GM to list entire inventory of "certified/ pre-owned" vehicles on eBay

[Eric]

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry?s top-selling manufacturer-certified used vehicle brand*, announced it has reached an agreement to collaborate in a variety of areas with eBay Motors (www.ebaymotors.com), the Internet's largest marketplace for buying and selling all things automotive, to support the 3,900-plus GM Certified Used Vehicles dealers in the U.S.

As a first step, GM Certified Used Vehicles commits to list their entire national inventory on eBay Motors at no cost to dealers. The agreement provides exposure of GM Certified Used Vehicles dealer inventory in a classified listings format to more than 11 million unique eBay Motors visitors a month.

Together, the two companies will develop marketing and other offerings designed to drive leads and sales to dealers. GM Certified Used Vehicles dealers will benefit from increased exposure of their vehicle inventory and branding on eBay Motors while car buyers will benefit from the wide selection and convenient online-shopping experience provided by eBay Motors.

eBay Motors is consistently ranked the No. 1 automotive Web site, with 34 percent of all automotive minutes on the Web spent on eBay Motors, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

There are also future plans to allow dealers to opt-in to complement this new offering with additional packages and features, such as eBay Motors Local Market, a subscription-based service that enables automotive dealers to easily upload and list their entire used-car lot for one low price, increasing the impact and visibility of their specific inventory on eBay Motors. These additional options for dealers are currently scheduled to become available during the second quarter of this year.

?The eBay Motors agreement means that GM Certified dealers will have millions more eyeballs looking at their inventory, and more traffic drives sales,? said Mark Mathews, director, GM Used Vehicle Activities. ?Teaming with eBay Motors provides shoppers with convenient access to all GM Certified inventory and continues GM Certified?s commitment to interactive marketing. We now offer our dealers the most comprehensive program in the industry, listing their inventory on more than 300 websites.?

?Dealers understand consumers are migrating online to find their next vehicle,? said Rob Chesney, vice president, eBay Motors, Marketplaces. ?eBay Motors creates a rich shopping experience for consumers and drives more qualified leads to dealers through exposure to more than 11 million unique online-automotive shoppers a month.?

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the number-one selling manufacturer-certified brand*, are high-quality, reconditioned vehicles, available at participating Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac and GMC dealers. All models are six years old or newer, have 60,000 miles or less, are reconditioned to stringent GM Certified Used Vehicles standards and must undergo a rigorous 117-point inspection and reconditioning process. All GM Certified Used Vehicles are supported by a fully transferable 5-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty with no deductible (whichever comes first from vehicle?s original in-service date); a three-month/3,000-mile bumper-to-bumper comprehensive limited warranty extension (whichever comes first); a three-day/150-mile customer satisfaction guarantee; and 24-hour roadside assistance and courtesy transportation during the term of the powertrain warranty. See dealer for details. For more information about GM Certified Used Vehicles, visit www.gmcertified.com.

[chiph]

I think one of the challenges they'll face is keeping the listing up to date.

If they list a car (a Malibu, say) and it's on a dealer's lot in Roanoke, and then you walk in & buy it, how soon will eBay get updated with that info?

For this system to work, GM's computer network has to extend out to every participating dealer, and those dealers need to have someone whose job it is to enter into the computer what their current inventory is.

I can see, quite plausibly, dealers holding back cars for their local customers, and not entering them into the eBay auction system until it's obvious it's not selling. As a consequence, the eBay auctions will be filled with dealer's dogs.

Chip H.

[Eric]

I think one of the challenges they'll face is keeping the listing up to date.

If they list a car (a Malibu, say) and it's on a dealer's lot in Roanoke, and then you walk in & buy it, how soon will eBay get updated with that info?

For this system to work, GM's computer network has to extend out to every participating dealer, and those dealers need to have someone whose job it is to enter into the computer what their current inventory is.

I can see, quite plausibly, dealers holding back cars for their local customers, and not entering them into the eBay auction system until it's obvious it's not selling. As a consequence, the eBay auctions will be filled with dealer's dogs.

Chip H.

It does seem like a logistical (and computer) nightmare... and you'd think they realized that going in....

[damen]

it is actually not too difficult to do all that (technologically). pain to setup initially, but really not that tough.