Show, don't claim: odometer, service book, keys

Most details in a listing are claims, and that is no reproach: the mileage in the data field, “two keys” in the text, “tow bar” in the equipment list. The buyer has to believe them or ask. Some of them can be shown, though, and then the question changes. It is no longer whether something is true, but whether it can be seen on a photo.

That is what the “What the photos show” section in the listing form is for. It searches your saved photos for nine fixed things and names, for each, the photo on which it is most clearly visible. Whatever you release appears on the car's page in the “Visible in the photos” card, with a jump to the photo in the gallery.

What the matching does not do matters just as much. It only receives the photos, no details from the listing, and it does not judge whether your listing is correct. It is automatic, it can be wrong, and it is not a check. That is why the car's page says: “Matched automatically, released by the seller.”

The list is fixed and deliberately short. It only contains things that can actually be seen on a photo; accident damage or the number of previous owners are not among them.

Each thing appears with one photo at most, the clearest one. So you do not need to photograph every detail several times, just each one once and well.

The matching sees a photo much as a person does. Anything small, blurred or half hidden is not found, or only marked “not clear”. A few rules help.

Two technical points also matter. Only saved photos are matched, and only the first twelve in the gallery; upload the service book as picture twenty and the matching will not find it. And if you upload or reorder photos, save first and then run the matching again. The first images still belong to the outside of the car; behind them there is room enough for cockpit, service book and keys.

Besides the matches, the matching shows you three things that never become public. First, the odometer reading next to the figure in your listing: “The odometer shows roughly … km. In the listing: … km.” If the two differ noticeably, you may have made a typo, or the photo is older than the figure. Sort that out before publishing; a buyer who zooms into the photo will see the same difference.

Second, the number of keys visible on the photo. If it does not match what you stated in the seller's statements or the text, either a key is missing from the photo or the statement is wrong.

Third, the gaps: “Not recognisable on any photo — add a photo?” That is a suggestion, not a fault. If your car has neither a sunroof nor a tow bar, it is right that they are missing. What was not found never appears publicly, and neither does a score like “seven out of nine”. A missing photo says nothing about the car.

After the matching, nothing is public at first. You release each match individually with the “show publicly” tick. Look at the photo first: does photo 7 really show the service book, or the owner's manual? Is the colour on the photo the one the buyer will see in person, or has evening light changed it? A match marked “not clear” deserves a second look or a better photo.

The release is tied to the photos. If you change the gallery — a photo is added, one is removed, or the order changes — the matching counts as outdated, and until you run it again none of it appears on the car's page. If a thing is found on the same photo again, your release stays; if the matching points to a different photo, it asks you again.

Nor is the release a statement about the content. A released photo of the service book says: the service book can be seen here. It does not say the history is complete. If you state “full service history”, that statement stands on its own and has to hold up against the entries a buyer can read on the photo. If photo and statement agree, they support each other; if they do not, everyone can see it.

The “Visible in the photos” card is a signpost, not a confirmation. Every entry leads to a photo in the gallery, and its value lies in you looking for yourself. An odometer on photo 4 shows the reading when the picture was taken, not today's. A service book on photo 9 shows a service book; whether it belongs to this car and what it says, you read on the photo or on site.

A missing entry means nothing. The card only shows what the seller released; whether he used the matching at all, whether the service book sits further back in the gallery or whether there is none cannot be read from it. If you are missing evidence, choose “Request photos” in your enquiry — the instrument cluster with the ignition on, the service book or all keys, for example — or send questions from the seller's statements along with it.

If you are far away and want current pictures, you can request a live proof on the car's page: the VIN and the front with a random code on a slip of paper, plus the odometer. The code only comes into existence with your request, so older photos cannot show it. Whether and when the seller takes the shots is up to him, and this analysis too is automatic and no proof. If you think a match is wrong, report it with “Report a wrong match”. On site, you check odometer, service book and keys with your own eyes anyway.