Sick of cars being advertised for $0 or near offer

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95carhive, Mar 2, 5:01pm
I'm sick of cars being advertised on TradeMe for $0 or near offer, and then finding out on the page they want no where near that. Surely this must be against TradeMe rules!
heavydee, Mar 2, 5:27pm
I think it's a way for the seller to avoid paying additional charges to Trademe.I don't like it either, so I don't bother looking at any cars listed that way.
carkitter, Mar 2, 5:27pm
Welcome to the internet.
The internet allows anonymous people to make up their own reality and peddle it to unsuspecting others.

You could always buy from a dealer who adheres to a recognised industry standard but you might not find any cars selling for $0.
heavydee, Mar 2, 5:30pm
I also can't stand people who start their auctions well below their reserve prices, e.g. a $2K start price when they want over $10K.It's a stupid strategy and a waste of everybody's time.
mrfxit, Mar 2, 5:51pm
If you are genuinely interested in THAT vehicle, then you would bid .YES.
Even if it's just to see what the reserve is compared to others
mrfxit, Mar 2, 5:52pm
LOL .DING
fiatracer, Mar 2, 6:22pm
Golden rule #1 Ignore these auctions
Golden rule #2 ignore any auctions that say "I have listed elsewhere so reserve right to remove at any time"
mitsiboy69, Mar 2, 6:27pm
Yea it annoys me too. It's either to get your attention or because they don't have a price in mind so want you to make an offer. If you want to annoy them txt or email them offering the $0 or $1 asking price ;)
familiadude, Mar 2, 7:16pm
I rang a guy once that had listed his car for $10 and told him Ill be around shortly with the $10 he is asking for his car boy did he flip his lid or what. Was well worth the phone call though :)
franc123, Mar 2, 8:52pm
Ignore the ads completely, they're mostly dreamers who want you to pay more than dealers prices for the often very average vehicles they're selling, or to put it another way they're on the lookout for bunnies with cash on the hip who can't research the market properly and are in too much of a hurry to buy.If its a common latish model car it should be obvious from watching other auctions for similar cars over a few weeks what an asking or starting price should be, theres no excuse for it.
tgray, Mar 2, 10:28pm
Well there's approx 150 cars on here for $0, so there is a lot of members to report to Trademe.
daryl14, Mar 2, 10:35pm
If only there were someone around here who liked reporting people in a vain attempt to make trade me just the way that They like it.
corky, Mar 2, 11:28pm
There is, but for the life of me I can't recall Johns name.
unideck, Mar 2, 11:40pm
OP, its very simple - they list it so low because it will appear first when you bring up and click "lowest price". As for a classified listing in motoring you can almost put what ever you wish. It is a pain but really, just skip past them all (150+) then you will hit the real auctions and classified adds ;)
40wav, Mar 3, 12:21am
I like to barter a bit so I email them and say 'I see you want zero dollars.I'll let you pay me $50 to take it away'.
carclan, Mar 3, 2:21am
Is it false adverising!
johnf_456, Mar 3, 2:25am
Better get started
annrob, Mar 3, 2:35am
I would sell my car for $1 but it is worth $400 at the wreckers, and a bit more for the plates and unused reg. so I would but a buy now based on that . I assume people selling for $1 are idiots or fraudulent, as I know nothing about cars but except for the odd mistake these are just an annoyance.
sr2, Mar 3, 3:05am
If there is one person on this MB that is up to the challenge it has to be you Johnno me mate! (Some mothers do have 'em).
toyrkt, Mar 3, 3:17am
im sick of 500 dollar cars going for 1000 plus on trademe mates bump bump
stinkydog1, Mar 3, 3:24am
dont people list cars for $0 when they want offers!
itsbutters, Mar 3, 3:57am
What pisses me off is when people choose to enter the "value" of their car as (e.g.) $2000, despite wanting $10k for it, so it appears in searches all the way down to $2k. It's tempting to annoy them with low ball offers and say "oh but that's what you've valued the car at!"
unideck, Mar 3, 4:29am
Interesting point, "low ball" that accounts for 99% of every offer made on all my vehicles ever sold on here. Nothing nark's me more (other than the other NARK in here) than selling my personal vehicles.
mrfxit, Mar 3, 2:53pm
You & others .
Most times, ppl know what a vehicle owes them, . BUT often don't have any firm confirmation of what it's likely to sell for.
Those ppl DO CARE about what it sells for for various reasons & don't want to take the chance that it's likely to sell for a lot less then what seems reasonable to them.
That same "reasonable" price often looks a bit on the high side which puts potential bidders off from bidding in the 1st place hence the hidden reserve to attract attention & offers (in the form of bids) which if it doesn't meet reserve MAY result in a lower offer being made.
daryl14, Mar 3, 3:13pm
I hear what you're saying mrfixit, but I don't think there are enough avenues provided by trademe to clinch the sale.

Why can't I bid my best offer if it's lower than the start price!
Why can't that offer be extended to the seller once his auction closes!
Why can't the seller consider and perhaps accept my offer because now he realises his initial start price was far above market value!

We always say the car is worth what someone will pay but in upside down land on Trade me the seller sets the price.
$1 reserve auctions excluded of course.