What it does
Marketplaces are third-party shopping sites where dealers list inventory alongside other stores. Shoppers search by make, model, price and distance, then contact the dealer by form, phone, chat or digital retailing tools. Dealers usually pay a monthly subscription, with higher tiers buying more visibility or extra features.
Many marketplaces also show price ratings that compare your listing to the market. That rating can drive or kill traffic, so pricing strategy and listing quality matter. Most stores list on several sites and review them regularly against leads and sales. The goal is to find where your inventory actually sells, not just where it gets views.
Listing quality is mostly in your control. Real photos, complete equipment data and a clear description help every unit compete. Those come from your inventory and imagery tools, so a weak feed shows up on every site at once.
Who in the store uses it
- Used car manager: prices units, watches market ratings and decides which sites to keep.
- Internet manager: checks that listings, photos and descriptions are complete.
- BDC and sales staff: respond to leads and calls from each site.
- General manager: reviews cost per sale across sites and approves renewals.
What it connects to
- Inventory management and pricing tools (feeds of vehicles, prices and photos)
- CRM (lead delivery with source tags)
- Call tracking (phone leads by source)
- Digital retailing and trade-in tools on the listing
- DMS (matching sales back to the site)
- Imagery and video tools
Marketplaces products in the index
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What to ask vendors
- Which package tiers exist, and what does each one actually change about placement?
- How is your price rating calculated, and how often does it update?
- Do leads reach our CRM in a standard format with the correct source?
- Are calls tracked, and can we hear the recordings?
- What reporting connects listings to sales in our DMS?
- What is the contract term and cancellation notice?
- Do you accept our feed provider, and how fast do price changes appear?
- Can shoppers start a deal or submit a trade on the listing, and where does that data go?
Signs it's time to switch
- Lead volume drops while the monthly cost stays the same.
- You can't tie any sold units back to the site.
- Listings show outdated prices or missing photos for days.
- Upsell packages are the only way to stay visible.
- Leads arrive with the wrong source, so you can't judge the site fairly.
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