While eBay Motors gets your car seen by many potential buyers, it doesn’t do much to help you get the deal done.
We created PrivateAuto Pay to protect you against the fraudsters that abound on eBay Motors and other listing sites—and to make vehicle transactions smooth, convenient, and fast.
What are my payment options?
What are the Payout Options on eBay Motors?
eBay Motors is amazing for getting a lot of eyes on your listing, but it doesn’t have much transactional infrastructure.
Listings sites, such as AutoTrader and Craigslist, function as “meetingplaces” to connect a buyer to a seller—and then leave them in the lurch to negotiate issues such as payments, document signing, and the rest.
eBay Motors doesn’t provide payment support. They leave you and the buyer to navigate payment on your own. Here are your options:
- PayPal: fees and transfer limits
- Cash: risky and inconvenient
- Bank transfer: cumbersome, exposes your banking info to strangers
- Checks: slow, inconvenient
Then there’s PrivateAuto Pay. It’s so easy and intuitive, you’ll wonder where it’s been all your life.
Is PayPal any good?
Is PayPal a Good Type of Payment?
Peer-to-peer payment apps like PayPal seem convenient, but they have transfer limits, fees, or both.
- PayPal’s fees of 2-3% quickly add up on large payments.
- Low sending limits are unsuitable for high-dollar transactions—PayPal has a $10K limit on personal accounts.
While peer-to-peer apps work great for splitting bills, they fall woefully short as secure payment methods for vehicle payments. For a secure car payment solution with ironclad protections, choose PrivateAuto Pay.
Risks of cash payments
Is Cash Safe?
Physical cash is a bit sketchy, especially where large sums are involved.
Here are some drawbacks to receiving a physical cash payment:
- Counterfeit cash: while counterfeiting is rare, do you know for sure that the bills are genuine?
- Physical safety: do you know the person you’re dealing with? How do you know they’re not going to attack you and take back their cash as soon as you’ve transferred the title and handed them the keys?
- Inconvenience/awkwardness: do you enjoy counting out stacks of bills under the watchful eye of a stranger?
- Paperwork: do you know how to do the bill of sale and title transfer for your state? Will you have a record of the transaction in case the other party wants to contest it?
PrivateAuto Pay allows you to pay cash—digitally. All the benefits of physical cash, none of the drawbacks.
How about bank transfers?
Are Bank Transfers Any Good?
Bank wire transfers are a frustrating and cumbersome way to get paid.
- Inconvenient. You and the buyer need to have multiple back-and-forth exchanges to orchestrate the transaction. You’ve got better things to do with your time and attention.
- Slow. Transfers can take days to fully process due to low account limits. If you’re smart, you won’t hand over the title until you’ve received the funds into your account. This forces the buyer to pay you, then wait—an act of faith on their part. It also turns what could be a quick transaction into a drawn-out affair.
- Potentially risky. Exposing your bank account details opens the door to fraud.
PrivateAuto Pay enables instant transfers between verified user accounts 24/7 with no limits or transfer fees. Encrypted data keeps your information secure. You get escrow-like safeguards in the palm of your hand, and the PrivateAuto deal flow keeps both you and the buyer protected.
Risks of checks
What About Checks?
If you’re clever, you won’t even think of accepting a personal check unless you wait for it to clear—and who wants to deal with that delay?
While cashier’s checks are more trustworthy, even they can be forged. The only way for you to be certain a cashier’s check is good: meet the buyer at their bank and have the bank verify the funds.
If you want to skip the inconvenience (and the limited banker’s hours), welcome to PrivateAuto Pay.
What is DealNow?
DealNow Is Your Answer
PrivateAuto is an end-to-end solution that allows you to list your vehicle for sale, do the deal, and get paid. PrivateAuto Pay is our integrated banking gateway that facilitates instant, fee-free fund transfers of any amount.
PrivateAuto Pay is great if you’re listing your car on PrivateAuto, but what about an eBay Motors listing? We want you to have a safe and secure payment method there, as well.
That’s why we created DealNow. Start a transaction on eBay Motors (or anywhere) and finish it on PrivateAuto with all the advantages of PrivateAuto Pay. Here’s how it works:
- Invite the buyer to DealNow via a custom link.
- Enjoy identity verification, in-app messaging, and a test drive scheduling feature (none of which require you to exchange contact info).
- Meet the buyer and let the buyer drive your car.
- You and the buyer go together through a step-by-step transaction process in which you each confirm relevant details right in the PrivateAuto mobile app. From mileage to the VIN to the condition of the vehicle, we help you both prevent any errors.
- You and the buyer each electronically sign an official bill of sale. This is stored in your PrivateAuto account as a legal record you can refer to down the road.
- The buyer is prompted to initiate payment.
- You get a notification of funds received and confirm receipt of payment.
- You sign over the car title and hand over the keys.
DealNow is so smooth, so safe, and so fast that you’ll never want to sell a car without it. No matter where you find your buyer—from eBay Motors to Craigslist to the friend of a friend—DealNow will help you get the deal done and get paid, right now.
Payments FAQ
What are the most popular alternatives to eBay?
If you’re thinking about selling a car online, alternatives to eBay include:
– Social media. There are plenty of Facebook Groups designed to help people sell, and trade vehicles.
– Classified ads websites. Craigslist is nationwide, but most cities have local classified ad websites for car transactions. For example, Salt Lake City, Utah, has KSL Cars.
– Other car listing websites like Cars.com, CarGurus, and Autotrader allow you to list your vehicle for sale to reach targeted buyers actively searching for cars. These sites offer various listing options.
– PrivateAuto is a secure peer-to-peer marketplace designed specifically for private-party used car transactions. We give you technology solutions for every stage of the deal—from listing to paperwork to payments—for a streamlined experience. If you want to auction your vehicle, PrivateAuto’s auction feature gives you all the benefits of a self-serve auction, backed by the power of PrivateAuto Pay and our transactional infrastructure.
Whether you opt to use PrivateAuto or another site, you can always take advantage of our transactional features by using DealNow.
How to protect yourself when selling a car privately?
To protect yourself when selling a car privately, we recommend the following practices: 1. Don’t give out your contact information 2. Verify that the buyer has the funds to purchase the vehicle 3. Deal with verified buyers only 4. Receive payment through PrivateAuto Pay
Is it safe to use eBay motors?
eBay Motors gets your car listed and seen by a lot of potential buyers, which is great. But when it comes to actually closing the deal and receiving payment, eBay doesn’t provide much security or support. Our DealNow solution lets you avoid eBay scammers and get paid securely.
Should I accept payment through PayPal on eBay?
While PayPal works great for splitting bills, it’s unwieldy for buying a $33K Camry, to say nothing of a $100K Porsche. For Venmo-like convenience with no limits, invite the buyer to use DealNow.
Can I get paid by Google Play on eBay?
If a buyer wants to pay with their Google Pay balance, you as the seller will still receive the payment through PayPal. eBay allows Google Pay, but the buyer’s Google Pay funds need to go into your PayPal account rather than directly into your wallet.
Can I accept a gift card on eBay as a payment for a vehicle?
eBay does not allow gift cards as payment for vehicles listed on their platform.
Can the buyer pay for the car on eBay with a credit card?
As the seller, you can accept a credit card as payment from the buyer for a vehicle listed on eBay. But, even though the buyer pays with their credit card through eBay’s checkout system, you will receive the funds in your PayPal account, not directly from the credit card.
Does eBay Motors charge a selling fee?
eBay Motors has selling costs. They charge a seller fee when selling vehicles on the platform. The fees include an insertion fee of $10 for all vehicles, regardless of the selling price, and a final value fee of 2.5% of the total sale price, up to a maximum of $1,000.
What is PrivateAuto Pay?
PrivateAuto is PrivateAuto’s built-in banking integration that enables instant, secure, and fee-free funds transfers up to $1M. It’s a dream come true for car sellers.
– Your PrivateAuto Pay account is actually a bank account that you own, accessed via your PrivateAuto profile.
– Easily move money between your PrivateAuto Pay account and your external bank account via a balance transfer.
– Instant payments arrive any time of day, every day of the year.
– No exchange of contact information or banking info.
– Receive up to $1 million instantly from the buyer into your PrivateAuto Pay account.
– Encrypted info protects your data from hackers.
– Conclude the entire transaction when you meet the buyer for a test drive.
– Sell a car to a remote buyer and forgo costly and inconvenient escrow services.
OK, so PrivateAuto Pay is great and all, but it’s a service for users of PrivateAuto’s transactional marketplace. How does that help you if you’re selling a car on eBay Motors?
Enter our DealNow fast-track solution, created to give you access to PrivateAuto’s extraordinary transaction capabilities. Even if—especially if—you’re not selling your car on PrivateAuto.
Additional Reading
Jacob Andra
Contributing Author
Jacob Andra is an entrepreneur, author, and technology expert living in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a stakeholder in PrivateAuto, Jacob is passionate about how our technology is bringing peer-to-peer car sales into the 21st century. When he’s not working, Jacob can be found playing pickleball, climbing mountains, or spending time with his family.