I started a small auto dealership a year and a half ago and I've had really good success selling my inventory online. I primarily sell on craigslist, but I also use offerup & Facebook marketplace. >90% of my sales come from craigslist though.
Starting April 15th, craigslist is going to begin charging $5 / ad for auto. My initial reaction to this news was negative because I could easily spend $50 - 100 on craigslist ads ($5 / ad * 5 regions * 2-4 reposts). Sometimes my ads get flagged and I have to repost more than usual, I've already read through the terms of service and there would be no refund in the event this happens.
So now I'm wondering: • Do you guys think I should stick with craigslist for advertising? It may be better because the competition might be off-put by the $5 fee and this could perhaps drive even more traffic to me than usual.
• Or should I take that money and invest elsewhere? The only reason I didn't try advertising on auto trader is because craigslist is free, but do you think that same money would go further there?
• Also, are there any other sites that you guys use for advertising goods/services online similar to craigslist?
just increase the price of the auto by what you anticipate to be the marketing fee. i really doubt anyone will notice a $100 increase...
Jonathan Parker
If you’re bread and butter is craigslist than it’s probably worth it just to pay for the ads. Also you could include marketing in the cost of the vehicle like said.
Michael Clark
Wow that really sucks. I've always gotten my cars on Craigslist because there are always good junky cars for around $500. It's going to be harder finding those cheap cars on there after this.
Jeremiah Sanchez
Yeah I'm going to be looking for a car soon (definitely after April 15) and this is worrying. Hope it doesn't diminish the quality/quantity of car sales.
Logan Gutierrez
>Starting April 15th, craigslist is going to begin charging $5 / ad for auto Sweet, a new site will be coming into popularity soon.
Wyatt Barnes
I know. I wonder if this will be good for me though because there will be less competition? Or bad because buyers will look elsewhere to purchase cars.
The thing is people always haggle you down to even numbers, ex: "5K, 5500, 4000" etc. Rarely do I get someone who offers to give me $5100.
Craigslist has def been my bread and butter but the past 2 weeks I've gotten no sales which is unusual because I have tons of inventory. Do you think it's because there's a big influx of sellers spamming ads before the fees are priced in?
Kayden Perry
Any chance you’re in the Bay Area? So hard to get access to a auction license
Robert Green
No, but my brother is. Next time I'm out there I can sneak you into manheim, bizbro
Dominic Adams
So lucky lol, I have a friend who can do anything, body work, fab, installs, you name it. The plan was to buy beaters that he could work his magic on. I was stopped before I even had the chance. Zoning and all that is so strict in the San Jose area, not to mention how pricey it is. You’re in a good position
Angel Hughes
What area are you looking at? I'm all over the north east if that helps.
Any idea what site that might be? OfferUP is packed with lowballers for some reason. & FB Marketplace doesn't have the same level of engagement, people ask "Hey is this still available" and when I tell them "yes" they don't say anything. Even when I follow up with "Would you like to setup a time to come and see the car? Or do you have any questions about it?" they just don't engage further. It's as if they're bots.
Xavier Jackson
Spam from dealers and dealers including misleading keywords are the worst things about cl cars+trucks.
For the past two weeks there have been a large number of phishing 'ebay will ship the car' too-good-to-be-true postings.
Hudson Ortiz
The dealers license I have gives me access to all the auctions in the country. Manheim is my favorite though. They are so chill there that I could literally buy them online on my account and you and your buddy could go and pick them up. The people there are so nice.
Ian Campbell
Sadly I'm in the exact opposite part of the country, good luck with the business though.
Jaxon Russell
I swear to you, I WILL say the n word.
Isaac Garcia
It sucks because the way I advertise on craigslist each car could cost me $100 / month or more in craigslist fees. * 10 cars / month that's $1k a month or $12K / year in fucking craigslist advertising! Should I just switch to autotrader? I feel like nobody uses that. Tomorrow I'm actually having a meeting with my friend who has a dealership on the other side of the state and we were going to brainstorm marketing. I was hoping to gather some stuff ideas here to bring some meat to the table tomorrow.
Austin Morris
Just use letgo
Carson Kelly
Dam that’s awesome. I wouldn’t mind paying royalties on anything you’d help out with. Is there a loophole that I would be able to go check them out on behalf of you? I know it’s an user asking a big favor lol
Also what about OfferUp? It’s getting very popular in this area
Liam Phillips
This, I actually applaud them for dealing with the fuckin keywaord spammers.
If you ever get the urge to talk to a nigerian go put an add on gigs and leave a text number.
Ethan Hill
Stop posting in “by owner,” faggot.
Joseph Lee
This
Jason King
LetGo is trash where I live
user, OfferUP has procured me maybe 2% of my total sales and it's almost exclusively lowballers. Also, how can I get in contact with you? There's pre-sale days strictly for inspection. I know how you can sneak/get in & check stuff out, then I bid online for you during auction day. We can discuss loopholes further.
I agree for the most part, certainly for the buyer. However do you think this will have a good impact for my /biz overall? Or do you think Craigslist is dying & Adding 5 dollars to post a car will absolutely kill the site (particularly the car section) more than it already is?
