Selling Made Easy With Classified Ads

You want to sell your computer, the car, your bungalow or house, the Disney holiday, or the gig tickets for your favourite band. You've got cash flow problems so you want to sell fast, too, like yesterday. Placing the item in the 'For Sale' section of the local newspaper seems like a good idea.

You bought the local newspaper a couple of days previously, like you always do, but where is it now? You thought you'd thrown it underneath the stack of magazines and papers on the table in the corner of the room. No, not there. You search some more but the it's nowhere to be found.

What now? Those handy Yellow Pages - that most times are simply a bulky nuisance - of course! Kind of obvious, really. Then thumb through the handy index until you find the section 'Newspapers and Periodicals'. Go through the list carefully and methodically. Got it. Grab a pen, jot down the number and then dial.

Seconds later, a friendly female voice asks what department you want. "Advertising", you reply. Hey, almost there now. Patience. Seconds later another friendly voice asks how she may help you, and you explain you want to place an add in the 'For Sale' section in this week's edition.

"You want to put an ad in the 'For Sale' section in next week's paper.", she insists. Maybe she hasn't heard me correctly. "No, in this week's edition.", I repeat. "Sorry, can't do that. If only you'd called us 30 minutes ago. It's the advertising deadline, you've just missed it for this week. It's always midday on a Tuesday, no exceptions. Do you want to advertise in next week's paper?"

Keep calm. Don't get annoyed. Think. The paper comes out at the end of the week but my ad should have gone in half an hour ago. This IS Tuesday. What's the matter with you people? Never heard of give-and-take? Local newspapers suck. You can keep them. No choice, hang up the phone before I blow a fuse or say something I might later regret.

Then it hits me. Of course, the Internet! Is this not the age of web sites, email, instant communication and all the rest! No worries now. How many classified ad sites have you seen while surfing the web? Who knows. But maybe now is the time to look at them, not ignore them.

Load up Google in the browser, enter 'classified ads' and hey presto, there's a ton of classified ads sites out there to choose from. Spoilt for choice, indeed.

The scene above may be a simple story but there is a serious point or two behind it. It neatly illustrates one of the very best reasons to consider using freeads sites - instant advertising. No waiting around. No deadlines.

The second good reason is cost. Just about every classified ad site is free to sign up with and is free to post ads. And you can usually post as many ads as you want, whenever you want. It'll save you a fortune.

Reason number three - there are LOTS of classified ad sites out there. Literally hundreds to choose from. Probably thousands. Sign up for as many as you want. And signing up is usually quick and easy, too, requiring only a valid email address, nothing more.

The fourth good reason is reach. The local newspaper may have a circulation of a few thousand, or a few tens of thousands, confined to the area you live in. A classified ad site, because it is web-based, can reach across the country, or across the world. That means no matter what you are trying to sell, someone, somewhere will probably be interested in it.

The last good reason - number five - the ability to add a picture, or two, of the item for sale. And most free ads sites allow you to do this at no cost. Don't think you'd be able to do that in your local newspaper, unless you were prepared to pay, that is. Then see what that would do to your bank balance!

Easy sign-up, great response and all free at Freebie Ads, a classified ads site owned by John Donaldson. To see what all the fuss is about, go to http://www.freebieads.co.uk