BMW are the latest big name brand to set up shop on eBay. The is selling genuine parts direct from BMW ranging from alloy wheels to DVD systems and roof racks.
The BMW Direct eBay shop carries the full BMW branding with an attractive flash widget at the top of the shop home page displaying a montage of BMW cars and accessories. All BMW parts are offered from stock with free postage and a full two year warranty.
This should be good news for all motors sellers as whilst some buyers will happily pay the price for genuine parts direct from BMW others will migrate to other suppliers to save money on third party products.
Why has BMW UK opened an on-line shop on eBay?
“As a premium car manufacturer we are always interested in understanding customer preferences when it comes to buying products from BMW. We recognise that there are customers who wish to buy BMW products but do not necessarily want to travel to a BMW dealer to make a purchase – as such we see eBay as the perfect solution for them. By embracing this modern retailing approach, we believe we can engage with and satisfy a number of new customers through what is a new retail channel for BMW.”
What will you sell?
“Our initial approach is to test the demand and interest within the eBay environment with car accessories, car care products and the like. We will move on to selling lifestyle gifts and mechanical service items in the future. Nevertheless, we do not intend to retail cars down this channel within this activity.”
Carl Sanderson – General Manager, Aftersales Development, BMW UK Limited.
The BMW shop is being managed by Pentagon Interactive who are managing the sales process with the eSellerPro management platform. Pentagon appear to be attracting a fast growing number of premier brands to the portfolio of eBay shops that they manage. Their clientèle now include and alongside BMW.
Using an experienced third party to launch a business on eBay makes a lot of sense for brand names. Unlike independent sellers, household names will naturally attract wide attention and media coverage. These brands need to ensure that they are fully eBay compliant and ready to provide the buying experience that eBay sellers have come to expect and expert assistance is practically a prerequisite.
eBay Motors and vehicle parts and accessories are one of the fastest growing categories on eBay. With manufacturers such as BMW selling direct on the site it should add trust and attract even more buyers to eBay.
31 Responses
I think eBays turning more and more into a search engine that hosts its own shops, which isn’t a bad thing as eBay has a core following and you can buy anything on eBay. Hopefully this following will buy more from me as my eBay sales are completely flat the last six months.
Bet they are loving all the fake BMW badges, M badges and replica alloys on ebay!
What do BMW franchise car dealers make of this developement?
Hmm, under the Distance Selling Regulations, you can’t make a refund contingent on a return.
not such a ‘new’ idea;
Member since: 23-Sep-08 in United Kingdom
There is one aspect of Car Spares that I wish Manufacturers would look at. That is the supply of components for long out of production models. In my family I have several relations who are interested in classic cars. Often dealers are just not interested. They are interested in the current models and perhapsd models 5 years old. But if you turn up wanting bits for a 15 or 20 year old model they just are not interested. Even if the manufacturer still stocks the respective bits often the dealers staff are just not interested in finding out if they are still available and then ordering them. BMW New cars are very desirable. Yet I rarely see older BMW’s at Vintage Vehicle Rallies. If their New Shop provided a service for the owners of older BMW Owners perhaps we might see older BMW’s at Rallies and this can only do BMW’s image the world of good(certainly with those of us with an interest in Classic Cars). So come on Manufacturers provide a service for those interested in your Classic Models.
we have some 20 year old anoraks lying around somewhere
Not great news for people like me, we have been filling the gap between the manufacturer and buyers who are fed up with being given the runaround by their local dealer.
I fully expect most car manufacturers to go down this route which will harm me to some extent.
Luckily, I’ve seen this coming though and have made efforts over the last few years to make sure I have my eggs in various baskets incase this happened.
hey Chris – just wanted to point out that Sovoia’s Search Widget has been added to the BMW store now and that it significantly enhances the accessories/part finding experience. People can now find a part based on part type, car model etc
In future we plan on allowing users to search by Year/Make/Model which will definitely be useful for vintage/classic enthusiasts as well