GM’s eBay experiment hasn’t gone the way the Detroit-based automakers would have hoped. After becoming the first car manufacturer to officially use the popular auction site in an effort to boost car sales, the program has gotten off to a rather sputtering start.

GM initially listed 16,228 cars on eBay since the program was launched in August 11. Since then, the company has only recorded 45 sales – less than 1% of its total listed cars.

While the online purchase has been a flop, the silver lining behind it, according to Automotive News, GM has made more dealership sales after prospective customers check out the item online before trooping down their local dealerships to make the purchase.

Another positive thing GM can take from this experiment is the fact that their eBay site has generated a ton of interest, which, of course leads more publicity. It’s not exactly the end-result that the company is looking for but when you’re selling less than 1% of your total listed cars two weeks into this six-week experiment, you’ll take any form of good news any way you can get it.

The program is set to end on September, after which GM will have to decide on whether or not to continue with the eBay tie-up. At this point, the rather lukewarm response to the whole program may be enough reason for GM to pull the plug out and concentrate more on promoting their cars in a non virtual kind of way.

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