Henderson: GM to experiment selling cars through eBay Motors
As part of its post-bankruptcy rebirth, General Motors plans to "experiment" selling its cars on eBay. At its press conference this morning, CEO Fritz Henderson let slip to members of the media that the automaker is engaged in talks with online auction site eBay "to revolutionize how people buy cars online." According to Henderson, GM has plans to try selling its vehicles online:
"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."Many individual GM dealers already use the auction powerhouse to sell vehicles, so the move isn't completely uncharted territory, but it isn't immediately clear how (or if) the automaker plans to integrate its dealer body within this process. Henderson was quick to reinforce that the company's plans with eBay are just an experiment, so as the CEO says... stay tuned.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kitko 11:05AM (7/10/2009)
I wonder how that buyer's feedback thing would work out here :-)
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Steve 11:26AM (7/10/2009)
I guess with too make negative feedbacks GM will be thrown off of EBay then what will they do...LOL
Throwback 12:26PM (7/10/2009)
I wonder how dealrs feel about this.
C.W. 1:03PM (7/10/2009)
most car dealerships do this anyways as the article mentions.... if gm intends to completely bypass dealers to do this on their own just means more uproar. the customers would still need to pick the vehicle up at the dealer, and have it serviced at a given dealer, etc.... the dealer body is the engine that keeps these auto companies moving... gm would be wise to keep the remaining ones happy.
Platinum_Skeet 5:45PM (7/10/2009)
It's just going to be an alternative. Dealerships didn't go anywhere when you were able to purchase cars online and ebay won't make it any different. Only a select few buy a car from the web without ever driving or glancing at the car they're about to own...
tgriffith 11:09AM (7/10/2009)
Toyota tried/is trying this too. Until there's a change in laws that require new cars to be sold by dealers, I don't think too much will change.
http://www.cargurus.com/blog/2008/12/19/toyota-is-now-selling-on-ebay-sort-of/
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Aznauto 11:10AM (7/10/2009)
Good move they should start pushing states to drop the antiquated laws that require dealership involvement in online sales.
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clevershark 11:13AM (7/10/2009)
This is expected to cause GM sales to Nigeria to increase by at least 2000%.
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UCJR 11:17AM (7/10/2009)
I'm surprised they haven't teamed up with Wal-Mart and started keeping a few cars in the back by the automotive section. Get your new Chinese-made Chevy Cruze! Only 19.95! Everyday low prices!
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Mr.Oak 11:22AM (7/10/2009)
Gee, You almost made a funny.
216 11:28AM (7/10/2009)
i'd buy one for that price
Lemon 12:04PM (7/10/2009)
I heard that the cruze will also be produced in the US, as well as Russia and a few other countries.
paul34 12:14PM (7/10/2009)
Actually the WalMart price would be something like $19.94 or 19.83, something seemingly random but really as tightly priced as possible.
Tang 11:26AM (7/10/2009)
Think GM will allow Best Offer bids too?
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mr.ed 1:01PM (7/10/2009)
This is an example of how backward their culture is. A:This is illegal without a dealer in most states. B:The dealers have been doing this for years.
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kwsdurango 11:33AM (7/10/2009)
This seems like a great idea for new cars. All the manufacturers should try to do it and streamline the purchase process. I'm curious about how they might get around the legislation that requires dealers to be involved in the sales. Maybe incorporating them into the service process more than the sales process. Perhaps dealers could get on board with "manufacturer direct" sales as they might benefit by not having to carry and finance as much inventory on their lots, reducing operating costs and allowing them to focus on service, after market sales, custom jobs, etc. Might be a good thing... just my two cents.
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paul34 12:15PM (7/10/2009)
I guess they may use dealers as delivery centers, although I'm not sure they'd appreciate it, since I assume the commission and profit for the dealer would be much lower.
Otherwise, I'm not sure how delivery would work out other than truck delivering vehicles individually, which doesn't seem like an efficient way of doing business.
UltimoDragon 11:37AM (7/10/2009)
If they held back some vehicles and auctioned them as 'GM Direct' vehicles, this would be great in my opinion. We keep hearing how the dealers 'can't' make money off of small cars--well, let the company sell them directly to folks through eBay and deliver them for small extra charge.
Not that I'm vehemently anti-dealer or anything, but I'd love for GM to make this work--because that means other manufacturers would be pressed to copy it--and then ALL dealers would be forced to STEP. THEIR. GAME. UP.
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David 11:41AM (7/10/2009)
"Sorry, you auction has expired without any bids"
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Iridium 12:00PM (7/10/2009)
The only way this could be good is if you get to buy a car online at the holdback price just like a dealer. GM gets the same ammount of money and you get to buy a car at what it is really worth.
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