Not a 1:1 comparison. The thing here that everyone is missing is that the deals that come from LH to all these dealers, whether its direct to dealer or broker to dealer, both of which would be the ones ultimately driving revenue and long term value are unbelievably unprofitable deals for dealers. Because of that there are in essence finite caps to how many of those deals each dealership would write - and harder to get someone to pay you for leads when they’re several thousand dollar losers. Could argue that the past two years are the few exceptions, but seem few and far between as the market is normalizing. Love the community in its current iteration
7 Likes
I still think all of this supports an exit for the proprietors.
They have built it well: UGC (this forum), content (blog stuff/social stuff), and tools. All immediately proximate to intent to buy a vehicle.
I am dumb about a lot of things, but I don’t think is one of them.
3 Likes
But there is no one like LH
“What to do with LH” doesn’t necessarily imply cashing out, but rather opens up a discussion on the improvements and such. It was a joke, anyway 
1 Like
Leasehackr in my opinion is about giving the average guy a leg up in getting a lease and understanding what he is buying. Another tier of users are the hardcore hackrs who can analyze a deal in their head, not necessarily the same as the first and one doesn’t need to sacrifice the other for LH to grow
2 Likes
I agree with that, but that is still skating my point. I wouldn’t direct a person to the middle of the ocean when they cannot swim. Introducing the clueless, and having them ask the same questions (which were just asked 5 minutes ago) does not promote growth for LH. Asking questions is a critical part of learning, and we all learn from time to time, but there needs to be effort from all ends.
The flaming, or the real harsh criticism, often stems from new users who are too lazy to stand on their own two feet. It also comes from those people who are spoon-fed advice numerous times, and there is still an endless downward spiral.
I am reaching out to Google to ‘replicate the deal’ they gave you. I am still on the waitlist.
Care to share the ‘contract’?
2 Likes
I run a forum myself and have for a almost a decade now and I have to tell you that I had absolutely no idea that this even existed. Its not listed on the Contribute page anywhere. On top of that, the information about contributing or becoming a supporter doesn’t seem to be listed anywhere on the Forum in and of itself. That should be prominently listed somewhere here on the forum for members to see.
There’s a lot of talk in here about retention. Unfortunately, due to the business model of the forum, its pretty difficult. You’re banking on big ballers, people who want to make money (4xe casuals) or car flippers coming back repeatedly and hanging out here. For the majority of people, once they score a deal, they’re unlikely to hang around repeatedly.
Another big problem is your scarcity vs. casual user issue. When a deal pops up that’s a limited type of issue, its mobbed by people who just want the deal and aren’t really interested in the forum itself. These casual users get mobbed by the long time users who want them to butt out of their deal or are afraid of ruining their good thing. This always happens when money is involved unfortunately, and was a big reason why all the good manufactured spending forums died out.
4 Likes
+1, this would be awesome.
1 Like
We see this almost daily, I think users and trusted need to realize if someone is brand new to the site by looking at read time etc. Someone can read leasing 101 5 times and still not know or have all the lingo memorized, it takes time. I think the forum needs to go a little easier in some of these newer folks.
Some peeps can’t resist commenting on every single post adding 0 value. Start a landfill count…if your comments are landfilled 5-10 times in a month, your suspended from posting, idk. Buuuut that could be a slippery slope.
2 Likes
Would I stay if you all sold? I think it depends on what the new owners do to the forum.
I used to participate on a food-related forum. It was absolute fantastic. And then some huge conglomerate (CBS?) took over and destroyed the whole thing. It started w/ heavy-handed moderation (where I couldn’t say that I suspected I got food poisoning at an eatery b/c I couldn’t prove that I had gotten food poisoning from that specific place; other users being told that they had to curtail their discussion of an eatery b/c they were too biased in favor of the eatery b/c of a personal relationship, even though the user had made it clear that there was a personal relationship from the outset).
The kicker, though, was when they completed re-programmed the forum. IIRC, the current threads and past threads were divorced of geographic regions (which made it hard to do something as basic as looking restaurants located near your home), and I think they also did something to screw up the sorting function so that you couldn’t even easily sort by date (!).
Over a few months, it became clear that the changes were made to prioritize products/paid placements, rather than user content.
It completely destroyed the community, which then fractured into 2-3 splinter groups. This resulted in fewer members per new community, which meant that other members more easily got on your nerves (esp when some became minor influencers BECAUSE OF THEIR PARTICIPATION ON THE BOARD and became elitist little a$$holes). So there has been further fracturing of the community and never few new members joining b/c the forum culture can be super intimidating.
So, if you’re not in rush to sell, I like LH w/ you and the mods and trusted hackrs in charge, warts and all. 
2 Likes
They will sometimes buy smaller properties if it is in an industry they are already heavily invested in.
The vast amount of information on the forum can definitely be overwhelming. I know when I first started it definitely was. Yes, the intro links are there, but it just takes some time getting used to. Many people can be indecisive as well and there is nothing wrong with that. Overall, very grateful for this forum and the education I continue to receive from here. 
1 Like
I totally agree. Complete waste of time sifting through all of that noise.
I concur with this completely. Having worked for several large media conglomerates, I can say a sale would likely not benefit users of LH. I believe staying independent also helps with the authenticity factor. If this were part of Cars.com or some other site, I’m certain you would lose that, even if it was just the perception.
Having been a part of this forum for almost a decade now, it’s not perfect (the few posters who love to bring politics into Off Ramp topics almost daily, along with the latest fad posts like the EQS are a bit much) but I visit this site more than any other and have found incredible value over the years. It’s also entertaining at times, and a great forum for car-aficionados who aren’t aligned with one brand or model.
4 Likes
This is a tough one! Maybe I am wrong, but it seems that one of the main characteristics of LH is that it targets a specific consumer group - the bargain shopper, which limits growth. Not throwing shade at the bargain shopper (I am a bargain shopper myself) but from an investor’s perspective, it is not the most profitable group and the first to exit the market during an economic downturn…Price transparency has eroded margin on new car sales and new sources of profit so if your intent is to grow with this level of transparency, you’ll only increase the tension between your brand and dealers.
A hybrid market that contains both aggressive and ‘decent’ deals is tough to balance. I am assuming this is to expand your target audience to include more consumer categories. If so, I think you’ll need to rebrand which is not an easy endeavor. The best time for this was during the pandemic when the auto industry was trending.
This is probably the most feasible option. Plot the customer journey and identify the pain points. See how LH can mitigate these pain points and improve the customer experience without leaving dealers in the dust. Not sure how I feel about the “signed” deals section. I think, long term, it adds more tension between your brand and dealers. A good example is the titan (EQS, e-trons, etc…) is more than likely a one-off and sets unreasonable expectations for the regular consumer that visits this site. Most consumers already have a huge mistrust of dealerships. No point in giving them further ammunition…
2 Likes
@littleviolette @michael
I’ve long admired but am still surprised you have made this into your full-time income in some way or another.
This product has core community and daily flyers, just like on many SD and FF but for a different type of bargains.
SD and FF are nice to visit to look for something, but this I actually enjoyed spending hours on reading, meeting people in real-life preCovid and saving tons $ vs SD spending on unnecessary crap:)
As for the sale - I would want you to make it out because you have put your sweat into this, and you should be rewarded. If I stay or go would mostly depend on the continuation of the community that has been built. If the community falls apart because of some corporate rules - then it’s time.
On the other hand, I WOULD LOVE to see LH merch store!!! hats, stickers, hoodies, etc!
I know it’s a pain in the butt to admin that, but it could be halfway between selling and capitalizing on LH brand.
6 Likes
7 Likes
Yeah, that’s the only reason I would support a sale.
BTW, I would totally buy some LH merch! I have a MB and a Land Rover cap. Why not a LH one?
1 Like