Anyone ever advertised in The Trader

[J-Wholesale]

We're a wholesale jewellery company, and we're considering a large ad in The Trader in October (to capture the Christmas buyers). I'd be interested to hear if anyone has ever advertised in The Trader, and if so, did it prove worthwhile?

Also, does anyone use The Trader to source suppliers? I know that years ago, it was the main trading magazine for wholesalers, but its page numbers seem to be getting fewer and fewer lately.

We're looking at a full page colour ad, which is about £1100 per month.

 

[Aspect Investments]

I advertise in the trader but only online. Most people tend to look online these days rather than in mags, although the trader is very well established. Pricey though. An investment of £1100 for a month would be better spent on SEO in my opinion.

 

[J-Wholesale]

We did run a half page black and white ad back in March, but it only barely paid for itself (it cost £350 or thereabouts). We were thinking that a more prominent ad might work. Basically, we're trying to find a way to reach retailers who do not normally search for stock online.

 

[Aspect Investments]

Basically, we're trying to find a way to reach retailers who do not normally search for stock online.

Retailers who do not search for stock online will not be retailers for very long.

 

[Sharm]

Hi there,

We advertised with the Trader for many years with excellent results. However, at that time the economy was booming and our products were unique. Many of our best customers have come from the Trader.

However, over the recent 12 months or so, the profile of the reader of Trader has definately changed. Many on-line re-sellers will look for new products through the Trader and there are less quality customers coming through the door from Trader!

If your product is unique or a cut above the competition than dont rule out Trader as it is well established!

However, I agree with £1100 being pricy, but come on, its quiet out there - even for the media guys, surely you can get it down to half that and give it a go!

Hope that helps
Sharm

 

[J-Wholesale]

Thanks Sharm. We have noticed that its page count is considerably less than it was a few years ago. Might be worth seeing if we can negotiate a better price.

 

[MH1]

The trader is considered the chavs bible these days

 

[J-Wholesale]

The trader is considered the chavs bible these days

So where are all the respectable people advertising these days?

 

[Sharm]

Hi

Have you considered exhibiting at Trade shows?

Not sure which would be the best for Jewellery and what your target market is? However, Autumn Fair at NEC are offering some starter stands for £1000. Not bad for NEC, although you would only get a small stand at this price at NEC - it does attract some quality buyers from all over the globe.

There maybe other shows around the Country also.

Allow for extras - travel costs, insurance, lighting, promotional literature for the show etc.

Certainly worth a shot, you only need 1 good customer.

 

[J-Wholesale]

We're not quite ready for trade shows yet, though we're not far off. It's on the cards for next year, and we have some unusual ideas about to how to handle them. For the rest of this year, and the lead up to Christmas, we're focusing on building our customer base through online advertising and search. The Trader is an attempt to pull in customers that are more traditional in their approach to wholesalers - i.e. printed advertising rather than web.