TIME IT RIGHT
By means of research (or not – Ed) we have learnt that the majority of online automobile deals are struck on Sunday afternoons or by the first half of every weekday. There’s a reason for this – people love to daydream. This is only possible once they land up at their work desks or on idle Sunday mornings. So, make sure you post your ad in the wee hours, or late at night on Saturday, by which time inebriation and the ‘weekend vibe’ will have ensured a willingness to part with a lot of money.
SHOOT IT ALREADY
You could have a Suzuki Hayabusa to part with, but an ad without pictures will lead prospective buyers into believing you’ve posted a link to weight-loss related spam, or something worse. Leave arty shots for your social networking page – get clean shots from all angles of your machine, and make sure you shoot the details (interiors, badges, meters), things that people are wary of tinkering around with. Uploading manufacturer-sourced shots has the same effect that reading a brochure about a cheap hotel in Goa has – it’s too good to be true.
DESCRIPTION IS THE KEY
Your car/bike may have been with you in the shower, but there is no point in telling the world about this. No one cares what you think of your machine; what matters to any buyer is the state the vehicle is in, the parts it comes with and the parts it’s missing. A bit of trivia you may have picked up along the tenure of ownership (say, a service tip, or an ingenious quick-fix solution) does help a lot, giving the impression that you’ve actually cared for your motorcycle. However, avoid any references to ‘ridden to the limit at the BIC’ or ‘always jumps so high on speed-breakers!'. Such mentions will slash your asking price by half. We warned you!
TELL ALL
Your motorcycle may look like it’s just rolled off the production line, but it will still be judged by the following parameters – age, number of kilometres on the clock, state of paperwork (green tax payment for vehicles over 15 years old can be a major cause for conflict – it’s too much of a hassle to get in order), and service history. Also, don’t forget to mention your exact location, a phone number and an e-mail address, so people won’t just have to daydream about your advertisement and then go back to their unexciting lives.
MONEY MATTERS
If you think your Bajaj Pulsar deserves only 10% depreciation even after a decade, stay away from the internet – online buyers will hate you! A lot of factors determine depreciation, and you must respect them the same way you would if you were on the other side of the fence. Avoid referring to ads with machines identical to yours to decide what price to ask for. In reality, those ‘Yamaha RX100s for 75 thou’ go for far less than you imagine. It doesn’t hurt to make a quick buck, but set a sensible price tag, leaving a small margin for negotiation. Oh, and if you have any Yamaha RD350s to part with for cheap, let us know, will you?
© Motoring, Delhi Press Magazines
