Pine Needle Lawn

Really. We were allowed to advertise. Does that sound strange? Yea, that’s what we thought when we received this email from a newspaper after submitting a classified ad:

I’m sorry to have to inform you that we will not place your requested advertisment at this time. We have the right to refuse advertisments which we deem to be a conflict of interest for our products and services.

I do thank you for your time and hope that you continue to prosper in your chosen field.

So here is what happened…We were placing some ads for the upcoming Sunday edition of some Newspapers in Minnesota & Wisconsin. We had never advertised in this particular newspaper – so we called the sales department to get some additional information.

After speaking with the sales representative in charge of contract advertising, we went ahead and submitted a classified ad to run this coming Sunday (6/17/07). Thirty minutes later, we received the email above.

Obviously I was concerned. Where was the conflict of interest? We were simply advertising 6 or 7 local lake properties for sale. So I called the sales rep.

I was amazed when she told me (among many things) that it was her job to “look out” for the local realtors. And something like “you think your website is the end-all, be-all.”

I was amazed – and my business partner (who could hear the conversation clearly) looked like he had softballs for eyes. We could not believe what we were hearing. I tried to explain over and over that LakePlace.com is a real estate brokerage – we are members of the local MLS board (like everyone else who advertises in their newspaper) and we would like to hear a good reason behind the decision.

I have to say, although the sales rep seemed a bit defensive at times and offensive at other times, she did tell me that she would speak to the higher-ups and see what she could do. She also let me know that if it does not work out – “the newspaper is not out to get us,” to which I replied – “I’m not sure about that” – to which she replied (in a condescending manner) “oh, at least you are honest,” and I ended the conversation by saying “well, it is what it is.”

I then went ahead and sent an email to her (to pass on to the “higher-ups”) explaining our position. We felt it would be an unfair practice to exclude one real estate brokerage from advertising in the classifieds while allowing others to do so. We also amended our advertisement by removing our company tag line “Buy, Sell, Rent” and replacing it with our phone number.

Here is a copy of the email and the revised advertisement I sent:

——————————
Hi xxxxxx,

I appreciate you looking into the situation for me. We feel it would be an unfair practice to exclude one real estate brokerage while allowing other real estate brokerages to advertise in your newspaper. Please review the advertisement below and let me know if the xxxxxxxx will run it on Sunday 6/17/07. Please note we added our phone number and removed our company tag line.

28,000+ Lake Listings!
Leech Lk $220k, Gr Rapids
$111k, Wascott WI $385k,
Gr Marais $275k, Ely $948k
612-366-4454
www.LakePlace.com

[Note: The original ad said “Buy, Sell, Rent” instead of 612-366-4454]

Thanks again xxxxxxx – we hope we can work together!
——————————

Anyway, I sent this email at 4:23 pm (Central) yesterday afternoon and did not receive a response by 1:15pm this afternoon…so I sent another email asking our rep if she had spoken to the powers that be…and received this email in return:

It looks like we will be able to accomodate you with the revisions you submitted. Give me a call when you get a chance so we can discuss rate/schedule/etc…

When I called I was told that I was “lucky”…because the newspaper publisher is moving on to another position out west and they are not sure what is going to happen. I was told that they have been going through a lot of transitions and growth with “the Internet” and such…and that until they have an established policy in place, they decided they will just run our ads…so she is happy to work with us.

I was not sure if I should share this story (in case they read it)…but what the heck – why not. This is what blogs are for – it is all about transparency and sharing. I am happy that we are allowed to advertise in this newspaper (and I hope they continue to allow us to advertise) – but it wasn’t easy.

When you are trying to change the way real estate is bought and sold, a lot of powerful interests can and will line up against you…but we truly feel that if we remain focused on helping people, good things will happen.

So, that was my Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning/afternoon – how was yours?

Zillow.com – the online real estate “zestimator” has decided that the time was right to make another big move. They made a small announcement on their blog today asking mortgage brokers to move into their camp.

Dave G from LakePlace.com guesses that mortgage brokers are first, title closers will be second, (insurance agents possibly third) and real estate agents/brokers will be the last to be asked to the dance. The guys who brought the records to the party will not know what hit them while they are receiving their zwirlies.

Just my guess…

I probably shouldn’t blog about this…I know it is not a good idea…but what the heck – I want to get it off my mind.

A couple/few months ago we received a phone call from a New York Times writer that was doing a story on the Northshore of Lake Superior. He was using LakePlace.com to do some research and wanted to ask some questions about the Lake Superior real estate market. We patched him through to Gunflint Realty, our Northshore affiliate, and passed his contact info on to our public relations department (our public relations department is one person).

Well, our public relations “department” gave the writer a call, answered a lot of questions for him and was assured LakePlace.com was going to get a tiny mention in the article. As a small Internet startup – these kind of things are truly priceless – and needless to say, we were very excited about it!

Well, the article came out, and…drum roll…no mention.

Really not that big of a deal…but also very disappointing to a small startup…especially when we have been anxiously waiting for it to come out. LakePlace.com has been mentioned by several great publications including the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, Twin Cities Business, even Money Magazine (and we are very proud of it) – but the NY Times…boy that would have been nice. I guess that’s a New Yorker for ya…(actually, if you have ever been to the big apple, you know that New Yorkers are some of the greatest people on earth – always happy to go out of their way to help you out – I have always been impressed with their eagerness to help a stranger, contrary to popular belief).

Again, it is not a good idea for me to write about this…because it probably means that we will NEVER get a mention in “The Times” (you would be surprised to know how easy it is to get a blog post noticed – I can almost guarantee you that someone from the NY Times will read this)…

When it comes down to it…we will take the Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Milwaukee Journal, Madison Capitol Times and Chicago Tribune over the NY Times any day…but it is still a bummer. -=)