When I see a dealer showcasing blatantly outdated photos of its pre-owned cars online, I know I’m looking at a store with no serious grasp of Internet Sales. This used to happen all the time years back, but by now I figured that both dealers and the vendors who take photos have realized the importance of taking non-incriminating shots.
Alas, it appears I’m wrong. I came upon this Wrangler just a few days ago while checking out Ramsey Chrysler-Jeep in North Jersey. Note the pile of snow it’s sitting on. Note the fact that the last snowfall in New Jersey was about 4 months ago. So it’s just about time to take this baby to auction I suppose, eh?
Listen, Internet buyers are smarter than ever, and they’ll only get more resourceful as time goes on. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out from this photo that Ramsey Chrysler-Jeep will accept pretty much any offer on this truck… but then, is it even worth the money? If it’s been sitting for that long, perhaps there’s something wrong with it, no? A lot of thoughts go through the consumer’s head when seeing a photo like this, and not a single one of those thoughts is “wow, I want that car and I’ll pay anything for it”.
Here are a few dont’s to take note of when your photos first go up for a pre-owned car; and honestly, I can’t believe I’m writing this in 2008.
- No snow. Shovel out a spot or put the car inside for the photoshoot… no white stuff on camera.
- No people in the background. When the guy in the background is wearing a t-shirt and the consumer is looking at the car online in January, you can kiss your gross goodbye.
- No dashboard pics showing the temperature. You get the idea… 35 degrees on the information display doesn’t hold water in springtime.
- No seasonal crap in the background. Avoid having anything on or around the car that indicates the season, i.e. christmas trees, memorial day/4th of july banners and balloons, etc.
- No visible tailpipe smoke. If you’re shooting the car in the cold, don’t leave it running… the smoke from the tailpipe will be visible and expose the fact that it’s a wintertime shot.
Of course, you could avoid all this and just do a better job of turning over your inventory…
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