What To Do: To Sell Me Your Bird.

[Ryan Wright]

J R,

I couldn't agree more with your comments. I bought my coach last year
and many of the ads were frustrating. As a buyer, I want to see three
things in your ad:

1. Accurate, honest information, and as complete a history as
possible. When you know so little about the coach you can't even get
the capacities right, how can I trust that you have any idea,
whatsoever, about the maintenance history, or any interesting little
problems I might need to be aware of? Simply, I can't. Glaring
screw-ups in the ad tells me you're selling a coach you know nothing
about and I'll pass on that (unless you also happen to know nothing
about the price, to my favor).

2. Lots and lots of GOOD pictures. Sellers, take a tip from Mr.
Oliver's listings: Use a good camera with a wide angle lens and frame
your shots properly to capture the "feel" of being inside the coach.
There are a lot of ads where every picture appears to be a close-up.
Close-ups are necessary but you can't neglect the "broad" shots,
especially of the interior. Also, there can never be too many
pictures. Take at least 50. More is better. I bought my coach on
consignment through Mr. Oliver's basically sight unseen. The pictures
were so well done, it was like actually being there. In fact, I saved
the entire ad: http://www.ryanwright.com/tmp/wanderlodge/. Take a look
at that front page interior shot. That wide angle lens puts the viewer
right in the coach. There was no question on what I was getting into
and when I finally saw it in person, it was already familiar to me. No
surprises whatsoever. Pictures like that sell coaches.

3. A price. Why do people insist on hiding the price? What's the deal
with that, anyway? How do you ever expect to sell anything? When I see
something that doesn't have a price, I move on. Every time. Refusal to
list a price means, "I want way too much money and I'm embarrassed to
admit it." It also puts me in an awkward position of being "that guy"
who bothers you about your item but can't afford it. Interestingly,
the folks who won't list a price are also the ones who don't
appreciate it when your first question is, "How much?" I simply see no
reason to waste my time and yours discussing all the particulars of a
coach I can't afford. The FIRST THING I look at is the price to see if
it's within my budget.

Folks, I've bought and sold an awful lot of vehicles and I always get
top dollar. The above points are a winning strategy.

J R, I'm on the other side of the mountains from you, in the
Tri-Cities. If you ever come through and want to check out a nice '86
PT-40 in person, let me know. It's not for sale, but I'll gladly give
you the tour and chat about these wonderful coaches. Highly suggest
you skip the idea of a bus conversion and go with one of these. Unless
done by a well known professional in the industry, conversions don't
typically hold their value and I'm told they can be difficult to
insure.

-Ryan
'86 PT-40 8V92