localtraders.com .. any experience ?

[KernowQueen]

not had any calls from these types for ages, until today.

from a stoke-on-trent no. 01782667150, very noisy call centre & could barely hear the guy.

usual spiel of they've got such a massive presence online that anyone searching for any type of trade will always see one of their sites on page one, they click thru & post what they want doing, local traders checks it's a valid job & not just an estimate that's wanted (eh? :|) then sends the tradesman a text with customer contact info.

when i managed to get a word in (the guy should take up deep sea diving as he was pretty impressive!), i said we were B2B & did very little domestic work. "well i won't lie to you, 60% of enquiries are domestic but 40% is commercial. say a local independant pub searches for a tradesman, it's us they find first". hmmm, i think not...

i mentioned that i recognised their name from on here & had seen bad reviews, so no, i really wasn't interested - he just carried on regardless & told me he'd found this website (well done as i didn't give him the URL) & he couldn't find any bad reviews on here at all (this was all in the space of 10 seconds as he was still doing the hard sell!).

so just to clarify, that's www.localtraders.com , google is your friend tradespeople!

 

[Mr_Bigjobs]

I too am a locksmith and have been tucked up by this outfit.

When they auto-renewed my 6 month 'membership' earlier this month I rang and emailed to complain. They never returned my calls. When I did eventually get an email response from a Ms Sarah Persico, they drew my attention to some small print that said I accepted auto-renewal and that I should have contacted them 2 weeks prior to renewal in order to secure a cancellation.

The first 6 months with them have been frankly rubbish. I paid £120 inc VAT for a total of about 8 text message job leads over that time. Not only is this far too few, most of the idiots who used the website did not even pick up the phone when I called them. I read an earlier comment on here about some referral agencies making spoof calls to boost statistics whilst hiding behind the cop-out that 'conclusion of the transaction is between tradesman and customer'. Of course, I am not saying localtraders.com do this but some may conclude there could be some similarities...... In sum, of the handful of messages I received, I only made any money out of one of them, and that was insufficient to cover the initial subscription! A complete waste of time and money. Since I set up in business 10 months ago I have been harangued by advertisers - most of them scams, or in the case of localtraders.com or Yellow Pages, genuine outfits who do not produce the goods and demand good money despite poor performances.

One word of advice to all new sole traders re unsolicited offers of advertising - AVOID!

 

[the locksmith]

Sorry to hear of your experience, however it sounds more or less what I would expect to happen with this crowd and the many similar agencies that continue to call me at least two or three times a week.

There must be a "day" when some data list is released as I always get a flurry of calls over a two or three day period each month.

I am sure you are like me Mr.BigJobs .... you are in the middle of a job and the phone goes and it turns out to be some **** that is telling how wonderful they are and how they will "guarantee" no. 1 on google etc etc .... it really is hard to remain pleasant sometimes ... in fact sometimes I don't remain pleasant and tell them to "bleep" off by which time you have laid down your best posidrive screwdriver and can't find it again !!

 

[bell-stuart1]

What i do if they ring and i say no and they carry on i just put the phone to one side and leave them talking, always seems to be the Manchester companys who guarantee 1st page googe, i think its same company but use various company names.

 

[Mr_Bigjobs]

Bell-Stuart, you are right, their number makes them appear to be based in Manchester (0161) but the address in is in my very home town of Stoke on Trent, which fills me with shame. I am considering popping in to see them when I go up next week for Stoke vs Tel Aviv in the Europa League. I don't think they are likely to be keen on personal visitors tho!

 

[richie777]

Had a couple of calls recently from this crowd. Have done a search on here and not much to be found as far as I can see.

Therefore wondering if no posts about them is good news ?

They claim a PR5 for their website which seems to check out ok.
They are a bit different to normal lot that are always calling with adwords etc etc. They depend on the customer putting in to a search form what they are after and this is then passed to the trader by sms. They are looking for £125+vat for 6 months. The guy openly admits they depend on a long tail search as simply putting in "locksmiths Edinburgh" doesn't bring them up.

I've been stung too often in the past (sometimes down to not listening to my own advice ! :redface .....so any thoughts, experience etc welcome.

Hi there

DO NOT USE LOCAL TRADERS.COM THEY ARE ROBBERS, they provided me with no leads in 6 months - never told me i was on a rolling contract and charged my account again without my knowledge after my 6 months was up . TOTAL ROBBERY BE WARNED.

 

[richie777]

Dont Use Local Traders.com

Total Robbery

They Dont Tell You Its A Rolling Contract

0 Leads In 6 Months

Stung For Another 6 Months

Dont Know How They Get Away With It _ Or How People Like That Sleep At Night

 

[bell-stuart1]

Claim it back if you used your credit card then claim it all back, and give a good reason ie terms and conditions which they didnt explain to you.
I did with one of these £99 a month "get you on top of google" and got all my money back.

 

[love154]

Localtraders.com what a joke

stay well away off this company load a rubbish

gave them £160 wish i had given it to a charity

 

[love154]

just like to say again local traders is a waste off money please do not go there you will lose your money

 

[malcom.disouza]

You can use alternatives of this website.

 

[johnboy14]

If you think that you are helpfull on the phone you must be joking, I have five texts from you in a year, only one of these had a phone number , i rang this number and the person was in spain and knew nothing about the job, i am another locksmith that has been suckered in, if all of these calls are genuine why are you nearly always asked to text the customer?

 

[chelsearoof]

I joined these guys 4 months . After numerous text messages I decided to reply to a lad called Ian who sent me the text just to shut him up and let him have his say! He went through some sales rubbish but to be fair some of it made sence. I do run a successful building and property service company and wasn't looking for lots of work but for the price he quoted, 115 I thought it was worth a gamble. I've had 20 odd texts and 13 of the jobs I have done.. However, I won't be renewing with them as I've got a big contract for the next 2 years but I did make a healthy profit.. Now I'm not going to tell anybody how to run there business and you can choose to use these guys or not, but some of you seem to think that all works come to you! Don't moan on here or anywhere else about it, do something about it! Not everything works. I work as a consultant to companies so if anybody wants any advice then please leave your details and I will quite gladly see if I can help. Personally, I hope you don't use local traders because it will mean more work for my friends who use there service. Rated people work alright to.

 

[Carboy]

I joined these guys 4 months . After numerous text messages I decided to reply to a lad called Ian who sent me the text just to shut him up and let him have his say! He went through some sales rubbish but to be fair some of it made sence. I do run a successful building and property service company and wasn't looking for lots of work but for the price he quoted, 115 I thought it was worth a gamble. I've had 20 odd texts and 13 of the jobs I have done.. However, I won't be renewing with them as I've got a big contract for the next 2 years but I did make a healthy profit.. Now I'm not going to tell anybody how to run there business and you can choose to use these guys or not, but some of you seem to think that all works come to you! Don't moan on here or anywhere else about it, do something about it! Not everything works. I work as a consultant to companies so if anybody wants any advice then please leave your details and I will quite gladly see if I can help. Personally, I hope you don't use local traders because it will mean more work for my friends who use there service. Rated people work alright to.

Nice 1st post .

 

[chimney sweep]

Advice from a former subsciber to local traders ' KEEP WEll CLEAR'

I joined these guys 4 months . After numerous text messages I decided to reply to a lad called Ian who sent me the text just to shut him up and let him have his say! He went through some sales rubbish but to be fair some of it made sence. I do run a successful building and property service company and wasn't looking for lots of work but for the price he quoted, 115 I thought it was worth a gamble. I've had 20 odd texts and 13 of the jobs I have done.. However, I won't be renewing with them as I've got a big contract for the next 2 years but I did make a healthy profit.. Now I'm not going to tell anybody how to run there business and you can choose to use these guys or not, but some of you seem to think that all works come to you! Don't moan on here or anywhere else about it, do something about it! Not everything works. I work as a consultant to companies so if anybody wants any advice then please leave your details and I will quite gladly see if I can help. Personally, I hope you don't use local traders because it will mean more work for my friends who use there service. Rated people work alright to.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

I joined these guys 4 months . After numerous text messages I decided to reply to a lad called Ian who sent me the text just to shut him up and let him have his say! He went through some sales rubbish but to be fair some of it made sence. I do run a successful building and property service company and wasn't looking for lots of work but for the price he quoted, 115 I thought it was worth a gamble. I've had 20 odd texts and 13 of the jobs I have done.. However, I won't be renewing with them as I've got a big contract for the next 2 years but I did make a healthy profit.. Now I'm not going to tell anybody how to run there business and you can choose to use these guys or not, but some of you seem to think that all works come to you! Don't moan on here or anywhere else about it, do something about it! Not everything works. I work as a consultant to companies so if anybody wants any advice then please leave your details and I will quite gladly see if I can help. Personally, I hope you don't use local traders because it will mean more work for my friends who use there service. Rated people work alright to.

Something doesn't ring true here. You are recommending this company having spoken to a guy called 'ian' yet your name is ian (according to your email address) and NOT steve as per your profile? Now this could be co-incidence, but to me this sounds like a first post blagging attempt by the company being criticised.

I am however happy to be proven wrong by yourself, but currently you are waddling and quacking, and I think you are a duck

 

[Mick.H]

I haven't been unfortunate enough to use local traders but i noticed a while ago how well their website, being so large, was ranking in google for many terms. I wouldn't say they ranked extremely well but you'd often find them lingering at the bottom of page one for many local searches. I have now noticed how their website appears to be nowhere to be seen now. I recall looking at their website backlinks and noting how many paid links they had bought but i presume the fact that their website is stuffed with repetitive waffle is the reason they have lost a lot of rankings. With that in mind i would think they are even less worth spending money with now, seeing as google is where the majority if traffic comes from on the web.

 

[eventdomain]

What gets me is that their taking a battering for going to the trouble of setting up somewhere for tradespeople to use that generates business.

Localtraders.com is a great name, what was it 300k of pages in the SERPS? God, people are so ungrateful, if something isnt totally free these days, it gets slated rotten and without such creation of these sites, there'd be nowhere reasonably priced to advertise on, as £150 doesn't sound too bad when compared with Yell.com who want at least £235.

What do people think - that they'll get on for scot-free or something - come-on get real guys, their a friggin business trying to do something good for the web

 

[OldWelshGuy]

ED they are 'getting a battering' from past customers. My post was aimed at what appears to be deceptive advertising, (which of course is not only morally wrong, it is in fact illegal). rememebr that the internet is now covered by the Advertising Standards agency, and any business making false claims, or engaging in deceptive promotion, such as false testimonials, is liable to prosecution.

I don't see why you feel they are being targeted, beyond past clients being honest, and others making points they are entitled to.

Why do you believe it to be a case of people wanting ssomethign for nothing?

 

[arturz]

We have been convinced by localtraders.com to advertise thrue them , and we have been assured that they going to send us a job leads , this cost us a £168 for a piriod of 6 months . We have received 3 text messages from them in the first month and nothing more, try to contact them , we been told that they dont have any leads at the moment and if any new come they text us again. So at this moment and time i would say they just running scam to rip peoples money.

 

[eventdomain]

I doubt what you say - sometimes it takes time for people to fully use such sites and sounds like its users need to post jobs/ask for quotes for your area. I'm sure you'll get quotes - there's no such thing as instant results on the web, enquiries work slowly, but as long as this localtraders site gets traffic, you'll see results at some level.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

ED I have to ask, why are you defending Localtraders? Seriously do you know somethign we don't? Do you know the owners or something? I am only asking as many of their past customers have posted, but you seem to have a different view .

 

[eventdomain]

We were actually considering setting up a local traders website ourselves, and thus have more than a working knowledge of how such sites work.

Got approached last year about a partnership with one of the bigger membership based publishers. Lets just say ED is usually in talks with different suppliers from associations, niche suppliers, to colleges and other websites, so we see more than a passing glimpse of what they are about and what their after in membership base terms.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

We were actually considering setting up a local traders website ourselves, and thus have more than a working knowledge of how such sites work.

Got approached last year about a partnership with one of the bigger membership based publishers. Lets just say ED is usually in talks with different suppliers from associations, niche suppliers, to colleges and other websites, so we see more than a passing glimpse of what they are about and what their after in membership base terms.

But what does that have to do with my question specifically about localtraders, as in this website? With all due respect, There are people on here (Myself included) who also have 'more than a fleeting glimpse' of what these type of sites are about, hell I was involved with a site bringing in £30k a week, but it has absolutely zilch to do with this specific website.

This is what I was asking you about, as in how can you be so sure everyone who has posted about them being rubbish, is wrong? They are talking about their experience with this particular site being discussed. while you are saying you doubt what they say, as you have 'more than a passing glimpse' of the industry

So finally I will ask again do you have specific knowledge of this particular site that backs up your position? I am finding it odd

 

[eventdomain]

Some tradespeople will always do badly from any website - the website isn't always the crux of the problem. The ability to deliver traffic isn't the problem, the problem is down to simple elements not in place like:

Badly written descriptions
Few client references
Zero testimonials
Lack of web profile

many reasons for not choosing a tradesperson, despite being on a high traffic platform. Complaining has a downside, a huge legal hassle I know many don't want, so slagging off something that doesnt work for the few, just lands them in hot water.

They are talking about their experience with this particular site being discussed. while you are saying you doubt what they say.

Like you keep trying to make the truth - its only THEIR experience - not the few like myself who have actually done it. I think the issue is about patience, but people want instant results, and this is impossible as the buying decision-making process isn't straight forward. So the tradesperson gets nervous, makes assumptions too early on and makes the mistake of name-calling in the public eye.

 

[eventdomain]

Continued:

This does them no favours, won't increase their enquiries and makes them look unreasonable, flappable and a risk to do business with. Besides no evidence to back up what they claim compared to the masses who do well from such sites.

I mean what are we talking about, a weblink on a highly targeted website for what £200...... at the end of the day, that weblink will work for them constantly, so why risk defamation because of a short-term view - the advertising in many cases won't have run its course anyway.

Besides, they did get an instant result, they got a listing on a niche website for their fee, so legally the website has already fulfilled a large part of its contract. Traffic delivery is an illusion, you cannot guarantee xxx amount of traffic, all you can do is offer quotes on what previous enquiries were delivered, and I strongly suspect this is what lead-gen sites do all the time.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Ok again, what has that got to do with Local traders.com which is purely a lead generation site without any of the stuff you are discussing above.

Simple question, have you actually looked at localtraders.com? I believe (based on the above 2 posts) that you haven't. so have a look as it might be an eye opener

 

[eventdomain]

Ibelieve (based on the above 2 posts) that you haven't. so have a look as it might be an eye opener

Incredible - you are a risk taker aren't you son


Ok, had a look since last time I checked the site, not much site design changes but they have expanded with several other sister sites eg:

RepairACar.co.uk
Central-hotels.com
BusinessFind

Local Traders Finland
RepairACar Finland

so their doing better than you and many others ok. I'd say they deliver for thousands of happy customers based on what they own.