Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) – The Carolina Trader, an iconic all-classified ad paper that was recently bought by a Lexington based company, has decided to begin redistributing again in a print version. The paper had stopped printing completely and looked as if it was discontinuing operations all together after its parent company decided to close their doors last month. Once a Lexington business bought the brand and company, it operated for approximately a month as an all-digital product. During that time, its new owners evaluated its operations and explored their options before deciding if the print version was still viable. After contacting their long-term customers and speaking with the Carolina Trader community and outlets that carried the paper, they have decided that it was still worthwhile to print the paper on newsprint as it has been since it started in the 1970s. “Many of our customers are not yet of the computer generation,” the owner said recently. “Enough of them said that they still would advertise and buy the print version for us to happily bring it back!”
Printing is no small feat given that no commercial printer in Columbia even performs the web-press printing process that turns out publications on newsprint anymore. The paper will be printed in another SC town and brought in so that The Trader’s crew can distribute it to retail outlets. “Although going with just an all-digital version is certainly less labor intensive and costly, there were still a number of customers out there who relied on the print version to buy, sell, or trade just about everything. More importantly, many small businesses looked to the Carolina Trader to connect their services with the customers they service,” the new owners concluded.
The Carolina Trader’s print version will be available this week in most of the same places you’ve been able to locate it for years. Look for it at the counters of convenience and grocery stores, at Dollar Generals, and many other locations. The first few weeks, it will only be available in the Midlands and surrounding counties but will probably return to some Pee Dee and coastal counties soon.
The Carolina Trader has already revamped parts of its digital platform and is still doing more there. You can buy digital access for a month, multiple months, or longer, and discounts apply for customers who subscribe for longer periods. You can find it at https://www.carolinatrader.com. “You can still place orders for advertising or call and ask us questions at the same number you’ve always called, (803) 781-8900,” the current owners concluded.
