Advertising your Car for Sale

A number of questions this year prompt this commentary. Glassic prices, as of September, 2008 seem to be holding steady, but sales may be down some due to the economic situation. While I have sold a total of zero cars myself, I have received more than average exposure to people who have (and have not) been able to sell their Glassics.

1) Advertise in as many places as you can think of. The free and paid ads on the Annex are just one place that a buyer might look. Anyone who does not know Glassics will never see the Annex, but they might see the local classifieds in your town, and not even be aware that a "Glassic" is just what they need.

2) Local newspapers, and local weekly advertising tabloid papers (Pennysaver, The Flyer) and so forth, as well as weekly neighborhood papers are places for ads.

3) On-line. Hemmings website, Collector Car Trader online, and others. They carry a cost, but many people know of one of these but don't ever check the others. Advertise in as many as you can. Use a picture or more whenever you can.

4) Local car shows. Attend as many as you can with a sign in the window. If you put the asking price in the window (and leave room for a "discount" for your buyer) you will pre-screen your buyers to people who can handle your price range. Buyers often have no idea what a car may be worth.

5) If you don't have your own web space, consider the Annex Premier Gallery. This should be a supplement to other ads. For example

This allows you to place a small teaser ad and provide details on the web. You can do this with your own web space also if your internet provider gives you some with your account.

6) Price your car to sell. While buyers are out there who see a Glassic and will buy it at any price, my experience shows that the lower the price, the larger the odds that it will sell quickly. Look at the Used Glassic Values page for a start. The top end of those prices are received when the car is fully restored, not a great car in original condition.

7) Be nice to all potential buyers. You never know WHO is nuts enough to buy a Glassic. I sold a motor home to a guy one time who had bib overalls and a new orange hunting cap. He was on his way home from looking at a completely different type of camper, hated Fords (yep, I had a Ford) and griped about many of the features of the motor home. His wife liked it and they paid cash.  -- In Florida, an International based, stick shift Glassic was bought by three elderly widow ladies - who, it turned out, had several real Model A's at home.

These are unusual cars, not something to be sold to the mass market, and when people decide that they want one, they often know what the cars are, and they search for them on the internet. Many of the local papers with websites have a national search feature on the web which will report back on ANY ads in the country which match the buyer’s specifications. (Be sure to include the key words below)

Here are some places that I have found Glassics advertised.

Glassic Annex --

Premier Gallery -- pre-paid ads with photos feature your car. These ads can be used to supplement your own newspaper ads.

Free listing on the owners page. Registered cars can have their listing marked "For Sale", along with the price. The listing background is changed to yellow.

http://www.ebay.com/ Cars generally (but not always) seem to sell for a lower price, but they DO sell if the opening bid is low enough. Probably the quickest way to be sure your car is sold. Cars with too high an opening bid end up often with no bids at all.

http://www.collectorcartraderonline.com/ -- has featured a number of Glassics for sale over the years.

http://www.xtremetraffix.com/default.asp -- here I found one under 1932 Ford. If you are selling, use the correct year (1931) if you are buying, search 1928 to 1932 to have the best chance of finding one.

KEYWORDS

A buyer will search for key words, so your ad will be seen most often if it includes the words that a buyer is most likely to request. The terms below, in my estimated order of importance, should be in your ad to get the best exposure to someone searching for a Glassic.

Some people "discover" Glassics and then
search for one to buy. If the word "Glassic" is not in your ad
or eBay listing, they won't
find your car nearly as easily.

As many of the words below as possible should appear in your ads:

Glassic

 Replica

Model A

Ford

1931

The lower your selling price, the quicker your car will sell. I know of one car that has remained on the market (and advertised) for well over a year. It was overpriced by about $2,000 to $3,000. It may well find a buyer eventually, but the process is slower.

See also: What is my used Glassic worth?