What’s new?

A lot! We’ve upgraded the directory to be more user friendly for shoppers as well as give you, as builders, the tools to market your business in a more targeted and unique way. Even better - if you’re getting this email, that means you were grandfathered in at the $650 price! New premium subscriptions are $1250/year.

Here are the basics of the upgrade:

Basic membership is free!

Our goal is to make this a hub for shoppers and industry people alike. We want people to be able to find all of the builders in North America in one spot, which means we need to make it accessible for everyone.

For you, as premium builders, this also means your membership is miles above that of our basic folks.

New thumbnail design on directory landing page

If you’re a premium builder, users can now scroll through a carousel of your images and see your unique offerings and certifications all without even clicking into your profile.

New profile design

Once a shopper does click into your profile, they’ll see a lot more than they will on a basic profile. More photos, brand video, sold vans, and best of all - FIXED LISTINGS.

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​What the heck is a fixed listing?

This is probably the thing we’re the most excited about. Now, as a premium builder, you’ll receive one free “fixed” listing that remains live on the site for the entirety of your subscription (a whole year!).

We designed this listing type to be useful for the fully custom shops all the way to the spec / model based shops. You can offer a price range, show off the model specs, options for upgrades, etc. all in a listing that doesn’t expire, doesn’t have a date, and is searchable in the vans for sale section of the site. Plus, as a premium builder, you can boost this listing on the homepage for 5 days at a time, which is not an offer all sellers get.

To create your fixed listing head to https://vanlifetrader.com/list-a-van/ and scroll down to where it says Fixed - select and start it up!

If you want more than one fixed listing, reach out to us, because we have some options for you with our Epic package.

New boost options

As a premium builder you’ll have the ability to feature your business in two ways. The directory feature pins your profile to the top of the search results for five days. Similar to our vans for sale feature on the listings side. The other boost is called the Builder Highlight. This feature highlights your profile - on the list and on the map via a star - for a full month.

PS if you become an Epic builder, your profile is always highlighted!

So, what do you need to do?

First, you need to make sure your profile is up to date with fresh photos, info, and an updated logo.

Next, we’ve added several filters to help shoppers find exactly what they’re looking for. Some have remained the same, like services and shop type, but we’ve also added:

• Chassis offerings - which models do you build in
• Years in business - as current company, not combined experience*
• Special offers - including things like Financing and Warranty
• Certifications - RVIA and/or Upfitters Network

We need each builder to go in and make sure these filters are accurate for your business. How you do this is by going to your dashboard - vanlifetrader.com/settings - scroll down to the bottom and click “Edit Profile”. We will be auditing these on our end to make sure all of our users are getting accurate info, so if you need any guidance for any of this, reach out! We’re happy to get on a call or talk you through anything.

We will be starting up our optimized google ads focussed on the builder directory side of the site next Monday, 12/2. We’re asking our builders to try and have their profile updated by then. You can always edit your profile at any point but we’d love for this to kick off with a bang. Again, if you need assistance, we’re here!

Send us feedback

As you probably know, we’re a small business with a small team, like many of you! Feedback is one of the only ways we can make this product better. If you have any questions, thoughts, points of contention, reach out to me, Leah, at leah@vanlifetrader.com and/or our Builder Partnership pro Vaughn at vaughn@vanlifetrader.com. We’re here to help you sell your vans!!