Get more exposure with third-party sales channels

Getting your inventory the max amount of exposure can help you move more units, and taking advantage of third-party sales sites is a great way to do just that. These sites let you leverage the detailed product information you already have on your own website through channels that will help you reach a wider audience. While there are a wide range of sites you can use for this purpose, today I’m going to dig into the two largest: Craigslist and eBay.

Craigslist

Posting your inventory to Craigslist can open the doors to thousands of potential customers. Craigslist has more than 700 local sites, and more than 60 million people use it each month in the U.S. alone. This translates to a lot of potential customers checking out your inventory!

On Craigslist, you can post ads for your inventory featuring multiple pictures, a detailed description and other relevant information, like mileage, model year and color, to help shoppers find exactly what they’re looking for. You post your ads on a site dedicated to your local community, helping you reach a wider audience in your area and drive more traffic through your dealership doors.

Having inventory posted on Craigslist can help you capture leads who may not have visited your website. If someone is looking for a specific used motorcycle, they might check Craigslist first to see what’s available in their area without having to bounce from dealer site to dealer site. If you don’t have your units posted, you’re missing out on these potential customers.

eBay

Unlike Craigslist, eBay is a global marketplace. Even so, it can still help you reach a wide range of potential customers. On eBay, you can auction inventory or sell it directly, and the site is a proven sales avenue for powersports dealers – just check out these statistics:

• Three parts or accessories are sold on eBay every 1 second
• A motorcycle part is sold on eBay every 3 seconds
• An engine or component is sold on eBay every 7 seconds
• A wheel or tire part is on eBay sold every 6 seconds
• A snowmobile, ATV or personal watercraft part or accessory is sold on eBay every 8 seconds

With 162 million active buyers worldwide, the chances are good that eBay has shoppers in the market for your inventory. You’re not limited to posting only parts and accessories – eBay Motors is a specific division of the website for large vehicles, including motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs and snowmobiles. Selling your units is as easy as posting a photo and description of the item, arranging delivery or pick-up (for large units) when it sells and collecting your payment.

By investing a little time each week to update your third-party listings and track your results, you can start reaping the benefits of posting your units to third-party sales sites. Don’t have the time to update your inventory yourself? Investing in an automated tool like ARI Inventory powered by LotVantage can help you see the same results with less of the work.

Colleen Malloy is ARI’s director of marketing. Malloy has more than a decade of experience in the powersports industry and previously served as the editor of Motorcycle & Powersports News. ARI creates award-winning software solutions that help equipment manufacturers, distributors and dealers Sell More Stuff! — online and in-store. ARI removes the complexity of selling and servicing new and used inventory, parts, garments and accessories for customers in automotive tire and wheel, powersports, outdoor power equipment, marine, RV and white goods industries. More than 22,000 equipment dealers, 195 distributors and 140 manufacturers worldwide leverage ARI’s website and eCatalog platforms to Sell More Stuff!

Email: colleen.malloy@arinet.com

Phone: 414/973-4323

Website: arinet.com