So you want to sell vehicles on K-BID? Great! Thousands of vehicles are sold on K-BID.com each year from individual sellers, auto dealers, business fleet liquidations and more. This page is designed to give you some best practices for selling vehicles and tips for things to watch for.
First things, first - Dealers License and local laws.
Affiliates are responsible for understanding their local laws and restrictions on selling titled vehicles in your jurisdiction. Most states have a dealers unit that would be a great resource for finding out information.
In Minnesota: In Minnesota, auctions are seen as a commercial sale and therefore, a dealers license is required to sell titled items in an online auction. K-BID may act as a dealer for you (training required) or you may act as your own dealer or work with an already established dealer. The dealers license holder should be disclosed in your auction terms.
In other states: Please research what requirements are for your local area and if a dealers license is required. K-BID is not licensed in states outside of MN.
Description requirements: To ensure buyers have all the necessary information they need, the following information must be included in the auction descriptions (by vehicle type):
Vehicles - Cars/Trucks/Motorcycles/Mopeds/Motorized Bicycles
-
- Year
- Make
- Model
- Indicated miles
- VIN Number
- Plate Number (If Applicable)
- Gross Vehicle Weight (for trailers and vehicles over one ton)
- Engine number (motorcycles)
Trailers/Semis & Fish House Trailers
-
- Year
- Make
- Model
- Plate Number
- Permanent Registration Number
- VIN Number (Some smaller trailers do not have VIN Numbers)
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Adding Vehicle Fee's: If you are a licensed auto dealer and you are responsible for transferring the title, you have the ability to add the vehicle fees to each lot prior to publishing. This ensures that buyers are aware of the additional fees that will be charged and these fees automatically be included on the invoice. See this page for detailed instructions on adding vehicle fee's Adding Fees
Salvage Titles: Salvaged vehicles are required to be disclosed in the auction description. To gain confidence with buyers, we recommend adding a field for title status (clean, salvaged, etc.) to each titled lot.
Paperwork Tips: A contract is required between you and the seller. Ensure that the seller acknowledges that they are responsible to disclose any known issues with the vehicle. We use a DMV consignment form that explains the consignment process and that we were not in the chain of ownership of the vehicle, rather it was sold on consignment on behalf of the seller.
Commission Rates: It is up to you to determine/negotiate your commission rates with your sellers. Many affiliates who consign many vehicles for a single seller may cap their commission or use a fee based program. Do not undervalue your service by working for to little and always charge a reserve not met fee if you offer a reserve.
Reserves: Limit reserves as much as possible. By putting a reserve on a vehicle you are almost immediately cutting out 50% of the buying audience. Research previous auction and wholesale prices prior to making a commitment to a reserve price.
Condition disclosures: Perhaps the most important part of selling vehicles on auction is your ability to build trust with buyers. We build trust with buyers by fully disclosing any known issues, taking pictures of damage and showing videos of the vehicle in action. Do not take your sellers word on condition, we highly recommend you test drive and do a thorough inspection of each vehicle you sell, making note of any important issues that you find.
Put yourself in the buyers shoes: What does the buyer need to know? How many keys come with the vehicle? Is there a remote start or other features? Is there an odor in the vehicle? Buyers will appreciate it and bid accordingly if you've put the time and effort into your descriptions and photos.
Self Diagnostics: Disclosure is crucially important but you want to be careful when diagnosing any issues that you may notice. Instead of stating, "it sounds like a wheel bearing needs replacement" you would rather want to state. "noise coming from front right axle." Making a diagnosis and including it in the description could imply a guarantee or warranty that you've diagnosed the only issue. Be factual with what you notice without diving too much into what you believe the issue to be.
Check engine lights: We strongly recommend including the in description which service lights are on. Some affiliates will also include this in the pictures.
Test Drives: We want buyers to schedule inspections and take test drives. It is up to you and your insurance coverage if you are able to allow test drives and what you would need from the individual to allow them. If you're concerned over liability, drive the vehicle with the buyer in the passenger seat.
Picture tips: Take as many pictures as you need to tell the complete story of the vehicle. This may be 100 pictures for a 2020 Mercedes or 20 pictures of a 1999 Chevy Blazer.
Always use landscape oriented photos with vehicles and start your lot with a complete picture of the vehicle. Many times an angled shot from below or above eye sight will make for a compelling photo as seen below.
My process is to start with this shot, then make your way around the vehicle getting images from all sides and corners. Now is a good time to take a close up of any damage, dents, paint chips as you are walking around the vehicle. This will remind you to make note in the description as well.
Do not assume that a buyer will notice all damage or issues in the pictures. Always reference the damage or issues in the description.
Next, I will take photos of all 4 tires before I make my way into the vehicle.
I then take my pictures of the dashboard, front seats, floor boards and make my way into the backseat.
TIP: Make sure to take a picture of the mileage and plates as you will need to include this information in your description.
Lastly, I will include a picture of the engine compartment or video of the engine running
Video tips: Videos are quick and easy. A 60 second walk around video or showing the engine running with noise can be another great way to build confidence. Videos can easily be uploaded to YouTube and attached to the lot.
Description Format: Use the following format for the vital information in your description to create a consistent experience for vehicle buyers.
Make: Ford
Model: F-150 XLT
Year: 2016
VIN: 1FTEW1EF6GKD79656
Mileage: 70,035
Plate: 6BZ676
Exp. Date: July 2021
Engine: 5.01L
Drive 4x4/4wd
Fuel: Gas
Title Status: Clean
Notes: This vehicle starts, runs and drives. It could use an interior detailing as seen in the pictures. Weather tech mats and bedliner included. 22" rims. Exhaust pipe extends to near real axel. Includes 2 keys.
Facebook Inventory Ads:
K-BID uses evergreen campaigns to include all vehicle inventory into Facebook inventory ads. These ads are incredibly effective and are driving a lot of traffic to the vehicle inventory on K-BID.com. See the examples below.
Payment Tips: You may want to be more strict with your payment terms with out of state buyers. Since out of state buyers take the title with them, should they write a bad check or reverse the credit card charge, they will have possession of vehicle and title which leave you in a bad spot. Some affiliates require certified funds such as a wire transfer or cashiers check for out of state buyers. Make sure this is outlined in your auction terms.
No-Show buyers: No-show buyers are an inconvenient part of the online auction process and buyers remorse is a real thing. The higher the dollar value (like vehicles) your percentage of no-show buyers will slightly increase. The best thing you can do to combat buyers remorse or no-show buyers is by committing to full disclosure and growing your reputation with buyers.
No-Sale buyers: Mistakes happen and occasionally we miss important information in the description. A no-sale invoice will not negatively impact the buyer or turn off their bidding abilities. We leave it to the affiliates discretion if you believe that an invoice should be marked as a no-sale due to new information regarding a vehicle.
Lowering Reserves: If you have a reserve, the goal is to get it met as soon as possible. This informs buyers that the seller is ready to sell and will increase the interest in the item. When a reserve is lowered on top of the last bid, and no further bids are placed, the winning bidder has the option to purchase the vehicle. Should they decline the purchase, the invoice should be processed as a no-sale.
Late Removals: Be sure to have clear terms in your auction that explain what happens if the buyer pays and does not pick up during the auction removal period. You may want to charge a $100 weekly storage fee or something similar. If you need to enforce these terms, always send an email or something in writing to the buyer reminding them of the terms and charges that they are incurring.
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