- Dec 19, 2018
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- Bill
We are a small town dealer (17,000 pop.) in the middle of nowhere in Northeast Missouri. Here is a map of our deliveries since September 1st since we starting shipping with AutoSled.
Shipping With AutoSled Since September
- Thread starter BillKVMotorCo
- Start date
- May 1, 2006
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- Alex
Love this thread and hope to add a consumer story to it soon. After 10 months of searching I think I found my unicorn in Arkansas. Hopped on the AutoSled consumer form to get a quote crazy fast. It was super easy! Just waiting on FedEx to deliver my contract back to the dealer and then we are on to scheduling the shipment to Vermont.
Interesting.
What kind of marketing are you doing? Is it just people using the usual big 3 market places to find a trim and price point that they want?
What kind of marketing are you doing? Is it just people using the usual big 3 market places to find a trim and price point that they want?
- Apr 7, 2009
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- Joe
Hmmm.. scarcity and low friction delivery. Bill's shipping map is proof that you can pull more ROI out of the big 3 marketplaces with AutoSled.
A unicorn shopper knows exactly what they want. YMMT, packages, options colors, miles, price, etc. A unicorn shopper is a power shopper, they 'work' the search tools hard.
Alex, what's it like to be a unicorn shopper?
- May 1, 2006
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It is a
experience. Watching Autotrader, CARS, Facebook, dealer websites, etc for something that smells a little like the right beast was my morning routine for 10 months. I'm not sure I made the right call on the car I bought, so there's that. But here are some relevant thoughts for DealerRefresh:Autotrader sucks beyond the second page of results - it completely breaks. It is a rough experience on the other pages too because they have not optimized the site for all the damn ads they throw in your face. It is very obvious the platform is old. I got so fed up with Autotrader I wrote a LinkedIn post about it.
Cars.com is super smooth! It lacks the private seller inventory you get on Autotrader. The photo browsing experience is my only gripe with Cars.com. That part could be a little better. It is good at remembering what filters you applied on the last search - even on mobile!
I didn't use Gurus much. It is highly price-focused, which didn't matter much on my hunt. Photos were my biggest concern as it was the only way to consistently figure out options and condition.
Facebook is a shit show of who knows what you're going to get. The sellers who had video did make things easier. Descriptions were better as they were mostly private sellers and independent dealers who could tell a story. The larger gripe with Facebook is that it locks you into a 500 mile radius. I had to change my location from Vermont to Atlanta to see what was available in Florida for example.
Autotempest became my new vehicle search gem! I really like that site. It combines most of the third party searches into one with an excellent filter system. These guys built something great!My other favorite has been Cars n Bids. I've been watching that site since it launched.
In my case, the GXOR community is where I ended up finding my car kinda by accident. That group is on the ih8mud forums, Facebook, and Reddit. A Reddit thread asking if a particular vehicle was a good buy sent me to the dealership that I bought from.
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Then there was the lead experience.
I submitted a lot of leads over the 10 months. I was direct with my question in the contact form every time: "can you take a photo of the undercarriage because I want to see the condition of the rust."
Not a single dealer responded with any regard for what I put in the lead form comment box. But every dealer responded to me. Not a one is using AI and some of these dealers could really use some polish on things.
Where a communication preference was asked, I always selected email or text and 80% of the time I got a phone call. That is so damn annoying.
The other major annoying thing is FullPath. OMG, the dealers using their service are blowing my email inbox up with the most irrelevant shit imaginable. The emails are pretty, but they are just throwing crap at a window trying to get something to stick. I realize they're all the hotness right now, but the consumer experience ain't good.
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But let's get back to the AutoSled experience....
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- May 1, 2006
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- Alex
Just confirmed my shipping with AutoSled, made the payment, and now have a progress UI to watch. Also had a call from them to confirm it all and answer any lingering questions I had. So far - top notch!
My personal experience unicorn hunting mirrors yours. 3rd parties are getting more worthless as time goes on and Autotempest is the only one trying to find what you're looking for. Hunting for a specific option or package is still a nightmare due to poor search filters, poor merchandising, and poor photos.It is a
Autotrader sucks beyond the second page of results - it completely breaks. It is a rough experience on the other pages too because they have not optimized the site for all the damn ads they throw in your face. It is very obvious the platform is old. I got so fed up with Autotrader I wrote a LinkedIn post about it.
Cars.com is super smooth! It lacks the private seller inventory you get on Autotrader. The photo browsing experience is my only gripe with Cars.com. That part could be a little better. It is good at remembering what filters you applied on the last search - even on mobile!
I didn't use Gurus much. It is highly price-focused, which didn't matter much on my hunt. Photos were my biggest concern as it was the only way to consistently figure out options and condition.
Facebook is a shit show of who knows what you're going to get. The sellers who had video did make things easier. Descriptions were better as they were mostly private sellers and independent dealers who could tell a story. The larger gripe with Facebook is that it locks you into a 500 mile radius. I had to change my location from Vermont to Atlanta to see what was available in Florida for example.
My other favorite has been Cars n Bids. I've been watching that site since it launched.
In my case, the GXOR community is where I ended up finding my car kinda by accident. That group is on the ih8mud forums, Facebook, and Reddit. A Reddit thread asking if a particular vehicle was a good buy sent me to the dealership that I bought from.
--------------------------
Then there was the lead experience.
I submitted a lot of leads over the 10 months. I was direct with my question in the contact form every time: "can you take a photo of the undercarriage because I want to see the condition of the rust."
Not a single dealer responded with any regard for what I put in the lead form comment box. But every dealer responded to me. Not a one is using AI and some of these dealers could really use some polish on things.
Where a communication preference was asked, I always selected email or text and 80% of the time I got a phone call. That is so damn annoying.
The other major annoying thing is FullPath. OMG, the dealers using their service are blowing my email inbox up with the most irrelevant shit imaginable. The emails are pretty, but they are just throwing crap at a window trying to get something to stick. I realize they're all the hotness right now, but the consumer experience ain't good.
---------------------------
But let's get back to the AutoSled experience....
I've sold on Carsandbids with great success and I've bid on a few. Haven't bought anything yet.
I still get emails from dealers I submitted leads to 7 months ago after repeatedly telling all of them I already purchased a vehicle. I have no idea how this is still happening. ONE dealer out of about 10 answered my lead in the appropriate way, answering my questions, and they are the one I ended up driving 3 hours to buy from. Coincidence? Doubtful.
Also, huge Autosled plug for those who still aren't using them. We're over a year in having them move all of our purchases. It's so seamless I don't even think about transportation anymore, exactly how it should be.
Bottom line, even for professionals in our industry, it can be challenging to find a specific car. How do you think unicorn hunter consumers feel who don't have our resources and expertise?
- Dec 19, 2018
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- Bill
That's the crazy thing. Hardly any marketing at all yet. Like a $500 social budget. I always like to add one thing at a time so I know what is working and what is not. The main thing is just having "We Ship Nationwide" on our overlay.
- May 1, 2006
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- Alex
Aaaand holy 
Truck picked up my new unicorn Saturday at 1:00 PM from Arkansas and delivered it to me in Vermont at 7:50 PM last night. FAST AF!!!!
Truck picked up my new unicorn Saturday at 1:00 PM from Arkansas and delivered it to me in Vermont at 7:50 PM last night. FAST AF!!!!
- Dec 19, 2018
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- 616
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- Bill
It's pretty wild sometimes. They use some of the same companies as ACV. Since this post, we delivered one to Alabama. I submitted the order and they picked it up a few hours later when they dropped off two units that I bought from ACV. They delivered it the next day to Alabama.Aaaand holy
Truck picked up my new unicorn Saturday at 1:00 PM from Arkansas and delivered it to me in Vermont at 7:50 PM last night. FAST AF!!!!
