My Startup World speaks to Saygin Yalcin, Founder and CEO of SellAnyCar.com, to find out more about his online used car markerplace and how he plans to market it further.
How has the ecommerce market shaped up in Middle East and Africa region?
Promisingly. I see a lot of entrepreneurs starting companies in the internet sphere. I also see the press picking up on related topics. Moreover, there is huge growth in companies I am or was involved in. This is a sign that the general population is trusting electronic transactions more and more. However, we are still lagging behind in venture capital. Regional investors are still reluctant to deviate from traditional sectors, such as real estate. The Middle East is a gold mine for investments into the internet sphere. It would be a pity, if investors from other continents realize that, before our own regional investors do.
What does SellAnyCar do?
SellAnyCar.com is the Middle East’s first car buying service, which offers FREE and instant online car valuation, FREE car inspection, a GUARANTEE to purchase ANY car within 30 minutes, pay you immediately and take care of all the paperwork. Whatever the make, model, age or condition – SellAnyCar.com will buy any car. How do we do it? Well, as the largest and most established buyer of cars, SellAnycar.com has the purchasing power to offer a competitive price for your car and to buy it straight away. With branches all over the country, SellAnyCar.com is the easiest and quickest way to sell your car.
SellAnyCar.com collects your car’s details online – then all you need to do is come into any one of our locations around the country and after a quick inspection, we’ll transfer the money directly into your bank account. No haggling, no hassle.
Selling a car used to be a lengthy and risky process. Consumers were not sure about their car’s real values, needed to arrange too many appointments with time-wasters or might have ended up getting ripped off. SellAnyCar.com makes selling any car easy, fair and quick. You can literally find out your car’s value within 15 seconds, sell your car and get paid during your lunch break. We are located in all major cities all over the country and soon will be the biggest car buyer in the region.
What is your target market and audience?
We buy ANY car from anyone who owns a car. We do not limit ourselves to any target audience. SellAnyCar.com receives all kinds of nationalities on a daily basis. I recommend anyone who wants to sell a car in the UAE should try out SellAnyCar.com. It is 100% free.
Why SellAnyCar over other car showrooms and online marketplaces?
Selling a car can be a really annoying and complicated process; both time and power consuming for car owners. Clearly, it is something you do hardly every few years, so how should one get the routine that grants the best way to sell a car?
Private sales are often a choice for many sellers. But this usually accrues significant costs, while a return cannot be guaranteed, regardless of whether you advertise your car via print advertisement or through an online marketplace. It usually takes several appointments with a lot of time-wasters until you might sell your car.
Apart from the direct advertisement costs, private sales cause serious further expenses. In the Middle East, there is usually a time span of 3-6 weeks from first advertising to final sale. Furthermore, in advance of a successful deal, statistically you have to go through 4 – 6 meetings with potential buyers – again, a procedure that consumes both your time and money, while a positive return is still uncertain.
With your advertisement being displayed your phone may start ringing any time of the day and you have to manage meetings, but hardly in every case it is a real potential buyer.
This way you may also have to deal with shady and dubious elements. Should you let an unknown prospect actually test-drive your car? And even if the sale goes through, who guarantees you safe and secure payment and prevents you from receiving bouncing cheques? You could end up with no payment and no car.
Another option might be selling your car to a dealership. However, think about it – unless you are really an automotive expert yourself they will always try to outsmart you on the price. After all, that’s what their business model is basically about. Trade-Ins also don’t guarantee fair prices and accurate valuations – even more so, if the dealership sells different makes to the one of your car.
If you choose to give your car to a dealer to advertise it for you in his showroom, you might be without a car for several weeks and still have no guarantee of a sale.
Hence, if you want to sell your car hassle-free, while achieving a fair price, SellAnyCar.com is the perfect solution. We guarantee to buy your car after a free and competent valuation – quick, easy, fair and everywhere.
How and when was SellAnyCar started? Why was it started to provide these services?
SellAnyCar.com launched in September 2013. SellAnyCar.com solves a problem for consumers explained in the question above. The revenue model for SellAnyCar is used car trading. SellAnyCar.com will be in the entire Middle East, including Turkey within 2014.
Are you involved in other verntures apart from SellAnyCar?
Yes, but only active in SellAnyCar.com
Do you have any pearls of wisdom for budding entrepreneurs? What should they look out for before jumping onto the startup bandwagon?
You need to answer these questions before jumping:
- Does your idea solve a massive problem?
- Is the idea profitably scalable and how is the monetization strength?
- Are you passionate about it?
- Are there any regulatory showstoppers?
- Is it the right timing?
