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Steve I track or used to track a number of parts sellers, many of the yards do a shotgun approach using a software setup meant for selling between big yards. They might list 30k or even 100k listings with out photos or single photo. No way they have any idea the condition of part or if it’s available. Feedback and low percentage of sales reflects the big yards. Jay I work alone but have someone starting Monday to do some listings a week. I’ve had some helpers from time to time but was not a satisfactory experience. With the shop/warehouse I plan on having some part time help. On selling parts before selling or trading a car in, the jack can be a good sale, the tow hooks on the front of vehicles can sell, hitch receiver , medical kit ( Mercedes and a few others include these), tire center cap , the spare tire hold down ( I’ve sold them for 15-30$) all could be removed and sold without destroying trade in value. The cd for navigation for car SUV can be worth 100$ Or used to be.
Thanks Jay, I buy some from yards like lkq take a part style places. They tend to rotate their inventory pretty aggressively 12-1500 cars with most being crushed after 2 months. Other places might leave cars for years. I also have a buyers card from a used car lot a good friend owns. Every few months I’ll rep some cars for him at the auction and in return I can purchase the vehicles I want and buy them from the dealer at cost. And I have a number of friends who scrap cars and I can pull all the parts I want for little or no cost. I did rent a 5500 sc ft building my second year, while it was cheap, it leaked and landlord refused to fix it. Currently I have parts in 2 storage units 20×30 and my three car garage and a bedroom. I have a deal in place to rent a 1200 sc ft building in an industrial complex a friend is closing on. Shipping is the biggest issue I have. I enjoy packing and taking items to the post office. It relaxes me to pull parts. Abs units are the dirtiest item I pull. Mostly I sell interior parts. Every car has parts that will sell. I’m not a car guy , I drive the cheapest car possible. I spend a lot of time looking at what sold on certain cars/trucks. A 15 year old truck may have 20 to 60 parts that to me are worth selling. A module that might sell for 150$, I’ll wait till I have a handful and find the correct vehicle and test them. Same with master controls for windows, doors. Any luxury cars are usually good but the more common vehicles sell quickly. I usually learn something new every time I tackle a new vehicle. I frequently sell parts to the south. Midwest cars rust out quickly and interior parts stay in good condition. I’m pretty selective if I’m paying for the parts. I want a part to sell within 2 months. I set prices fairly high and believe in my research. It might take an extra week or 2 but when someone needs it and the cheap ones have sold out I’m the only one. I only do bin, immediate pay, no international sales. If someone messages me and I want the sale I’ll lower the price for 24 hrs but they have to bin, immediate pay. That way I’m not chasing deadbeat buyers. Any sales I may have left on the table I’m fine with it. I dont sweat returns, deal with it quickly and go take a swim. I make it a point to sleep well. No upset buyer is going to upset me. Finding and noteing color codes are important on painted parts. I mark every part make and year. 80 percent have numbers you can look up but it is a waste of time not to mark them as pulled. I live in a very inexpensive town with several universities and a vibrant art music food scene. I am ramping up the listing as a number of distractions are finally settled.
Hey everybody first post but I’ve called in a few times over the years. I’ve been selling car parts on eBay for 4 years full time. I delisted almost everything in my store towards the end of march. Part of it was to force me to make sure all photos had white background and also as a way of reorganizing. Over the years it seems like I all to frequently lose an item. The last six months I’ve been trying to not list small profit items unless I have multiples and that’s worked pretty well so far (15-30$ profit items). I have some one starting to list for me Monday so I’m excited for that. I am very lucky in that I have an unlimited supply of good parts. Some free, some from yards and some from vehicles I purchase. I have around 75 sub categories of car parts that work for me. I could make a lot more money and I may but it’s not particularly important. I will have a new warehouse this summer if all goes well. I’m glad I’ve lived in foreign countries on ten bucks a day without ever feeling deprived. For me it definitely gave me a better appreciation for all the opportunities in the states.
