Smartphones check the weather, organize our lives, entertain and now thanks to the Blinker app, offer a way to quickly buy, sell and finance automobiles on your phone. The era of the not-so-trustworthy car salesman / woman is out, in are apps and tech savvy consumers ready to simplify owning and selling of cars.
"When buying & selling cars, consumers aren’t in control – which creates a lot of anxiety. We want to change that." ~ Andrew Price ( VP of Creative & Marketing )
A Look at Blinker
Blinker is an app that is turning the used car industry on its head. Blinker allows you to buy, sell and finance cars through your smartphone with a snap of a photo. This app dramatically simplifies the vehicle buying and selling process. Blinker is democratizing the auto industry by putting everyday people in control rather than auto dealerships.
Blinker is poised to expand its service from Colorado to Texas and Colorado and Florida. It might not be long until people around the world are buying and selling cars through their phones.
Blinker executives recently participated in a TweetChat about the evolution of mobile devices. The company's vice president of marketing, Andrew Price, stated: "When buying & selling cars, consumers aren’t in control – which creates a lot of anxiety. We want to change that. At Blinker we are relentlessly focused on delivering 3 things for our users: 1. Value, 2. Simplicity, 3. Safety."
"At Blinker we are relentlessly focused on delivering 3 things for our users: 1.Value, 2. Simplicity, 3. Safety." ~ Andrew Price ( VP of Creative & Marketing )
Indeed, Blinker is shifting power from used automobile dealerships to the consumer. As Blinker continues to thrive, the app will spell bad news for auto dealerships around the country. The question is to what extent vehicle buyers and sellers will trust the Blinker app. For the most part people already use smartphones to research and check the web for the latest prices on products. While the pre-millennial generation still relies on traditional face-to-face process, what matters most is cost. If auto dealers do not respond to the introduction of Blinker by reducing costs, customers will inevitably flock to the app for all their vehicle transactions.
How Blinker Works
The process of buying and selling through text messages is surprisingly easy. All one has to do is take a picture of the vehicle in question and Blinker will identify the Black Book value. The seller lists their vehicle for sale on Blinker's Marketplace, with the touch of a single button. The identities of the buyers and sellers are identified along with ownership records of the vehicle in question. Interested buyers text offers through the Blinker app. Blinker requires payment through the app to ensure the seller receives the agreed upon sale price. This is a mutually beneficial means of buying and selling for both parties as Blinker does not tack on any extra fees. Nor does the service take a cut of the sale price.
Solving Financing Issues
It does not matter if the vehicle owner is trying to sell a car he owes money on or one he owns outright. Buyers can use Blinker if they are purchasing with financing or if they have enough cash to cover the entire cost. In order to finance a vehicle through Blinker, an individual snaps a photo of his or her driver's license and is immediately considered for a Blinker auto loan. All documents are signed electronically so the issuance of the loan is made official through the customer's phone.
What Blinker Means to Used Automobile Dealerships
It is conceivable that the Blinker app will soon snatch a meaningful portion of the auto market and 40 million individuals who buy or sell an automobile in the United States each year. Current statistics show about one-fifth of these individuals will rely on a private party service such as Craigslist, Letgo and Kijii for the transaction. It is likely that Blinker will steal market share from these services long before they snatch away those who rely on trusted auto dealerships. The dealerships focused on safety, customer service and reliability will undoubtedly lean toward doing business with used car auto dealerships until a service like Blinker reaches an inevitable mainstream tipping point.
By Marcin Migdal ( VP Marketing Loans.cars / Producer BusinessEntertainmentShow.com )