ebay marketplace, ebay motors, ebay platform, ebay portfolio, ebay roadmap, ebay.com, ecommerce, general motors, gm, Marketplace, News, online marketplace, sellers
Drive2SurfOn August 10, 2009 at 7:31 am Said:
The test will be if ya’ll can pull this off in Texas. Cali-fornia is low hanging State Attorney General and Franchise Law fruit. Everything is Bigger in Texas so let’s see what can be pulled out of their 10 Gallon Hat.
MissMotorMouthOn August 10, 2009 at 11:53 am Said:
I am not sure why this is news to anyone.
GM, along with several other US and non-US based auto manufacturers have long had a deal with eBay Motors and the OEMs autofeed all Certified Pre-Owned inventory to eBay Motors whether the dealers have who have the inventory have a Local Motors account or not.
The OEMs pay eBay Motors monthly for this service (not the dealers) and eBay Motors entered the deals hoping to upsell the franchisees to their local motors program AND benefit from raised total numbers of listings. It was a great idea to get dealers involved in eBay!
Whether they are successful or not is…well…ask Rob Chesney. They have to compete some way with AutoTraders over-inflated listing numbers (they do not delete expired listings).
PdubbsOn August 10, 2009 at 9:05 pm Said:
[Sentence edited: see comment policy]. Why do Texans think that the world revolves around them? I live in Texas and I have news for you, the world would do fine without you, so there’s a little fyi for you.
permacrisisOn August 11, 2009 at 9:11 pm Said:
Do you know what they do with Cash For Clunkers cars. They drain the oil out and replace it with Radiator Stop leak. Then they rev the engine for 2-4 minutes till it blows. No drivetrain part may be taken from the car, including the driveshaft, differential, or transmission, (which if they were used to replace some other one that slipped, could have helped someone elses fuel economy).
“Society loses the value of things which are uselessly destroyed.”- http://bit.ly/16bizx
Donate your car to the Kidney Foundation, and take the writeoff instead- Uncle Sam still takes the hit but the car gets a second (and third and 4th) life.
CandyOn August 15, 2009 at 10:27 am Said:
I thought the same thing. These cars could be helping less fortunate people. I know part of the idea is to get the gas guzzlers off the road but people like myself, who are retired and drive so little and working moms or poor families who can’t afford a decent car, could really make use of some of these cars. I hear many of the cars being destroyed are really good cars – its such a waste! It would be great if some of these used cars were passed on to the needy at greatly reduced prices. My present car is considered a gas guzzler and is 14 years old, but since I drive only about 3,000 miles a year its fine for me.
CandyOn August 15, 2009 at 10:33 am Said:
Oh…my opinion on the “new” alliance between GM and Ebay is that it will be a total failure. I live in California. The car industry is being hit hard here – not only by the economy but also by the doubled car registration fees we were hit with on April 1, 2009 AND the raise in sales tax! Nothing like kicking the taxpaying population when they’re already down but that is just what our legislators decided to do and they’re still looking for more tax money! :-(
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