The promotion included more than 1.5 million visits and generated more than 15,000 leads to GM California dealers. According to GM, the leads delivered by eBay Motors achieved a better than national close-rate for GM dealers.

“Our partnership with GM continues on several fronts, including the sale of Certified Pre-Owned vehicles and we are exploring additional opportunities to partner on new car sales, said Rob Chesney, vice president of eBay Motors. “This program succeeded in driving awareness of eBay Motors as a destination for new vehicles. It also confirmed our ability to innovate by building out a custom program that could quickly deliver a high volume of quality leads over a short period of time across multiple automotive brands.”

Chesney went on to say that eBay Motors will continue to test, pilot and implement new car initiatives with OEMs, dealers and other third-party companies as part of its ongoing goal to offer consumers a wide selection of new cars coupled with an easy and convenient new way of buying.

Cheers,
RBH

“We are very pleased with the progress of the initial promotion and its ability to raise awareness and consideration for our outstanding new vehicle inventory,” said Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of U.S. sales. “We’re getting positive dealer feedback and increased shopper consideration for GM vehicles in California. So, we decided to extend the program and continue to provide our customers with online access to dealer inventories through eBay Motors. We have a lot of great new Chevy, Buick, GMC and Pontiac vehicles and buyers can take advantage of this opportunity from the comfort of their home, buy at a published price, or make an offer to the dealer.”

In the first month of the promotion, shoppers visited dealers’ virtual showroom sites more than 1 million times and logged more than 1.4 million searches of GM inventory. In addition, nearly 4,000 new car buyers entered into negotiations online, over the phone and in person as a result of this promotion. At the conclusion of the California promotion, GM and eBay Motors will evaluate extending the program nationally, based on consumer demand and dealer feedback.

The full release can be read HERE.

Cheers,
RBH

“In the first week of our 4 week California market pilot, we are very pleased with the results.  The traffic flowing to our co-branded GM and eBay websites is strong; through August 17th, shoppers visited our virtual showroom sites 630,000 times in the 1st week and logged more than 960,000 searches of GM inventory.  What’s different today is that for the first time in automotive history, consumers are going online, selecting from a broad inventory of new cars in California at great prices, negotiating through ‘Best Offer’ or simply clicking and buying hassle free.”

Additionally, eBay went on to say…

“In the first week of this pilot alone we have seen about 2,400 new car buyers enter into qualified ‘Best Offer’ negotiations online, over the phone and in person as a result of this promotion or take advantage of ‘Buy It Now ‘at an already great price.  We are very excited to be partnered with GM as we together reinvent the way new car buyers connect with dealers. We look forward to applying what we learn over the remaining weeks of this pilot.”

Like I said in my original post, my wife and I are checking out this promotion to see if we’re going to participate. If we do, I’ll be sure to chronicle my experience here on Ink.

Cheers,
RBH

UPDATED: 8/12/09
I also thought the video from GM’s Product Technology Webcast yesterday, featuring President and CEO, Fritz Henderson, may be of interest. In addition to talking about all of GM‘s news this week, he recaps the promotion/partnership with eBay (right around minute 2:22).

Cheers,
RBH

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

“We’re also working on new ways to make car buying more convenient for our customers, including an innovative new partnership with eBay in California to revolutionize how people buy vehicles online,” Henderson said. “Customers will be able to bid on actual vehicles just like they do in an eBay auction, including the option of choosing a predetermined ‘buy it now’ price. We’ll be testing this and other ideas with our dealers over the next few weeks, and hope to expand and build upon them in the coming months. In all cases, our goal is to make the shopping and buying process as easy as possible for GM customers – on their time and their terms. Stay tuned.”

I just spoke with the folks on the eBay Motors team, including Rob Chesney, VP of eBay Motors, about the developing situation with GM. What’s clear is that eBay hasn’t finalized its plans with GM. Here’s what I learned:

eBay Motors has been in discussions with General Motors to identify innovative ways to help dealers market vehicles. As the no. 1 automotive site on the Web (Nielsen/NetRatings – March 2009), eBay Motors has unique knowledge of consumer automotive shopping behavior and a community of more than 13 million unique automotive visitors. Currently, more than 30,000 U.S. franchise and independent dealers in the U.S. utilize eBay Motors as a complementary sales channel for their businesses. In addition, several automakers, including General Motors, display certified pre-owned inventory on the eBay Motors marketplace.

Related Reads:

• EBay Says It Has No Deal With G.M. (New York Times)
• EBay Says Plans To Sell GM Cars Not Finalized (DowJones)

Friday, July 10, 2009

eBay and GM Update

With Richard out sick today, I’m filling in. This morning, General Motors announced “The new GM,” and the company’s press release mentioned something about a partnership with eBay Motors that confused some dealers, many of whom sell on eBay. Here’s the excerpt that quoted GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson:

“We’re also working on new ways to make car buying more convenient for our customers, including an innovative new partnership with eBay in California to revolutionize how people buy vehicles online,” Henderson said. “Customers will be able to bid on actual vehicles just like they do in an eBay auction, including the option of choosing a predetermined ‘buy it now’ price. We’ll be testing this and other ideas with our dealers over the next few weeks, and hope to expand and build upon them in the coming months. In all cases, our goal is to make the shopping and buying process as easy as possible for GM customers – on their time and their terms. Stay tuned.”

I just spoke with the folks on the eBay Motors team, including Rob Chesney, VP of eBay Motors, about the developing situation with GM. What’s clear is that eBay hasn’t finalized its plans with GM. Here’s what I learned:

eBay Motors has been in discussions with General Motors to identify innovative ways to help dealers market vehicles. As the no. 1 automotive site on the Web (Nielsen/NetRatings – March 2009), eBay Motors has unique knowledge of consumer automotive shopping behavior and a community of more than 13 million unique automotive visitors. Currently, more than 30,000 U.S. franchise and independent dealers in the U.S. utilize eBay Motors as a complementary sales channel for their businesses. In addition, several automakers, including General Motors, display certified pre-owned inventory on the eBay Motors marketplace.

Related Reads:

• EBay Says It Has No Deal With G.M. (New York Times)
• EBay Says Plans To Sell GM Cars Not Finalized (DowJones)