Get Financing5 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Selling A Semi-Truck Or Trailer
Selling a semi-truck or trailer can feel overwhelming, especially when trying to maximize your return or move it quickly. Even experienced sellers can make mistakes that cost time and money. Fortunately, you can sidestep these pitfalls with the right resources, tools, and approach. Here are five common mistakes sellers make—and how Truck Paper can help you avoid each one.
Mistake #1: Mispricing Your Truck Or Trailer
Some sellers rely on “feel” or other listings as a basis for setting their price. Truck Paper Fleet Sales Manager Justin Coffey says that while looking at other listings can be a good starting point, “you could easily be basing your price on a truck that’s been listed for six months, hasn’t attracted any interest at that number, and isn’t priced close to what will create interest.”
A better approach is to base your price on current market conditions. Truck Paper customers can use Sandhills Global’s Value Insight Portal (VIP) to get real-world valuations quickly and easily. Available at TruckPaper.com or VIP.TruckPaper.com, VIP valuations are free when you provide a VIN or serial number, or available for a small fee without one.
Mistake #2: Presenting Your Asset Poorly
Listings with incomplete asset details or too few, low-quality photos hurt your chances of making a sale. Instead, include all pertinent specs and information, and use a dozen or more high-quality photos taken from multiple angles of your clean, well-lit truck or trailer. Buyers also appreciate interior cab and walk-around videos with the engine running.
“Buyers have a lot of choice right now,” Coffey says. “They don’t want to call 50 different sellers to get additional information. They expect it all to be there because they’re doing most of their shopping and comparisons before reaching out to a seller.”
Mistake #3: Targeting Only Local Buyers
Some sellers assume listing assets locally is the quickest route to a sale, but the used truck and trailer market is often regional, national, or even international. Coffey says, “The fact is, your local target audience is looking at Truck Paper first—and so is the rest of the country.”
For example, one seller recently found a buyer through Truck Paper in just two weeks, after first listing locally for four months. Another buyer purchased a truck from a seller living only 45 minutes away after seeing the listing on TruckPaper.com.
Truck Paper helps sellers reach buyers wherever demand is hot. Truck Paper magazine is published weekly in nine regional editions. TruckPaper.com attracts thousands of visitors worldwide every day while also prioritizing local listings in users’ search engine results. Users can also filter results to display listings closest to them first.
Mistake #4: Assuming Buyers Want To Negotiate
Competitive, transparent pricing (and a willingness to adjust if needed) often helps attract buyers quickly. Some sellers overprice their assets, expecting to haggle, but many buyers prefer fair, transparent, upfront pricing. Coffey says that while some sellers assume heavy negotiation is common, many buyers wait for a price drop before calling a seller.
Coffey says one seller recently listed a 2010 Peterbilt 389 through Truck Paper, but didn’t get any calls for several weeks. After lowering the asking price by just $1,500, calls immediately started, and the truck was sold soon after at just below the original asking price.
Mistake #5: Not Utilizing All Sales Channels
Truck Paper provides sellers with unparalleled retail exposure, plus access to wholesale and auction channels that are ideal for quick sales or moving older or specialized assets. For example, sellers can list a truck on TruckPaper.com with both a retail price and a wholesale price, the latter of which is visible only to dealers.
Sellers can also take advantage of weekly sales on AuctionTime.com, Sandhills’ online-only auction platform. These include end-of-year auctions throughout December that attract massive audiences of bidders worldwide. Sellers can choose to sell themselves or consign assets with experienced auctioneers who handle all the details.
Ready To Sell Your Truck Or Trailer?
Avoiding these mistakes can save you time and help maximize returns. When you’re ready to sell your truck or trailer, click the Sell Your Equipment button near the upper-left corner of any page on TruckPaper.com. Simply upload photos and videos, enter equipment details, provide your contact information, and Truck Paper will create your ad and connect you with the industry’s largest audience of buyers.