backpage.com – An Up and Coming Classified Website!

By L. James Johnson · October 22, 2009 · Filed in Auto Industry, Certified Used Cars, Used Cars

We all know that Craigslist is the towering giant among free online classified websites. Over 50 million unique visitors land on Craigslist each month making it the 8th largest website in the U.S., and the 24th largest in the world.

Does this mean that you should rush out and post your car, truck, or SUV only on Craigslist? The answer depends on where you live. Classified websites offer a local approach for selling to local buyers. This means that Craigslist is not the leader in all U.S. markets. In fact, it comes in number three in some markets.

One of the up and comers giving Craigslist a run for their money is backpage.com.

I like working with backpage.com because I have an affinity for my local San Francisco Bay Area alternative weekly. backpage.com is owned by the original alternative newspaper, New York’s Village Voice, but your ad may be displayed along with classified ads from the back of many local papers including my SF Weekly, the LA Weekly, City Pages (Minneapolis), and the Seattle Weekly.

backpage.com online ads are free, but you have the option of paying a fee to add your post to the local, printed newspaper and to post online in multiple cities.

I recommend using Craigslist as a strategic site to post your online vehicle ad, but don’t forget about backpage.com. Remember the “mud on the wall” theory:

You never know when that last post on some obscure website will generate a phone inquiry about car.

Be smart and begin with the largest, high-traffic sites in your area, but why not use as many free sites as you have time and energy for. That includes backpage.com. After all, it’s free, right!

————-

L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.

Follow BayAreaCarGuy on Twitter

Share

Leave a Comment