I have always suspected AutoTrader.com of this. Ask any of our reps over the years, I've had major issues with vehicles never coming off their site....especially those cheap cars that generate the most phone calls and makes ATC's reporting look phenomenal. I have never had this type of issue with Cars.com.
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When do you release your dealers inventory?
- Thread starter Alex Snyder
- Start date
My company uses the iDealer Network for our Data Collection and Dealer Photos. We manage over 40 franchised dealerships here in Southern California and no this is not a plug. I can confirm Alex's suspicion that they do not want to delete inventory. More cars = more eyeballs. In my ten years of working with and for 3rd party portals, many have an antiquated system for updating information and each one has their own format for accepting data. Our system updates our dealers website instantly, but when I push the dealerships inventory to the third-parties, it may take up to 24 hours before it is updated. My best suggestion is to be proactive in the management of your 3rd party advertisers. Familiarize yourself with their tools and delete the sold inventory from them directly. Don't be afraid to beat up your 3rd party Reps. Ask to speak with their managers or territory directors and voice your concerns. You are investing alot of time and advertising dollars in their systems. They should be reciprocating with results. I know here in Los Angeles, Trader and Cars have trainers that drive around and show you how to use their online tools. Ask your rep if this training is available to you.
I guess a vendor I talked with awhile back had those pills because he estimated a 8.9% increase in my DGI. I wonder if he has figured out why I haven't called him back?
I am having the same problem with my sold inventory not coming off of cars.com. I don't do business with Autotrader because I can't afford it. That is an interesting theory about cars being left on for search purposes. Although I must say that this problem has only surfaced for us in the last 120 days and before that it wasn't an issue.
I checked the cars that were not coming off and it appears they would be some of my most searched ...... one just happens to be in my top ten list on atc.
Uh oh...the conspiracy theorists are on the loose again. Let's see, ATC has 3 letters and NOT has 3 letters. So there you have it; proof positive that ATC does NOT take sold listings off in order to boost listing numbers. Wait...OFF has 3 letters too so now it's indisputable. Gimme a break.
Think about it: at the huge volume level involved, automated data transfer/handling is a given. That's true of cars.com, ATC, Vast, AOL, Yahoo, manufacturer sites, Dealer Specialties, Auto Exact, HomeNet, PimpMyUpload, etc., etc.. When new data is pushed in, it is added to the database. If that data is missing from a subsequent push, it is removed. No conspiracies, no under-handed schemes. BUT (oh look, another word with 3 letters, this must be getting really spooky for all you grassy knoll types), because there are so many different ways of formatting data - and most are incompatible with each other - and so many "hand-offs" of data from one 3rd party company to another, the opportunities for snafus are everywhere.
Here are two "You're not taking my sold cars off" scenarios I had this week. The first one...the dealer's 3rd party inventory vendor was not recognizing sold vehicles in the dealer's DMS. So sold units were still being pushed every day to ATC. The dealer then remembered that he had agreed to manually remove sold cars from their DMS until the DMS/Inventory Vendor problem could be resolved, but he wasn't doing it. ATC not at fault, but first to be blamed.
Second dealer (and this happens a lot)...the manufacturer continues to include vehicles in the Certified feed that is sent to ATC directly from the manufacturer, even though the dealer has reported those vehicles to the manufacturer as sold. ATC not at fault, but first to be blamed. I recommended to the dealer that they have their certified feed from the manufacturer turned off to avoid the problem.
Brian and Alex, rather than accusing your 3rd party vendors of nefarious activities, why don't you provide your ATC rep with specific VIN numbers of vehicles that are still listed which you think should have been removed and have them research why they are still on site. I'll be interested to see the findings posted here on DR.
Think about it: at the huge volume level involved, automated data transfer/handling is a given. That's true of cars.com, ATC, Vast, AOL, Yahoo, manufacturer sites, Dealer Specialties, Auto Exact, HomeNet, PimpMyUpload, etc., etc.. When new data is pushed in, it is added to the database. If that data is missing from a subsequent push, it is removed. No conspiracies, no under-handed schemes. BUT (oh look, another word with 3 letters, this must be getting really spooky for all you grassy knoll types), because there are so many different ways of formatting data - and most are incompatible with each other - and so many "hand-offs" of data from one 3rd party company to another, the opportunities for snafus are everywhere.
Here are two "You're not taking my sold cars off" scenarios I had this week. The first one...the dealer's 3rd party inventory vendor was not recognizing sold vehicles in the dealer's DMS. So sold units were still being pushed every day to ATC. The dealer then remembered that he had agreed to manually remove sold cars from their DMS until the DMS/Inventory Vendor problem could be resolved, but he wasn't doing it. ATC not at fault, but first to be blamed.
Second dealer (and this happens a lot)...the manufacturer continues to include vehicles in the Certified feed that is sent to ATC directly from the manufacturer, even though the dealer has reported those vehicles to the manufacturer as sold. ATC not at fault, but first to be blamed. I recommended to the dealer that they have their certified feed from the manufacturer turned off to avoid the problem.
Brian and Alex, rather than accusing your 3rd party vendors of nefarious activities, why don't you provide your ATC rep with specific VIN numbers of vehicles that are still listed which you think should have been removed and have them research why they are still on site. I'll be interested to see the findings posted here on DR.
@lightnup
who can I check with besides my rep and dealer concierge?
I am only having the issue with a few cars (they happen to be in my top ten) and I checked if they were capped in the system correctly. I also made sure that I had not touched it within the atc control panel.
I would also like some feedback or suggestions on placing inventory with atc. Not bashing just trying to get some answers. What happens to above theory if I spell it at.c? Would the . count as a letter? So now we have to look for four letter words? hmmmmmm......
who can I check with besides my rep and dealer concierge?
I am only having the issue with a few cars (they happen to be in my top ten) and I checked if they were capped in the system correctly. I also made sure that I had not touched it within the atc control panel.
I would also like some feedback or suggestions on placing inventory with atc. Not bashing just trying to get some answers. What happens to above theory if I spell it at.c? Would the . count as a letter? So now we have to look for four letter words? hmmmmmm......
damm... Lightnup spoiled the grassy knoll tread just when it was getting good.
Lightnup, "fuzzy logic" or not, you carry the burden of proof. This topic would make good ATC Newsletter back page content, possibly a side bar.
Joe
Lightnup, "fuzzy logic" or not, you carry the burden of proof. This topic would make good ATC Newsletter back page content, possibly a side bar.
Joe
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