GM’s eBay Experiment Generates 45 Sales in Nine Days

General Motors’ experimental eBay website is generating interest, but few sales for the Detroit automaker. In the program’s first nine days, the auction site has listed 16,228 vehicles and completed just 45 sales.

“It’s way too early in the program to have any concrete understanding of what’s going on,” said GM spokesman John McDonald.

GM is listing Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Pontiac vehicles for sale on the site at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, with all incentives factored in. Consumers can buy the vehicle immediately at the listed MSRP, or submit an offer below the listed price that dealers can either accept or reject. All 45 of the completed sales were handled via the bidding option. Only California dealers are currently participating.

Although the program hasn’t generated many sales, it has piqued interest. Ebay said the GM site had 630,000 visits in its first week and reported more than 960,000 searches on listed vehicles. Dealers say customers have logged onto the site to see what vehicles are available, and then come into the store to buy them.

Mark Borjan, the owner of Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealership Golden Hills Auto Center in Paso Robles, said he listed 70 vehicles on eBay. He sold seven of those 70 vehicles, but only one was sold via the eBay website.

“I’ve sold some vehicles to people that saw the vehicle on eBay, but they didn’t buy them on eBay. They called, came in, and bought them,” said Borjan.

Automotive News points out that California is a tough market for GM, which may partially account for the eBay experiment’s sluggish start. Detroit’s largest automaker commands only 13 percent of the market in the Golden State, almost 7 percent lower than its market share nationally.

GM said 225 dealerships are participating in the program, which started August 11 and runs through September 8. Speculation indicates that GM may expand the program nationally, depending on how well it works in California.

Source: Automotive News