How to Sell Car Parts Online | A Step-By-Step Guide

Being in the know when it comes to the latest trends and regulations will help you source parts which have high demand and avoid those which may be largely unneeded in the coming years.

For example, at least nine states across the USA plan on banning gas-powered cars by 2035. Although this only applies to new car sales, it marks an ongoing trend for electric vehicles across the country. This trend could be leveraged by specializing in electric car parts, which are likely to grow in demand as this ban comes into play.

Similarly, autonomous vehicles are now reaching maturity and are being seen more commonly on the roads. This trend offers an opportunity for car part businesses to specialize in self-driving car parts.

Although you do not usually require a license to sell car parts in the USA, you do need to be aware of some regulations. For example, the NHTSA issues Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), these standards typically focus on the full safety standards of a car, they do set requirements for specific items such as tires, lighting, brake hoses and glazing. Being aware of these will ensure you do not sell products that fall short of strict standards.

Choosing your products is a vital first step to setting up a successful business, and it’s not always as easy as it sounds.

Identify Your Niche

But I already know what I’m selling – car parts! That’s why I clicked on this article? Duh…

This is a fair enough reaction, but to sell car parts and make a long-term, profitable business out of it, you need a niche. Having a niche lets you focus on a specific market – for example, you might focus on a particular make or model, or only sell a certain car part (like lights or filters).

Choosing a niche helps to:

• Reduce the amount of competition you face
• Target a specific customer base
• Narrow down your product search

When choosing a niche, think about any areas of interest, knowledge, or passion you might have. Think about any gaps in the market that you could fill, and use tools like Semrush to carry out keyword research to find out what people are searching for online.

Who Are You Selling To?

Another important aspect of choosing your products is considering who you’ll be selling to. Your target audience has a huge impact on how you set up and run your business, affecting everything from branding to marketing choices.

Will you be selling to individuals who just want a new part for their personal vehicle? Or will you be selling to mechanics who want to buy in bulk, so that they can sell your products on to their own customers?

The first option, where you sell directly to the end customer, is called B2C (Business to Customer), whereas the second option, where you sell to other businesses, is called B2B (Business to Business).

Both come with their own pros and cons. Here’s a quick comparison to help you decide which suits you better:

If you choose B2C, you’ll need to invest in good marketing and branding. This is because customers tend to make emotional purchasing decisions based on things like web design, product photos, and brand familiarity.

In contrast, B2B relies more on you having an in-depth knowledge of your products, and the ability to win the trust of other businesses. It tends to take a lot longer to secure a sale because there are more stakeholders involved, and your customer is making a bigger commitment by choosing you as their car part provider.

Which Products Are Hot?

Okay, so you’ve thought about your niche and your target audience, but what about the actual products?

A great way to find popular products is to head to Amazon’s automotive bestseller lists. There, you can see which products are most popular across different categories, such as:

• Car care
• Exterior accessories
• Interior accessories
• Oils and fluids
• Performance parts and accessories
• Replacement parts

Amazon isn’t the only place that can give you insight into popular products. Here’s a quick rundown of best selling car parts across both Amazon and eBay:

Next, you need to ask the question: where am I going to get my car parts from? You have a few options, which we’ll go through in just a second.

But first, it’s worth saying that however you decide to source your car parts, it’s vital to ensure they’re authentic, reliable, and high quality. The success of your business depends on your customers trusting you and your products. Don’t fall into the sketchy car salesman stereotype!

#1. Source From a Wholesaler

A wholesaler is a company that sells products in large batches to retailers, usually for a reduced price. This means you can bulk buy, then charge a higher retail price when selling to your customers to make a profit.

This makes most sense if you’re selling directly to individual customers, rather than other businesses.

Some wholesalers even offer dropshipping services. This is where you place your customers’ orders with the supplier, and they then process, package, and send the products directly to the customer.

This dropshipping business model is ideal if you’re just starting out and don’t have space to store large inventories, or money to hire a warehouse. 

Find out more

• Looking for more information on dropshipping? Discover How to Start a Dropshipping Business in our helpful guide.

#2. Source Direct From the Manufacturer

One of the best ways to ensure high quality is to source your car parts directly from the manufacturer. This method is particularly effective if you’re focussing on a certain car type, as some car companies favor different manufacturers – making them the go to for parts!

Buying straight from the manufacturer also cuts out the middleman – i.e. the wholesaler – meaning that you may find lower prices, since the wholesaler hasn’t added a markup.

The manufacturer is going to be more knowledgeable about their products, which you can use to your advantage. You also put yourself in a good position to assure customers that the parts you’re selling are reliable and authentic.

#3. Source Car Parts Yourself

Maybe you’re in a position where you can source car parts yourself. Whether you’ve been collecting parts for years, or have a yard full of unwanted cars, sourcing your own parts is a great way to cut costs.

However, there’s more room for poor quality products to slip into your inventory with this method, so be careful. Our top tip here is to be honest. If you’ve gone rummaging through your local scrapyard, make this very clear on your storefront, price your products accordingly, and always make sure the parts you sell are in good working order.

This method works best if you’re dealing more in collectible car parts or older models, rather than mainstream, modern replacement parts. 

Offering transparency around the condition of the parts you supply is essential in building customer trust and minimizing the potential of costly returns.

Parts are typically categorized in one of three ways:

1. New – brand new, unused car parts
2. Used – car parts which have previously been used
3. Refurbished – car parts which have been used but have undergone refurbishment to fix any potential defects

It is important to take the time to properly assess the condition of the parts you sell. This will allow you to accurately describe the part on the product page. This is especially crucial for used parts which may have some defects, but can also be useful for refurbished parts where defects may still be present.

Using a mix of images, videos, and descriptions is the best way to fully communicate the condition of your car parts.

You know what you’re selling, and who you’re getting your products from – but where are you going to sell your car parts? There are plenty of places to sell car parts online, but we’re going to walk you through the main three.

#1. Amazon

Love it or hate it, Amazon still rules the ecommerce roost, and is many people’s first stop when shopping or selling online. It’s used by over 197 million people worldwide every month!

So, is selling car parts on Amazon right for you? You need to be on the Professional selling plan to sell auto parts, which costs $39.99 per month. You’ll also pay referral fees, which vary depending on the category of your products.

Automotive & Powersports products get charged a 12% referral fee, apart from tires and wheel products, which get charged 10%. The minimum referral fee on any auto parts is $0.30.

There are few things to know before signing up to Amazon’s Professional seller plan:

• You can’t sell used car parts on Amazon. Period.
• You can’t sell safety parts, such as airbags or seat belts.
• You can’t sell used tires.
• To sell new tires, there’s a Compliance Checklist for Tires that you need to meet.
• New and refurbished auto products must come with warranty from the manufacturer or remanufacturer.
• Some restrictions depend on the state – for example, in California, your products need to be compliant with California Air Resources Board requirements.

Because Automotive & Powersports is a restricted category, Amazon has these rules in place to protect its customers. Still, as long as you meet its requirements, you’ll be rewarded with a huge customer base.

#2. eBay

There are around 90 million live auto parts listings on eBay, and a wheel or tire part is sold every 6 seconds. eBay is a popular choice for selling and buying auto parts, and it’s no wonder – eBay actually has a dedicated platform for selling auto parts, called eBay Motors.

When you create your listings, eBay makes it easy to add the years, makes, models, trims, and engines that your part fits – up to 3,000 combinations! This makes it easier for shoppers to filter their searches and find your product.

One big difference between eBay and Amazon is that you can sell used car parts through eBay, which is a big factor to think about depending on your product type!

Another big difference is that eBay doesn’t charge subscriptions. There are selling fees, though. You have to pay an insertion fee of $0.35 per listing, per category, but you get 50 free listings per month, which helps to keep costs down.

eBay also charges a final value fee, which is usually 10% of the total sale. If your auto product comes under the heavy goods category, it’s only 2%.

eBay is a worthy alternative sales channel to Amazon, and may suit your needs better – especially if you’re selling used or collectible car parts!

#3. Your Own Ecommerce Website

The trouble with both Amazon and eBay is that your products are displayed shoulder to shoulder with all sorts of competition.

What if you want to really show off your car parts, create your own brand, and control your own marketing? If you want those things, you need to build your own online store!

With an ecommerce website, you have full control of your branding, inventory, and even how well your products rank in Google.

You can easily create your own ecommerce website with a good ecommerce builder. Popular choices include BigCommerce, Wix, and Squarespace, but from our in-depth testing, we can recommend Shopify as the best of the bunch. 

With a builder like Shopify, you simply choose a design you love, upload your products, customize your store, and hit publish – you don’t need any tech skills, but it will take a little longer to set up than an Amazon or eBay listing.

Shopify costs $29 per month, which is the average starting price for a good quality ecommerce builder – making it more pricey than eBay, but more affordable than Amazon.

Find Out More

• Why is Shopify so good? And is it right for you? Find out in our Shopify Review
• Feeling torn? Check out our Shopify vs Amazon comparison to weigh up the pros and cons of each

#4. The Bonus Option: All Three!

The great thing about ecommerce builders like Shopify is that they’re designed to help people create successful online stores, and have features to help you grow. This includes multichannel integration – in short, you can integrate your own online store with both Amazon and eBay!

Multichannel integration means you can have products listed across all three of these sales channels, maximizing your chances of getting your products in front of customers.

By now, you’re ready to upload your products. No matter which sales channel you’ve chosen, you’ll need at least two things to sell your car parts: high quality photos and persuasive product descriptions.   

Take High Quality Photos

Did you know that 75% of shoppers rely on product photos when deciding whether to make a purchase?

Avoid dark, blurry, or cluttered photos. You should also avoid using the flash, or adding any filters to your images. Instead, here are some quick tips to take good product photos to win over your customers:

1. Use plenty of light 
2. Use a good quality camera (your phone camera is fine!)
3. Take photos from multiple angles
4. Try to show the scale and size of the product
5. Take some up-close photos to show off details

Remember that these photos are the only way for customers to see the product before buying, so your photos need to give a full picture of the product. Try showing the photos to a friend who isn’t so familiar with your products to see what feedback they have!

Find Out More

You can discover more detail on How to take Product Photos in our helpful guide!

Write Informative Product Descriptions

Product photos show what the product looks like. But what about the things you can’t see? When you write your product descriptions, there are some key tips you should follow to persuade customers to click buy:

1. Focus on benefits, rather than features
2. Give factual, helpful information (such as the size, make, or model)
3. Keep it short and scannable – use bullet points!
4. Be specific and confident
5. Answer questions, such as product history, care, instructions, and so on

Product descriptions are vital for completing the customer’s image of the product. In real life, customers can kick the tires themselves – online, your description needs to kick the tires for them instead!

You need to be descriptive, informative, and accurate – a huge 50% of shoppers have returned items because they didn’t match the product description!

Find Out More

Learn more about these top tips on How to Write Product Descriptions in our guide!

Pricing is something that will vary hugely depending on your products, your audience, your reputation, and even where you sell. We can’t tell you how much to charge for your products, but we can steer you in the right direction.

#1. What Are Your Competitors Charging?

Carry out competitor research to see what other auto part sellers are charging for products similar to yours. Ask yourself why they’re asking for these prices, and how your products compare.

Can you price your products in a similar way? Or do you have an edge that means you could charge a little more? You want to make sure you price competitively, but still make a profit.

#2. How Much Do You Need to Make a Profit?

At the end of the day, you need to make money from selling car parts online. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Look at how much you’re spending – for example, on sourcing parts, paying for an Amazon seller plan, storing inventory, or paying a dropshipper – and work out how much you need to charge in order to profit.

A good way to ensure you make profit is to use a pricing strategy like this:

Total cost of product + Markup % = Final Product Price

Total cost is made up of factors such as cost of materials, labor costs, and overheads. Markup is usually around 50%, but you’ll need to use your own judgement as to whether this works for you.

Find Out More

• Want a bit more detail on exactly how to calculate your products’ pricing? Our full guide on How to Price a Product explains all, step-by-step.

#3. Avoid the Race to the Bottom

On platforms such as eBay and Amazon, your products are in direct competition with hundreds of other products, all on the same page – meaning it can be a struggle to stand out from the crowd. This can make it tempting to offer cheaper prices than everyone else, to attract more sales.

There are a couple of reasons why you shouldn’t do this. 

First, it can make it difficult to achieve the golden rule of selling – make a profit. If you’re not charging enough to cover your costs, you’ll be running at a loss, which isn’t sustainable. Other competitors may also lower their prices, forcing yours even further down just to stay in the game.

Secondly, people don’t like products that are too cheap. Yes, shoppers love a deal, but they also want high quality, trustworthy products they can rely on – especially when it comes to car parts! Pricing your auto parts too low will make customers think that they’re low quality, making them more likely to avoid your products.

Don’t get so hung up on price that you forget the real worth of your products. You shouldn’t be afraid of charging a little extra – people will pay as long as they have trust in what you’re selling!

Find Out More

• Discover How to Accept Payments Online for the top seven methods of getting paid through your store

Car parts can be pretty hard to ship. Bulky, heavy, and awkwardly shaped, they have the potential to bring on a headache. The shipping methods you choose will vary depending on your business model, sales channel, and the products you sell.

Dropshipping and Fulfilment

If you don’t want the hassle of handling shipping at all, then dropshipping is a great solution. This is where your supplier holds products for you – you then send customer orders to the supplier, who packages and ships the product directly to the customer.

This means you don’t have to worry about packing up products, finding a courier, or deciding what type of shipping your products need. 

However, the downside is you don’t get any control over the shipping. Providing fast, reliable delivery is a must to keep customers happy, so place a few practise orders to check you’re satisfied before committing to a supplier.

Another, similar option is fulfilment. Amazon runs its own fulfilment program called Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA). This is where you send your products to Amazon, and pay Amazon to store and then ship your products for you.

This is different from dropshipping because Amazon is shipping your products, whereas in dropshipping, the supplier ships its own products that you’ve sold on to the customer. The other big difference is that you have to pay storage fees, which can become expensive.

Couriers

If neither dropshipping nor fulfilment appeal to you, chances are you’ll need a courier to ship your products.

This is where it’s helpful to have built your store using an ecommerce platform such as Shopify or BigCommerce, because they come with built-in shipping integrations. You can even get discounts on the couriers they’ve partnered with!

It’s a good idea to check that your courier:

• Accepts your car parts (some can be classed as “dangerous goods”)
• Has a good reputation
• Offers affordable rates
• Ships to the destinations you require
• Has a partnership with your ecommerce platform 

Popular courier choices include USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and Canada Post, all of which are supported by both BigCommerce and Shopify.

Customer Collection

Although it may not work for everyone, you may want to offer customer collection instead of shipping deliveries. This works best if you’re selling locally, as most people expect businesses to ship to them these days.

Shopify has a feature where you can set a “local pickup” radius. This means that customers within the zone you set will see customer pickup as an option, but customers shopping outside that zone won’t be offered pickup at checkout. Pretty neat, huh?

Find Out More

Read our Step-by-Step Guide to Shipping Products for more helpful shipping methods, tips, and tricks.

Once you’re up and selling, you want to boost the number of people viewing and buying your car parts. It’s a good idea to promote your products in multiple ways, rather than relying on just one method. Here are some ideas to get you started…

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is the process of trying to get your website to rank higher up in Google’s search results. The higher up you are, the more chance you have of someone visiting your website, giving you an advantage over the competition.

There are hundreds of ways to optimize your store, from optimizing images, to creating a mobile-friendly experience, to using headings and customizing URLs.

One drawback of eBay and Amazon is that you have less control over where your products appear in their search results.

Our top tip is to start with gaining as many positive, authentic reviews as you can, as this is a huge factor in gaining more visibility on these sales channels.

Which brings us on to…

Customer Reviews

People love to read reviews before committing to a purchase. Encourage customers to give you feedback, leave reviews, and give star ratings on your products – this will encourage others to click buy! We have tips on how to ask customers for reviews in our dedicated guide.

If you receive bad reviews, don’t panic. Responding to negative reviews and comments in a proactive and professional way will actually boost other customers’ confidence in you. Don’t delete bad reviews, and don’t react defensively.

Always try to say “Thank you for your feedback” and “sorry” – even if it wasn’t your fault!

Social Media

Social media is an awesome resource for promoting your products. You can reach a large number of people on social media, and customers can even buy products right there on your social account!

Try to choose a social channel that fits your products and your target audience. And try no to be too salesy in the content you post, or people will get bored and unfollow you.

Invite customers to send in photos of the car parts they’ve bought in action – this is a great way to engage with your audience!

Email

Email marketing may sound outdated, but you’re still six times more likely to get a click from an email than a Tweet. If customers sign up to your newsletter, you have the perfect channel to engage and entice them back to your store.

Talk about exciting new product updates, offer exclusive discounts, and provide personalized product recommendations based on their previous purchases to keep them interested in your store.

Find Out More

• Read our full guide on How to Market a Product for even more helpful tips and details on promoting products online

You can take your foot off the gas – we’ve arrived at the summary!

By now, you know the key steps to selling car parts online. You have a good idea of where to sell car parts – Amazon, eBay, your own online store, or even all three – and how to get started with sourcing, showcasing, and shipping products.

Still, let’s have a quick recap of each step in case you want a refresher.

Selling Auto Parts Online: 8 Step Recap

1. Choose your products
2. Source your products
3. Evaluate the condition of the car parts
4. Pick your sales channels
5. Showcase your car parts
6. Price your products
7. Set your shipping strategies
8. Promote your car parts online

Remember – anyone can sell car parts online. Whether you’re expanding your brick-and-mortar business or have a personal collection to sell, there’s a sales channel and an audience for you.

Remember to source reliable, authentic products, and showcase them professionally. Price them sensibly, ship them safely, and promote them with energy – soon enough, you’ll find yourself successfully selling car parts online!