Earlier today, a client emailed my husband Mike about a great deal on a red Mercedes 500 SL convertible available on eBay. It was a 2004 model with only 7000 miles and offered a three-year warranty to boot. Located in Florida, this two-seater beckoned with a red price tag of around $28,000.
Ever the bargain hunter, Mike grabbed the San Diego Union Tribune’s Sunday classified section for cars, expecting to search through at least three pages for comparable sales.
It turned out be to a very short search because there was less than a quarter-page for all used cars in San Diego.
I am not particularly interested in red convertibles, but the slim number of classified ads in San Diego’s daily newspaper DID catch my attention.
We have all heard that the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and other august print publications are on the ropes. The cause could only be financial, and financial resources are provided primarily by (1) Advertisers and (2) Subscribers (the number of which determine what advertisers pay for advertising).
I’ve been following these stories because I have a natural interest (because of background and training) in journalistic business–and also have a keen and active interest in how information (and advertising) is transmitted via the internet.
And it seems the latter may have overtaken the former. E-Bay and Craigslist are trampling traditional media.
Yesterday morning, I had a call from a Nevada broker asking if we had an agent fluent in Chinese who could help some Chinese investors seeking property in La Jolla. Hmmm….we have agents who speak Spanish, Polish, Russian and Farsi, but none who were fluent in Chinese.
The solution was simple.
I clicked to Craigslist, immediately placed and paid for an ad for a Chinese-fluent real estate agent–and serendipity took over. Within hours, we had a perfect response.
This morning Shumei Tao, a very bright and talented real estate agent, joined our company, San Diego Previews Real Estate. She is fluent in not only Mandarin, but Taiwanese, Cantonese–and the Internet. She too thought it serendipitous to find an internet ad that addressed her specific qualifications.
And it was only this evening as I looked at the sparse classified ads in the newspaper that I realized yesterday morning’s instinctive reaction to a need: Head over to Craigslist and have the ad online within minutes. And then today, a Florida client sends not a classified ad, but an eBay listing for an automobile.
And then I stop to wonder: When was the last time I scanned the newspaper classified ads for…anything?
I was thinking the exact same thing yesterday when I read the paper. I was waiting in line to get my oil changed and was offered a news paper. The paper was thin and I didn’t find much of interest. So after attempting a crossword puzzle, I combed the classifieds. WOW! It used to be so thick, and now there is almost nothing in it.
Papers need to re-think business plans and find a way to make the internet work well for them.
Iused to work for the New York Times for 15 years in fact. I take no pleasure in what is happening to newspapers in this country. The emergence of the WEB is something we were aware of at the Times and they were a little behind the curve but have put up one hell of a fight.Their website is excellent. The problem is that NO ONE has figured out how to make delivering info on the web.The loss of independent media outlets (regardless of what you think of the Times editorial policy)is a loss for the country. Something Im sure will take its place but could not be the same.