Check the price first
Price is the most common reason a car sits. Search for cars like yours, the same make, model and year with similar kilometres, and see where yours falls. If it is near the top and the others are newer or have fewer kilometres, buyers are choosing them instead.
- Look at the round numbers: a car at $12,300 does not show to a buyer who searched up to $12,000.
- Drop by a meaningful amount: a cut of $50 rarely changes anything. Enough to move under the next round number often does.
The guide to pricing your car goes through it step by step.
Look at the first photo
Buyers scroll through search results and decide from one picture. If your first photo is dark, taken from too close, shows a cluttered driveway or is not of the outside of the car, buyers scroll past without reading anything else.
- Make the first photo the front three-quarter: the front and one side together, in soft daylight.
- Fill the photo slots: a listing with a handful of photos looks like it is hiding something.
- Show the flaws as well: buyers trust a listing more when the scratch they find is the one in the photos.
See how to take photos that sell your car.
Fill in the missing details
Buyers filter by make, model, variant, year, kilometres, transmission, fuel and body type. If one of these is missing or wrong, the car drops out of searches that should have found it. Then read the description as a buyer would. If you would have a question, answer it in the ad.
A buyer who has to ask a basic question often does not ask. They look at the next car.
Reply quickly
A buyer who sends a message usually sends more than one, to several sellers. The first seller to reply with a clear answer often gets the inspection. Turn on notifications, and answer within a few hours if you can.
Still quiet after a week?
If the price is fair, the photos are good and the details are complete, the other thing you can change is where the listing sits in search. On CarListing a Premium listing costs $9.99 once, with no expiry. It shows above every Standard listing in the searches your car matches, moves ahead of older Premium listings every 7 days, and allows up to 30 photos. Fix the price and the photos first, though: a better position will not sell a car that buyers are already passing over.
Common questions
Should I delete my listing and post it again?
No. Update the price, the photos or the description on the listing you have. Buyers who saved it will see the change.
Is it the time of year?
Demand moves a little through the year, but the season is the one thing you cannot change. The price, the photos and the details are worth checking first.
