$180/mo Yellow Pages ad for $25/mo

[bytebuster]

I have been going back and forth on whether to just give up on my business or not. I finally decided to keep at it, and here's why. I had a small one line ad in the Yellow Pages. No calls, of course. So AT&T calls me trying to upsell another YP ad, and at first I was trying to convey to them where they could stick their expensive advertising. So I keep getting the sales droid to backtrack, and finally I get him to give me a larger ad, about 6 or 7 lines, with extra features like coloring, and an ad that normally goes for $180 mo was mine for $25/mo. He had to get his manager's approval, and after he explained everything to the manager, including the fact that I rely on disability right now and thus can't afford a whole lot of cash towards advertising, the manager said ok. So, after a couple years of running virtually no ads at all outside of that one line in the Yellow Pages and some Craigslist posts, I have a business again. I put in this ad under "AAA Byte Buster Computer Repair" so it would be closer to the top.

 

[RichmondTech]

So instead of paying $180/month, you're only paying $25/month on an advertising method that hasn't generated any sales for you?

 

[NWPhotog]

It seems strange they would list you under AAABytebuster unless that is your company's legal name.

 

[bytebuster]

So instead of paying $180/month, you're only paying $25/month on an advertising method that hasn't generated any sales for you?

Wait, no. I had an ad for $8/mo that simply said "AAA Byte Buster Computer Repair...708-0609". That's ALL it said. When AT&T called, I told them that that ad was worth about $0 to me because the only calls I got were from telemarketers with Indian accents trying to sell me more crappy ads from other directories. I told the guy that there were 1 or 2 ads ahead of me in the YP that were knocking my socks off because their ads were far more descriptive. He said what if I give you one of those types of ads, and I said sure, how much do they pay. I then balked at the prices he quoted. I finally negotiated him down from $180/mo to $25/mo. So I went from that one line ad to a 7 line ad for only a little bit more money. As to why I had them list me as "AAA ByteBuster", no that's not the legal name but it's a trick used by businesses in the Yellow Pages to bump their biz to the top of the list. And it's legal in the US, since the Yellow Pages is not a government document. I was beat out in the 2011 YP by a guy calling himself A-1 Pete's Computers. See how it works?

 

[commodore64]

"You're gonna go far here at AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Auto repair"....lol, reminds me of that commercial.

 

[bytes]

"You're gonna go far here at AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Auto repair"....lol, reminds me of that commercial.

LMAO.......I love that commercial.

 

[NWPhotog]

Wait, no. I had an ad for $8/mo that simply said "AAA Byte Buster Computer Repair...708-0609". That's ALL it said. When AT&T called, I told them that that ad was worth about $0 to me because the only calls I got were from telemarketers with Indian accents trying to sell me more crappy ads from other directories. I told the guy that there were 1 or 2 ads ahead of me in the YP that were knocking my socks off because their ads were far more descriptive. He said what if I give you one of those types of ads, and I said sure, how much do they pay. I then balked at the prices he quoted. I finally negotiated him down from $180/mo to $25/mo. So I went from that one line ad to a 7 line ad for only a little bit more money. As to why I had them list me as "AAA ByteBuster", no that's not the legal name but it's a trick used by businesses in the Yellow Pages to bump their biz to the top of the list. And it's legal in the US, since the Yellow Pages is not a government document. I was beat out in the 2011 YP by a guy calling himself A-1 Pete's Computers. See how it works?

So if they let you use AAA then the next customer wants AAAA, then AAAAA, and so on. By requiring it be your business name they avoid the whole mess. Until you see it in print I would be skeptical. I would also get the price in writing. These guys make used car salesmen look like Saints!