Trade-It

Vauxhall Ampera is set to boost the uptake of electric cars

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:23:00 +0000

The release of the Vauxhall Ampera is set to boost the uptake of electric cars, according to Vauxhall, who say that their new model will end fears over “range anxiety” due to limited battery life.

The Ampera was launched in the US last year and did very well and it is expected to do well in the UK too.

Last year, the then transport secretary Phillip Hammond said: "2011 could be remembered as the year the electric car took off", as he launched the grant scheme that covers nine different models. But, according to The Guardian, only around 1,000 were sold last year, and figures for first quarter sales in 2012 show that registrations of new electric cars have largely flatlined, and only half of the allocated budget for the grant scheme is likely to be taken up.

Of the 563,556 cars sold in Q1, only 278 were pure electric models, up from 218 on the year before.However, Vauxhall is aiming to sell 3,500 units of the car, which is worth £30,000, this year, or a total of 5,000 in a full year. A spokeswoman told The Guardian its target of 10,000 sales across Europe in 2012 was "in our reach quite easily".

The main selling point of the new Ampera is that when its battery runs out after 50 miles of electric power, a petrol engine provides back-up power for a further 310 miles. But because the petrol still drives the electric motor, the company says the vehicle should be considered a "range extender", not a hybrid car like the Toyota Prius.

This week the car is sent to 24 dealers across the UK and the company are looking forward to seeing how well it does in its first year on the market.

Could this be the beginning of a new wave of people buying electric cars?

Why not take a look at other fuel-efficient cars on Trade-It now?

Photo: The Charging Point

Trade-It’s top tips to improve the chances of selling your vehicles

noreply@blogger.com (Wightbay) — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:52:00 +0000

With 48% more people using Trade-It to search for cars, and 35,000 cars advertised on the site, advertisers need to ensure their ad is of the highest quality possible.

The better your ad is, the better the chance you have of making a sale!

The first impression that your advert makes on a potential buyer are crucial, and really do count. Research shows that first impressions are formed within just 7 seconds, and the photographs of your vehicle are likely to consume most of this short period of time.

With so little time to make the right impression, our top tip is to ensure that your photographs are of the highest quality. Ensure the lighting in the photo is bright to enhance vehicle features, and make sure your digital images are of the highest possible resolution in order to give them a professional appearance on the Trade-It website.

And what about the number of photos you should use in an advert? Our research shows this has a direct impact on your chances of making a sale, which leads on to our second tip.

We recommend that your vehicle advertisements have at least four photos displayed. Those adverts that have four or more photos get a staggering 72% more response, which is enough to significantly improve your chances of making that sale.

Follow our top tips to wow your potential buyers within those crucial first seven seconds.

48% more car buyers are now using Trade-Iy

noreply@blogger.com (Wightbay) — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:40:00 +0000

The latest traffic statistics from Trade-It Motors are in, and they show that 48% more people are using the South-West’s number one classifieds website to search for their next car.

In April 2012, close to 87,000 people visited the motoring section of Trade-it.co.uk, which is the equivalent of someone visiting the site every 30 seconds.

For all you motor dealers out there this increase in traffic is great news, as it will lead to more views of your vehicles listed on Trade-It, which in turn hugely improves your chances of making a sale.

A key factor behind this growth, is that more and more car buyers are using mobile devices such as iPads and iPhones to search for cars. The table below shows a significant shift in behaviour over the last year.

	Apr 2012 Visits	Apr 2011 Visits	Yearly change	%
iPhone	12,987	4,632	+8,355	+180%
Android	7,901	2,255	+5,646	+250%
iPad	7,444	1,586	+5,848	+369%
Blackberry	1,630	127	+1,503	+1183%
iPod	673	461	+212	+46%

Searching for a car has never been easier, with car buyers now able to research the best deals almost instantly. It's likely you will see more and more buyers using their mobile devices while browsing for vehicles to buy in your dealership.

Fuel-efficient cars growing in popularity in the UK

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:28:00 +0000

Drivers in the UK are increasingly choosing fuel-efficient cars with historically low carbon dioxide emissions.

According to the motor industry body SMMT, the demand for low-emission cars has risen as a result of rising fuel prices.

There are plenty of types of hybrid and electric cars on the market now and thanks to new technology the supply of these cars is continually increasing.

The SMMT said 46.8% of cars sold in 2011 emitted less than 130 grams per kilometre, up from 10.6% in 2007.

The change in consumer behaviour has been closely linked with the rise in fuel prices, as well as the rises to tax and insurance costs. This are higher for powerful cars, cars that drink a lot more fuel and cars that generally emit more CO2 than smaller models.

The increase in purchases of fuel-efficient cars is good news, however, to achieve further improvements, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is lobbying for the government to adjust taxes to encourage investment in new technologies and to offer consumers incentives to encourage them to buy more fuel-efficient, less polluting cars.

Why not take a look at the fuel-efficient cars on Trade-It now?

Picture: Toyota Motor Europe

Watching Euro 2012 at home - make sure you prepare

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:47:00 +0000

Euro 2012 is on the horizon and it now seems that England have sorted their manager situation out and are ready to take on the best teams in Europe in an attempt to win their first major footballing trophy since 1966 and only their second of all time. But no matter which country you are supporting, the UEFA Euro 2012 in Ukraine and Poland is set to be a fantastic tournament.

Heading out to the pubs for the games is great way to experience the excitement of the tournament, but another fantastic way to watch the games is in the comfort of your own home with a group of mates.

So how can you make sure you maximise the enjoyment of watching the games at home and how can you make your living room as close to the pub atmosphere as possible? Well here are a few tips.

Get the TV right
This is the first step. If you are going to be able to persuade your mates to head over and watch the games at yours then you are going to need to be able to offer them a decent view. Owning a nice big TV is vital and you don’t need to panic as you still have time to head out and buy one before the first game kicks off.

Seating
If you are looking to recreate the pub at home then bar stools would be a great addition and would add to the authenticity, however, they are not the most comfortable. If you are looking to attract a group over to watch the games then you will want nice comfy sofas and maybe even some bean bags for those who have to sit on the floor. Your main aim should be to make the viewing experience as comfortable as possible.

Drinks
Now, I do not want to be seen to be encouraging the mass consumption of alcohol, but if you want your viewing experience to be as close to watching the games at the pub as possible, then buying a few beers is a very good idea. There is no need to go mad and drink yourself into oblivion, but a few cans during the game won’t hurt you and your friends. Here is a good idea to keep things interesting, why not buy your drinks based on the nationality of the team England are facing? When England play France you could buy a crate of Kronenbourg 1664 or some lovely red wine and if we qualify and end up facing Holland then you could all drink Heineken.

Pub snacks
A crucial part of any visit to the pub to watch any sporting event is the much heralded pub snack. You should buy a wide variety of snacks including pork scratchings, peanuts and a range of crisps in order to please everyone’s specific tastes. When it comes to pub snacks, the more you buy the better.

Get behind the team
No matter where you are from, show some support for your country. Get some flags stuck up in your living room and put on that sacred replica shirt that you can only just squeeze into. If you get behind the team and get the atmosphere in your living room electric, as it will be in the pubs then your viewing experience will be as good as anyone’s. Well, as long as your team wins that is...

Picture: Poland MFA

Car dealers win with us

noreply@blogger.com (Trade-It) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:54:00 +0000

Car dealers are better off advertising with Trade-It Motors, according to research. While visits to all automotive classified sites dropped by 12%, visits to our sites grew by a staggering 43.96%.

We are literally going against the curve and have increased our number of visitors in a slowly shrinking market. These figures are all based on the UK Automotive Industry Quarterly Review, using stats and figures from July to September 2011.

This review has also thrown out some interesting stats about the online car market and what people have been interested in over the past 12 months.

For example, BMW overtook Audi as the third most searched for automotive brand and accounted for 8.64% of the market. Kia has also had a good year, jumping from 18th place up to 16th on the list, which is still topped by Ford which is closely followed by Volkswagen.

There were a few brands of car that became less searched over the year. For example Fiat fell four places from 15th to 19th and Renault also dropped from 11th to 13th.

Car tax was a big topic – not only for consumers who registered new vehicles but also for people buying second-hand cars or renewing their existing car tax disc. Total search volume for car tax increased by 10% over the quarter, with the top search term, ‘car tax’, accounting for nearly 1 in 5 car tax-related searches.

There were a lot of interesting snippets of information in the quarterly report. However, we are most pleased that we managed to INCREASE our number of online visitors, even in the face of a 12% year-on-year decline in the industry as a whole. And by over 40%!

Visit Trade-it Motors to advertise your vehicles today.

Optimism for aftersales growth

noreply@blogger.com (Trade-It) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:42:00 +0000

A survey has revealed that more than half of automotive dealers have positive expectations for their used car sales and aftersales activities in 2012.

The survey from Experian, the global information services company, revealed that 62% of dealerships predicted that their used car sales activities would grow in 2012.

The survey also revealed that many car dealers are planning to place more of an effort in their aftersales care and products. About 55% of automotive dealers surveyed believed that they would grow their aftersales activity during 2012.

Dealers also revealed that customer loyalty was far greater amongst those who had previously purchased new cars from them: 70% of new car customers returned to the dealership for servicing or repair. In contrast, the survey revealed that only 14% of used car buyers.

Increasing customer loyalty from used car buyers is not the only challenge faced by automotive dealers. 22% of dealers surveyed stated that a shortage of good quality used cars was the biggest challenge facing their business this year, whilst 23% of dealers stated that selling vehicles profitably was the key challenge facing their business. A further 17% stated that identifying and reaching suitable customers was their biggest problem.

Alistair Scullion, Managing Director for Experian’s Automotive business in the UK and Ireland, commented: “Our survey suggests that the sales environment for new cars continues to be a significant challenge and dealers are adapting their businesses accordingly.”

“Optimism around used car sales and aftersales activities is encouraging. It is clear that dealerships recognise that there are growth opportunities for those of them that can react quickly to changing market dynamics, while reaching customers with the right offer and fostering customer loyalty to keep them coming back to the dealership.”

Visit Trade-it Motors to advertise your vehicles today.

More buyers find cars online

noreply@blogger.com (Trade-It) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:40:00 +0000

More people are searching for automotive information online according to search engine giant, Google.

As reported by Car Dealer Magazine, the number of people using the internet for information about cars is 50% higher than it was in December 2011.

This includes people going online to look for information about buying vehicles – both new and used – as well as information about aftersales care and servicing.

Google say that there are three main factors driving this growth in automotive online search.

The first is the release of the ‘12’ number plate in March 2012. Car buyers looking to purchase in the spring are likely to begin their search around now, as buyers traditionally take two to three months to make their final choice.

The second factor is delayed demand because of the Christmas period. Searching for new or used cars falls down the list of many people’s priorities over Christmas, so the need to look for a car to purchase, or even information regarding services etc, is put on hold. After Christmas is when the demand begins to pick up again.

The third main factor influencing this surge in online car searches, say Google, are manufacturer offers. As a rule, consumers want the best deal available and aren’t afraid to spend time searching online for manufacturer offers if it means saving money.

These factors demonstrate the importance of a visible online presence for car dealers.

Visit Trade-it Motors to advertise your vehicles today.

Source: Car Dealer Magazine

Happy 21st birthday Trade-It

noreply@blogger.com (Wightbay) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:16:00 +0000

Trade-It is 21-years-old this week (on 25 November)!

But while some things have changed over the past 21 years - like the goods for sale - some things have stayed the same and we’re still the best place to cash in on a clear-out.

This week 21 years ago, the first issue of Trade-It was on sale for 60p, it was 38 pages long and carried an ad for an ‘A-Team’ children’s bed set for £8. This would now be a collectors’ item! Today you can buy a bundle of Toy Story children’s bedding for £15.

In 1990, our computer ads section was dominated by secondhand Amstrads, Commodore 64s and Atari machines, today Notebooks, iPads and Thinkpads are our most popular computing items for sale.

Twenty-one years ago a 1988 Ford Escort - a reliable little runner - was selling for £1,000, while this week an Escort made the same year was selling for spares for £375.

There were also a few red faces when a Ford Escort was accidently advertised in our ‘escort services’ section of Trade-It.

But some things never change. You have always been able to buy unusual things in Trade-It. In 1990, you could buy a Father Christmas outfit for £30, while this week you can pick up a Santa outfit for a spaniel for £9.99.

Speaking of Christmas, if you’re in the market for one, you could buy a loved one a life-sized Elvis Presley statue - with guitar - for £450.00 this week.

So where did it all begin?

In 1990, Scott Davidson - a keyboard player with the Pet Shop Boys – created the concept for Trade-It while touring with the band in Canada. Once the first issue was published he continued to tour with the band for six months and sent money home to keep the business going while he was away.

The Davidson family quickly expanded the Trade-It so it not only covered Bristol, but the surrounding counties of Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

In 2006, the Friday Media Group acquired Trade-It and since then it has evolved to include one weekly paid-for title covering the South-West and a free title, named Trade-It Free. Trade-it Free is now distributed to over 450 outlets across Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare every Friday.

In 2009, Trade-It moved from Emery Road to new offices at The Paintworks at Arnos Vale.

We launched the Trade-It.co.uk website in 2000 and it attracts about 128,000 unique visitors per week, who view the 15,000 ads placed each week through our effective Place an Ad tool. At any one time about 140,000 ads are live on the website.

We are currently developing a mobile version of the website and the site has a strong community of members who visit our Facebook page - which has more than 10,000 likes – follow us on Twitter and read our online guides.

Trade-It has expanded its print offering in recent years by producing a number of supplements, stand-alone publications and event programmes including: BrisFest Programme, Keynsham Music Festival Programme, Cotswold Show Programme, To Have and To Hold Wedding Guide, and many others.

Happy birthday Trade-It!

Looking for a car locally? There's no better place to do it than Trade-It...

noreply@blogger.com (Wightbay) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:59:00 +0000

It's great for us to announce that we now have over 60% of all motor dealers in and around the Bristol area advertising their cars with us. We won't be stopping there, but what I wanted to explain was the benefit of this to you our users. Not only does more vehicles give us a greater selection for buyers to choose from but also drives more buyers to our motors section helping private advertisers to sell their cars quicker. So as we continue to create a greater, more rich motors section, rest assured that this is benefiting everyone looking to buy or sell a car with Trade-It. Visit our motors section and find your next car, or even take a look and get an idea of what you could get for your existing one instead... click here

Also something we don't always shout about enough here at Trade-It in these particularly challenging economic times is we still lead the way in offering advertising completely free to private advertisers. For instance if you have a property to rent, or a job vacancy to promote, no matter how big or small it's free online to advertise! Yes completely free! So whether you are looking to fill a position yourself or have friends who are looking to recruit running up to the Christmas period, rather than spending on costly advertsing why not do it for free with us? Renting a property can also be an expensive business, keep the costs down by advertising and renting a property privately on Trade-It. Place an ad today!

Don't forget to keep an eye out on Trade-It for our latest competitions, there's lots of great prizes and will be adding new competitions all the way up to Christmas so don't miss your chance to win! Click here to see the latest competitions on site.

Not another Christmas message..

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:31:00 +0000

So we all know the run up to Christmas is a busy time of year, if not a bit of stressful one at that. This year is no exception with Christmas decorations popping up in shops all over the place, even earlier than usual. So the last thing you want to read about is Christmas right?

Okay well yes, this is a post about Christmas, but it's an expensive time of year, so as we all start to tighten our belts, ready for the big spend, have you thought about selling some of those unwanted presents from Christmas passed? Those golf clubs collecting dust in the garage or that brand new bike the kids grew out of quicker than you could say 'Merry Christmas' or simply something you just don't use anymore. Our traffic sores in the next couple of months with people looking for that perfect gift. So we're the ideal place to make that bit of extra cash and make it that little bit less of painful period on your pocket. Our buyers are interested in just about anything, so take a second... have a think... What have you got that could be making you some money??

Start selling now, you might just be suprised how much you could make :)

Put your business in the Spotlight...

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:03:00 +0000

Introducing the new 'Spotlight Ad' from Trade-It....

On the right hand side of the Trade-It homepage, and following shortly on many other pages, you will now see a new product where there used to be a lot of graphical promotions.

Whilst we believe there is a place for the graphical rotating promotions, we have taken the step to reduce the number of these types of business products (we still offer graphical advertising options) so that we can provide an additional opportunity which may benefit business advertisers differently.

The Spotlight Ad is a text based alternative which gives businesses the opportunity to tell more of a story, immediately, and without delay (no rotating frames).

The new Spotlight Ad looks like this:

Spotlight ads offer the following benefits to business advertisers:

Easy to read
Informative
Clear call to action always visible, giving users a reason to click and view more detail
An image can be uploaded, either to promote the business brand (logo) or to show an example of work for immediate relevance to user
Spotlight ads have better SEO value for the advertiser. The Title and description link to their website – this is known as anchor text and is stored as valuable information against that advertisers site. It helps to build an understanding of the sites purpose with Google
They look like real classified ads not peripheral advertising – Because they look like natural ads that appear on our site, users are more likely to interact with them, which will in turn generate more traffic to your business website.

Spotlights are already proven to provide more than TWICE THE RESPONSE to the previous graphical promotions that appeared in these positions.

If you own a business and would like to promote your services using the new Spotlight Ad product then give the Trade-It team a call on 01179 72 73 74 to find out more and see how Trade-It can help your business to grow.

Had a weird dream? Ready for a Tweet and Tell session?

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:54:00 +0000

Saw this article on Bristol24-7 earlier today and thought it was quite interesting - Bristol academic wants you to tweet her your dreams

Dr Jennie Parker, an expert from the University of the West of England (UWE) is conducting an experiment on dreams and providing interpretations to those selected this Friday.

If you've had a weird dream recently, fallen from a building but woken up before you hit the floor, found yourself in a public situation starkers etc, then this could be your perfect opportunity to have an expert give you some meaning - If you dare!

To get involved simply tweet a description of your dream in less than 140 characters to @dreamshrink

Right then, to finish off this post I make no apologies for the following shameless self promotion...

If you're having odd dreams or not getting the best nights sleep then perhaps you need a new bed? If so, then look no further than the bedrooms section on Trade-It.

Told you it was shameless! ;)

Apple iPhone 4G - Myth or Prototype!?

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:30:00 +0000

As far as we're lead to believe, the much discussed Apple iPhone 4G does not exist, yet this doesn't stop Gizmodo claiming to have got their hands on a misplaced prototype!

The whistleblowers claim the 4G iPhone was lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged as a standard Apple iPhone 3GS.

Now I'm not convinced but the video below is quite compelling and makes a claim for this being genuine. If so, then it's quite exciting news for any current iPhone owners or anybody who fancies getting an early look at what the future holds for the leading mobile phone device. HTC, Nokia, Sony and Google themselves might also be quite interested! ;)

The full story can be found here: http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone

Until Apple confirm whether there's any truth in this or indeed actually launch the much talked about iPhone 4G, the best you're gonna get is the 3GS model.

check out the Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS phones currently available on Trade-It.

Everybody loves a car boot sale!...

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:38:00 +0000

...Or so it would seem if the traffic coming to Trade-It is anything to go by!

One of our popular visiting terms from Google to Trade-It is for 'Car boot sales in Bristol'. We quite like this fact as like a car boot sale, on Trade-It you can find thousands of bargains and sometimes, if your the early bird, you can uncover some real gems.

We have a number of Car Boot Sales already advertising on Trade-It, so check them out and find those local to you.

Regular Car Boot events such as the Wooten Monster Indoor Boot Fair and up and coming events such as the Goosewell School Car Boot Sale are great events to visit or be part of. If you've got lots of items you'd like to sell then why not try them as well as advertising for free on Trade-It.co.uk.

Planning a car boot sale? Then make sure everybody knows where to find you by advertising your car boot sale or local boot fair event for free on Trade-It. Place Your Ad Free Today!

Happy selling! :)

Homepage Featured Ads offer maximum response to advertisers

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:07:00 +0000

Guarantee maximum exposure for your business, property, vehicle or job by taking advantage of our Homepage Featured product.

Homepage Featured ads get guaranteed exposure on the Trade-It homepage for three days, ensuring they are seen by anybody entering the site and seeing this page.

Your ad will be displayed at the top of the Trade-It homepage to ensure it gets the most opportunities to be seen, which means your ad is seen before other ads like yours and you get the response first!

Homepage featured ads appear here:

It's easy to select your ad to appear as Homepage Featured. When you Place An Ad, make sure you add a photo to your listing. Photo's are proven to offer over 8x more response so if you don't usually add a photo, you should do this anyway! If you're promoting a job or your business then add your business logo or an example of your work. If you ahve lots of examples of your work, add them all! You can have up to eight photo's for free on Trade-It.

After you've completed your ad copy, on the next page you'll have the opportunity to upgrade your ad to generate more exposure. Advertising on Trade-It is free if you just want a basic ad, but adding one of our response drivers can really help to improve the success rate of your ad.

If you added a photo when building your ad then one option you will see is the Homepage Featured. Simply tick this box along with any other upgrades you want such as 'Print my ad in paper' and then checkout to complete your booking.

Your ad will be shown as a Homepage Featured ad shortly after your booking is confirmed and approved by our ad placement team.

So make sure as many people see your ad as possible with our Homepage Featured upgrade. Happy advertising! :)

What would you like to see on Trade-It

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:02:00 +0000

At Trade-It we are continuously looking to add new features, improve usability, simplify functionality and generally find ways we can add to the experience of using www.trade-it.co.uk.

This might be by adding more community based aspects such as cinema listings and football game reports. It could be improvements in how we group our adverts for simplified browsing or changes to our ad placement process.

There are a number of things on our list already but Trade-It is a site built for the people of Bristol and the South West to use, so who better to decide on future improvements for the site than you!? :)

We're looking for suggestions, no matter how big or small, on how you'd like to see Trade-It improve. What do you want from the site that we, and perhaps other sites you use, don't currently offer? What would make you keep coming back time and time again?

You can either post your comments here for all to see and comment back on, or alternatively email us at ideas@trade-it.co.uk with your suggestions.

Thanks for your help. :)

Rob

Get ready for the digital switch-over

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:53:00 +0000

If you live in Bristol or the South West then it's likely you are currently preparing yourself for the digital switch-over. If you're not, then come the 7th of April you could find yourself staring at a blank box in the corner of your living room.

If your area is covered by the Bristol Barton House transmitter then on the 24th March 2010 the first of two stages will begin, which will result in your analogue TV transmission being turned off in favour of digital signals.

To find out what transmitter covers your area and confirm your digital switch-over date, visit www.digitaluk.co.uk.

So why is it important you understand what transmitter you're watching?

The date you will switch over to digital and the channels you will be able to receive are dependant on which transmitter you receive your signal from. If you are close to a main transmitter then you could benefit from over 40 digital channels including BBC3, ITV2, ITV3, More4, E4 and many other free to air digital channels. People receiving their signal from a relay transmitter will likely get around 20 digital channels.

Dates you need to be aware of:

The digital switch-over for West TV region viewers will begin. BBC2 analogue will be switched off.

All analogue tv channels will be switched off on 7th April 2010. After this time you will need a digital receiver to view television channels in your area and re-tune to find all those available to you.

Do you have all the equipment you need?

If you're still looking to buy digital ready TVs, receivers or other equipment then Trade-It may be able to help you kit out your house without breaking the bank. And if you need a qualified installer to help then we can help you find these too.

View TV's available on Trade-It
Satellite and cable equipment available on Trade-It
Find a qualified installer to prepare you for the digital switch-over

Win a 19" Sharp TV with built in Freeview!

Check out our competition to win a 19" digital TV which will give you immediate access to the digital channels available to you when the switch-over happens.

This Sharp TV comes HD Ready for those of you with a HD digital receiver or Sky HD box and at 19" would make an excellent second TV for a bedroom or as a replacement for a non-digital TV anywhere else in your house.

Entering couldn't be easier. Simply answer the multiple choice question before March 25th and we'll let you know if you are the lucky winner.

The prize comes courtesy of Richer Sounds. Check out their website for other great ideas to prepare you for the digital switch-over and find your local Richer Sounds store.

Finding items near you is now even easier

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:28:00 +0000

Trade-It covers the whole of the South West and we understand how frustrating it can be to find the perfect item you're looking for and then discover it's 50 miles away.

We've always offered the ability to filter by location when browsing ads using the options found on the left hand side of results pages ( as shown below):

Now we are trying to make it even easier and quicker for you to find items within a specific area.

On every ad details page we now show you the town location for the item being sold, so you can quickly decide if it's within travelling distance or not.

What's more, if it is, and you'd like to see if there are other similar items within the same area that might be of interest, simply click on the location name and we'll provide you with other matching results. Neat huh! :)

So, whatever you're looking for, use our location options to help find items within the areas your willing to travel. Happy browsing!

Use video to enhance your online advertising

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:14:00 +0000

Classified advertising has undergone a lot of change since the internet began offering an alternate medium through which to promote a business or simply advertise unwanted items for sale.

Internet advertising allows people the opportunity to provide more detail than they can possibly add to a paper ad (mainly due to expense). It allows for multiple picture posting to show the condition of an item far better than words can describe and allows businesses to show off previous work.

Links to web pages containing more info, email addresses as an additional contact method and instant messaging addresses for immediate connection between buyers and sellers are all common place now.

Video has been around for a number of years but hasn't been embraced as quickly by every day users, generally due to the knowledge and 'kit' required to create a video and have it hosted somewhere that other users can find it. And then of course you have to promote it otherwise what is the point?

Now though, video is a simple technology, and it's readily available to all via mobile phones and mini-camcorders etc. Their are numerous sites for uploading and sharing video, the most obvious being YouTube, and most social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo etc, all make sharing video as simple as possible.

A quick video shot on a mobile phone can be tranferred directly to a computer using the cables and software provided with the phone, or ever via bluetooth and other wireless transfer technologies. From here it's merely a case of uploading the video to the site of your choosing, where it can instantly be shared with the world.

And what's becoming increasingly obvious about video on the web is that it doesn't have to be a hollywood production! If the content is interesting or achieves whatever goal it has been created to do, it will likely generate the desired response. And there's a better chance it will be shared too.

If you're selling your car, a blender or a sofa, a simple video will help you to sell the item to potential buyers. The car can be shown from all angles easily to give immediate assurities as to the condition. It can be heard starting up and ticking over. You can even film it being driven. In the same way, a blender seen working will stop buyers avoiding the ad due to concerns about it's working condition, and the sofa can be seen to have been looked after. Each video satisfies far more questions that a potential buyer may have about an item and encourages them to make contact.

For businees advertisers, similar buyer concerns can be over-come. Is the business professional, what work have they previously under-taken, what could I expect to pay, how long have they been established and even, who is the person I will be dealing with? These are all basic details which can be quickly outlined with a video whilst providing a level of detail impossible to deliver via other formats.

Trade-It allows advertisers to add video using either direct upload or YouTube hosted files. If you're a business hosting promotional videos on YouTube and would like to promote them to th Trade-It audience then you can. If you want to add your car video directly then that's just as quick.

Placing an ad on Trade-It is quick and easy. Adding photo's and videos is straight-forward and we have hints in place to help guide you through.

So next time you're placing an ad, try adding a video.

If you're a business advertiser and would like to have a promotional video for your business then we can offer this service too. We'll discuss your aims with you and use our expertise to create and distribute on your behalf a professional commercial video. To find out more call us on 01179 72 73 74.

Money off vouchers

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:03:00 +0000

So everybody likes a bargain right? Well on Trade-It you can find bargains galore, and with our printable vouchers you can save even more on the things you love.

Whether you're looking for a new pram (see below), a cheaper deal on your car MOT or a get one free deal on pizza etc, you'll find it on Trade-It.

Visit www.trade-it.co.uk/vouchers to see what we currently have available.

If you're an advertiser and want a great way to attract more business to your services then consider adding a voucher for your offerings. Whether it's money off, a special gift or a free quote option, a voucher will get you in front of even more Trade-It users and give you a way of monitoring your advertising response.

According to Google Insights - www.google.com/insights - The number of users searching online for 'vouchers' has grown year on year since their records began in 2004. Wouldn't you like some of this business?

http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=voucher&geo=GB&cmpt=q

If you would like to discuss vouchers with our friendly advisors then give us a call on 01179 72 73 74 or email us at enquiries@trade-it.co.uk

Get involved with our Facebook Fan Page

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:34:00 +0000

We've made a number of changes to our Facebook Fan Page and will be using this much more over the coming days, weeks, months, to keep you involved with the comings and goings on at Trade-It.

We'll be uploading photos and videos from places we've been and you may have been. We want you to upload yours too. Share your favourite photo's from events in and around Bristol or simply add pictures of you to share with other members of the Trade-It community.

We'll also be trying to have a bit of fun to break up the days. Spot caption comps, submissions and 'best of...' games to keep you entertained and little treats and prizes for the best responses.

And if your looking for special offers or discounts to be used on advertising with Trade-It, we'll be giving our facebook fans access to offers only available to them.

So why not check us out at www.facebook.com/tradeit and become a fan.

See you there. :)

Celebrity Items - Buy John Nettles TV Rover 75

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:04:00 +0000

We've seen a few celebrity sales on Trade-It over the years. Whether direct sales from the celebs themselves or memorabilia connected to well know TV programmes and their stars, they always get a lot of attention.

Currently on the site we have the Rover 75 driven by John Nettles in Midsomer Murders up for grabs. It looks in fab condition, seems reasonable to me, and has the added value of being a talking piece and something to show off.

Take a look. It could be yours...

ROVER 75 Connoisseur 03 Auto V6 2.0 CELEBRITY CAR USED BY JOHN NETTLES IN MIDSOMER MURDERS!

Do you own any celebrity items? Got a story you could share or perhaps you're looking to sell. Comment here, Place An Ad, or get in touch with us at Trade-It

Need an URGENT response to your ad?

noreply@blogger.com (Rob) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:26:00 +0000

We're pleased to announce a new feature which we believe will help advertisers in need of a quick response to their listings.

If you have a property that needs letting quickly, a job you need to fill or an item you want to sell fast, then the 'Urgent Ad' is the product for you.

IT's easy to place an Urgent Ad and the benefits make it a must for anybody needing a quick response. Simply check the 'Urgent Ad' box when prompted during creation of your ad to ensure your ad is marked as urgent.

Once placed, your ad will be guaranteed increased exposure through promotion of the new product on our homepage:

Your ad will be given an 'urgent' icon so that it is clear within the advert listings and stands out:

And the best reason to take an Urgent Ads is that users looking on Trade-It can choose to only view urgent ads. Potential buyers, tenants, candidates etc can select to filter results to only view the urgent ads, by checking a box at the top of all advert listing pages:

So if you have anything requiring an urgent response then make sure you try out our new Urgent Ad! :)