Is There a Need For a Used Car Market Place?

The used car parts industry does not have a proper market place in these times.

A market place is the meeting point of a business with its customers. It may be physical or virtual. It is a place where customers and businesses go shopping knowing that they will find what they need and at the right price.

What is an effective market place? Is it the store opposite your home or the Wal Mart a few miles away? The fact that you will drive a few miles to the Wal Mart to make your purchases makes it clear which is the effective market place.

Every industry has its own exclusive market place. For example, clothing may be available in a mall or electronic goods in a show room. However, the used car parts industry lacks such a market place.

This industry has great potential. It sells OEM parts at a fraction of the cost of the dealers. Regardless of this potential, if consumers and repair shops do not have a market place available for used car products, they simply won’t buy these. EBay and car--part.com cater to a niche group of customers who have the time and energy for engaging in transactions with them.

The customers who are ignorant or do not have the time will keep on buying OEM parts from dealers while some better informed ones will buy Chinese replicas.

Thus there is the scope for a well publicized “Recycled Auto Parts market” readily available to every needy customer and repair shop. It will draw millions of customers eager to save money and the environment.

What kind of market place would it be? It cannot be a physical market place. Imagine a huge store with all parts for all vehicles for all generations neatly stacked where you can walk in, pick up the piece, purchase and exit. How big the store would have to be? How much geographical area would it cover? This is simply not feasible because of the huge inventory that it would entail.

The only other alternative is the Internet marketplace. This idea is common because it works for every industry. Every industry boasts of an internet presence. Most consumers and businesses prefer online stores because there is no traveling, parking and carrying.

Instead with the click of the mouse, the item of your choice is delivered to your door step within days.

If the buyer can wait for a few days and his decision to purchase is already made, online buying is most suitable. Nowadays, large physical stores have come to the realization that their business cannot survive without an internet presence. Wal- Mart and Barnes & Nobles are some of the physically large stores that have established online marketplaces to flourish in their business.

The used auto parts industry does not have a single physical market place due to its immense scale. A home depot type of store is not feasible due to diversity of products.

Since even industries with huge physical presence are investing in online stores, it makes for a vital decision for the used auto parts industry to establish a strong online presence.