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Inventory Copy

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Ryan Hartigan

Ryan Hartigan

3rd Base Coach
Feb 20, 2017
40
22
First Name
Ryan
#1
Hey everyone,

Recently, I've been picking up manufacturer pamphlets on their new cars and going through the copy as some light reading.

I have an employee who is putting copy on all of the inventory available, but we've been using Edmunds reviews and sometimes the reviews are not so great (would you figure that?)

Obviously it doesn't make sense to have copy on your VDP that doesn't help with the sale.

I want to have the kind of copy that the manufacturers would write. But these are used cars. And I want search functionality like Edmunds has.

Are there any providers of this kind of thing in the automotive industry (I'm thinking like the Fuel API for inventory pictures but for inventory copy)?

Or are there websites that you would think may be a good substitute for the Edmunds reviews, where the description are going to be written with the intention of actually selling the vehicles and (hopefully) by someone who knows how to write sales copy...

Let me know. I may want to just create an in-house database over time, but I'm looking for something that we can use now that would be quick and easy
 
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#3
Ryan Hartigan said:
Hey everyone,

Recently, I've been picking up manufacturer pamphlets on their new cars and going through the copy as some light reading.

I have an employee who is putting copy on all of the inventory available, but we've been using Edmunds reviews and sometimes the reviews are not so great (would you figure that?)

Obviously it doesn't make sense to have copy on your VDP that doesn't help with the sale.

I want to have the kind of copy that the manufacturers would write. But these are used cars. And I want search functionality like Edmunds has.

Are there any providers of this kind of thing in the automotive industry (I'm thinking like the Fuel API for inventory pictures but for inventory copy)?

Or are there websites that you would think may be a good substitute for the Edmunds reviews, where the description are going to be written with the intention of actually selling the vehicles and (hopefully) by someone who knows how to write sales copy...

Let me know. I may want to just create an in-house database over time, but I'm looking for something that we can use now that would be quick and easy
Click to expand...

Hey @Ryan Hartigan,

There is a company called Dealer Assist Now that set out to archive seller's notes years ago. I'm not sure if that is still their approach, but they may be a good place to start. Here is a link: https://www.dealerassistnow.com/

I have no real knowledge of this company, pricing, etc. The founder is the brother of a good industry friend of mine. I know her brother spent some time with Autotrader and knows the challenge of writing compelling copy. Again, not an endorsement because it has been 10 years, but hopefully, this is a good starting point for you.

Here's a shameless plug too since you said you want something easy and quick. CarStory offers Market Reports to dealers free of charge. We've deployed 10,000 of them. I can give you the code and have you up and running very quickly. You may find the information (feature values, market comparisons, 3rd party pricing analysis, etc.) and analytics within the reports helpful to augment your seller's notes too. It's a free product for dealers, so I'm bending not breaking the forum rules. If I can help you please let me know.
 
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#4
Alexander Lau said:
Do you mean Fuel API (EVOX) for inventory pix? Edmund's closed their open API last year. It was a beauty. I don't see many others, if at all.
Click to expand...

Yeah I wanted to use the Edmunds API. I just have a freelancer grabbing the Edmunds reviews but they are often negative. So if there was another place where he could grab them but have them always be sales copy
 
#5
@ryan.leslie good post and you reminded me of the group that I had first used, but it totally escaped me, it was http://www.chromedata.com/vehicle-description/ and they are reputable. They have a bunch of cool products. They might still have it, but their new vehicle showroom tool used to RANK THROUGH THE ROOF, even though it was essentially duplicate content on many automotive websites. That taught me that Google lies about duplicate content.
 
#6
ryan.leslie said:
Hey @Ryan Hartigan,

There is a company called Dealer Assist Now that set out to archive seller's notes years ago. I'm not sure if that is still their approach, but they may be a good place to start. Here is a link: https://www.dealerassistnow.com/

I have no real knowledge of this company, pricing, etc. The founder is the brother of a good industry friend of mine. I know her brother spent some time with Autotrader and knows the challenge of writing compelling copy. Again, not an endorsement because it has been 10 years, but hopefully, this is a good starting point for you.

Here's a shameless plug too since you said you want something easy and quick. CarStory offers Market Reports to dealers free of charge. We've deployed 10,000 of them. I can give you the code and have you up and running very quickly. You may find the information (feature values, market comparisons, 3rd party pricing analysis, etc.) and analytics within the reports helpful to augment your seller's notes too. It's a free product for dealers, so I'm bending not breaking the forum rules. If I can help you please let me know.
Click to expand...

Hey Ryan,

Yes I would love to chat further. You can send me an email at ryan@ordermotive.com
 
#7
Alexander Lau said:
@ryan.leslie good post and you reminded me of the group that I had first used, but it totally escaped me, it was http://www.chromedata.com/vehicle-description/ and they are reputable. They have a bunch of cool products. They might still have it, but their new vehicle showroom tool used to RANK THROUGH THE ROOF, even though it was essentially duplicate content on many automotive websites. That taught me that Google lies about duplicate content.
Click to expand...

What is pricing like for their data tools?
 
#9
Ryan Hartigan said:
What is pricing like for their data tools?
Click to expand...

$XX-$XXX per rooftop depending on what data you need.
I wouldn't say their descriptions are unique or exciting, but I believe there's some content there you can find.
They're better known for raw data and VIN decoding than they are for anything marketing related.
 
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