About us

A group of people standing next to each other.

"Exclusive Deals, Excluding Dealers"

Key Points

  • NotDealers.com now allows private sellers to list any item, not just cars, enhancing its role as a reselling marketplace.
  • The platform continues to exclude dealers, helping users avoid dealer fees and potential sales tax on private transactions.
  • For cars, users can also avoid low-ball trade-in offers by dealing directly with private sellers.
  • The expansion aims to facilitate direct sales across various products, keeping more money in users’ pockets.

Background

NotDealers.com, founded in 2024 in Tucson, AZ, started as a car listing website focused on private sales, excluding dealers to ensure users avoid additional costs like dealer fees and sales tax. This approach has now expanded to include any item, maintaining the same principles of direct transactions between individuals.
 

Expansion Details

The new policy allows private sellers to list items like furniture, electronics, and collectibles, in addition to cars. This move aims to increase the platform’s utility as a reselling marketplace, offering users a broader range of products while still excluding dealers to ensure competitive pricing and transparency.
 

Benefits

By dealing directly with private sellers, users can potentially avoid dealer markups and negotiate better prices. For car transactions, the platform continues to help users avoid low-ball trade-in offers, a common issue with dealerships. The exclusion of dealers also means users are spared from competing with dealer ads, making the buying and selling process smoother.


Survey Note: Comprehensive Analysis of NotDealers.com’s Expanded Policy

NotDealers.com, a family-run business established in 2024 in Tucson, AZ, initially launched as a car listing website dedicated to facilitating private sales, explicitly excluding dealers to provide a niche marketplace for individual buyers and sellers. This approach was rooted in the belief that private transactions could help users avoid the additional costs and complexities often associated with dealerships, such as dealer fees, potential sales tax, and low-ball trade-in offers for cars. The platform’s original mission was to connect users directly, ensuring they could find great deals on used cars while keeping more money in their pockets, aligning with their motto, “Exclusive Deals, Excluding Dealers.”

Expansion to Include Any Item

Recognizing the success of this model and the growing demand for a similar platform for other goods, NotDealers.com has recently expanded its services to allow the sale of any item by non-dealers, not limited to cars. This policy shift, effective as of the latest updates, aims to enhance the platform’s utility as a reselling online marketplace, catering to a wider array of products such as furniture, electronics, collectibles, and more. The expansion maintains the core principle of excluding dealers, ensuring that all listings remain exclusive to private sellers, thereby preserving the direct transaction model that has been central to the platform’s identity.
 

Benefits and Implications

The expansion brings several benefits, particularly in line with the original advantages for car sales. For cars, the platform continues to offer users the ability to avoid dealer fees, which are typically charged by dealerships for various services, and potential sales tax on private transactions. In Arizona, where NotDealers.com is based, private sales of used cars do not involve sales tax at the time of purchase, with buyers only paying registration fees, as noted in discussions on platforms like Reddit (r/arizona). This practice extends to other items, where private sellers, not being licensed vendors, do not collect Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT), Arizona’s version of sales tax, at the point of sale, potentially allowing buyers to avoid sales tax during the transaction, though they might be responsible for use tax later, which is self-reported.

Additionally, for car transactions, NotDealers.com helps users avoid low-ball trade-in offers, a common issue when trading in vehicles at dealerships, where dealers might undervalue the trade-in to maximize profit on the new sale. For other items, the benefit translates to avoiding dealer markups, as private sellers can offer potentially lower prices compared to retail stores, and users can negotiate directly without the interference of intermediaries. This direct interaction also spares users from having to filter through or compete with dealer ads, enhancing the user experience by focusing on individual listings.

Legal and Tax Considerations

The decision to expand was informed by an understanding of Arizona’s tax laws, particularly the distinction between TPT, imposed on licensed vendors, and private sales, which do not require tax collection at the time of purchase. According to the Arizona Department of Revenue (Transaction Privilege Tax), TPT is a tax on vendors for the privilege of doing business, and private individuals selling personal property are not considered vendors, thus not required to collect or pay TPT. However, buyers might need to self-assess use tax for taxable items purchased from private sellers, as outlined in the department’s guidance on use tax (Understanding Use Tax). This nuance was considered in framing the benefits, emphasizing avoidance of sales tax at the point of purchase, which aligns with user expectations and practical experiences shared in community discussions.
 

User Experience and Mission Alignment

The expansion aligns with NotDealers.com’s mission to facilitate direct sales between individuals, helping them keep their hard-earn money by cutting out unnecessary intermediaries and their associated costs. The platform’s commitment to this mission is evident in its continued exclusion of dealers, ensuring that users can engage in transparent, cost-effective transactions. The belief that there are many great products, not just cars, being sold by private individuals at competitive prices, as generalized from the original focus on cars, underpins this expansion. This belief was reinforced by the recognition that the same principles of direct sales and competitive pricing could be applied to a broader range of items, enhancing the platform’s utility as a reselling marketplace.
 

Comparative Analysis of Benefits

To illustrate the benefits across different categories, consider the following table comparing the advantages for car sales and other items:
Category
Benefits for Cars
Benefits for Other Items
Dealer Exclusion
Avoid competing with dealer ads
Avoid competing with dealer ads
Cost Savings
Avoid dealer fees and potential sales tax on private sales
Avoid dealer markups and potential sales tax at purchase
Transaction Type
Avoid low-ball trade-in offers
Direct negotiation with sellers for potentially lower prices
User Experience
Direct connection with private sellers for transparency
Direct connection with private sellers for unique items
This table highlights how the core benefits are maintained and adapted for the expanded scope, ensuring consistency in user value proposition.
 

Conclusion and Future Outlook

NotDealers.com’s expansion to include any item sold by non-dealers represents a strategic move to broaden its appeal and utility, staying true to its roots while addressing user demand for a versatile reselling platform. The platform invites users to explore this expanded offering, promising the same benefits of exclusive deals and direct transactions, now across a wider variety of products. As of April 5, 2025, this development positions NotDealers.com as a comprehensive marketplace for private sales, continuing to live by its motto, “Exclusive Deals, Excluding Dealers,” and fostering a community of direct, cost-effective exchanges.
 

Key Citations