Classified ads have been around, well, just about forever. Pre-Internet classifieds could be found mainly in newspapers and magazines. For many dealers, they were their primary advertising channel. Today, classifieds are even more ubiquitous and are found on the Internet. They still sell cars. Digital classified sites such as eBay and Craigslist draw millions of visitors a month looking to purchase a product, including cars and trucks.
eBay actually offers two ways to advertise a dealer’s inventory. It offers the traditional auction based listings through eBay Motors. These ads give national and even international exposure to a dealer’s inventory and require an investment on the part of the dealer. Dealers are most familiar with this method and understand that they must pay to play.
The second way to advertise through eBay is eBay Classifieds (formerly Kijiji.com). This allows dealers to list their inventory locally for free. It reaches consumers in the dealer’s own community and is great for dealers who do not wish to ship their vehicles. Dealers simply list their price and no bidding takes place.
Craigslist is a different animal but along the lines of eBay Classifieds. Though listings in Craiglist were free for many years, in 2013 they began charging dealers $5.00 per listing. Many dealers dropped their listings following that but for the ones who continued to use Craigslist, it was a plus. Spam and multiple listings of the same vehicle all but disappeared. With less dealers contributing inventory, but the same number of consumers viewing them, it increased leads and sales.
The low cost of listing in classifieds is attractive to dealers as they watch costs rise on some of the other marketing venues. But utilizing these sites properly to sell cars takes just a bit of expertise. Many dealers are put off by the setup and effort involved in maintaining a presence on any of these sites. They may not have personnel capable of dealing with these sites.
However companies such as LotVantage have stepped in to remove that burden and make it easy for dealers to connect with the millions of consumers who visit them. These companies do not only list a dealer’s inventory, they offer strategic knowledge and assistance in proper presentation, placement and handling to generate maximum leads and sales.
Millions of consumers turn to classifieds when looking to buy anything from clothing, collectibles, cars, and even houses. Classifieds have made the transition from print to digital without missing a beat and dealers can appreciate the minimal expense along with professional assistance available from companies such as LotVantage.