Checklist for Creating Your Ad

Some of the items below depend on the ad you select and any upgrades you may add to your package.

1. Basic information about your car, including year, make, model, body style, mileage and price. VIN is not required, but it does help us offer more info to potential buyers.
   
   
2. A list of optional and standard equipment.
   
   
3. The best-selling points about your car, so you can create a detailed description. The more info you provide, the easier it is to reach buyers looking for those features.
   
   
4. Photos of your car are optional and can be added at any time. You may add a single photo or up to six photos, depending on the ad you select.
   
   
5. Your Visa, MasterCard, AMEX, or Discover card, and Paypal is now accepted. To protect the information you provide, our site is on a secure server.
   
   

Some good lessons we’ve learned over the years about writing effective online ads.

1. Cover the basics. The simple things are often the easiest things to forget. Make sure you tell shoppers the car’s year, make, model and if you are the original owner. Build a basic foundation of information, and then add details to it.
   
   
2. Mention the mileage. Mileage is one of those details people expect to find in your ad. When its not there, they naturally assume your car has a million miles on it. Be upfront about how many miles your vehicle has.
   
   
3. Clear and Concise. Stay away from extensive descriptions. Try to explain the car’s condition in a word or two. Instead of "runs very well," write "reliable." Instead of "handles like a dream," write "All-Wheel Drive" and so forth.
   
   
4. Be honest. If the passenger door has a dent, tell people that. It’s easier to be honest in the ad than it is to field surprise questions when a buyer sees a dent you didn’t mention during the test drive. Better yet, offer to provide potential buyers an official vehicle history.
   
   
5. Take credit for your garage. It’s surprising to learn how important a garage can be in the sale of your car. Many buyers gain confidence in your vehicle when they realize it hasn’t been subjected to long winter nights or hot summer days. Make sure you mention if your car was garaged.
   
   
6. Make sure you mean "OBO", "OBO," which stands for or best offer, means you’re willing to lower the price on your car. It’s a powerful set of letters, but if you’re not willing to drop the price in a significant way, it can be a dangerous way to set expectations. Make sure you’re ready to follow through on the price reduction before you drop in these three letters. And if you are going to drop the price, always know beforehand how low you will go.
   
   
7. Be upfront about recent repairs to your vehicle. Instead of covering up recent repairs, make sure you tell buyers when and what you’ve had done to your vehicle. Knowing that you’ve only driven 4,000 miles on a rebuilt engine or that your tires are new assures buyers that they won’t have to pay for those repairs.
   
   
8. Avoid jargon in your ad. You might know that the really interesting thing about your convertible has the MJY 19 suspension system but the average buyer is going to be confused. Make sure you use words that drivers of all backgrounds and education levels will understand.
   
   
9. Don’t yell when you write your ad. Be careful about using exclamation points!!!!! You might want to avoid using CAPITAL LETTERS TO REALLY DRIVE HOME YOUR MESSAGE. Little things like these make customers feel like you’re trying to hide something or worse yet, that when they come for a test drive their experience will be the same as the ad. Loud, aggressive, unpleasant. Write the ad like you’d write a friend an email describing the car.
   
   
10. Explain the things that need explaining. You can be clear and descriptive in your ad. For instance, instead of just saying clean, tell people why your car is perfect using phrases such as, "no pets" and "non-smoker." Instead of saying, "need to sell," say "recent job change requires bigger car." The more human you make your ad, the easier it will be to stand out in a crowd of thousands of other ads.