Dealers leaving sold adverts permanently listed

Dealers leaving sold adverts permanently listed

Author
Discussion

RacingPete

8,846 posts

203 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
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An update on this topic after conversations with the dealer team.

We are actively trying to find these types of adverts from the site and are looking at ways to reduce them. The dealer team are removing as many as they can so if you spot any particularly rubbish areas of the classifieds let us know.

As this is an education piece to the dealers that we do not want ads like these, along with removing them, then it does take time to make the call and talk - so bear with us while we work on it.

Bbunter

122 posts

115 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
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I always thought that more content in a website = one bit of the requiremnt to get better positioning on search engines, and this was a very easy way to get more hits than a similar car selling site. It winds me up as well, but I suppose you can't blame 'em for trying.

KarlMac

4,457 posts

140 months

Wednesday 17th September 2014
quotequote all
My car (mk5 golf) is still advertised by the dealer despite buying it in January. Although the pic and price are mine the ad text js for a different car entirely.

GarageQueen

Original Poster:

2,295 posts

245 months

Thursday 25th September 2014
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I thought I'd take a look today at the current state of play on this.

One example:

4 Star Classics have 137 adverts listed in the classifieds and only 35 are for cars that are for sale, that's 70% of their adverts listed as SOLD.

in the M5 (pre-89) section they have pushed their adverts up to the top and, you guessed, it SOLD.

Shaw Tarse

31,543 posts

202 months

Thursday 25th September 2014
quotequote all
GarageQueen said:
I thought I'd take a look today at the current state of play on this.

One example:

4 Star Classics have 137 adverts listed in the classifieds and only 35 are for cars that are for sale, that's 70% of their adverts listed as SOLD.

in the M5 (pre-89) section they have pushed their adverts up to the top and, you guessed, it SOLD.
So what do ASA think?

Vanya

2,058 posts

243 months

Friday 26th September 2014
quotequote all

Watching this thread.

These "dead" advertisements have clogged the PH Classifieds in significant numbers for years!

They are not difficult to find, at least not IME, unless they're only in the makes and models I look in which varies from LR, Porsche, Merc, Ford, Toyota, BMW, Audi, Ferrari, Lambo, Jeep, Nissan... nead I go on?


macky17

2,210 posts

188 months

Sunday 28th September 2014
quotequote all
This sold 6 months ago. Please remove.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/n...

Kiltie

7,504 posts

245 months

Sunday 28th September 2014
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Marque 1 Cars seem to have a number of adverts with the headline "Now Sold - Looking for Similar Stock".

macky17

2,210 posts

188 months

Wednesday 1st October 2014
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Is no one monitoring this thread? I'd have thought it was fairly important...

AlexRS2782

8,025 posts

212 months

Wednesday 1st October 2014
quotequote all
Just checked the Focus RS section - the entire 1st page (bar the last 3 adverts at the bottom) all belong to RS Direct (again), so it looks like they've done their daily bump of adverts to ensure they are always on the first page.

Although at least their "Now sold to" adverts have gone, but been replaced with "now reserved" instead. I'm fairly certain that one of the "reserved" cars has been in the ownership of a guy on one of the RS forums for at least a week now.

RacingPete

8,846 posts

203 months

Wednesday 1st October 2014
quotequote all
macky17 said:
Is no one monitoring this thread? I'd have thought it was fairly important...
Yes, we are having ongoing discussions about this issue.

Little Lofty

3,275 posts

150 months

Thursday 2nd October 2014
quotequote all
It's not just on here, I'm looking for a new van and three I enquired about on AT 2 weeks ago are still listed, what I don't understand is that one of the dealers doesn't have an alternative, so I can't see why they want to pull in buyers but can't actually sell them anything else, dealers moan about timewasters but they seem to quite like wasting their own time with pointless phone calls and emails.

RacingPete

8,846 posts

203 months

Thursday 2nd October 2014
quotequote all
Little Lofty said:
It's not just on here, I'm looking for a new van and three I enquired about on AT 2 weeks ago are still listed, what I don't understand is that one of the dealers doesn't have an alternative, so I can't see why they want to pull in buyers but can't actually sell them anything else, dealers moan about timewasters but they seem to quite like wasting their own time with pointless phone calls and emails.
It is the other way round... they want to pick up sellers. With the rise of webuyanycar and the like there is a market for getting hold of stock to fill the forecourts.

voicey

2,453 posts

186 months

Friday 3rd October 2014
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If we report the offending adverts will they get removed?

macky17

2,210 posts

188 months

Monday 6th October 2014
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voicey said:
If we report the offending adverts will they get removed?
Not so far....

lord trumpton

7,321 posts

125 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
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It's really annoying this current practice

Its just a crafty wanted advert in disguise - 'sold but similar required bla blah'

There are a lot of them at it and some can 'hide' the sold status until you have got all excited by finding the dream car, clicking on the link and then finding it had sold eons ago.

It needs to be stamped out PH and stamped out hard, stamped out now. Right NOW!!!


Heads should roll, accounts suspended, people arrested and cars torched















biggrinbiggrin


Monkeylegend

26,227 posts

230 months

Wednesday 8th October 2014
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Is there any financial gain for PH/Haymarket to allow these adverts to remain in the classifieds?

macky17

2,210 posts

188 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
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macky17 said:
This sold 6 months ago. Please remove.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/n...
At least most of the sold adverts acknowledge that the vehicle is not longer available. The one above makes no such admission and, as I say, sold 6 months ago. If this blatent advert can't be removed/edited by admin then this thread is a waste of time surely.

lord trumpton

7,321 posts

125 months

Thursday 9th October 2014
quotequote all
macky17 said:
macky17 said:
This sold 6 months ago. Please remove.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/n...
At least most of the sold adverts acknowledge that the vehicle is not longer available. The one above makes no such admission and, as I say, sold 6 months ago. If this blatent advert can't be removed/edited by admin then this thread is a waste of time surely.
Could it not be back up for sale though?

macky17

2,210 posts

188 months

Monday 13th October 2014
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lord trumpton said:
Could it not be back up for sale though?
Nope - same pictures, same mileage, same history.