Who Still Pays for Classifieds?

Over at Recordonline.com, the site of my former employer the Times Herald Record, it still says this under the 'place your own classified ad' link: "7 days-5 lines, $42.45." My question is a simple one: "Who still does this and why?"
 
I was at the Interactive Local Media conference in VA last week where I met a woman who works for a company that hosts papers' sites and/or classifieds, including the classifieds for the Record. I shared with her the following experience. While living in Oakland, CA, I was trying to sell my '91 Honda Accord. At the time, I worked for the Contra Costa Times.

Taking advantage of those bountiful newspaper industry perks, I placed a free classified (others paid fifty-something bucks, I think) in the paper. It also ran on the Web site and that of the Mercury News, covering a good chunk of the Bay Area and beyond. The first morning the ad ran, I arrived at work, there were three voicemails from some crazy Chinese guy screaming into the phone that I had to sell him the car and to do otherwise was proof that I was a "silly American." It was weeks before this guy finally stopped calling.

The second call came from a guy who was also selling an Accord through the paper and was just wondering if I'd had any bites. He hadn't. But at least the frantic Chinese guy hadn't reached him yet.

The third and final call of the ad was a guy from an auto trader-type thing who told me I was an idiot if I didn't list with him since the paper classifieds were useless. As if I hadn't already figured that out. Three calls. No sale.

Put a free ad on Craigslist and sold the car in two days.

After moving to Hudson Valley, I thought I'd have to go through the same thing. Ran my complimentary ad and got zero responses. Almost made me miss the Chinese guy. Almost. See, I knew Craigslist ruled, but I wasn't in New York City and Craig wasn't upstate. But it's free, so why not? Sold that car and another later, each to people outside NYC who nonetheless used Craig's NYC list.

Now add Google Base, LiveDeal, Oodle, even MySpace, and you have to wonder: Who still pays for classifieds? Whoever they are, they're giving newspapers the foolish idea that this is a sustainable business model.

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