Online auto parts buyers are not just consumers – the eCommerce parts and accessories segment serves both car owners and the professional market. More than half of online transactions end up in the hands of skilled mechanics. Today, people expect their online shopping experience to be comparable to offline. They turn to websites such as Google and eBay to research and find spare or replacement parts such as tail lights, suspension parts, air filter, spark plug, engine parts, etc. The used and replacement auto parts industry has come a long way from the scrap yard.
Professional mechanics, knowledgeable gearheads with a challenging project, or people tackling a simple car repair – eBay Motors is one of the best places for them to find high-quality car parts and accessories. Some of the most common headaches for people are not having the right parts to complete a repair or purchasing the wrong part. According to a 2018 Automotive DIY Study by eBay Motors, almost half of consumers have mistakenly bought an automotive part (either in-store or online) that wasn’t compatible with their vehicle. More than 70% of them have started their car repair project and then realized that they did not have the parts to finish it.
To help people address this issue, eBay has created eBay Motors -a subsection of the marketplace dedicated to selling and buying vehicles and vehicle parts. It is equipped with various tools and algorithms that connect its auto parts inventory to its fitment data, and visual diagrams.
Selling eBay Motors Parts and Accessories
Not knowing which part one needs to tackle an auto repair project is probably one of the most significant obstacles to online auto parts shopping. That’s why eBay rolled out various features to help people find and purchase the part they need (even if they don’t know exactly what it is) to eliminate the guesswork. Features such as the enhanced My Garage experience, Shop by Diagram, and ability to upload fitment data in bulk lets shoppers to:
- Shop a personalized virtual garage of automotive parts and accessories tailored to their vehicle
- Use interactive schematics to understand which parts are necessary
- Find parts that fit their car make, model, year, or engine
My Garage
Every auto shopper has their own custom storefront, all thanks to the enhanced My Garage experience. Shoppers can save details of their vehicles, including make, model, year, engine type, and trim level, to their My Garage on eBay Motors. That way, they get streamlined access to all the parts and accessories specific to their car, motorcycle, or truck. When they search for an item, the platform will only show the parts that fit the vehicles in their eBay garage.
Shop by Diagram
The Shop by Diagram tool was designed to do all the hard work for auto part shoppers, letting them search and purchase parts visually using interactive diagrams. Even if a shopper doesn’t know the part number or part name, he or she can find the part they’re looking for thanks to an interactive schematic diagram of their car. Amateur and professional mechanics can now use these diagrams to look for exact parts they need for a repair project. This tool can run through millions of listed automotive parts to match the visual diagram for a vehicle. In contrast, the platform’s fitment technology matches the parts compatibility with the make, model, and year of the car selected by the consumer.
Fitment Technology
Having rich and accurate product data is an essential prerequisite for the success of online automotive retail. The data must be high-quality, accurate, and complete before a retailer considers selling online. Without fitment data, their products might appear for the wrong searches or be virtually invisible to consumers. Since eBay has been investing a lot in fitment-based auto part search, there are companies like myFitment that can help you access the car parts and accessories catalog, source additional data, optimize titles, images, aspects, and add fitment links.
What is Fitment Compatibility?
Aftermarket auto parts sellers can use eBay’s product catalog to specify vehicle compatibility, the eBay product catalog comes with certain limitations. For example, the seller’s parts may not be included in the eBay catalog information, or details in the catalog listing may not be appropriate. The auto parts and accessories niche is unlike other product categories. Whether sellers will be successful or not comes down to the fitment data that they add to their products. Compatibility or fitment is the vehicle make, model, year, engine, etc. that their parts and accessories fit. Of course, you can also sell OEM parts. Like aftermarket parts, OEM parts can be new or old, and buyers need fitment data when buying older OEM parts.
By specifying fitment details, sellers create an improved shopping experience for both the buyer and themselves. It reduces the buyer’s questions about whether the part will fit their particular vehicle and returns from buyers who purchased the wrong auto part. All that helps increase buyer confidence in their selection and your exposure to buyers who use eBay’s vehicle-based filtering while looking for parts. Whether sellers specify the automotive parts compatibility information manually or upload information in bulk, buyers will see the same results. However, sellers will save much of their time and effort, especially if they are retailers who sell hundreds or thousands of different car parts and accessories.
Whether your parts are for Ford Focus, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, or anything in between, you can use eBay’s parts compatibility list to identify the supported vehicles. When selling eBay motors parts and accessories, you can rely on tools such as myFitment that can help you.
ACES and PIES
ACES and PIES are the two most important automotive industry standards when it comes to fitment data formatting. They were created by the Auto Care Association (ACA).
ACES – Aftermarket Catalog Exchange Standard is a fitment data formatting standard. It is used to exchange and manage automotive catalog applications data to help auto parts buyers find their parts online based on the Make, Model, or Year of the vehicle.
PIES – Product Information Exchange Standard is used to exchange and manage part number data and serves as a complementary standard to ACES. It contains more than 180 different electronic data elements and more than 20,000 product types.
When an auto parts seller or shop owner references ACES, they can see if a specific part fits a certain vehicle. If it does, the buyer can use the PIES data to see whether the part will fit their needs.
How Can myFitment Help?
If there are too many items to be listed manually on eBay, then your best bet is to use a centralized database of fitment information that you can upload in bulk. The process goes like this:
- Upload your auto parts inventory to myFitment
- Specify which vehicles your parts fit
- Add multiple vehicles to multiple parts at the same time
Once you do this, myFitment will send you directly to your eBay store. The database you get with myFitment is always up-to-date, complete, and accurate, meaning that it’s a database of auto parts that are already sold on the online marketplaces (both eBay and Amazon). We understand that businesses and individuals operating in the aftermarket auto parts industry need to tackle certain challenges by managing the Make, Model, and Year fitment data for all their items. These challenges refer to how businesses use and exchange fitment information, sell their products (online or in brick-and-mortar shops), manage their warehouse, etc.
myFitment is an automated system that’s very flexible and easy-to-use. It helps you provide accurate and comprehensive information about the auto parts and accessories you sell. Since new vehicles and components regularly hit the market, the information gets updated regularly. Our solution helps you stay up-to-date and eliminate potential inaccuracies that may sneak up on sellers when they maintain fitment data manually. We update your database with the latest information whenever the Auto Care Association updates ACES and PIES standards.
Most vehicle and auto parts buyers are not passionate about cars – they are passionate about their own cars. eBay is where they come for used vehicles or parts they need to upgrade or repair their machines. The platform is something that you can easily manage alongside your existing physical or online parts store and boost your dealership’s revenue. Aftermarket sellers currently dominate eBay, but even though there’s a lot of competition, there is always an opportunity to build or expand an automotive business. As long as you follow these tips and avoid common pitfalls that new sellers fall into on eBay Motors, you will make a profit.
With eBay and myFitment, you can become a part of the auto parts industry and start selling vehicle parts to repair businesses, auto owners, and car enthusiasts. They are all looking for the right spare parts or replacement parts to repair their car, truck, classic car, or off-road vehicle.
Selling eBay motors parts and accessories has never been easier, thanks to fitment data. If your offering includes too many parts that you cannot update manually, myFitment is there to help. Feel free to reach out anytime, and we will help you build your brand, save time and money, and increase sales for your eBay Motors parts.