Anyone looking to sell a truck, whether it be a tractor unit, flatbed, curtainsider, box truck, or van, has the same goal: sell it fast for as much money as possible. But the way you go about making that sale will ultimately determine your level of success. That’s why we’ve provided the following tips, which offer a reliable roadmap for selling your truck or trailer quickly and for a fair price.
Take Quality Photos
The first thing that grabs a buyer’s attention is the photo, so having quality photos of your truck or trailer counts for a lot. Clean the asset and position it in a well-lit area with a neutral background so it’s the focal point. Include multiple photos in online listings, showing the asset from multiple angles inside and out, and include videos if possible.
Price It To Sell
Aside from pictures of your truck, often the first thing a prospective buyer will look at is the price. If you don’t include a price when you list your truck, the listing will prompt buyers to call you for more information. However, statistics show that fewer people will respond to your ad because they will assume the price is too high.
Including a price, however, is a delicate balancing act. If you price your truck or trailer too high, it could take much longer to sell it. If you price it too low, you’ll risk leaving money on the table. There’s good news, though! Truck Locator offers several ways for you to determine the value of your truck and price it to sell.
The first option is to search for your vehicle's exact make, model, and year to see what other sellers are asking. You can then click the Price Checker button for a concise summary of the numbers.
Price Checker shows you the highest and lowest for-sale prices among listings for assets similar to yours, as well as averages, and lets you quickly jump to listing pages for the trucks for sale at retail and those up for auction.
Clicking the number under “Auction Price Checker” brings you to the Auction Results page for the corresponding truck or trailer category. The advanced search tool lets you narrow down results to trucks that not only match your vehicle’s make, model, and year, but also to find models with comparable mileage, operating weight, axle configurations, and more. You can even specify listings for trucks that have been sold within a certain number of days to ensure you’re getting the most current information available.
Another excellent pricing tool is Value Insight Portal (VIP). VIP is a free tool that delivers highly accurate market and auction values for your trucks and trailers for the current market and up to 12 months into the future.
Reach Print & Online Audiences
Online advertising is crucial in today’s world of mobile phones and other devices. That said, an extraordinary number of buyers still read the full-colour print edition of Truck Locator published every week. That’s why our sellers have the greatest success by listing their trucks and trailers in print as well as on the website.
One advantage of a print ad is that its online counterpart moves up into the featured listings near the top of the website’s search results. Also, each asset gets a unique, six-character Quick Find code in its print ad’s upper-left corner. You can type this into the Quick Find field on the Truck Locator site to immediately bring up the truck or trailer’s online listing with the rest of the item’s photos, description, videos, and specifications.
Write A Thorough & Accurate Description
When writing the description for your listing, be sure to add as much detail as you can. Include all relevant specifications, non-standard features, and more. Be specific and accurate with the truck’s condition. If there are issues with the vehicle, make the buyer aware and make sure the price reflects it.
The last thing a buyer wants is to be surprised when they get their truck. That may tempt you to write a line or two and then add “call for more details,” but that could potentially limit the number of potential buyers. Be as transparent as possible and give buyers any information you would want to know when shopping for a truck.
Monitor Your Progress
After you post your listing, track how well it’s doing. Truck Locator makes it easy to see how many overall impressions and detail page views your listing gets over a period of time, as well as how many people used a Quick Find code to find it, clicked the link to call you, or clicked to send you a message. If you aren’t getting as much traffic as you’d like or getting a good amount, and yet the truck isn’t selling, you may need to adjust the price, add more images, or tweak the description to engage more buyers.
Advertise Today
Browse current and past digital issues of Truck Locator magazine on our Newsstand to see more examples of full-page ads and photo listings. And contact us today if you’re interested in selling! A representative will be waiting to answer all of your questions and give you the tools you need to sell your truck or trailer quickly.