First new generation Volvo FH on eBay is a win-win situation

Credit to Volvo Trucks for placing the first of its latest generation of FH at the mercies of eBay.

With proceeds going to charity, South African charity Star for Life that aims to reduce the number of HIV-positive high school students, it’s a win win situation. It will reach a climax as it closes on Saturday (29 September) with bidders all over Europe and beyond scrambling to get the final elusive bid.

Type ‘lorry’ intro eBay now and you get 434 pages and 30,098 results. On the opening page of 25 listings only two are kick-the-tyres-drive-away-today-sir-congratulations lorries you could use for hire and reward. One of those is an Iveco horsebox pictured behind a gate. Type in truck and you get 657,806 results. Listed under commercial vehicle there is 201 items.

This specific auction by Volvo Trucks runs contrary to efforts by the used truck sector to sprinkle some of the eBay magic under their own steam. Various used truck dealers have tried it, the most notable Active Auctions, operated by parent company Trucks2Go. That it lies dormant shows you how difficult it is to inspire an industry that buy products as a means to an end. Often its not the particular item that fails to generate interest but the method and spirit in which its sold. Thousands of trucks are listed on website pages belonging to dealers, auction houses and classified and that just 201 can be found on eBay says it all. Buying a ‘tidy wagon’, and the process of considering to a buy a ‘tidy wagon’, is only open to a small section of society. It is not a form of consumerism generally driven by desirability, impulse and spare capital burning a hole in the pocket.  

Online bidding does work when its run in conjunction with a physical sale; all the reputable auction houses field online bids when they holding a weekly or fortnightly van and/or truck sale. Talk to Manheim Remarketing or ProTruck Auctions and they’ll tell you online has added another dimension by allowing potential bidders to buy with confidence who might not generally travel to a physical auction because of time and distance.

And it allows an international audience looking to export older rolling stock out of the country to do so without flying to Good Ol’ Blighty, book a hotel, enjoy a fried breakfast and instant coffee, potentially come away empty handed, only to fly home again at a considerable cost with only another notch required on the belt to show for it.

And I’ll admit to selling a few items on eBay from time to time; my pink and yellow flannel dressing gown received several expressions of interest before being snapped up by Mrs Anonymous. Imagine my surprise when Mrs Dealer duly gave it back to me as a Christmas present exclaiming that ‘it’s always better to have two in case you lose one…’ I am not so sure who bought my selection of hand-painted ceramic tortoises…