eBay airplanes

[FLYTPAY]

Would anyone experienced in eBay airplane buying please xplain to me why it seems that most planes listed for sale are being "listed for a friend"???

 

[Morgan81]

I know a lot of dealers use ebay for cars. I'm pretty sure it's the same type of thing for planes as well from what I've heard. I do know a few people that flew out of the same airport as I used to bought a few planes off of Controller and recommended it above ebay. Less auction and more fact checking from the webmasters, but prices are a little higher.

 

[srqwho]

Would anyone experienced in eBay airplane buying ...

That's not me, but I do sell quite a bit on ebay. Sorry if this isn't helpful, but in my experience it is much less of a chore selling with better (higher) feedback scores. I think paypal just recently started a new buyer protection policy that makes it more of a risk to sellers who have low feedback scores... either b/c they suck at selling or they are new. From the buying standpoint too it is nice knowing that you're dealing with somebody who is legit. I sell mostly bike stuff (a far cry from planes) but buyers can check my feedback and see that the majority of stuff I sell is bicycle related... so they know that my descriptions are accurate. I would assume the same is true for any niche... making it much more advantageous for a plane owner to use a friend's account who has actually sold aviation related stuff before on ebay.

 

[PropAddict]

I would assume the same is true for any niche... making it much more advantageous for a plane owner to use a friend's account who has actually sold aviation related stuff before on ebay.

Maybe. . .but I don't know many people selling multiple planes on eBay. Save for dealers, who are out to move stuff they can't sell locally. Which, to me, is suspect anyway.

When I was an FBO rat, I remember it was generally accepted that one should NEVER buy an airplane on eBay. Good aircraft for decent prices always sell well, if not locally, then on Barnstormers or Controller. Maybe Trade a Plane.

The eBay sale was like a last resort to get a buyer who was naive enough to buy without inspecting first. Or one who would bid, then come out to see it and at that point would have so much invested already as to not want to back out.

The "selling for a friend" bit has always seemed to be a clever ploy to gain some plausible deniability for the seller. Ecce: "Damage history? Well, it isn't my plane so I can't really say." Or "My buddy has never mentioned any damage, so I think it's clean."

Plenty of good deals out there on airplanes, if you're in the market. And if you're that cheap/poor that you need to pay absolutley the lowest bid price possible for your ship, airplane ownership is probably not for you.

These guys bought on eBay. . .

 

[Tom]

I bet most of the aircraft listed on ebay have liens on them and have probably been in a couple wrecks.

 

[FlyinRock]

Has been my personal experience that most of the aircraft on eBay have already exhausted the normal venues. Those that I have seen or flown have a lot of issues that could be expensive for a new owner who doesn't spend the money for a GOOD PRE-BUY inspection. I think it really a stupid move to buy something worth thousands of dollars without an expert giving it the OK first. That includes homes, airplanes, boats and expensive cars. What the hell is a couple hundred dollars compared to many thousands for expensive component replacement or repair?
As for your original question, I really don't know unless its a means of sidestepping liability.
Caveat Emptor