RVT.com RV Trader Blog

RVIA RV Trade Show to Highlight New Trends

Outlet 2010: Let the Sun Shine is the upbeat theme of the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association’s 47th annual national RV trade show. The country’s biggest RV show will be held from December 1-3 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY. The trade show will showcase the industry’s newest “green” RVs as well as plenty of innovative and eco-friendly products and services for the RV industry.

Growing RV sales have been one of the few bright lights in an otherwise dim U.S. economy. Increasing interest in the RV lifestyle has increased both new and used RV sales which has caused RV manufacturers to ramp up production, rehire laid off workers and hire new workers. The RV nation is certainly doing its part to light up the economy.

As the RV industry prepares to celebrate its centennial next year, 2010 is expected to herald new trends in the industry. Simplicity, discretionary thrift, mercurial consumption and green living are expected to drive the RV sales market in the coming year.  Among the highlights of the RVIA RV show will include a presentation by Silvio DiSalvatore, father of the family that won NBC’s hit summer reality show Great American Road Trip. DiSalvatore, who has repeatedly said the RV trip was the best time he and his family have ever had, will talk about his family’s summer RV experience.

Time Is Right to Sell Your RV

With more people embracing the RV lifestyle every day, this is an excellent time to sell your used RV on RVT.com. Thousands of motivated buyers visit RVT.com every day. RVT.com is North America’s leading online RV seller. Drawing on a decade of online sales experience, RVT.com has developed an easy-to-follow process geared to help you sell your RV quickly and for the best possible price.

Placing a classified ad on RVT.com couldn’t be easier. Just click on “Sell RV” on our homepage and follow the five simple steps to creating an online ad. Along the way we offer plenty of tips and suggestions that will drive maximum traffic to your ad. RVT.com gives you 12 photos and unlimited text space to show off your RVs special features. There’s an option to add more pictures, a floor plan and even video of your RV to enhance your ad. If you don’t have computer access, you can submit your ad and photos to RVT.com by mail using our handy Mail-in Form.

Before you place your ad, read RVT.com’s valuable RV Selling Tips and check our articles and newsletter files for more online sales tips. Get ideas for how to word your ad and what to include by checking out current RV ads listed on RVT.com. If you have any questions along the way, don’t hesitate to contact our helpful support team. We’re here to help you sell your RV.

Filming RV Interiors for Online Ads

Making a film of the interior of your RV to include in your online sales ad takes a little thought and preparation. (Make sure you read our last few posts on setting the stage and filming the exterior of your RV.) Unlike exterior filming where it’s OK to use a stop-action technique as you move around the outside of your RV, interior filming should be steady and continuous. You want to give the video viewer a sense of being there and walking through your RV at your side.

Walk slowly into and then through your RV room by room. As you enter each new room or area, take time to pan slowly around the room before zooming in on each specific feature. You want viewers to get an overall look at each room as well as close-up views of each feature. Have your assistant open closets, cupboards and storage areas and shine a handheld spotlight inside to clearly illuminate each feature while you film.

Avoid unattractive fanny shots of your assistant in action by always having your assistant face the camera. Remember, your RV, not your assistant, is the star of the show, so minimize your assistant’s screen time. Your assistant should stand behind the camera when possible. You needn’t show your assistant opening cupboards. It’s perfectly acceptable to show a disembodied hand opening drawers and cupboards.

Always end your RV video tour with a nice full-view exterior shot of your RV in all its glory.

Action! Filming RV Videos for Online Ads

You don’t have to be an expert filmmaker to create an effective video tour for your online RV sales ad, but a little preparation and practice (see our Oct. 5 post) will make your video more effective. Once you’ve set the stage and done your prep work, it’s time to film.

Choose a sunny day for filming. Park your RV in bright sun away from shadow-throwing trees and buildings. Pay attention to the background. You don’t want the camera to catch a messy garage, toy-strewn yard or grafitti-covered building in the background. Find an attractive place to film such as your driveway, an empty office complex, a church parking lot or a local park. Open slideouts and awnings. Turn on all interior lights. Have an assistant standing by to open doors, cupboards and drawers. Bring a handheld spotlight your assistant can aim to illuminate closets and provide extra light for filming.

Action! Using a measured gait, walk slowly around your RV, zooming in on important exterior features like awnings, hookups, A/C units, bike racks, generators, hitch, etc. You’ll want to show your RV streamlined for road travel as well as parked with slideouts, awnings, etc. fully extended. Be sure to step back so viewers get a good look at the entire RV from multiple angles. It’s OK to start and stop film while you walk to a new filming position or between close ups of major features. You just don’t want the film to appear chopped up.

Next time: Capturing the interior of your RV

Video Making Tips that Will Sell Your RV

Video tours are the hot new trend in online RV sales (see our 10/2 post), but a bad video won’t help sell your RV and can drive buyers away. Before filming, give a little thought to how you’re going to showcase your RV’s best features to potential buyers.

Make your RV a video standout; follow these tips from videographers:

Ready. Before you start filming, clean and polish your RV inside and out. Empty your RV of clutter, personal items and anything that will not be included in the sale of the vehicle. Make any repairs or improvements that will enhance the sale of your RV.

Set. Set the stage before you start filming. Place fresh flowers in the bathroom and set out pretty towels. Arrange a colorful bowl of fruit or vegetables on the kitchen counter. Add colorful, decorative pillows to the bed. Extend slideouts and awnings. Turn on all the lights and bring in extra lights if necessary. Good lighting is essential to showing off your RVs features to their best advantage.  

Dress Rehearsal. Before you start filming, practice walking around and through your RV. Use a steady measured pace to minimize camera jiggling. Enlist an assistant to open doors, closets, drawers and cupboards as you film. If you plan to narrate your virtual tour, plan out what you’re going to say beforehand; keep it simple and practice. It might be easier to have your assistant do the talking so you can concentrate on filming. 

Next time: Action!

How to Add Video to Your RV Sales Ad

The nation’s top realtors will tell you that the two most effective sales techniques are listing your home online to maximize exposure and including a video tour of your home with your online listing. Most buyers begin their search for a new home online, and online ads that provide the most information attract the greatest number of serious potential buyers. Selling your RV is no different. More than 80% of RV buyers begin their search for a new or used RV online. Providing potential buyers with a video virtual tour of your RV is the next best thing to walking through it in person.

Realtors know that videos sell homes, and at RVT.com we know that videos can sell RVs. A leader in innovative online sales techniques, RVT.com now makes it possible for you to provide a video tour of your RV in your online sales ad. As always, our aim is to give RV sellers every possible advantage when they list their RV for sale online at RVT.com.

RVT.com makes it easy to add a video tour of your RV to your ad.

1. Get a free membership at YouTube.com which allows you to upload videos to be viewed on their website.

2. Make a video starring your RV.

3. Upload your video to YouTube.

4. Copy the unique URL from your YouTube video.

5. Paste the link into your RVT.com ad.

RVT.com’s friendly sales staff can answer any questions and help guide you through the procedure.

New Video Makes Selling Your RV Easy

RVT.com’s new how-to video makes it even easier to sell your RV online. You’ll find this helpful sales aid on the RVT.com website homepage under Sell Your RV Fast. The video takes you on a step-by-step tour of the online sales process, highlighting each step in creating an effective online RV sales ad that will help you sell you RV quickly. Watch this new video to understand how easy it is to sell your RV online at RVT.com.

The North American leader in online RV sales, RVT.com has helped sell more than 40,000 RVs online. Our new video taps into the tremendous experience we’ve gained over a decade in online sales. The video highlights ad features and upgrades that can increase buyer traffic and clicks and help sell your RV even faster.  For example, adding bold or red type to your ad draws buyers’ attention as they browse online ads, making your ad stand out from the crowd. Choosing to make your ad a featured ad increases its exposure to potential buyers by making certain they see it first when they start their RV search.

RVT.com allows RV sellers unlimited text and 12 free photos to describe their RV and list its many features. You can even add extra photos or an interior diagram to your ad to increase buyer interest. Or use our newest sales feature and ad a You Tube video to your RV ad. For complete information on how to successfully sell your RV online, visit RVT.com.

Rising RV Demand = Good Time to Sell

Like flocks of migrating birds, RVers have taken to the highways this August. Whether enjoying some vacation time, trying to beat the city heat or in search of one last great adventure before the kids go back to school, RVers are taking advantage of still low gas prices to tour the country. RV sales are up, spurred by the recovering economy and a growing interest in economical vacation travel. Increased demand led Keystone RV to acquire a 140,000-square-foot plant in Goshen, Indiana where it will hire 200 new employees for a fall start-up. With interest and demand rising steadily, this is the perfect time to sell your used RV.

RVT.com makes it easy to sell your RV online. Our easy 5-step process walks you through each step of creating an online ad from selecting your ad options to writing ad copy and adding photos to creating a secure account to handle communication with interested buyers. North America’s leading online RV seller, RVT.com offers helpful tips at each stage of the selling process, sharing with sellers a decade of tried-and-true online sales experience.

When you place an ad on RVT.com, there’s no word limit to cramp your style. Our low price allows you to add 12 photos to your ad (more for a slight additional charge). You get unlimited free ad updates, ad tracking, secure email link, Email Ad to Friend feature, free phone and email support, and national exposure to thousands of motivated RV buyers who visit RVT.com every day.