Guaranteed Price vs Commission Consignment: Which Gets You More for Your Car?

If a car-selling service guarantees you a fixed price and keeps whatever it sells for above that, your number has to sit below what the car is expected to sell for, because that gap is how the service gets paid. With commission consignment, you get the actual sale price minus a set percentage, so you and the business both do better when the car sells for more. Here's how the two models compare, and what to do if you just want an instant sale.

How the guaranteed-price model works

Some consignment and car-selling services offer to sell your car for a price agreed upfront. You get that number, and the business keeps whatever the car sells for above it.

It sounds simple, and the certainty is appealing. But look at the incentives. The business only makes money when the car sells for more than the number it gave you. So your number has to be set below the price it expects to achieve, and the lower your number, the more it earns on the same sale.

That doesn't make every guaranteed price a bad deal. It means your price is set by someone who earns more when it's lower.

Where the "free package" comes from

Guaranteed-price services often advertise a free marketing package. Detailing, photography and advertising all cost real money, so a free package still gets paid for somewhere. In a guaranteed-price model, it comes out of the gap between your number and the sale price.

At MV Consignment, $600 of value is included with every package: a consignment-grade detail ($300 value) and a professional 25+ photo shoot ($300 value). You can see exactly what you're getting and exactly what you pay.

How commission consignment works

With commission consignment, the business sells your car on your behalf to a retail buyer and takes an agreed percentage of the sale price. MV Consignment's indicative commission is 9% on vehicles selling for $10k-$30k, 7% on $30k-$60k, and 6% on $60k-$80k.

That changes the incentive completely. At our 7% rate, every extra $1,000 your car sells for puts $930 in your pocket and $70 in ours. We only do better when you do better, so the goal is simple: get the highest realistic price for your car.

In practice, that means:

• We set the asking price with you, based on market research on comparable vehicles, not a number designed to leave room for our margin.
• The sale price is never hidden from you, because it's the number our commission is calculated on.
• We market the car to get that price, with professional detailing and photos, listings across Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, AutoTrader and more, and our buyer networks on Premium and Signature packages.

A worked example

Say your car sells for $32,000 through MV Consignment on our Essential package:

For a guaranteed-price offer to match that, it would need to be within about $2,500 of what the car actually sells for, and the business would still need to cover its own costs and profit out of that same $2,500. If the guaranteed number sits further below the sale price than that, commission consignment puts more money in your pocket.

Figures are illustrative. Actual sale prices, commission and timing vary by vehicle and market, and we don't guarantee a sale or a particular sale price.

Want an instant sale instead? That's what wholesale is for

Consignment is built to get the best price, but it takes time, usually a few weeks. If you'd rather have speed and certainty, MV Consignment also offers wholesale.

We detail and photograph your car, shop it to our network of trusted wholesale buyers, and bring you the best offer on the table. You simply say yes or no, with no pressure and no obligation. If you accept, we handle the paperwork, logistics and payment.

You see the actual offer before you commit, rather than a fixed lowball number like a typical dealer trade-in.

Which should you choose?

• Want the highest price and can wait a few weeks? Commission consignment.
• Want it sold now with no hassle? Wholesale, with a real offer in front of you before you commit.
• Been offered a guaranteed price elsewhere? Ask what they expect the car to sell for. The difference between that and your number is what they keep.

Not sure which suits your car? Get a free quote and we'll give you an honest answer on both.