Craigslist will charge auto dealers $5 per listing starting December 3, 2013

Here's the screenshot straight from their website.  The true question is "Will we stay or will we go?"  The fee is a nominal amount and a format that's already been proven in other categories, but what remains to be seen is if dealers are willing to pay for each ad, or if this change will push traffic back to other sites like eBay Classifieds and Backpage?  

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Permalink Reply by Armando Yanez on December 2, 2013 at 9:15am

Most of the automotive companies that I've spoken to are also calling for business as usual, but right now I am not hearing the dealerships consistently echo that same sentiment.

Craigslist has always been a moving target. In the past we've seen changes that affected the posting process such as phone verified accounts, and geo-locating. However the changes within the last 8 months target ad content. The removal of externally hosted images, text formatting, and links are all changes that impact both the consumer and dealer experience.

The result to dealers is the loss of CRM leads, website traffic, and the ability to produce eBay Motors like ads with powerful compelling imagery.

The impact to consumers, at least thus far, seems to have been a diminished user experience. Hopefully this per ad charge going into affect tomorrow will provide enough of an improved search result that it will overcome the consumer content experience.

It will be interesting to see how the automotive industry reacts over the next 60-90 days. I believe almost every dealer in the country has some sort of a craigslist budget in place, and how they "move the line" will entirely depend on the results generated by this new format.

Permalink Reply by Sharon Hill on December 2, 2013 at 9:24am

I've had people tell me - not just auto dealers but real estate agents too (who've been impacted by the HTML tags block even more than dealers I think) - that the changes they have been forced to make have been generating a huge increase in phone calls. They mention this as a good thing, but is this not a step backwards? I mean, the move from phone calls was about letting someone engage with the dealership 24/7, was it not? With with the use of these vendor-provided templates were dealers finding more folks engaging with the dealership during hours it was typically closed, or not? Will the regression to more phone calls, if that is what this does, impact revenue and consumer traffic or not? 

Permalink Reply by Armando Yanez on December 2, 2013 at 10:23am

The increase in trackable phone calls is definately a welcome consequence of the removal of html, but in all fairness, it may not be an increase in total calls, but only an increase in the calls that can be tracked to the craigslist ad.  When links were blocked, both dealers and real estate agents lost the ability to drive consumers back to their site for additional information which likely resulted in some calls coming from their sites directly.  Either way, this is the new reality, and I agree that the loss of the ability to engage the dealer or realtor after traditional business hours is a detrmient and not a feature.

Permalink Reply by Brian Miller on December 2, 2013 at 12:56pm

So the game is afoot.  Dealers have three options:

Completely go it alone

Use a Self Posting Tool

User a Posting Service

The reality is that the rule has changed bit on Craigslist making a much better game.  How will your dealership choose to stay in the game?  After all, sitting on the bench will not sell anything.

http://www.cargigiautos.com/index.php/intelipost

Permalink Reply by Jason Mickelson on December 2, 2013 at 7:36pm

Business as usual in our local cars + trucks market.  I thought today we might see a few less posts in our local market area, but there are still 2300+ vehicles posted today so far.  Maybe in three or four days this number will be less. 

Permalink Reply by Armando Yanez on December 3, 2013 at 9:41am

Jason, Thanks for the heads up.  What market are you in?  

Permalink Reply by Matthew Brown on December 3, 2013 at 9:47am

We see the same in several markets, it appears there are several "Early bird" dealers to craigslist!

Permalink Reply by Armando Yanez on December 3, 2013 at 11:11am

Looks like we have an increase in the total number of photos today too.  We can now upload up to 24 photos.Here's someone already taking advantage of it.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/ctd/4226203324.html

Permalink Reply by Sharon Hill on December 3, 2013 at 11:12am

how many were they able to upload before, Armando?

Permalink Reply by Armando Yanez on December 3, 2013 at 11:29am

The max before today was 18.  I am also hearing from some dealers that they are not being asked to enter a credit card at the end of their post.  

Permalink Reply by Matthew Brown on December 3, 2013 at 11:37am

This has also been confirmed for Cycles!

Permalink Reply by Matthew Brown on December 3, 2013 at 11:38am

Armando, was it 18 photos before or 12?  We saw several markets limited to 12.

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